July 10, 2009

THIS FRIDAY

WE WILL MEET IN THE EAST ROOM of Tony’s as usual. Our program will focus on Junior Achievement (JA). As I understand it, a JA program was recently started in Hannibal and now organizers have their eyes upon Quincy. For those of you not aware of JA, this is what their website says, “JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.” Sounds like JA is right up our alley. See you in the East Room.

NO MEETING FRIDAY LAST

Hope you enjoyed the 4th of July weekend.

VIP DATES

7/11 – Hal & Debbie Broadwater celebrate their 39th anniversary

7/12 – Gary & Sandy Peters celebrate their 24th anniversary

7/13 – Pete & Teri Steinkoenig celebrate their 7th anniversary and the July Board Meeting @ The Pier

7/14 – You humble editor and his wife, Becky, celebrate their 19th anniversary and the President’s Party @ Dan Veihl’s Camp

7/21 – Night at the Gems Game

7/24 – ROAD TRIP to Gardner Museum

8/10 – August Board Meeting @ The Pier

9/11 & 12 – Smoke on the River

9/15 – Character Champions (9:00 a.m. start at QU)

11/7 – Veterans Day Parade

SMOKE ON THE RIVER

Smoke on the River is just around the corner. Here are a few details you need to know.

Friday Night – we start things off with a steak fry. Tickets are $15.00 each for a rib-eye steak and all the fixings. Serving will start at 6:00 p.m. and continue until we run out of food or takers. At 8:00 p.m. the band “Raised on Radio” will take the stage. This steak fry is done in conjunction with the steak cooking contest. Another thing we will be doing on Friday night is honoring a local veteran or current service member (Chairman Mel Dillman is seeking nominations). This person will receive a Big Green Egg Grill as part of our plans to recognize 9/11.

Saturday – the date of the actual contest. Gates will open at 9:00 a.m. and folks from the community will be able to view and taste throughout the day. Winners will be announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. Chairman Mel tells us he already has 10-12 Kansas City Barbecue Society judges and expects between 30-36 contestants. Prize money for the event is $5,000. Starting at 3:00 p.m. we have three bands (“Cheeseburgers”, Blue Healers”, and “Blue Eyed Soul”.)

Raffle Tickets – We will be selling raffle ticket ($5 each or three for $10). The prizes are:

1st – A $1,200, Big Green Egg Smoker and Grill

2nd – A $700, Traeger Smoker and Grill

3rd – Two third place winners. One to receive a $100 gift certificate from Hy-Vee and the other a $100 give certificate from County Market. Members are not required to sell the tickets but please keep in mind that we do not meet our goals without member participation. Tickets will be available this Friday (from Chairman Mel) if interested.

A Special Promotion - Charitable organizations can help us sell these tickets and will get to keep half of their sales. If you know a group interested, see Chairman Mel.

Finally – this event is designed to be “worker friendly” but we will need some workers – especially on Saturday and Saturday evening so please plan on being a part of the weekend.

All this information and much more can be found at the event website - www.smokeontheriver.net

CHARACTER CHAMPIONS

The date, time, and location for the 2009 Character Champions program has been set – Tuesday, September 15th (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) at Quincy University. Speakers and their chosen topic for the award winning program will include Olympian (wrestling) Jim Greunwald - “Character-Service-Leadership, Three Keys to Performance Excellence,” Olympian (volleyball) Caren Kemner - “Shared Wisdom from an Olympic Champion,” and QU Women’s basketball Coach JD Gravina - “Servant Leadership – Walking the Talk.” We expect participation from 10 area high schools and 600 student athletes this fall. This is the sixth program since the inception in 2004. (In case you didn’t catch it last week, our Character Champions program is to be recognized by the National Exchange Club as the Outstanding Youth Service Project. That my friends, is pretty cool stuff!)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Always good to offer a Yogi Berra quote when you don’t have anything else. Enjoy these two: “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.” And, “Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.” Both seem to fit well with our club. Why is that I wonder?

THIS & THAT

Enough written above and aside so not much in this space… We will name the Exchangite of the Year this Friday. (Just too many things on the agenda at the June 26th meeting so it had to be pushed back)… We’ll resume the 50/50 Ace of Spades drawing this week. Pot should be near or over $900. That would make your day wouldn’t it… This is my annual appeal – if you or you know of another Exchangite that has a significant event take place (birth of child or grandchild, promotion, retirement, death in the family, etc.), please let me know – do not assume I know it. I would like to share in this spot if I know. Thank you… Speaking of retirements, congratulations to former Fire Chief Scott Walker on his. Not sure if Scott intends on remaining in the club or not… That's all for now, 'til next time, may God’s love, grace, and peace be with you and the ones you love.