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Upcoming Birthdays:
George Hurlburt (Jan 30th), Tim Persson (Feb 1st), Archie Smith (Feb 2nd), Andy Hett (Feb 3rd), Kevin Stockham (Feb 5th), John Holthus (Feb 8th), Bill Parker (Feb 10th), Richard Wilborn (Feb 10th), Andy Edwardson (Feb 14th), Jerry Meng (Feb 15th), Ken Sims (Feb 15th), Chuck Singleton (Feb 23rd), James Nelson (Feb 26th), Ken Cotton (Feb 27th), | |
Optimist of the Year - Rick Stein !!!Publish Date: 2012-01-03 Rick Stein was recently awarded the Optimist of the Year for his outstanding comittment to the youth of McPherson County through volunteerism, charity, and an incredibly caring heart. We want to thank Rick for all he does and to congratulate him on his much deserved award. Rick received a plaque to display in his home or office.
Doug Curtright was also awarded a Plaque and a lifetime Optimist International membership as the 2010-2011 outgoing President of the McPherson Optimist Club.
Brad Miller was awarded a lifetime membership to Optimist International for his contibutions to the club as treasurer for the past three years.
  
| 2011 Gift Program Spreads Christmas Joy!Publish Date: 2011-12-19
The 2011 Gift Program set several new records. First, we had more Optimist Club members than ever involved in helping this year. From taking intake forms, to selling tickets and providing desserts for Family Night at the Legion, to shopping, wrapping and distributing the gifts. The commitment from our membership was AWESOME!
Secondly, we have never helped so many kids. This year, we bought and wrapped gifts for 92 teens and 20 Angel Tree kids.
WOW! 112 kids are better off as a result of your efforts. We hope to see you all next year!
Here are some photos from the various stages of this year's project:
    
    
| Family Night another huge success!Publish Date: 2011-11-21
Wow! The McPherson Optimist Club came through again for the youth in our community. The Family Night at the Legion allowed us to raise over $1,000 for this year's Gift Program. We put out a plea for desserts at the last minute, and man did you respond! The American Legion members will have desserts to eat from now until Christmas out of the excess left over! Way to go. A special thanks to Brad Miller and Ardie Streit for thinking of a plan to sell last minute tickets to the event. Every dollar helps. Make plans to help on the other steps in the project. We're expecting a record number of teens to buy for this year.
Here are some photos from this year.
  
| 2011 Gift Program is underway!Publish Date: 2011-10-26
The Gift Program for this year is off and running and there are several ways you can help us make this important project a success again this year.
The first step in the process is to support our Family Night at the American Legion. This year's family night is scheduled for November 17, from 5 to 6:30 pm. We've been told this may be the LAST Family Night for the Legion, so let's help them go out with a bang!
We need to furnish 1 dessert for every 10 tickets we sell. Last year we sold 500 $4 tickets and this year we would like to beat that number. If we sell 600 tickets, we would need 60 desserts! Wouldn't that be cool? We get a 50/50 split on advance tickets sales, so we really need your support.
Sign up sheets for desserts and for working at the Legion on the 17th are available on the website now. We need help bussing the tables and cleaning up afterwards, so if you can, we'd really like to have you sign up to help. We may go out for beverages afterwards as well! Be sure to wear one of your Optimist shirts at the Family Night.
Then, the next step in the process is to help take intake forms at the Senior Center. The first date that they need help is on Monday, November 21. Possible dates to help include: November 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30, from 9 am to 3 pm, and on December 1 and 2 from 1 to 3:30 pm. There are sign up sheets on the web for this as well.
I will post the times to buy and wrap the presents later in November.
This is a very fun and rewarding project. Try to get involved and work on several aspects of the project if you can.
Jack Rader
| Archie's Team blazes to win in 2011 Fall ClassicPublish Date: 2011-10-04
The two man team of Archie Smith and Jack Rader (did I mention that Tony Fawl was on the team, too?) won the prestigious McPherson Optimist Club Fall Classic played at Hesston Golf Course on September 30. Their score of 4 under par set a modern day record for the McPherson Optimist Club golf outings. The day started with Archie making a birdie on the first hole, and five other birdies were recorded by the team. The second place team was Ardie Streit and Dennis Shaw, followed by the team of Monte Koehn and Chad Clark. The team of Doug Curtright and Dell Reece finished one stroke out of third. Keith Janzen had the low score for someone not on one of the top three teams with an 82. Dell Reece and Doug Curtright each shot 83 and tied for second. The weather was perfect for golf and everyone had a good time. Make plans to join us next spring when the 2012 tournaments get started.
 
