Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
CLUB MEETINGS
1st Thursday 6:30 p.m.
TRI-COUNTY OPTIMIST CLUB
(Lake, Marion, Sumter Counties)
Laurel Manor Rec. Center
CR466 & Buena Vista Blvd.
The Villages, FL
3rd Monday 7:30 a.m.
Perkins Restaurant
CR 466 (near Wal-Mart)
The Villages, FL
TRI-COUNTY #60680 BOARD
MEMBERS
President
John Benson
502-641-3653
Vice-President
Pam Riches
352-751-7628
President-Elect
David Anderson
352-561-4647
Treasurer
NOVEMBER CALENDAR
Evening Meeting - Thursday, November 7th @ 6:30pm (Laurel Manor)
Weatherman Karl Lueper will be our guest speaker this month’s evening meeting.
Mr. Lueper tells us what Mother Nature has in store for us every day so be sure to
show your support for our local weatherman! He will be delivering a great lecture
about the weather as well as giving out plenty of give-a-ways so bring your friends!!!
Breakfast Meeting - November 18th @ 7:30am (Perkins Restaurant)
You do not want to miss the breakfast meeting this month because the discussion will
be what we are all about: CHILDREN!!! Guest Speaker Tera White will be speaking
on behalf of “Children’s Home Society” which is the oldest children service organization in Florida!
Board Meeting - November 18th @ 7:00pm (John Benson’s House)
The monthly board meeting will be held at President John Benson’s house located at
2507 Maverick Way (The Village of Hadley). Board members should attend and nonboard members are more than welcome to sit in.
Nery Benson
352-431-0320
Secretary
Susan Lassen
352-633-3146
Directors
John Cayer
Mary Anderson
Immediate Past Pres.
***DECEMBER SOCIAL - Saturday, December 21st @ 4:30pm
(Saddlebrook Rec Center)***
Traditionally our club does not have regular meetings in December because everyone is so busy with holiday travelling and events. Therefore, we will be having a social event on Saturday, December 21st from 4:30 pm to 6:00pm followed by a glowball tournament. This is NOT a fundraising glow ball event but a part of the social.
Members and their guests are welcome to play; there will be a small entry fee for the
prize money.
Ann Curton
352-753-4752
Upcoming Events
Nov 7- Evening Meeting
Nov 15– JOOI Club Social
Nov 18- Breakfast Meeting
Nov 18– Board Meeting
Nov 23– Woman’s Golf Expo
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Greetings Optimists!!!
NOVEMBER
6
Linda Kraeer
9
Doug Pritt
11 Debbie Barnes
13 Mimi Freedman
13 Susan Swartzfager
What a great way to start off the new year in our ever-growing club!!! We
were so busy this past month! We kicked off the year with a great spaghetti
dinner and instilled our new officers. Our breakfast meeting consisted of guest
speaker Richard Campbell, who talked to us about The Villages Regional Hospital and what it does for its patients. We also had a blast at the following
events: Lessons with the Legends, A Day in the Park, and the Lady Lake Fall
Festival!!! What a fantastic month it was for us optimists and a wonderful way
to start another year! As President this year, I’m hoping to not only interact
with more kids but to also become closer as a group with socials and other
events. We are not just a club, we are a family.
ANNIVERSARIES
17 Mary and Tony Barrett
I know that we will do so much greatness this year and the years to follow. I
cant wait to see what this year has in store for us Optimists!
HAVE A GREAT DAY!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CCC BANKS ARE AT THE FOLLOWING
BUSINESSES
Spanish Springs/Lady Lake
See you soon,
John Benson
Nov 15 Board Meeting
Ollie’s Custard
Paulie’s Pizza
Tervis Tumbler
Village Car Wash
Billie’s Café
Top 10 Nails (Palm Ridge Plaza)
Victoria Hair Co (SantaFe Crossing)
Papa John’s Pizza (Rolling Acres)
Oakwood (Hwy 441)
Buffalo’s Barber Shop
Colony Plaza
Cici’s Pizza
Peachwave Frozen Yogurt
Please support the above businesses
as they are
supporting us!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
October was an incredible month for the Optimists!! Our evening meeting took place at Truman Rec
center, where the Children for Cancer Committee provided a delicious spaghetti dinner. It was a night
filled with fun and emotions as we thanked our last year’s President Anne Curton and our many years
Treasurer Tom Price for their hard work and caring hearts. District Governor Brenda Ortelli inducted
our new board and wished us luck for a brand new year!!!!
