Timely Christmas Story

Fellow Optimists.

This is a wonderful (and timely) story about how collaboration works.

The Great Falls Uptown Optimist club helped form a JOOI Club.  The JOOI Club then helped the Girl Scouts who in turn helped kids learn about scouting in one of our elementary schools here in Great Falls.

Just look at the smiles on these young girl's faces.  And I bet our JOOI club members received a great deal of satisfaction from their efforts.

Merry Christmas and thanks for all you do.

Governor Dan Petersen
Let's Go !!!   Be the Best !!!

Welcome to the 2014-15 Optimist Year ... Lets Go!!! Be the Best!!!

My friends and fellow Optimists.

 
I am so honored to be your Governor for 2014-15. I think about all the great Governors that have preceded me and it inspires me to
BE THE BEST ! ! ! !

I have been an Optimist for many years, but only recently have I spent any time thinking about the benefits of being one.

Obviously helping the kids in our community is a wonderful thing to experience. We all take great pride when we watch them perform in our local variety shows. Or see them playing baseball at the parks we've developed. Or listening to their speeches at the Oratorical contests. We truly believe that offering these kids positive alternatives will help all of our futures.

Another benefit is the fellowship involved. Some of my best friends are fellow Optimists and I believe most of us can say that. Meeting with the same people, working on projects, sharing sense of family.

Developing leadership skills is another benefit. You can see a member's confidence increase significantly after becoming a club committee chair. And members have the ability to hone these leadership skills even further by becoming a President of their Club, getting involved at the District and even at the International level.

And finally, last - but certainly not least - living a life of optimism and focusing on the positive aspects of life is way more rewarding than the alternative.

My theme this year is LET'S GO ! ! ! ! So that's what I want us to do.

---

LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO

start a new project get more members to help more kids build new clubs in new communities to help more kids have some fun at District Meetings BE THE BEST

Message from Governor Glen

Fellow Optimists

We are now in the final weeks of our Optimist year.  The Optimists of this District have worked hard to maintain the programs that they have for our youth and introduced new programs in their communities.  I thank them for that.

Now is the time when a lot of us return to regular meetings after a break for the summer.  This is the time to add new members for our busy fall season. 

At the end of June when I introduced my "Banner Patch" for Service to Youth, there were 48 out of 55 Clubs that could achieve this patch and be an Honor Club in this District by adding 1 to 4 members to their roster and serving more youth in their communities.

I want all Club Presidents to achieve this goal and be recognized for the work their clubs accomplish within their communities.

The Lt. Governors in each Zone should be doing their last visit to their Clubs to promote this and the final reports required to reach this goal (Officer-Elect forms and Pride reports).  The Presidents also needs to recognize an Optimist member within their Club that has gone above and beyond this year.

A number of Clubs are working on building a New Club to achieve Distinguished Club and Distinguished President status.  Let me encourage them by saying that it can be done in the next month.  Both Gary Cross, as NCB Chairman, and myself are more than willing to give or find you the help you need to achieve this goal. 

Let's show Optimist International that the Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan and Northern Wyoming District is simply the BEST!

My Year of "I Promise"

Glen Kreller, Governor
Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan and Northern Wyoming District

Season Greetings from Governor Glen

Governor Glen extends wishes for the holidays to fellow Optimists, family and friends.

Download Governor Glen's Holiday Message

First Quarter Board Update from Gov Glen

A great big Thank You to the Optimists of the great AMSNW District that attended the First Quarter Board meeting in Edmonton this past weekend.  About 104 Optimists and companions registered for the meeting to make it a resounding SUCCESS.

The fellowship and enthusiasm shown at this meeting gives me confidence that we will soon be serving more youth in our communities and in some new communities in the next couple of months.

Regional Vice-President Jim Boyd was with us from Des Moines, Iowa and was very impressed with our District Pride.  He arrived one day early to help us with any New Club Building we had going on.  As there was a request from High Prairie, AB through Optimist International, I took him to High Prairie to meet a future Optimist and formulate the plan to charter a Club.  He now has an idea the distances we drive in our District for meetings and New Club building.

Plan on joining us at the Second Quarter Board meeting in Wolf Point, MT on February 21st and 22nd, 2014.  Registration forms and Hotel rates will be posted on our website shortly.  I look forward to meeting both new Optimists and Optimist friends at this next meeting.

Lets Promise to reach out to more youth and make tomorrows leaders better than todays.

"I Promise"
Governor Glen

Welcome everyone to a new year of Optimism

My friends and fellow Optimists.

Welcome everyone to a new year of Optimism.

First, let me be one of the first to congratulate "Distinguished" Immediate Past Governor Nick and his Team on a successful year of Optimism. His positive membership and building of 2 new Clubs has allowed more youth in our District to be served by Optimism. We look forward to keeping this momentum during our year.

As some of you are aware, it is my passion for our organization that keeps me involved with my Club and with this great District. I developed the theme "I Promise" to indicate that I will be working hard this year as your Governor to make this District stronger and serving more youth (the leaders of tomorrow). As
such I have a personal Oath;

"As an Optimist, I promise to make
the AMSNW District better tomorrow than it is today"

I would ask each of you to share with me my passion, my fellowship and in your own way my theme or oath. By doing this, I know that we will be serving many more youth in this District on September 30, 2014.

Welcome to the 2013-2014 year "I Promise"

Glen Kreller,
Governor 2013-2014
gkreller@shaw.ca
(780) 916-8687

AMS&NW is on the plus side ... WOW

Hello Everyone:

First of all I would like to “Congratulate” you all for helping to make our district move into the plus side. This is the first time in quite a while that we are at this stage this time of the year. Please give yourselves and all of members your club a hearty pat on the back and keep up with the good work.

We are #5 this week on the leader board and to think that the increase is due solely with Member retention as well as new Members being brought in to all of our clubs. Wait until all of the clubs that we have on the go come in. Wow and double Wow. This district is on the way up. It really is nice to see the upward climb rather than the downward decline. Once again “Congratulations.”

See you all in Billings

Soaring to Greater Heights for Children

Governor AMS&NW District 13

Nick A Markowsky

462-23 Street East

Prince Albert, SK

S6V 1P8

Ph 764-6199

Fax 764-9149

nmarkowsky [at] sasktel.net

Welcome from Governor Nick Markowsky

Good Fellow Optimists:

I would like to welcome you all to “This Great Year for the AMS&NW”. 2012/2013 will be the best year this district has seen in a long time. To do this we must take stock of our clubs and our district. As you all have heard, our district is shrinking.

To reverse this trend we must go out and build New Young Clubs not only this year, but for the next few years. We have a lot of clubs with the majority of members who are sixty plus in age. My quick evaluation is that if we do not start now or do not bother to build New Young Clubs we will lose up to 25% of our clubs in 5 to 10 years, because we as members are having a hard time attracting young people to join “our” Old Clubs. The ones that we do sign up are around our own age group. As a district we are getting older instead of younger.

Now do not get me wrong, Member retention as well as existing club growth is still important. My Club the High Noon Optimists was started as a new “YOUNG” Club, because the young people did not want to belong to an old club. This still exists today whether we like it or not.

So my final words are go get cracking and find New Young Clubs to build. You go out as a club, Clubs, or complete zones to build clubs collectively if that is what it takes. Do not let the OI recognition part hold you back as a collective group. We need Clubs not recognition for our District to grow.

Soaring to Greater Heights for Children

2012-13 Governor
AMS&NW District 13
Nick A Markowsky