Attendance: 89

Greeters: Rick Swaim, John Sullivan

Invocation: Fred Nieter

Guests: Glenn Hall (Brittany Petersen), Bob Kline and Bruce Carpenter (John Elliott), Dick Berry (Larry Bishop)

Membership:  No readings or inductions

Birthdays: Juergen Voss, James Layne, Michael Lyons

Announcements: 

Tri-Star  Basketball Competition for boys and girls 8-13 will be held Sunday, February 18, at Baker Youth Club. The event is free. Registration will be at 1:30 that day with the event from 2 to 3. Volunteers are needed to help with the event. Sign up sheets were available at the meeting. Contact Chris Wiggins, Mitch Reinholt, or Doug Baumgardner if you have any questions.

Contestants are needed for the 2018 Oratorical Contest. Please encourage any youth you know to register. Deadline is Wednesday, January 24th. For more information about the contest, contact Chris Mahan.

Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club 60th Birthday Bash – Everett Nifong was our yearbook photo presented by Pam Galloway in promotion of our upcoming celebration to be held September 26 at the Winona Heritage Room from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Please Save the Date on your calendars!

District Meeting is Saturday, January 27. If you are interested in attending and have questions, contact Jennifer Dorman.

Feed My Starving Children – Ann Sweet shared that a planning meeting will be held at the Warsaw Public Library from 5:15 to 6:00 pm on Tuesday, January 23.

Biking on Market Street – A meeting will be held Monday, January 22, from 5 to 6:30 in the Council Chambers at City Hall which will include a presentation about the project and a series of facilitated exercises to gain public opinion on potential improvements to Market Street.

2018 Golf Outing – Everett Nifong announced that a short organizational meeting will be held after club next Wednesday, January 24. Anyone interested in helping with the outing is invited to attend.

CEO Report: Brittany Petersen interviewed Lisa Mahan. Lisa has been a member less than a year joining the club in April 2017. Her favorite club memory was working alongside fellow members at the Triathlon and seeing how much the event meant to both the volunteers and the participants. Her favorite place she has traveled is anywhere she’s been with her husband Chris as he always makes it an adventure.

50/50: $78 with $39 going to the winner – Everett Nifong

Sergeants-at-Arms: Brooke Hamstra, Gina Voelz – A few highlights included: Anyone who had ever ridden a train was asked to stand and then had to “get jiggy” with it and dance. Michelle Bickel gave a happy dollar sharing that Joe’s Kids day at Clearwater Carwash day would be Thursday raising $2 per wash for the organization.

Bruce Carpenter, Norfolk Southern Chief Dispatcher

Speaker:  Bruce Carpenter, Chief Dispatcher, Norfolk Southern Railway

The north-south and east-west rail lines that run through Warsaw are part of Norfolk Southern’s Lake Division. The rail company is setting records every year for the amount of freight it is moving. Some of the types of commodities moved include grain, crude oil, automobiles, chemicals, and steel. Some of the line’s biggest local customers include SDI in Columbia City and the Louis Dreyfus plant in Claypool.

Next Week’s Program: Lutheran Health Network CEO