Several optimist members enjoining
yummy spaghetti!!!
New Board being
inducted!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
We gathered again at the wonderful Perkins Restaurant and listened to guest speaker Richard
Campbell, Chairman of Rotary Club and founder of TVRH (The Villages Regional Hospital) Auxiliary
Foundation. He started the discussion by asking us what the Optimist Club does and then went on
to provide us with a presentation on what his foundation does for the hospital and its patients. He
debunked many myths about the hospital and informed us what really happens there:
-The Villages and Leesburg Hospitals are non-profit.
-The hospitals’ mission is to improve the health and quality of life of the individuals and the
communities they serve. This includes the following tenets: growth (provider of choice), people
(employment), service (highest satisfaction), quality (exceeds care standards), and financial (costeffective).
-The hospital is also undergoing an extensive expansion allowing for more beds and
space.
-A mobile app is being developed so that patients are informed of waiting time in the
ER.
We also had a guest named Catherine who informed us that she loves
kids as well as face painting. We informed her of the Day in the Park
that would be going on that following Thursday and she was extremely
excited!!!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Hundreds of little kids! Fourteen members and friends of our Optimist Club volunteered to
help at the Early Learning Coalition of Lake County sponsored event held annually at the
Hickory Pointe Recreation Facility near Tavares. Thursday, October 24 th found this group
and scores of additional volunteers from other Clubs in the area assembled early in the
morning to greet and assist the children as they visited over 20 various art and craft stops.
This was a grand time for pre-schoolers from all over Lake County as they arrived and
scattered to the various sites to paint pinwheels, sing, decorate wooden butterflies, do
sand art, get tattoos, have their faces painted and just generally have a fun morning. The
event was well organized, weather was cool and cloudy, and as you can see by the pictures,
it was difficult to tell who had more fun…the kids or our volunteers! Thanks to all who volunteered and we look forward to next year’s event!
Our awesome optimists about to start their day with the kids!!!!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Nery Benson and Susan Lassen enjoyed
the day decorating sunglasses and visors
with the kids!!!
President John Benson poses by the
fort that he helped supervised as the
kids decorated it!!!
Guest Catherine and her
husband helped the kids
put stickers and tattoos
an them
Mike Sprague helping a cute kid
get some paint. Mike is always
letting us know when this fun day
is happening!!!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Members went out to help support the Combat Veterans to Careers and K-9 Warriors
in a special event “Lessons with the Legends.” Legendary golfers Jack Nicklaus,
Michelle McGann, Jim Furyk, and Dave Duval took a day out of their busy lives and
demonstrated to the villagers how to better their golf. Optimist Members volunteered
in helping with the parking, ushering, booths, and signing people in. Dave Izzo brought
everything together for this day to be a success!
President John Benson, Treasurer Nery Benson, and
volunteers take a quick break from their parking duties
to pose for a quick snapshot!
Optimist Lois Philbrick listens
intently while fulfilling her
ushering duties. Lois is always
quick to volunteer, especially
when it involves golf :)
Optimist Dave Izzo oversaw most of the goings of
this special event. He is
always busy doing what
he can to help others.
Jack Nicklaus and Michelle McGann
Dave Duval and Jim Furyk
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Optimist members went out to the Lady Lake Fall Festival and enjoyed a night of Ring
Toss with hundreds of costumed trick-or-treaters!! Everyone who participated in the
Ring Toss received a yummy treat.
Mike Sprague helps a kid and
her sibling play the Ring Toss
game.
Whoever said that pirates cant be
cute did not see this adorable pirate girl along with an awesome
looking Iron Man by her side!!
This adorable pumpkin is
better at this game than I
am!!!
Brenda Sprague, Susan Pritt, Doug
Pritt, and Mike Sprague all gather
around to help the children have a
blast
Susan Pritt and Lois Philbrick are getting
ready for the big night and representing
our club with our excellent looking banner!!!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Geese flying in a V-formation have always been a welcome sign of spring as well as a
sign that heralds the coming of winter. Not only is this a marvelous sight but there are
some remarkable lessons that we can learn from the flight of the geese, because all
that they do has significance.
