News
Optimist Club of Coronado
Weekly Optimist Meeting 10-17-2019
STEP Program
Charlie Ahern lead us off with a prayer of thanksgiving for our gathering and fellowship and Jean Radcliffe started off the Pledge of Allegiance
GUESTS: We had one guest and one party crasher this morning. Tony Tervainen was our guest and speaker. The party crasher was ex-member Julie Ruth who came to return a support check that the club had given to the CHS Skateboarding Club that was never able to be utilized. Thanks Julie for following through.
PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lawn Bowling: The second practice session for the upcoming match with the Rotarians is next Tuesday 5-7 PM. We had only six people at the first practice and we need some more folks to make a good showing. The match is on Nov 2. It's a fun day. All the pizza and beer you can drink (well maybe not all). The cost for the refreshments is just $5. So a real deal. Don't miss it. Contact is Bill Carinder billcarinder@yahoo.com.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
We need volunteers for several on going activities. Sign up sheets are going around
Morning Greeters- Contact Brenda Kracht at bmkracht@hotmail.com or find the signup sheet at the next meeting.
Strand Clean Up- Stand Clean Up is this Saturday 8:00 AM at the Amphib Base and Navy Housing. Contact Ted Krohne for details or just show up if you already know the drill. Ted's email is tedkrohne@hotmail.com
Prayer Leaders; Contact Charlie Ahren at ahren@msn.com or find the signup sheet at the next meeting
GUEST SPEAKER
Our speaker today was Tony Tervainen the CEO and Founder of the STEP Program. Tony gave us a good overview of the financial challenges faced by junior enlisted personnel and STEP's approach to helping them, especially in time of crisis.
The Challenge
- 3 out of 5 Americans live paycheck to paycheck and don't even have $400 saved for emergencies
- more than 70% don't have $1000 saved
- 200,000 people join the military every year
- Enlisted personnel make up 82% of the Armed Forces
- Upon enlistment most service members are single but are twice as likely to be married by age 25 than civilian counterparts
- Due to frequent change of duty stations enlisted families must adapt constantly to changing cost of livings and the spouse unemployment rate is 16% (four times higher than civilians)
- 60% of junior enlisted service members' salaries are considered to be low income by HUD
- Most junior enlisted personnel have little experience and training in management of their financial affairs
- 12000 service personnel per year loose some basic necessity due to financial crisis
STEPs ROLE (Mission)
"Support The Enlisted Project (STEP) builds financial self-sufficiency among junior active duty enlisted service members and recently discharged enlisted Veterans and their families in Southern California facing financial crisis through counseling, education and grants."
STEPs Approach
There are two principal components, personalized financial counseling and when necessary financial grants for the preservation of basic needs. STEP case managers are trained in social work ( specifically Crisis Theory and Solution Focused Approach) They work with clients to identify strengths and weaknesses that have brought them success in the past, but also brought them to the point of financial crisis. Based on this and the assessment of the specific financial crisis they develop specific real time solutions. This approach generally boils down to:
- Interview on the clients specific financial goals
- Creating a plan (budget)
- Debt reduction program
- Taking control over their own situation
Results
one half of clients complete the program without the need for a financial grant
STEP is effective in changing financial behaviors with 92% of clients not returning for a second grant under the program
The program continues with follow up calls as 20, 60 and 90 days post intervention
88% of clients report in follow up sessions that they have been successful in reaching one or more of their goals set during intervention.
Thanks Tony for coming today and sharing you very worthwhile program helping young enlisted personnel with their financial planning needs.
Brags
- Bill Parry bragged about how much he admired John Watson's Midway Docent shirts
- Cynthia bragged about her article in Life by Design Magazine
- Doug Grossmann bragged about our first responders and how they handled his daughter's recent surfing accident.
- Bill Carinder bragged about his new grandson
Anniversaries
We had five anniversaries this week. Bill Carinder, 5 years sponsor Mike Lafferty; Matt Smith, 1year, sponsor Jennifer Landry; Floyd Humphreys 6 years sponsored by Dennis Dorman; Chris Cervantes 9 years, sponsored by Carla Fargo, Tom Catlin 2 years sponsored by Mark Blumenthal.
Birthdays
We had two birthdays, Mike Lavin from Evanston Illinois and Lynz Arendsee from Coronado California.
