Bingo: Oct. 26- Team Four We need help!
Breakfast: Oct. 27- Bryan Chapman, Rick Gowdy, and Jim Green
Program- Valerie Zumwalt with COMO Leads
Dues are now due for the new year! The prices remain at $80 for an individual, $120 for a couple and can be paid by check to P.O. Box 201, Ashland MO 65010 or online at https://form.jotform.com/72136728772160.
The Halloween Spooktakular will be held Wed. Oct. 31st in the Optimist building from 5:00-7:30 p.m. If you are interested in helping, please contact Ernie Wren at erniewren@gmail.com.
There will not be a Breakfast meeting on Nov. 3rd because of a building rental.
Veteran's Breakfast will be held Nov. 12th at the building from 7:00-9:00 a.m. Lena Long has agreed to lead on this, but we will need lots of people to cook, serve, and help with clean up. Please come to honor our Veterans and invite any Veterans that you know to come for a delicious and free meal.
Bingo this week was up, with 133 players and plenty of help on the floor and in the kitchen.
Mike Fulca and Cody Hackmann were kind enough to allow me to help them make their incredible breakfast this morning. We were glad to welcome our new Lt. Governor, Lee Fritz from Fulton.
Barrett shared an Optimist Board meeting report from our meeting on Oct. 11th. Eric Barmann turned in a resignation for his Board position so that he can step into the Treasurer position on the Board. After we accepted his resignation, we also voted to accept Greg Hawkins to fill the position. The Board also received notice from John Travelos that he will no longer be able to head up our basketball program. Kyle Baker will post the applications on the website. He and John are willing to work with anyone who is thinking about helping with this. The Board accepted three new members: John Dougan, Gail, Quigley, and Don Logan.
Barrett also read a nice Thank You letter from Cray Estes who played a variety of instruments at our Installation of Officers Celebration on Sept. 30th.
Our speaker this morning was Bob Forsee, who has made five long distance international motorcycle trips, starting in 2006 after he retired when he traveled 4,200 miles through Mexico and Central America with a partner. Bob said that it helped to have someone along on his first trip, but he also realized that he preferred to travel at his own speed and with more ability to set his own agenda. Two years later, Bob rented a motorcycle through Horizons Unlimited and flew into Buenos Aires to start his 5,100-mile ride to Machu Picchu and back. His biggest issue on the trip involved the requirement in Argentina that all vehicles must carry a fire extinguisher.
It was another five years before Bob took his next trip, which started in Johannesburg, South Africa. From there, he traveled to Chobe Park in Botswana and on to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, which he said were incredible. During this trip, he traveled down the highway past elephants and giraffes. Two years later, he joined nine other riders for a tour of Eastern Europe, including eight days traveling from Vienna, Austria to Prague in the Czech Republic. After the others finished their tour, Bob continued to Budapest, Hungary and Lake Balaton before returning his bike to Ljubljana, Slovenia. His final trip in March of this year was a three-week trip to Vietnam, from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Hanoi. He enjoyed traveling the country and meeting the people that filled the news when he was younger.
He was originally drawn to the idea of long-distance, international motorcycle travel after reading Ted Simon's book "Jupiter's Travels". Mr. Simon wrote the book after his 78,000-mile trip through forty-five countries starting in 1973, which required four years to complete. Bob also recommends "Lois on the Loose" by Lois Price, who rode from Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina by herself in 2003.
When Bob finished his presentation, he drew for our Attendance drawing. Roy Williams had a chance at riches, but Janet Popejoy was thrilled to say "It pays to attend" when her number was drawn second.
Letitia DenHartog