Officers

President
Bill Muffi

Pres Elect
Mick Hickman

Vice President
Eric Gatrell

Secretary
Terry Proescholdt

Treasurer
Debbi Matthews

Immediate Past
President
Dave Maloney

Directors

2008-2010
Joe Vitanza
Larry Fellows
Christine Semon

2009-2011
Brenda Edwards Jim Wiggins

Committee Chairs

Community Service
Debbi Matthews

Young Children: Priority One
Ed Crawford

Sponsored Youth
Christine Semon

Public Relations
Dave Maloney

Fund Raising
Joe Vitanza

Membership Growth & Education
Frank Parker

Club Meeting Admin.
Charlie Mertz

Human & Spiritual Values
Mick Hickman

1-5 Holiday Party

1-12 Board Meeting

1-19 Club Planning Meeting

1-26 Peter Brehm, Friends of Baker Park - this is a BRING A FRIEND NIGHT!

Bill's Corner by Pres. Bill Muffi

The Christmas Wrap is over! Thanks to all those who helped out!! Due to the time spent on the wrap, we had no meetings in December, but we started the new year off with a bang - with our annual Christmas Party held at the Elk's on Jan. 5th. What fun! It was great to see such a turn-out. Guests include several spouses in addition to Bob and Jamie Rankin, Brenda's daughter, Robin, and Debbi's friend, Tom. Below, VP Eric Gatrell presents Dave Maloney with his 2008-2009 Past President's plaque.

We'll hold out monthly board meeting on Jan 12th at which time I will layout my plans for the upcoming year. I will be splitting our Club into Three units: Team # 1 Fund Raising, Team # 2 Community Service and Team # 3 Membership Drive. I have selected Team Leaders as well as Co-Team Leaders. Next week, Jan 19th, we will work on implementing our plans for this year. I know you will help me make this happen! Thanks!

Don't forget, the Jan. 26th meeting is Bring-a-Friend Night! Be sure to let Charlie know in advance so he can give the Elks a head count.

Debbi and Terry: Kiwanians of the Year

"We often take our club Treasurer and Secretary for granted," said Past-Pres. Dave Maloney. "But this year, we recognize Secretary Terry Proescholdt and Treasurer Debbi Matthews for their dedication and consistent performance," he continued. Pictured L to R: 2008-2009 Past Pres Dave Maloney presents Kiwanian of the Year certificates along with gift certificates to Red Lobster to Debbi and Terry.

Christmas Wrap Wrap-Up by Dave Maloney

We did it! Another successful gift wrap is in the books. Our volunteers really came through for us this year, and I look forward to their continued help next year.

We matched our gross proceeds from last year, despite the snow day on which we had to cancel operations. A special thanks to Larry Fellows who continuously made runs back and forth to his storage building to keep us supplied with materials. He also wrapped on countless days and filled in whenever I needed someone in an emergency. And a special thanks to Frank Parker who did the same - showing up often whenever needed!

We closed a little differently this year. We closed at 4PM on Dec. 24th instead of 6PM when the mall closes. This required putting a wrapper at the end of the line with a "Last Customer" sign. We only had a couple minor complaints about us closing early, but, hey, we have families, too! I was, however, a little saddened when the lady who runs the Orange Julius came running down to our tables with both hands of bags of gifts to be wrapped just as we were shutting down. She had shown up a couple days before with her sister to have many gifts wrapped for which she gave us a very nice donation, so I was sorry to see that we could not accommodate her this second time around.

I have sent letters to all high schoolers who requested them documenting the services hours spent. I have also emailed all volunteers thanking them for their support and notifying them of our upcoming pig roast to which they will be invited as our guest. I also sent emails to and received nice replies from Christina and Bill at FSK Mall. They are looking forward to us returning again next year.

Perhaps this year we can put our heads together to see if there are other techniques we can use to increase our take. Different fee structure? New signage? Debbi had some ideas as did Christina at the mall.

Thanks, again, for all your help!