The Weekly Bulletin

April 15, 2019

Call to order: President Dewey at 12:04 p.m.

Invocation:  Ken Oster

Pledge:  Jerry Sullivan

 

Introduction of Guests and New and Old Members (who have been gone)

None.

 

Welcome any new or returning members

None.

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries

None.

 

Mystery Person

President Dewey gave the award today to Cyrilla Galbreath for all her work in processing scholarship applications for students at the local high schools.

 

Sign In or Pay the Pig

• Steve Winters paid the pig and stated his daughter received a Science Honors Award at MU through the American Association of University Women.
• Carl Scott paid to recognize fellow D.O. Club member Jessica Kempf of Weichert Realtors – First Tier in Columbia successfully completed leadership training recently for brokers and managers. The “Sharpen Your Saw” program focused on identifying key behaviors for business success.
• Carl Scott again paid the pig to note to Volunteer Day at the Food Bank and to thank D.O. Club members for their volunteering.

 

President Announcements

• District Meeting: President Dewey stated the 3^rd quarter Optimist District Conference will be held at the St. Louis Hilton Hotel at the airport on 5/3/19 and 5/4/19.  If you are interested in attending please let President Dewey know.  Our essay winner Celena Schmolzi will be reading her winning essay at the Conference.
• Election of Next Year’s Club Officers: President Dewey stated we have approved the D.O. Club Search Committee Officers slate.  Kelly Schilling is President Elect, Tony Parisio is First Vice President, Board Members-Mike Hatchett and Phyllis Nichols for a two-year term and Elena Ryakhmyatullov as a new Board Member.  We still need a Secretary, and please let President Dewey know if you have any recommendations.
• Food Bank: Volunteers worked on packing chicken.
• Soap Box Derby: President Dewey asked Rick Mckernan to provide an update on Soap Box Derby planning. Rick stated O’reilly Automotive has emailed Rick to inform him they want to be a Silver sponsor.  The Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsor slots are filled, but they can perhaps sponsor a Derby car.  Rick is looking into sponsorship options for O’reilly.
• Scholarships:
  • President Dewey asked Cyrilla to provide an update on scholarship awards. Cyrilla is looking for volunteers to present the scholarship awards to students at their high schools as per the dates and times below:
    • Douglass High School: Friday, 5/24/19 at 10:00 a.m. at Missouri Theatre. Rick Mckernan has agreed to make the presentation;
    • Hickman High School: Tuesday, 5/21/19 at 7:00 p.m. in Hickman Gym. Larry Fick will check with Jim Murphy to see if he will make the presentation;
    • Rockbridge High School: Wednesday, 5/22/19 at 7:00 p.m. in Rockbridge Gym. Steve Klein has agreed to make the presentation.
    • Battle High School: Wednesday, 5/22/19 at 6:15 p.m. in Battle Gym. A D.O. Club member to give presentation has not yet been determined.
  • Carl Scott indicated to Secretary Ron Berg that 38 total scholarship applications had been received and reviewed.
• Socials:
  • Dos De Mayo Event: President Dewey stated the Dos De Mayo event will occur on Thursday, 5/2/19 at the D.O. Club house.  She added Larry Fick is now taking money for the event.  Social hour 5:00 p.m. to include fresh sopapillas.  Dinner at 6:00 p.m.  $10/adult.  Kids eat free.  Raffle for a $25 gift certificate to Las Margaritas Restaurant.  $1/ticket, $5/6 tickets.  Benefits go to Childhood Cancer research.
  • Summer Games and BBQ – Thursday, 7/11/19.
  • Annual Shrimp Feed – Tuesday, 11/5/19.

 

• Douglass Baseball Clinic: President Dewey thanked those who helped with the Douglass Baseball Clinic (Tri Star) at Douglass Park (400 North Providence) on Saturday, 4/13/19 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Rick Mckernan added the event went well.
• Fun City Dinner: The Fun City Youth Academy Champion Dinner will be held Saturday, 5/4/19, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 702 Banks Avenue, Columbia, MO.  Cost is $25/ticket.  Please plan to attend.  Pat Brown, Downtown Optimist Club member, will receive a lifetime achievement award.
• Hallsville Optimist Club Casino/Bunco Night: President Dewey stated on Saturday, May 11th, 2019 the Hallsville Optimist Club will be hosting a Casino/Bunco Night and Taco Bar at the Bob Lemone Building at 6:00 pm. Cost for playing Casino is $20.00 for a bag of 2000 chips, $10.00 to play Bunco game, $10.00 Bottomless Cup and $10.00 for all-you-can-eat Taco Bar. There is a 50/50 raffle. The money goes back to the Community of Hallsville, for example, local scholarships to Buddy Sacks.
• Boone County Relay for Life walk: President Dewey stated this event occurs on Friday, May 31, 2019 at Hickman High School Track from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Please come out and support the American Cancer Association in finding a CURE for Cancer.
• Bike Safety Rodeo: The Bike Safety Rodeo at Karis Church (606 Ridgeway Ave) Thursday, 6/6/19 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with set up starting at 4:00 p.m.  Tables and chairs will be provided.

