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Saturday, October 10, 2009

PNW District Governor makes a quick trip to Coos Bay, Oregon

On Wednesday,  I set out to make my first official visit as the governor of the Pacific Northwest District, a journey that took me more than10 hours away from home.  The twist to the story is I had to be back in the Boise area by Saturday morning in order to fulfill my "real" work commitments.  It was a whirlwind tour, but it was fun!  Sue Thompson, Lt. Governor, Zone 7 joined me on the trip.  She was the official photographer and I will follow up with pictures when I receive them from her. 

Our first stop was in the Portland area where we visited the Gresham Optimist Club led by President Don Weston.  It was a busy morning for the Gresham group as they had two guest speakers and me!  I very quickly said hello, presented Zone 5 Lt. Governor Bertie Slauson with her official lt. governor pin and then sat down to enjoy the program. Student of the month Nche Omyima explained that her success as a student was largely inspired by her parents encouragement to do her best.  She was followed by another well-spoken young woman Kayla McGannon, Advocacy Director for Stand for Children who discussed solutions for keeping children in school. 

We left Gresham enroute to our primary destination of the Bay Area Optimist Club of Coos Bay to attend a NOW activity.  It was so hard to drive by the Optimist Clubs of Albany, Lebanon and Salem, but I was too afraid that I would be late for my commitment in Coos Bay at 5:00 pm. It turned out that we made a wise choice as we we arrived just in time to prepare the presentation and create some enthusiasm with the Coos Bay Optimists.  We hope our efforts will garner 3 or 4 new members. 

The next morning we were on to the Optimist Club of Roseburg where they graciously allowed me to speak to my heart's content.  It was so much fun meeting with them.  Led by President Kelly Jantzen, they were by far the youngest group of Optimist Club members that we had the honor to meet on this trip and truly represent the upcoming leadership of our district.  I hope to see them and all of my new Optimist friends at all of our district meetings. 

How did our trip end?  Right at 60 hours later we were home after a whirlwind of Optimism. I promise to spend more time on my next visits and I am looking forward to meeting more Optimist Club members very soon.  Until then it is up to you to Inspire Optimism in your community and in your club.  ~ Linda Jackson, Governor, PNW District - Optimist International

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