Bingo: Nov. 23- Team Four
Breakfast: Nov. 24- Deb Bowden, Mike and Traci Howard
Program- Tracy Eichorn- Mid Missouri Art Alliance
We're still accepting payment for dues for 2019. The prices remain at $80 for an individual or $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.
We held our annual Veteran's Day breakfast in conjunction with the Ashland American Legion on Monday morning and had an excellent crew in the kitchen, led by Lena Long. The FFA students from the Southern Boone High School showed up to help also. We served around 60 vets and their families. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped!
Thursday night Janet Popejoy, Bill Lloyd, and Ernie Wren attended the kick-off program for this year's COMO Gives and received our new books, plus plenty of information and good food. If you know of any place to share a book, please contact Janet. This year the program will start Nov. 27, which is Giving Tuesday and continue through Dec. 31.
For those who are interested, there will be a Zone Three Meeting on Nov. 29 at Backyard BBQ. This is a chance to meet other Optimists from our area and enjoy some good food.
Bingo on Friday was well attended, with 152 players. There was a good crew on the floor, who sold seven special games, and in the kitchen where more than $600 was brought in.
Breakfast this morning was provided by our wonder woman, Lena Long, who did the whole breakfast by herself! She does such a great job in the face of every difficulty that is thrown at her and deserves a huge thank you!
Our speakers this morning were Pat and Lori Concannon. They are involved in prison ministry, working with Phoenix Programs, Love Inc. and in2Action. Lori spoke first about her background as a product of alcoholism in her family and how, through Alnon, she was fortunate to find her way. While she was helping in her church's Bible study, she discovered a service they were providing at Algoa Prison to inmates. Prisoners can sign up to participate in a twenty-four-week session which includes small group therapy, worship services on Wednesdays, and AA meetings on Saturdays. Lori has seen how much this program can change lives.
Pat has worked more with in2Action, a group that works to help people after they have been released from prison to help them stay out. This program was initiated by Dan Hanneken who had received his degree in Social Work after getting out of prison. It utilizes a three-phase program to help change lives after prison. In the first phase, participants live in a special house where they are provided with clothing and other personal needs. In exchange they are required to participate in classes, be in by a 6:30 curfew, and attend weekly church and Bible study. For the first month, they are not allowed to have a job to give them time to work through some of their issues. After they finish phase one, participants are required to get a job and start paying fees toward their housing. The fee is low enough to be affordable within their income, but it is enough to make them budget what they receive. The third phase requires them to start saving toward their future and save between $2,000 and 2,500. The program has proven itself by cutting recidivism rates by half.
After Pat and Lori finished speaking, they drew for our Attendance drawing and I'm sure there was no collusion when they drew Jan Palmer's number, but Jan was still heard to say, "It pays to attend!"
Remember that Janet is working on a program called 100,000 Thank You’s which requires interested people to write a thank you note to our troops overseas during the holiday season. These need to be given to Janet at the meeting next week.
Letitia DenHartog