| McPherson Optimist Club Memorial Golf Tournament, July 18, 2011Publish Date: 2011-07-07
Please make plans to join us for the 2011 Memorial Golf Tournament at Turkey Creek. This tournament honors all our deceased members this year, which include Fred Officer, John Watkins, Greg Willard and Tom Hunter.
It has a great history of honoring our past members as well as being a fun activity for all our club members.
Please put a team together and join us! Also we are still looking for prizes, so if you can help in that area we'd appreciate your help.
Let any of the Board members know if you plan to participate.
Here is copy of the flyer about the tournament
0623181252.pdf
| Team Goldie wins summer golf outingPublish Date: 2011-07-05
The three man team of Tom Goldsmith, Keith Janzen and John Holthus BLAZED to an amazing score of only 4 over par to capture the 2011 McPherson Optimist Club Summer Golf tournament. A total of eight three person teams participated and even though the temperature hovered close to the century mark, the players felt the outing was a lot of fun. Individual hole prize winners included: Closest to the Pin #2, Mike Nieman, #6 Donna Viola, #12 Tom Goldsmith and #15 John Holthus. Longest Drive on #18 went to Bryan Kynaston and longest putt on #18 went to George Hurlburt.
Make plans to join the group in the fall for our next outing.
    
  
| Optimists Feed the KidsPublish Date: 2011-05-23 Recently the Optimist club fed all the kids and staff at Washington Elementry School. The kids were excited for their hot dog and chips. Almost 300 people fed and lots of fun for all. Later the kids went out to have their field day. Many thanks to the members who helped with this event it was certainly appreciated by all the kids and staff.
| 2010 Gift Program again brightens Christmas for manyPublish Date: 2010-12-16
This year's Gift project provided gifts to 76 needy teens plus 10 Angel Tree kids, which is a record number.
The members of our club were extremely generous with their time and talents. Again this year, our club members helped raise money for the project, take down info from the parents and guardians to determine what type of gifts to buy, bought the gifts, wrapped them and then delivered them. It was a great way to help the financially needy youth in our community. Here are some photos from the final stages of this year's project.
    
   
| Attention Optimists--We want your help identifying needy teens for this years Gift project.Publish Date: 2010-11-29
The link below is an application that can be used to submit a teen's name to receive gifts this year at Christmas. The criteria for eligibility is subjective, we just want to help as many needy teens as possible. If you want to ask one of the Optimist board members before approaching what you believe is a family or individual teen in need of help this Christmas, please feel free to do so. The key dates are December 6, which is when we'd like to have the application submitted and December 18, which is when the gifts need to be picked up at the Senior Center.
2010GIFTintakeapplication.pdf
| 2010 Family Night raises over $1,000 for the Gift ProgramPublish Date: 2010-11-23
The 2010 Gift Program got off to at great start with another successful Family Night at the American Legion. This year's event raised over $900 for the Gift project, and along with some other donations that night, we are now at over $1,000 for the cause. Thanks go to our friends at the Legion and to all the Optimist Club members that helped again this year. The American Legion has put on their Family Night calendar for 2011.
  
