The "Manhattan Optimist Club Bulletin": Vol. 2024 #22: 2-28-24
VOLUME 2024 February 28, 2024 NUMBER 22
President Bill Wisdom welcomed the membership and guests and presented a reflection from Be Mindful.
"When a flashlight grows dim or quits working, do we just throw it away? Of course not. You change the batteries.
When a person messes up or finds themselves in a dark place, do we cast them aside? Of course not! We help them change their batteries.
Some need AA…. attention and affection. Some AAA….attention, affection and acceptance. Some need C batteries…. compassion. Some need D batteries…. direction.
And if they still don’t seem to shine…… simply sit with them quietly and share your light."
The flag salute followed.
Member Spotlight
Today’s member spotlight is on new member Tim Fairbanks. Tim said he joined because he enjoys volunteering. Tim said his dad always said, “Put back more than you take out of this world.” Tim grew up in Wymore, Nebraska. After college he moved to Geneva, Nebraska and lived there for 20 years. Tim went to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and majored in Criminal Justice and Sociology. In Geneva, Nebraska, Tim’s first job was a police officer for two years. He was police chief there for eight more years. He describes as more like Andy Griffith than tough guy.
He then went to work for Kaneb oil and ammonia pipeline that was bought by Valero, then spun off to NuStar Energy. Tim started as a laborer, then relief operator, then operator, then lead operator, then control center, then lead controller, and finally supervisor of the control center in his 35-year career. During that time his family moved to Kansas and then to Texas.
He is married to Cathy. They have three children, Jeremy, Amber, and Amanda. Jeremy is sixth generation farmer on his wife’s family farm. He has three children, 18, 16, and 13. Amber lives in McKinney, TX and has two children, 13 and 11. Amanda lives in Manhattan and has two children, 21/2 years, and two weeks old. Amanda got her PhD at K-State and works in higher education in conjunction with K-State. Her husband, Blaine is the trainer for the baseball team.
When Tim retired las year, he let his wife choose where to retire and she chose Manhattan. They moved here in August. In his spare time, Tim likes to get outside. He works out at the gym, does yoga, golf, boating and skiing, cycling, and walking with his wife. He has a Harley and rides, does bible study, and reads. Fun Fact: he has an identical twin brother. He also has a sister and another brother.
Following the Member Spotlight, Tim Fairbanks was inducted into the Manhattan Optimist Club by President Bill Wisdom.
Program:
The Crops Team was established in 1923 and KSU has been 47th time National Champion, a K-State Dynasty. The first Crops Contest was in 1923 and KSU’s first team was in 1923 and they competed and placed fourth in the Intercollegiate Grain Judging Contest at the International Livestock Exposition and International Hay and gain show in Chicago. In 1929 the American Royal Contest began in Kansas City and the contest was held in Kansas City and Chicago. In 1996 K-State began competing in crops contests organized by NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture).
The fall contest is more focused on grain quality which includes grading the grain, picking out any other kinds of plant seed and assigning a quality to that grain sample. For instance, US number two corn was sampled and assigned a grade by someone who actually looked at the sample and the quality of the grain. This is what the students are doing in the fall contest. The students get a sample and have to find all the different kinds of seeds and identify all of the seeds, then sort the seeds by how noxious the weed seeds are. The students must correctly identify 200 different types of seeds.
In the spring contest, there are several parts. One is an agricultural examination, a multiple-choice exam, and a calculations exam which requires calculations of different components, for example, the amount of fertilizer a given field should have or the amount of seed etc. There is also a seed identification component to the spring contest. The final piece is a lab practical, such as identifying bugs and explaining why this bug is a problem, or what equipment is this and what is it used for. There are several different things that may be tested. Part of the spring contest mimics the Certified Crop Advisor test and helps prepare students to be certified.
KSU’s Fall National Champions are Landon Trout, Quinten Bina, Renae Sinclair; alternates were Molly Kane and Joel Bryan. Renae Sinclair, a Senior in Agronomy from Alamosa, Colorado took first place overall. Landon Trout, a Senior in Agronomy from Scott City, Kansas took second place overall. The 2024 Spring (NACTA) team took first place at a regional competition in Hutchinson, Kansas. They next have competitions in regionals at Curtis, Nebraska and Twin Falls, Idaho. The contest events mimic exam sections in the Certified Crop Advisor Exam for the American Society of Agronomy.
Crops Judging Team (k-state.edu)
Guests:
Bill Wisdom introduced our speaker, Rachel Veenstra. Darrell Phillips introduced his wife, Carmen Phillips.
Club Stuff/Announcements:
Jim Franke noted help was needed for the Spaghetti Dinner on Friday afternoon and on Saturday starting at 4:30. Also, help is needed for baking bread at KSU. Cookies are needed for dessert. Donations are also needed for the silent auction. Jim also has posters advertising the Spaghetti Dinner are available to display in a business or other location.
Don Bechtel went to Ames, IA and picked up Barilla’s donation of spaghetti and sauce. The warehouse manager noted they had checked out our website and stated we were their favorite donation because they were impressed with what we accomplished with our fundraising and wanted to help support us next year. Don also noted that zip ties used to secure furniture from tipping over on little children may be defective, especially white or beige ones; replacement with aircraft cable is best.
Bruce Bidwell announced Tuesday, March 5th was the lawnmower clinic. Help was still needed to setup, get ice, and cleanup afterwards.
Bruce Bidwell also announced the following individuals helped with the installation of 3 Batting Cage nets at Optimist Park on Sunday, 02/25/2024:
> Bret Henderson -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> TJ Vilkanskas -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Caleb Hutchinson -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Frankie Hutchinson -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Adam Bowen -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Aubrey Bowen -- Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Pamela Schlodder - Optimist Jaguars Softball
> Cara Lemon -- Optimist Belles Softball
> Steve Boeckman -- MOC
> Jim Franke -- MOC
> Bruce Bidwell -- MOC
We also got the mole hills raked on Jessica Field outfield and it is ready to be rolled with the water roller.
Doug Jardine challenged members to recruit new members and bring others to the meeting. We lose members for various reasons, and just this past week two members passed away. This is an ongoing process.
Adjourned with the Optimist Creed
Next Weeks’s Meeting:
March 6 - Morning Meeting: Program: Youth of the Month Presentations: Amanda Arnold & Northview Elementary Schools
March 13 – Noon Meeting: Program: Student of the Month Presentation and Margaret Haden, Manager, Alzheimer’s Association, Topic: “Alzheimer’s Warning Signs”
March 20 – Morning Meeting: Program: Patrick Fu, Manhattan High School Robotics, Topic: “Manhattan High School Robotics Club”
March 27 – Noon Meeting: Program: Katharine Henfler, Director - Riley County Historical Society: Topic: “Leading Ladies – Influential Women in Riley County’s History”