$Opportunity Drawings$
History Lesson
Next Week's Speaker
Donate to Youth Activities
Weekly Optimist Meeting 10-10-2019
Generate Hope
Charlie Ahern lead us off with a prayer of thanksgiving and asking our God to bless with the energy and enthusiasm to follow the Optimist Creed and George Kunberger started off the Pledge of Allegiance
PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
The BOD approved $375 to the Moot Court Team of CHS. They will visit the Club before year end to accept their check
New Inductee: Carla inducted John Downey as a new member during todays meeting. Erin Downey was his sponsor. John was born on the east coast, became a Marine and eventually ended his service here in San Diego. He's spends time flying for the airlines, but thinks of his job helping to coach the CHS Cross Country team as his primary job. Welcome aboard John.
Club Announcements
Lawn Bowling: The annual match with our friendly Rotarians is scheduled for November 2. If you're interested in kicking some Rotarian butt, please contact Bill Carinder billcarinder@yahoo.com . He's our Captain again his year.
Annual Club Roster: Don Crawford has updated the active club roster. A copy will be on the welcome table. Please stop by to ensure your info in correct and initial next to your name.
Halloween Happening is on again this year. 3:00-5:30 PM. We need about 7 vounteers. Contact Diana for details drummedge@att.net
Carla (you remember her) presented Erin Downey with a plague to acknolodge all the great work Erin has done over the last four years as our school interface.
GUEST SPEAKER - Kimberly Harriman
Our speaker today was Kimberly Harriman with Generate Hope. The Mission of Generate Hope of is:
"We serve San Diego's sex trafficking victims by offering a real way out. Generate Hope is a faith-based organization providing long-term, comprehensive programs to women who have been sexually trafficked, so that they are able to reintegrate into society and walk powerfully into their future."
Kimberly first shared a few statistics about sex trafficking in San Diego:
- San Diego has the 8th highest amount of Sex Trafficking in the country
- There are approximately 8000 women/year victimized into sex trafficking in San Diego.
- The most common age a child enters sex trafficking in 14-16 years old.
- Typical victims have low self esteem, have absent parents, access to social media, may have been abused, may be foster children, runaways or have substance abuse problems
History - Generate Hope was started in 2008 by Harvard City Church and Susan Munsey as a grass roots effort. In 2010 the program moved to its current location. In 2016 with the help of donors they were able to purchase their Recovery Home debt-free. By 2018 the 100th survivor had been sheltered and the new Transition Home on 7th and A in Coronado was gifted to the program
Programs - The path for a woman to be able to recover and reintegrate with a powerful future consists of two programs
Recovery Program - Where a woman is first provided housing in a family like environment. Receives therapy to address PTSD and other mental health issues. Learns techniques dealing with the many effects of trafficking, betrayal, anger, grief, body image, sisterhood and more. They also use adjunct therapies such as art, dance, yoga, financial literacy, self defense, creative writing
Transition Program - Following a successful recovery program, the women have the opportunity to grow in independence. This includes Holistic Wellness (financial, social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual). Career, movement towards continuing to develop a career though part time work, college, vocational training. Therapeutic continuation, psychotherapy, case management and adjunct therapies
You can get more information on how you can help at www.generatehope.org
Thanks Kimberly for sharing all the wonderful work being done by Generate Hope and for opening our eyes to the magnitude of and horrible impact of sex trafficking in San Diego
Brags
The lovely Dianna Drummey bragged that she has lost 30 pounds on her diet. Way to go Dianna.
Erin Downey bragged that today was her dogs birthday. The pooch looked as if he was taking everything in stride however, as he laid outside enjoying the cool breeze
Dings
The Ding Master was reaching way back today. He brought out a story from four years ago that mentioned Tom Brunett and Irish Flynn as members of the Democratic Club. There were lots of folks calling foul over that one. Guess there is no statute of limitations where the Ding Master is concerned. The Ding Master tried to fine Lee Cargill again for something, but Lee is on the lamb in Hawaii. Karl Mueller got dinged about 10 times. The poor guy is just trying to do his job as Superintendent of Schools. Ted Krohne got dinged for a tree falling on his house and not telling 911 when he called them that he was an Optimist. Pretty tough stuff.
Anniversaries
We had four anniversaries this week. Bret Gary, 17 years sponsor Lee Cargill; Cynthia Kosciuczyk, 8 years, sponsor Dick Madouse, Patricia Leighty 11 years sponsor Diana Drummey and Erin Downey 5 years sponsor Laura Lynn Meek.