| Chris Adrian the Head Coach of McPherson High School SoccerPublish Date: 2010-10-05 The October 5th Program Was Chris Adrian the Head Coach of McPherson High School Soccer. Other business included a sign-up for High School Cross Country, reminder of Board Meeting Thursday, 100% Tuesday October 12 and The Get Fit McPherson Challenge. Hope to see every Optimist at the next meeting!
| "Pipes" leads his team to victoryPublish Date: 2010-09-14
The team of Jamie \"Pipes\" Piper, Chad Clark, Donna Viola and James Nelson won the last \"major\" golf outing of the Optimist year with a tremendous come from behind victory at Hesston Golf course. Their winning score edged out the team of Keith Janzen, Neil Colle, Doug Curtright and Jack Rader by three strokes. It all came down to a difficult six inch putt for par to seal the deal. In reality, the contest was won on the 340 yard par four 15th, when a massive drive by Piper put the team in position to make an eagle, which they accomplished. Under the modified scoring for this tournament, that score netted the team 8 strokes under par for the hole. Great job folks!
In addition to the team contest, closest to the pin on number 4 was won by Doug Curtright, closest to the pin on the second shot on number 11 was won by Chad Alexander, aka, \"the other Chad\", and the closest to the pin on number 17 and longest putt on number 18 were both won by Jack Rader. The questionable long putt on number 18 by John Klenda rimmed out. Nice try John!
As usual the tournament generated a lot of interesting golf and a bunch of good laughs. We\'ll look forward to seeing you next year.
| Optimists Compete in United Way TriathalonPublish Date: 2010-08-27 Three members of the McPherson Optimist club join together to compete in the 2010 United Way Triathalon.
Jack Rader, Doug Curtright, and Keith Janzen joined a group of 152 individulas and teams on August 21st to participate in a triathalon that consist of a 200 meter swin, a 7 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. Jack completed the first leg of the event by swimming the 200 meters in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds. Next Keith rose to the challenge of completing a 7 mile bike ride in 22 mintes and 19 seconds. Last, but not least, Doug complete the last leg of the race by finishing a 2 mile run in 18 minutes and 26 seconds. Their total race time inculding transitions from one event to another was 47 minutes and 59 seconds. Overall, the Optimist team earned 5th place in the team category but were only 4 minutes off of the winning time. Excellent guys!!! Knowing these guys this will only inspire them to train harder next year and take the win for the Optimist in 2011.
On a side note, after Jack completed the 200 meter run he decided to continue on and finish the race individually by completing the bike and running portion of the race on his own. At the end of the race he and Doug finished side by side. WOW!! Great job Jack.
| Optimist Club gets Visit from the Ulster ProjectPublish Date: 2010-07-19 For seveal years the McPherson Optimist Club has given a donation to the Ulster Project. Last week some of the kids in the program came to our morning meeting and shared their experiences.
The Optimist Club was once again able to give them a $100 donation to help further their efforts.
For more information on the Ulster Project please visit www.ulsterproject.org.
| Streit's Drives leads to Optimist Golf Tournament VictoryPublish Date: 2010-06-04
The long drives of Ardie Streit helped her team win the prestigious Spring Optimist Golf Outing held on May 30 at the Salina Municipal Golf Course. She and her teammates (Joe Johnston, Jack Rader and Doug Curtright) combined to defeat the extremely tough field of competitors.
In addition to several massive drives by Ardie, Joe Johnston eagled the tough Par 5 number 7 hole. Second place in the tournament went to the team of Dennis Shaw (who shot the low score for the day, a 69), Neil Colle and Brad Miller. Neil was closest to the pin on number 11, Keith Janzen was closest to the pin (and almost on the green) on number 17, and Doug Curtright had the longest putt on number 18. Make plans to join the group for our next tournament, which will be held in the fall.
| 2010 Easter Egg Hunt Filled with FunPublish Date: 2010-04-13
The weather was great and so was the crowd as this year\'s Easter Egg Hunt went off without a hitch. The kids had big smiles on their faces and went home with full tummies and baskets. We\'ll see you next year.
    
