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.