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| Ditch Lily Jazz Band at PNW District Convention |
Thursday morning, the start of the convention was a golf tournament in Chilliwack with 9 linksters competing: Brian Phillips (Chiliwack), Peter Smith (Coquitlam), Dick Brodie (Mission), Rose Brodie (Mission), Ray Hilt (Oregon City), Larry Blackburn (Caldwell), Bill French (Hillsboro), Rox Huxley (OI President-Elect), Steve Enyeart, Vancouver). Rose won for the women and Larry took the Callaway flight. He even has a trophy with his name on it proving he is not the worst ever golfer in our district!
Convention highlights included a boat ride by Optimist member Tom from Chilliwack; what a great treat. We went up the Fraser River several miles enjoying scenery, fish and birds. Then the barbecue on Friday evening; wow; what great food, fun, entertainment and friendship. Hot off the grill were salmon and chicken, plus the super popular fresh corn on the cob, potato salad, rolls, many desserts including ice cream, cake and more. Four teams headed up by Ron Huxley, Bill French, Larry Blackburn and Ed Murphy battled in several events including corn chucking and others; the final result was a first place tie for all teams. Talk about tough competition.
District meeting events included three tries in getting someone to step up and take the role of Governor Elect and finally Fred Wallace said yes. What a great guy to lead us, along with his lovely wife Teresa. He will also serve as District Leadership Development and President of the Gresham Club; talk about an Optimist commitment!
OI President Elect Ron Huxley gave a truly inspiring message Saturday evening. He is a man who suffered personal tragedy in his life and grown tremendously. At age 11, while camping in the back yard at a friend’s house, the tent caught fire and he was burned severely resulting in numerous operations, skin grafts, severe pain and years of medical treatment. His father not only saved his life by pulling him out of the tent to safety but also has remained a strong influence. Ron emphasized the importance of social media in our organization and recommended we Optimists start using our own language; ie, popular on line abbreviations should be modified for us as follows: lol = “Let Optimists Lead”; OMG = “Optimists Must Grow”; and others. We fellow members have a lot of work to do in strengthening and growing our wonderful organization and the work starts at every club level. This leader has visited 29 districts and said ours is a very strong one with excellent leadership. Thank you Ron for joining with the best district in OI!
Photo courtesy of Dallis Winsor, President, Kermodei Optimist Club of Terrace. He said the students were truly excellent.