  
| Mid America Classic 2010Publish Date: 2010-04-12 The 2010 Mid America Classic welcomed two new schools, Beloit and Olathe South to the 15th annual tournament. Perhaps the biggest winner was the weather, as a snow storm moved in the first day of the tournament and forced a change in schedule for only the second time in tournament history.
Newcomer Olathe South (ranked #1 in Class 6A) opened the tournament with an impressive dismantling of Hays. The Falcons jumped to a 16-3 lead after one quarter and 32-12 at half, while cruising to a 75-37 victory. The second game of the day pitted the 4th seeded Buhler against the 5th seed, Salina Central. The game was close throughout, with Buhler leading by 4 at half time. Central would tie it up at the end of three and pull away to a 48-40 win. It was the first time Central had ever won a first round game at the MAC, in their last year as a participant. The third game of the first night was a dandy. Newcomer Beloit, ranked in the top 5 of class 3A, took on perennial 4A power Andale. Beloit built a 7 point half-time lead and would hold on in the second half, to win 39-36. The final game of the night featured host, McPherson, taking on fellow AVL D-2 foe Valley Center. While on paper Valley Center appeared overmatched, they played the Bullpups tough. McPherson led 8-6 after one, 19-14 at the half, and 30-21 after three, before pulling away to win 43-29.
With the storm continuing on Friday, the consolation game between Andale and Valley Center was postponed as both schools were unable to make it the Roundhouse, due to the heavy snow in their areas. The other consolation game featured Hays and Buhler. Hays jumped to a 20-11 lead after one, only to see the Crusaders comeback to take a33-31 halftime lead. The lead would grow throughout the third quarter and Buhler hung on in the 4th to capture a 63-56 win. The first semi-final game as never a close game as Olathe South ran away from Salina Central for an easy 57-32 win after leading 38-10 at halftime. In a highly anticipated match-up in the other semi-final, McPherson had a surprisingly easy time dispatching the Beloit Trojans 41-24. After leading 22-16 at half, the Pups outscored the Trojans 15-3 in the 3rd quarter.
Saturday brought 5 games in one day. A 10:00 A.M. game between Valley Center and Andale, found the Indians too much for the Hornets as Valley Center with Andale winning 44-27. Andale led 23-11 at half and never looked back. Valley Center found itself having to play the 7th place game at 2:00. In the only overtime game of the tournament Hays was able to turn back Valley Center 45-43. A game tieing basket at the end of the overtime, that would have sent the game to a 2nd overtime, was ruled after the buzzer. The game featured numerous lead changes. In a highly competitive 5th place game, the Andale Indians avenged an earlier season loss to Buhler with a 50-47 win. The game was tied at 17 after one and Andale forged a 30-24 half time lead. The Indians held the lead throughout the 2nd half and held on for the 3 point win. The finals brought a nice crowd to the famous McPherson Roundhouse in a match-up of two of the top 10 ranked teams in the state. Olathe South would jump out to a 15-0 lead, before the Bullpups would start working on a comeback. Trailing 19-7 after the first quarter, the Pups would outscore the Falcons by 5 through the next two quarters. Early in the fourth quarter with the Roundhouse buzzing, the Falcons found their lead down to one. But, that was as close as the Bullpups would come as they fouled down the stretch for a final, which was very deceiving score, of 52-38.
The all tournament team:
Stephanie Patterson Buhler
Katelyn Loecker McPherson
Brooke Rinehart Olathe South
Kelsey Balcom Olathe South
Natalie Knight Olathe South
Casyn Buckman McPherson
Free Throw Contest:
3rd Carissa McMillan, Salina Central
2nd Shelli Martin, Andale
1st Kalli Kruse, Beloit
3 Point Shooting Contest:
3rd Tegan Dunston, Beloit
2nd Megan Balcom, Olathe South
1st Natalie Knight, Olathe South
The John Watkins Sportsmanship Award was won by Beloit.
| McPherson Optimist Club supports the McPherson Baseball AssociationPublish Date: 2010-03-12 At the March 2010 board meeting the McPherson Optimist Club approved a $500 gift to the McPherson Baseball Association to help support their efforts to get kids involved in baseball and encourage fitness, health, and friendly competition.
| Optimists Help MHS Kids go to Las VegasPublish Date: 2010-01-14 A group of students from MHS will travel to Las Vegas on January 18th, to compete in the National Association of Home Builders Carpentry Technology Contest. Arlan Penner, Instructor of the Carpentry Technology Program at MHS, will lead Preston Mossman, Jacob Reese, Joel Piper, Adam Porter, and Max Archerto to present a proposal to judges regarding codes, pricing, scheduling, and general management of a construction project as part of a national competition of high school students in similar programs. Lavon Ediger, a long time home builder in McPherson and currently a Carpentry Program Counsel Member, invited Arlen and the group of students to the Optimist club in a January meeting where they presented their proposal to a group of about 50 Optimists. The Optimists asked questions of the students with relation to their proposal and were impressed with their preparation, knowledge, and ability to handle pressure as they were challenged by questions from Optimist members with experience, either personally or professionally, in the housing and cunstruction markets of McPherson. The group requested assistance from the McPherson Optimist Club for the expenses invloved in their trip to Las Vegas. The Optimist Club donated $500 to support their effort.
| 2009 Gift Program helps record number of teensPublish Date: 2010-01-04
The number of needy teenagers in McPherson County has never been greater. This year, we were able to help bring a little Christmas cheer to 65 teens in the area with our Gift Project. From the Family Night in mid November to the distribution of the gifts just before Christmas, we had nearly all of our members involved in some aspect of the project. Thanks go to all of you who spent evenings and weekends helping make this year\'s project a success. Here are some photos from the various stages of the project.
    
