The "Manhattan Optimist Club Bulletin": Vol. 2024 #42: 7-17-24

                               VOLUME 2024            JULY 17         NUMBER 42

President Bill Wisdom, welcomed everyone and gave us our morning reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  

ACHES & PAINS:  Be kind to one another, you never know what others may be going through.  Keep those suffering in your thoughts and prayers.        

PROGRAM:  Craig Cox introduced our speaker, Michael Finnegan, Forensic Anthropologist.   Dr. Michael Finnegan is a retired Professor of anthropology at Kansas State University and is one of the nation's leading forensic anthropology experts. In 2005, he was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, studying paleopathology and non-metric variation for population studies and forensic science application. He is a Fellow and past Vice President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences; a Diplomate, and past President, of the, Inc.; and is a recipient of the "Kansas Attorney General's Certificate of Merit" in recognition of outstanding service rendered to law enforcement in and for the State of Kansas by a private citizen. He has published numerous articles on theory, method and application of osteological analysis in population studies and forensic applications. He has conducted research in Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, as well as various areas of North and South America. Dr. Finnegan is a recipient of the " Teaching Award" in undergraduate instruction, the " Award" as the outstanding member of the Kansas Division of the International Association for Identification, the "Bartucz Lajos Award" from Jozsef Attila University and the "T. Dale Stewart Award" from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Finnegan was elected to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 1976 and selected as a Fellow in 1978. He has served the academy in numerous capacities, including section representative on the board of directors and as vice president. When he is called to a case, Finnegan determines the deceased's physical characteristics, establishes approximate time of death and keeps authorities informed of his progress. He has identified downed American pilots in Vietnam, dissidents in Eastern Europe and even Jesse James. Finnegan has lectured throughout the world. He also has been contacted for consultation by forensic labs worldwide. He has published numerous articles on theory, method and application of osteological analysis in population studies and forensic applications. Finnegan has received the Kansas Attorney General's Certificate of Merit in recognition of outstanding service rendered to law enforcement in and for the state of Kansas by a private citizen. He has also received K-State's William L. Stamey Teaching Award in undergraduate instruction, the John C. Hazelet Award as an outstanding member of the Kansas Division of the International Association for Identification, the Bartucz Lajos Award from the University of Szeged, Hungary, the Outstanding Senior Scientist Award from Sigma Xi and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Physical Anthropology Section's T. Dale Stewart Award. He frequently participates in discussion panels at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave. (en)

Dr. Finnegan’s topic today was “War Dead Recoveries: Vietnam”, the 5 Man Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Lost and their efforts in Vietnam, recovering remains.  What an amazing story, thank you for sharing with us this morning.

CLUB STUFF/ANNOUNCEMENTS and UPCOMING EVENTS:

District 4Q Meeting will be in Wichita, August 16-18
Fall Social Date is set for Sunday, September 8th!  More information is coming soon!

A ribbon cutting was held for the dedication of the new Welcome to Manhattan sign on K18 at 9:00 AM, Thursday, July 11th.  The ceremony was held with the Chamber Visitors Bureau and was lead by Dave Lewis.  In attendance were both Rotary clubs, The Lafayette Lodge, Kiwanis, Optimist and the Manhattan Visitors Bureau who all financially supported the project.  Also in attendance were Icon Structures (Korey Klingenberg) Mark Claussen stood in for Korey who was in Colorado.  Korey was the General Contractor for the project and a major donator of labor and material.  Jim Wells of Thomas Outdoor Signs also donated all labor and materials to refurbish the signs.  Bart Thomas donated the property on which the West Sign is located.  Dave Lewis provided the publicity.  Steve Havenstein coordinated the project, found the financial support, and coordinated the communication.  GMCF provided the fund to allow the tax position and distributed the funds as well as contributed to funding.  All the above attended the ceremony.  Jim Blanton also attended as well as Steve Havenstein to represent the Optimist.  It was broadcast on Facebook Live, and Jim was in action with the camera!

SAVE THE DATE: August 10 – Just Tri It, September 28th-KSU Football Parking for the OSU game, October 19th – Aggieville Chili Crawl

GUESTS:  No other guests were present this morning.   

Meeting adjourned with the OPTIMIST CREED.

                                                                  Coordinator: Craig Cox

                Morning Meeting             Bill Wisdom

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