Des Moines Sertoma Club
November 11, 2007 Newsletter
Dear Sertoma Club members.
As I write this newsletter today I am on my annual quest to lose weight before Thanksgiving. I do this so I have the exact amount of room between my stomach and pants button. It started today, so I may be a little growly by Tuesday’s meeting. It amazes me each year how Thanksgiving just seems to sneak up on me after Halloween. I actually contemplated this weekend to be proactive and put up my Christmas lights outside, but after watching a couple of great football games on TV, the day dwindled away and no lights can be seen outside the Bump household. Next week, I will be sure to do it.
Anyway, enough about me. Last week, President Keith Anderson sent out an email about the Sy Gau Scholarship, but in case you lost that email here is more information. Attached is a copy of the 2008 Sy Gau $1000 Scholarship application. Please make as many copies as needed. Eligibility for the scholarship is the same as last year. The applicant must be a relative of a Sertoma member of the Great Plains Region. Theymust be a full time undergraduate student. High school seniors are also eligible. Only the 2008 application form will be accepted, prior yearsforms will not be considered. Deadline to return the application is January 31, 2008. Winners will be announced at the Great Plains Regional Convention at Brainerd in May. There will be one winner from each District in the Great Plains Region. The West Iowa District only had 3 applicants in 2004,4 applicants in 2005, 12 applicants in 2006 and 17 applicants in 2007. So please ask you’re your sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandsons, granddaughters, cousins, any relative. As you look at the application you will notice there is no mention of grade point or financial need, only community service & why it is important in life. This is probably the best odds at winning a $1,000 scholarship most students will ever see. Last years winner was Tallis Henry, daughter of JeriLee Henry a member of our Club. This is not our first winner from our club, so lets get another.
The club manned a station at the Blank Park Zoo's "Night Eyes" event this year, where we provided information on preventing hearing loss to hundreds of goblins and their parents. Thanks to Craig Randell for getting this event set up. It was great exposure for the club and certainly an event to do again next year.
I also want to welcome two new members to the club this month. Diana VanVleet is a Corporate Trust Officer with Bankers Trust Company. Marty Herrmann is a Vice President with the Terrus Real Estate Group. Make sure you introduce yourself to these new members in the coming weeks.
Upcoming Speakers and Events
Des Moines Sertoma drops the sticks and gloves in November!
Charles Smithson Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, visits us on November 13. We'll get to hear the latest from the front lines of this important and controversial area of public policy.
Joan Wollenzien from the Iowa Donor Network is our November 20 guest speaker. The Iowa Donor Network is Iowa's Organ Procurement Organization, responsible for obtaining and placing donor organs statewide.
Our November evening outing will be a trip to the Wells Fargo Arena November 27 to watch the Iowa Stars take on American Hockey League rival Houston. The puck drops at 7:07 p.m.
Please also keep these two dates open in the month of December. We will be Bell Ringing for The Salvation Army on Monday December 10th and our annual Christmas Luncheon will be the following Day on Tuesday, December 11th. This is the meeting that we hand out our Sertoman of the Year award. So please save these dates.
As always, you can see we have an exciting schedule and it would be a perfect time to bring a guest. See you at the next Tuesday meeting.
Carl Bump