    
   
| Family Night at the Legion kicks off 2009 Gift ProgramPublish Date: 2009-11-26 For the fifth year in a row, the American Legion partnered with the McPherson Optimist Club to raise funds for our Gift program at the Legion\\\'s November Family Night. This year we sold over 447 advanced tickets, provided dozens of delicious desserts and again helped bus tables and clean up afterwards. Due to the efforts of our members, we raised over $1,150 for our Gift program, the second year in a row that we have exceeded the $1,100 level. Here are some photos from this year\\\'s event. Keep an eye out for more opportunities to help with this project over the next several weeks.
   
| Optimist Club Recognize Past LeadersPublish Date: 2009-10-22 At the weekly breakfast meeting of the McPherson Opimist Club two special members were recognized for their outstanding leadership and dedication to the club.
Pete Brubaker has served the club during the past year as President. Pete did a great job of keeping the Tuesday breakfast meetings fun and exiting with his "This Day in History" opening to each meeting and the special attention he gave each Optimist member and guest as they were attending the meetings. Pete reigned over one of the largest membership drives in recent history and focused on being active in nearly all Optimist events throughout the year. Pete was awarded a plaque recognizing his committment to the Optimist club.
Keith Janzen was recognized for four years of service as the club Secretary and Treasurer. Keith has been the "man behind the scenes" for all of the Optimist activities. Keith not only managed the clubs finances but acted as the primary communicator for nearly all club communications. Keith has been an invaluable asset to the club through his intense focus on details and his overwelming commitment to the Optimist club. Keith remains an active member of the club and will continue to be a dependable and motivated participant in many club activities.
THANKS TO BOTH PETE AND KEITH FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP!
 
| 2009 Optimist of the Year - Doug CurtrightPublish Date: 2009-10-22 Doug Curtright was awarded the 2009 Optimist of the year by an overwhelming vote from his fellow Optimist members and the board of the McPherson Optimist Club. Doug has shown outstanding leadership as he led the club to one of the most successful membership drives in club history. Doug developed and implemented the "Nine Holes for New Members" membership drive (see article on the McPherson Optimist Club Website). The board set a goal of twenty new members for the 2009 membership drive and Doug took that to heart. He made each week an exciting time to be involved with the membership drive by creating four teams and having them compete against each other to get the best weekly scores. The losing team each week had to have their picture taken in a stylish plaid jacket and have their picture posted on the club website. In the end, Doug led us to succeed with our goal of twnety new members. Doug is also very active in other Optimist activities and supports all Optimist functions with a giving attitude.
THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO DOUG!
| Optimist Club Support United Way of McPherson CountyPublish Date: 2009-10-22 At the October 20th meeting of the McPherson Optimist Club the United Way of McPherson County was awarded a check for $500 in support of the many great things they do in support of the youth and families of McPherson county. Thanks United Way, we appreciate all you do.
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