*Whenever a goose flies out of formation, it feels drag and tries to get back into
position.*
Lesson: It’s harder to do something alone than together.
*Take a moment this week and think about the V-formation. Each month I will post
another fact/lesson from the geese V-formation. Feel free to email me your thoughts
and I will include them in the next newsletter*
(Thanks to Susan Lassen for this inspirational idea!!)
I was preparing my speech for the Georgia District this weekend. Their motto for the year is
THE SMILE OF A CHILD MAKES IT ALL WORTHWHILE. While researching a bit I found this interesting tidbit of info...It takes 26 muscles to
SMILE and 62 muscles to frown. That's why Optimists "Wear a cheerful countenance at all
times and give every living creature we meet a
smile!"
Editor’s note: Thank you to all who participated this month for my Inspirational Corner. It
means more than you know that I have so
much support from you all! -Love, Christie
The most optimistic person in the world!! (Thank you Brenda
Sprague for the awesome picture!!!)
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
During October, the kids were extremely busy. They had to make very important decisions: ELECTIONS!!! We held the elections during lunch time which was pretty incredible because I had completely forgotten what it was like to have lunch in middle school!!! As with last year, everyone wanted to be elected. This year they have a 6th grade board and a 7th grade board (our kids are already
growing up!) and they are some great kids.
Here is the 7th grade board for the JOOI Club:
President: Ashtin Ingram
Vice President: Ahmoni Patterson
Secretary: Jayson Fluitt
Treasurer: Mya Smith
Here is the 6th grade board for the JOOI Club:
President: Emely Rhodea
Vice President: Nia Kelley
Secretary: Alexus Williams
Treasurer: Arianna Hernandez
On Friday, October 25, we had eight JOOI members write Thank You notes to the troops.
Our next big event is tentatively planned for Nov. 15 around 4:30 or 5:00pm for a social gathering
and instillation of the newly elected officers. Mrs. Barnes has to check the school calendar and see if
she can get a large room but I wanted to give you a heads up so you can plan to attend. We will be
inviting parents also, so it will be a good opportunity to get to know the kids and their families.
We also plan to meet with the kids during their lunch break (10:21am) on Nov. 5 to hand out invitations for the meeting.
Thank you for your expressed interest in helping with the JOOI Club. I hope you will be able to
attend some of the activities.
Eric Curton and Christie O’Brien
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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Tri-County Optimist Newsletter — November 2013
Tri-County Optimist Club
NOTE:
Christie O’Brien, Editor
Newsletter deadline for the November
[email protected]
newsletter is Friday, November 29th
352-396-8256
Optimist International
100%...And Then Some
President
Ron Huxley
President-Elect Ken Garner
VP
Lois Philbrick
North Florida District (#60)
Governor - Brenda Ortelli
Lt. Governor - Zone 10
Orlando Moreno
The Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself  To be so strong that
nothing can disturb
your peace of mind.
 To talk health, happiness and prosperity to
every person you meet
 To make all your
friends feel that there
is something in them.
 To look at the sunny
side of everything and
make your optimism
come true.
 To think only of the
best, to work only for
the best, and to expect
only the best.
 To be just as enthusiastic about the success
of others as you are
about your own.
 To forget the mistakes
of the past and press
on to the greater
achievements of the
future.
 To wear a cheerful
countenance at all
times and give every
living creature you
meet a smile.
 To give so much time
to the improvement of
yourself that you have
no time to criticize
others.
 To be too large for
worry, too noble for
anger, too strong for
fear, and too happy to
permit the presence of
trouble
Upcoming Junior Golf Events:
-November 23rd Women’s Golf Expo at the Nancy Lopez Course
-December 5th Special Kids Event at polo
-March 7 & 8, 2014 Golfest
If you want to sign up for any of these events you can to our junior golf web
site at www.tcjg.org and click on Volunteer Opportunities to sign up.
Since we don’t have meetings in December, we are going to have an awesome Holiday Social, followed by a Glowball Tournament. This is not a fundraiser, just
something for the Optimist Club, their families, and friends to gather around and
celebrate the holiday spirit. It will be on Saturday, December 21st, so be there or
be a Scrooge!!!
www.tri-countyoptimist.org
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