The Weekly Bulletin
April 9, 2018
Call to order: Ed Musterman at 12:05 pm
Invocation: Rick McKernan
Pledge: Pat Brown
Introduction of Guests
Bonnie Langreder joined us for lunch
Birthdays and Anniversaries
None reported
Mystery Person –
President Musterman made today’s award to Scott Stager for the work he did filling in last week with the newsletter.
Greeter –
Jack Cruise had an uneventful last week but next week he will be heading to the southeast to fulfill some of his bucket list wishes. Among other sites, he and wife will travel to Charlotte, NC and attend a NASCAR event.
Announcements
- Sign In or Pay the Pig
Carl Scott paid the pig for the Kansas basketball win over Missouri at the Columbia College annual high school payoff. He also paid the pig for Larry Fick’s wife, Paulette, whose picture was recorded in the Columbia paper as a poll worker. Members noted both Larry and his wife have worked the polls or years on Election Day.
- Welcome any new or returning members.
- Food Bank –
No report
- Soap Box Derby
Rick McKernan announced a new silver level sponsor for the derby: Boone Quarries will cement their commitment to the Derby. This sponsorship goes a long way to matching sponsorship with the budget of $10,000. Rick also printed business size cards as Free Tickets to the Derby on Sunday morning, June 10. It’s a great way to advertise the Derby and to let friends with kids know about the event before reading it in the paper after the event. Contact Rick at 573-881-3471 to get your tickets to publicize the event.
- Scholarships –
Cyrilla has reviewed all the applications and conferred with school counsellor on the truly needy kids and now is awaiting Steve Winters’ return from New Orleans to finalize the awards.
- Bike Safety
Mary Dewey plans to have the flyers for this event finished and ready for distribution next week.
- Announcements from the floor.
Ken Oster announced the Barbershop Quartets will hold their annual song fest this Saturday at the First Baptist Church in Columbia at 7:30 pm. The Chordbusters will be among the groups performing. Tickets are $10.00. For more information and/or to purchase tickets call 573-529-6821. Tickets will also be available at the door.
Carl Scott mentioned April is Volunteer Month and there are plenty of opportunities for Optimist to volunteer. There are four (4) Mondays left in April for Optimist to join our crew at the Food Bank. The City is sponsoring a cleanup day at the Worley Street Park on Friday, April 13. The Columbia Community Policing will be meeting neighborhood residents at our Clubhouse for a meeting on Wednesday, April 25. The topic is “Marking Changes through the City.” They will explore ways in which citizens can engage the city to make changes to improve safety and living conditions in the neighborhood. Optimists are welcome to attend. Finally, Saturday, April 28 is “International Day of Service.”
- Evening meeting – Tuesday, April 24th at Boys and Girls Club, 6:30. Valerie Livingston to provide a short program, Bob Floyd, OI VP, to lead a program on membership growth and NOW meetings. All clubs in Zone 2 to receive an invitation. Midway and Kids First say they will be sending members. Haven’t heard from Sunrise or Hallsville. Let Ed Musterman know if you plan to attend (eemusterman@gmail.com) so he can give Valerie an accurate number of attendees.
- April 27th & 28th, E. Mo District meeting in St. Louis.
- Midway Sporting Clays Shoot
Saturday, 21 April 2018 Registration: 10:00 am Prairie Grove Shotgun Sports 1420 County Road 276 Columbia, MO 65202
Today’s Speaker
Andrew Biggs, Supt. Bradford Research Center
Andrew Biggs is the Superintendent of MU’s Bradford Research Center. He manages 591 acres of land northwest of Rangeline and New Haven Rd. for research projects of 30 faculty and the graduate students of that faculty. He is the son of a medical doctor and a nurse and could have followed that path as an undergraduate in Biological Science. However, he got his graduate degree in Micro Biology and now manages the farm that enables the research projects of the School of Agriculture. He is originally from St. Louis but says he followed the love of his life to Columbia.
Under Andrews’s leadership, the Center is dedicated not only to research and university education but extends that education to school children and adults through a variety of activities and events. In addition to work with Future Farmers of America (FFA) Andrew hosts events at the Center to introduce urban populations to agriculture. Events open to the public sponsored by the Center include:
The Native Plant Sale, at the Bradford Research Center, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 14.
The Crop and Soil Management Workshop, at the Bradford Research Center, will take place on Thursday, July 12 at the Center near Columbia.
The Vegetable Grower field day, at the Bradford Research Center, will take place all day on Thursday, Aug. 2. Baker Creek Seeds will offer some heirloom seeds.
Tomato Festival is an annual first Thursday of September event. This year it will take place all day on Thursday, Sept. 6 from 4:00 – 7:00 pm. There will be some 30 varieties of tomatoes that are available in the center’s restaurant, but food is generally gone within the first 1 ½ hours. The event draws over 1,000 people. This year because of diminished state funding, there will be a $5.00 ticket fee.
The Center also offers professional courses for a fee. Courses will be offered in Pest Management and a Crop and Soil Management Workshop. An Agriculture Education Field Day is hosted each year. Last year some 1,800 school children from 62 schools around the state came to hear 44 speakers in a round of 15 minute segments during a six hour day. During the month of October the Center offers tours of the farm to elementary schools classes. Each year about 72 tours are conducted with a special treat of a trip to the pumpkin patch and an excursion into the corn maze. Also, during October the Center offers a fundraiser for breast cancer: The Pink Pumpkin Painting Party. Donations go to the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center.to subsidize mammograms for any women not able to afford the cost.
Andrew also does some outreach for the Bradford Center. He attends the State Fair offering a taste of a variety of tomatoes grown at the farm. He also participates in the local “Float Your Boar” event with his boat named the Carolina Reaper, name after the world’s hottest chili pepper. It’s rated at 2,000,000 scoville heat units as compared to a really hot habanero pepper that is rated at 500,000 scoville units. Don’t miss a chance to sample a Carolina Reaper when you attend one of the center’s events.
UPCOMING SPEAKERS
April 16- John Weber, US Fish & Wildlife
April 23 – Detective Tracy Perkins, Boone Co Sheriffs Task Force to Protect Children
April 30 – Michelle Gleba Regional Director, Better Business Bureau
May 7 – TBD
May 14- Jodi Cook, City Volunteer Program Specialist, Waste Reduction and Recycling.
May 21- Matt Luechtman, CASA Program Coordinator, Columbia Public Schools
June 4 – TBD
June 11 – Amy Weeks, CAFNR – Jefferson Farms
Adjourn with the Creed: 1:08
Optimistically Yours,
Downtown Optimist Club 