Governor Ed Murphy waited until the end of the evening to pull out his historical Abe Lincoln garb, and in the meantime we got to hear from some pretty awesome people:
- Our new District Board of Directors, made up of the Executive Board and all Club Presidents, was installed by Rocky Jackson, Optimist International Vice President.
- Lorraine Coots and Charlie Kissler explained how to host a successful NOW (New Optimists Welcome) activity. In March, 2010 their clubs Mason County and Pasco Tri-Cities gained 14 and 12 new members respectively. It takes at least 4 weeks to do it right; compile an invitation list, make connections and arrangements, hold the activity and follow-up. It's a great way to make your club feel proud of their accomplishments at the same time. Click here to download the NOW planning guide.
- Gay Enyeart and Jean Jensen continued their patented training to help club leaders be successful.
- Former NBA player Swen Nader, now known as the Coach's Coach gave a rocking keynote presentation on the meaning of SPORTs. He was engaging and funny and in his words the word 'sport' is an acronym for:
- S - Skill: Proper and quick execution
- P - Physical Conditioning: The ability to push yourself one more step
- O - Obsession: Commitment to become the best you can be
- R - Repetition: There is no substitute for hard work
- T - Teamwork: The strength of the wolf is in the pack
- Ardis Moody and Brett Rosenberger were spot on in a presentation and discussion about Bridging the Generation Gap. According to our new friends from the Nebraska District, Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y must learn to communicate by understanding the personality traits that separate them. They say that Gen Y's want to be involved in projects, plenty of them, and the bigger the better. We're Optimist Clubs - we can do that!
With a nod to the successful year just behind us, Immediate Past Governor Linda Jackson reported that according to the Scoreboard, the PNW District finished the year 3rd in membership growth of all Optimist International districts. For a comparison, our district growth percentage of 107.57% is higher than any districts the previous year.
While it was too early to discuss recognition for all clubs, it was not too early to recognize the Optimist of the Year for 2009-2010. Congratulations to Larry Blackburn, Immediate Past President of the Optimist Club of Caldwell, Idaho. The Caldwell Optimist Club added 19 members and Larry was personally involved in recruitment, retention, and new club building.
Speaking of new club building, the newest member of our Optimist family was introduced. Welcome to the Middleton Area Optimist Club of Idaho. They were represented at the first quarter meeting by President Patrick Halpin.
Be sure to represent your club at the next district meeting scheduled for January 21-22, 2011. Details will be posted on this site as soon as available.