Birthdays
(none)
$Opportunity Drawings$
History Lesson
Next Week's Speaker
Donate to Youth Activities
Weekly Optimist Meeting 10-03-2019
Bears, Seals and Penguins, OH MY!
Mike Lavin lead us off with a prayer of generosity written by St Ignatius of Loyola and Laz Waczek started off the Pledge of Allegiance.
GUESTS: We had two guests this morning. Chuck Schroeder and out Guest Speaker Blaise Guld.
PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
BOD Meeting: There will be a BOD meeting at 6 PM on Monday 10/7/2019 at the Library. The primary topic will be the 2019-2020 budget. Our Sports Fiesta last year brought in $15,000 less than recent years and thus the budget will be tight, we need to rethink some of our past sponsorships. There is the option of dipping into some of our reserve money in order to make up the difference. All members are encouraged to either attend the meeting or to speak with one of our board members prior to the meeting to be sure everyone has a chance to have input into the budget discussion and setting our priorities for the coming year.
Perfect Attendance Awards: Dennis awarded three pins to club members who had a prefect attendance this last year. Irish Flynn and Charles Helsper were on hand to receive their pins, but Dr. Joe Moore decided today he would play hooky from the meeting, kind of ironic. However the good doctor did eventually show up to get his pin. Better late than never. Dan Hendrickson was awarded an Honorable Mention, for only missing one meeting last year, but if you total all the time he was late for a meeting, he might actually have missed 3 or more meetings. Anyway well done to all four members.
The Lambs BASH program to help stop bullying in our schools, was awarded a $1200 sponsorship, out of last years budget. They will be here near the end of the month to tell us about their program and of course to collect the check.
GUEST SPEAKER - Blaze Guld
Our Guest Speaker today was Blaze Guld of Coronado. Blaze has a fantastic life. Six months of the year he performs with his guitar in many of the local (Coronado and San Diego) restaurants and watering holes. The other six months of the year he works for G-ADVENTURE giving tours in Zodiac Boats (motorized Rubber boats) in the Antarctic and the Artic.
Blaze's talk was more show and tell then presentation. He showed us lots of photo's and movie clips of Leopard Seals (a pretty big and scary dude), and a rock concert filled with juvenile King Penguin's with long shaggy feathers, Bull Elephant seals, Fur seals (with a nasty bite), Polar Bears, Orca and Humpback whales and even pictures of some very funny looking two legged mammals wearing ridiculous costumes and jumping into freezing water.
Blaze told us about traveling through Drakes Passage and about visits to South Georgia and Grytviken where Earnest Shackleton is buried.
G-Adventure is a very ecological minded company. They strive to leave the Artic and Antarctic more pristine than when they arrived. Besides leaving no remnants of their visits they also clean up tons of trash left behind by others.
All in all it was a very informative and entertaining talk. Thanks Blaze for sharing some of your adventures with us.
This morning's reward for the early bird setup team.
Brags
- Dan Hendrickson bragged that his son Brian is retiring after 32 years of service and that the family has a new baby boy, Max.
- Cynthia bragged that she recently had a poem published.
- John Watson bragged that he and his wife recently biked from Salzburg to Italy over the Alps. Of course Bill Parry had to clarify the record and noted that they were electric bikes. Still a great adventure as far as I'm concerned.
- Don Crawford went on about Bill Parry getting a new car and that he had made up some story about a rhino running around Coronado and side swiped his old car. I know it sounds like they were drinking Bloody Mary's before the meeting. I only report what I hear.
- Charles Helpser bragged that our help with the Super Seal competition yielded a check for $2300 from the Iron Man Association. Way to go those who helped out.
- Jack Larison bragged about some ex roto head turned wall street mogul and his prediction for the stock market. BTW the ex roto head is our own John Bowen, but who knows what he's predicting.
Anniversaries
We had three anniversaries this week. John Brassert, 3 years sponsor Cynthia; Lee Cargill, 27 years, sponsor Stu Powell and Bret Gary 17 years, sponsor Lee Cargill.
Birthdays
We had two very special birthdays this week. Mike Lavin from Evanston IL and Lynn Arendsee form Coronado Ca.
$Opportunity Drawings$
History Lesson
Next Week's Speaker
Club Announcements
Lawn Bowling: The annual match with our friendly Rotarians is scheduled for November 2. If you're interested in kicking some Rotarian butt, please contact Bill Carinder billcarinder@yahoo.com . He's our Captain again his year.
