Ashland Optimist Bulletin August 31, 2024
Breakfast: Sept. 7- Bernie Bartel, Donna Wobbe, Taylor Elliott
Speaker- Brandy Clark- Primary School Reading Program
We will have Bingo this Friday, Sept. 6th. If you normally help and will not be available, please let Barrett Glascock or me know.
The 2024 Ashland Fall Fest will be in two weeks, on Sept. 14th, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Leigh has a sign-up sheet to make sure shifts are covered. Remember, we will not have a breakfast meeting that morning since the building is rented but we will need people to help with set-up before 9:00.
The 60th Anniversary Celebration for our club will be held at the Optimist building on Sunday, Sep. 29 starting at 5:30. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for kids and the meal will be catered by Andrew Little. Leigh Kottwitz is taking reservations through Sep. 14th so we can get a head count, and she has a sign-up sheet for desserts.
Leigh Kottwitz, Chris Felmlee, and Loren Plank provided an interesting breakfast this morning of breakfast casseroles, french toast, and fresh fruit.
Bruce Glascock gave a report on last weekend's Cattlemen's Day Rodeo, which had record numbers both nights. He reported that we have had record crowds every year for the past three years. Concession sales, under Amanda Crocker and with plenty of help from several of our members, brought in $19,000, compared to $10,000 last year. The Beer garden did equally well, selling out Friday night. This year the rodeo had trams to carry people to the gates from parking at the High School and Middle School and 1,400 boxes of popcorn were made by our crew at the Optimist building to be sold at the Concession booths.
Barrett reported that we are receiving donations in memory of Anthony Reeder, whose Celebration of Life was held at our building and $100 from NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) who used our building earlier in the year for their program.
Leigh shared that Madeline Bloss is making arrangements to use the school gyms in November- February for our youth basketball program. Registration and for requests to help info.
We didn't originally have a program scheduled, but Chris Felmlee's brother, Josh, who is a Civil Engineer with the military, was willing to share his story while he was in town visiting his brother. They grew up in St. Louis, but when Chris got his degree, Josh chose to join the Navy, where he served for nine years in Corpus Christie, TX, followed by time in Japan serving on the USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the 7th Fleet in the Pacific. He also served for three years in Sicily, where he married his wife who had stayed in touch with him since they worked together at a bar in Corpus Christie. When he came back to the states, he went to school and got his degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Texas in Arlington. He currently is a contractor with the Department of Defense and started working in Okinawa with the Air Force. When things got tough during Covid, he transferred to Belgium, working with the Navy. They held their first Air Show after fifteen years there, which involved seven different countries. After five years overseas, he returned to Key West Florida, but couldn't get housing, so went to help rebuild Tyndall AFB after it was hit by Hurricane Michael in 2018. As part of the "Installation of the Future", Josh has helped with the Child Development Center and rebuilding 144 new buildings, including a community college, bowling alley, and library.
In sixty-five days, Josh and his family will be relocating to a base in Aviano, Italy, close to Venice, where he will work with six active air bases in five European countries and where he hopes to spend the next seven years. After Josh finished sharing his adventures and answering questions, he drew for the Attendance drawing. Chad Robinson, Shawn Steelman, and Jim Bowden had their chance at riches, but with their absence, the pot will have a chance to grow. Since it was the last meeting of the month, Barrett figured the poker pot. Tabi DenHartog had a pair of fours, but was beaten by Dan Kennish with his pair of Kings before saying, "I've never won the poker pot, but it pays to attend!"
Letitia DenHartog
ashlandoptimist.org