 

Announcements from the Floor:  None  

 

 

 

Today’s Speaker

Heart of Missouri CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates.

As per the pamphlet distributed, The Mission at Heart of Missouri CASA is to train and support volunteers to be exceptional voices for every abused and neglected child in the Boone and Callaway County Family Courts.  The Vision is Heart of Missouri CASA believes that all children have the right to safe, healthy, stable home, free from abuse and neglect.

Today’s speaker is Sara Echternach, Boone County Program Director for the Heart of Missouri CASA.  CASA is Court Appointed Special Advocates.

CASA is a volunteer-based program, where volunteers, who are appointed by a Judge, receive training and are assigned to work in the court system for kids who have experience abuse and/or neglect.  The CASA volunteer is a voice for the child.  The intent is reunification of the child with his or her parents.  If this cannot be attained, there may be guardianship and adoption options for the child.

CASA is a national program that originated in Seattle, Washington through a Family Court Judge.  The Judge got a group of volunteers together to be a voice for kids.  Every State and several counties have CASA agencies.

Children served range in age from birth to 18 years.  Some children receive supports up to age 21.  Individuals served ages 18-21 may work on such skill development as learning how to budget money, seeking employment and employment supports, applying to college, etc.

Heart of Missouri CASA looks for team players to be volunteers who can stand up for the child.  Prior to training, CASA volunteers have background checks completed and interviews are done to ensure the volunteer is a good fit for the program and are fully aware of what the volunteer responsibilities are.  CASA volunteers get 30 hours of training.  Fifteen hours on training is on line, and fifteen hours in person training over a total period of five weeks.  Examples of training topics include court report processes, how to interact as a team, etc.

Heart of Missouri CASA volunteers provide about 8-10 hours per month of support through this program.  Volunteers meet with the children at least two times per month. These meetings may occur in the home or at school, for instance.  Volunteers attend court every 3-6 months for hearings.  Volunteers work with the child’s parents, case workers, Guardian Ad Litem, Juvenile Officers, therapists, and other identified team members.  They meet about one time per month, and at six months the team gets together to report to the Judge regarding progress.

Volunteers are assigned a supervisor, and they meet with their supervisor at least one time per month.  Supervisors do go with the volunteer to court and go with the volunteer to team meetings, especially the first meeting, to assist with planning.  Supervisors can serve as a back-up support as needed in the volunteer’s absence, to ensure continued continuity of the process.

In addition to training volunteers get 12 hours continuing education in many forms such as reading books and videos on CASA topics, and monthly meetings.

As per the pamphlet, in FY2018, there was a 38% increase in children served (increase from 167-230); 22% increase in active CASA volunteers (94 to 110); 39% cases closed (increase from 46-64); and advocacy hours increased by 30% (from 5,889 to 7,664).  In FY2018, of the 64 CASA children’s cases closed, 40% of the children were reunified with their parents; 28% were adopted by or live with relatives; 16% adopted by or live with non-relatives; 11% other (e.g., cases dismissed, transferred to another agency, etc.); and 5% aged out of the system.

Funding sources for Heart of Missouri CASA includes government grants/contracts, special events, individual/corporate contributions, United Way, and Foundation grants.

For additional information you can go to the website – http://www.homcasa.org

You can contact Ms. Echternach by email at sara.homcasa.org

Heart of Missouri Boone County CASA phone number is 573-442-4670

Heart of Missouri CASA address:  105 East Ash, Ste. 102, Columbia, MO 65203

 

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

• 4/22/19 – Tim Haller from Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge
• 4/29/19 – NO MEETING (Everyone come to the Social on Dos de Mayo 5/2/19 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.)
• 5/6/19 –  Kim Sringley-Werner from Missouri State Private Lands U.S Fish & Wildlife Service
• 5/20/19 – Kelly Meyer – Coyote Hill Christian Children’s Home
• 5/27/19 – NO MEETING (Memorial Day)
• 6/3/19 –  Julia Dorm and Brittney Abbott from The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri
• 6/10/19 – MacKenzie Everett-Kennedy from Hickman Review and Celena Schmolzi the winner from the Optimist Essay Contest.
• 7/22/19 – Clara Umber from Ten Outreach Program
• 8/5/19 –  Ellen Drummond from Junior Achievement Program

 

Adjourn with the Creed: 1:06 p.m.

Optimistically Yours,

Ron Berg, Secretary