Annual Club Roster: Don Crawford has updated the active club roster. A copy will be on the welcome table. Please stop by to ensure your info in correct and initial next to your name.
Name Badges: Diana updated all the badges and placed them back in their original numbered spots. If you have any trouble finding yours, please see Diana.
The Islander Sports Foundation will place our club photo on their website, to recognize the important roll the Optimists play in supporting youth sports in Coronado.
New Member Pins: We had a banner year for recruiting new members. Carla distributed letters of recognition and pins to all club members who sponsored a new member this past year. She did not read off the names, but it was a big stack of letters and pins. Well done to everyone who sponsored a new member.
Donate to Youth Activities
2019 Oratorical Contest Results
MeOptimism Declaimed, Wonderfully: Fourteen eager students, aged eleven to fourteen, from Sacred Heart Parish School and Coronado Middle School, spoke on the topic Is There A Fine Line Between Reality And Optimism? at the Coronado Optimists 48th Annual Oratorical Contest on February 27th in the Library’s Winn Room. All the students carried themselves well and dealt with this seemingly dry topic with winning charm, vivacity, and persuasive sincerity to the delight parents, siblings, and Optimists filling the Coronado Library’s Winn Room. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medallion winners were: Logan McKerring, Valeria Quiroga, and Marietta Renison. Bravos to all!
There were many memorable moments in the students’ 4 – 5 minute speeches. They quoted many historic optimists including Henry Ford, “…If you think you can or you can’t you are right,” “…Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently,” and added their own insightful aphorisms, “…Reality is life, optimism makes life better,” “…Reality is the facts of life that surround you, but optimism is a positive lens through which you view your reality,” “…Things happen because of our optimism in ourselves and in others,” “…If Jack can climb the beanstalk, you can get your job…,” “…it was through optimism and family love that we got through that reality…,” “….Optimism is a state of mind...that can steer you to accept any reality…,” and “I am optimistic that I have a chance of winning this contest today, and that is my way of showing optimism in reality.” Coronado
Optimist Club President Carla Fargo and President-elect Dennis Dorman presented each student a well-earned Certificate of Participation and thanked the parents and teachers for encouraging their students to enter the contest. All were very proud of their students, daughters and sons who are terrific young adults with bright futures
Judges for the contest were Mike Lavin, Paul Lull, and George Kunberger, with Sue Cargill serving as timekeeper; Marta Radcliffe, Julia Turpit, and Molly McKay as greeters/curators; Pat Kelly, Sergeant-At-Arms; Lee Cargill, photographer; Irish Flynn, contest scribe; and Gene Rathswohl, contest coordinator – Optimist Club members all.
Announcing the 2019 Oratorical Contest
The Wall! Immigrants!! Climate Change!! Violence and conflicts!! Poverty!! Security!! The list of human concerns goes on and on. What is the reality of these issues? Can we be optimistic about the future? Coronado school students are urged to express their own thoughts and concerns in the 2019 Coronado Optimists Oratorical Contest on the topic Is There A Fine Line Between Optimism And Reality?
This is the 48th year of the Coronado Optimists’ contest and will be held in the Winn Room at the Coronado Library on Wednesday, February 27th at 3:30 – 6:00p.m. The contest is an enjoyable but serious public-speaking opportunity for Coronado students to explore why they are so confident and optimistic about their future. All are invited to attend the contest, especially the students’ families and friends, and be amazed with the students’ insights and the quality of their speeches.
All Coronado school students, including home-schooled students, under the age of 19 as of October 1, 2018 (there is no minimum age) are eligible to participate and encouraged to apply. Students are urged to work with his/her teacher to prepare their speech.
The students’ 4 – 5 minute speeches are judged on content, presentation, poise, and overall effectiveness. All the students receive participation certificates and the top three students receive medallions and cash awards. The top two students can go on to compete at the Optimists zone and district level contests in April for college scholarships up to $2,500; the district level winner can participate in the Optimist Oratorical World Championship in July for a college scholarship up to $22,500.
The Application form, which includes all the contest rules, is below. It is also available from Gene Rathswohl, the contest coordinator, at erathswohl@san.rr.com.
Completed application forms should be mailed to:
Gene Rathswohl
924 Eighth Street
Coronado, CA 92118
Applications must be received by Friday, February 22, 2019.
A maximum of 20 students can participate, so the earlier an application is submitted the better. Feel free to contact Gene with any questions you have regarding the contest.
(image above is from the 2018 Oratorical Contest)
Optimist Club Sports Fiesta 2018 Results
Thank you to all participants of the Optimist Club of Coronado's Sports Fiesta 2018!
Optimist Sports Fiesta 2018
New and Old Events Highlight 2018 Optimists Club’s Sports Fiesta
It is historic. It is fun, and most importantly, it is an inspiring collaboration of local businesses joining forces to support Coronado’s youth.
Returning events include the 1-mile rough water ocean swim, a 5K run, and the longest, continuous running triathlon in the world. The triathlon consists of a 400 yard ocean swim, 1-mile run and 4-mile bike ride.
New events on Saturday, July 28, include a Cornhole tournament (youth and adult divisions) and Family Carnival. Both will run from noon - 4:00 pm at Sunset Park. Beach Volleyball at North Beach begins at 9 am. Pickleball and Lawn Bowling tournaments will be on Sunday, July 29th at the Coronado Marriott and Spreckels Community Center and Bowling Green, respectively.
For spectators and those who just want to hang out and enjoy a Coronado tradition, there will be a picnic area from noon to 4pm at Sunset Park. All are encouraged to bring their own food and drink, (no alcohol please) or they can order from Panera, which will be taking orders and delivering to Sunset Park July 28th.
Entrance fees range from $10 (for under 18) to $40 (day of registration). Some events are capped, so sign up early by clicking the Sports Fiesta link at the top of this page. Carnival games are just 50 cents and everyone wins a prize!
A Tribute to Optimist Stan Searfus
This morning we had a special presentation by Ben Ruef. His mother, Julie, is an Optimist Club member. Ben was one of the lucky kids who was mentored by our own Optimist, the late Stan Searfus. Ben produced a spectacular tribute video of Stan and gave us a showing. Excellent and inspiring work, Ben. You've created a lasting legacy for one of the good guys, our friend Stan.
CHS Girls Basketball
The CHS Girls Basketball Team came to update us on their season. We give them a check to help with their expenses. It's always a pleasure to see the youth we support at our meetings!
Coronado Junior Optimist Activities
Coronado's Junior Optimist Club, sponsored by the Optimist Club of Coronado, participated in group activities and team building with other Junior Optimist clubs from the San Diego/CALSOUTH area.
A nice turnout of 18 enthusiastic Junior Optimists and three Junior Optimist Club Advisors met at the Mission Bay Santa Clara Recreation Center near the Sail Bay area of the Park on January 20, 2018. Junior Optimists representing six California South (CALSO) District Junior Optimist Clubs shared a morning of fun activities led by Immediate Past President of Junior Optimist International, O'Hara Wickham, and current Junior Optimist International Director, and Coronado's own, Cole Mullins.
The group performed a team oriented, "ice breaker" activity searching the floor for answers to questions posed by the leaders. New friendships were made, and a lot of fun was had by all. The Club Members shared their recent and current Club activities and upcoming plans. The leaders shared news from the CALSO JOI District and Junior Optimist International and upcoming Scholarship Contests, including Essay, Oratorical, and the Reel Optimism Video Contest. A pizza luncheon was enjoyed by all before the teams headed out for the beach cleanup community service project. Books were collected for the inner city school in the CALSO JOI District wide 'Joy of Reading' service project. The event was concluded with a clean beach, happy Junior Optimists, and thanks from the Park Ranger for a job well done!
Optimist Sports Fiesta Video 2017
We are fortunate to have a member who has a very talented son! Ben Ruef documented our Sports Fiesta with a beautifully creative video. Thanks, Ben!!!
Installation Dinner Sep 18, 2017
On Monday at Spiros we had our annual Installation of the new board with President Crawford and release of the old board with President Zoll. Molly and Renee did a marvelous job setting up our party...food was delightful, and the company was superb. Matt Heinecke was a great addition to the evening of friendship and lovely sunset on the San Diego Bay. Again mission accomplished by Zoll and welcome Don and his team. Looking forward to another great year of Optimism.
Eagle Scout Candidate Jack Schiaffino
Jack Schiaffino, accompanied by his parents, came to share his completed Eagle Scout project at NASNI. He thanked the Optimist Club of Coronado for helping him with expenses of the project. Congratulations, Jack, on a job well done!