Fishing Derby

About 120 kids participated in our annual Fishing Derby on September 22. This year it was held at Watchung Lake, where the kids caught more than 300 fish. The winners were:

	Grades K-1-2:	Grades 3-4:	Grades 5, 6, 7, 8:
Biggest Fish	Ryan Chang Ted Schneider Tie(13 �" catfish)	Peter Chang (17 �" Bass)	Justin Difranco( (13" catfish)
2nd Biggest	Brian Beckert (11 �"catfish)	Greg Kaye (12" Bass)	Morgan Bauer (12 �" catfish)
3rd Biggest	Matthew Rowe (7 �" sunfish)	Dalton Fischer (11 7/8" catfish)	Sarah Heath (11 �" bass)
1st Caught	Michael Marsiglia (5 �" bluegill))	Samantha Schaller (4�"bluegill)	Cory Germaine (5" bluegill)
Smallest	Michael Disch (3 �" bluegill)	Nicole Russo (3 3/16" bluegill)	RJ Schaller (2 15/16" bluegill)
2nd Smallest	Reid Chemidlin ( 3 7/8" bluegill))	Grant Chemidlin (3 5/8" bluegill)	Chris Vanderfliet (3 � bluegill)

Thanks, as always, to Karl Baumle and to all who assisted him.

Splendor in a Glass

With 49 paying "guests" as well as numerous assistants, our Winetasting Fundraiser on September 22 raised over $2000 for the Optimist Club and an additional $650 for the Watchung Arts Center. Special thanks to Shelia Duyckinck, who organized this event, and to the many people who helped make this a success, in particular Jack and Myra Gibson, who graciously hosted our party.

President Ilchert

Catherine Ilchert has volunteered to take on the job of president of our club. Although her term officially began October 1, we are planning an installation "Celebration of Optimism" for mid-November. We are still in need of our vice-president (or two), someone who will assist Cathy in keeping the club on an even keel this year, and will step up to steering the ship next year.

Be a Hero

Here's your chance to do something heroic: Give Blood. The Covenant Committee of Wilson Memorial Church and St Mary's - Stony Hill are sponsoring a blood drive on Sunday, October 14 from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, at the Firemen's Exempt Hall on Mountain Boulevard. Call Fran Ellis at 908-755-8489 to sign up, or just walk in on Sunday. Hope to see you there. The comic strip "Foxtrot" did a weeklong series on giving blood. Click on the link for more.

Our Deepest Sympathy

to fellow Optimist, Anthony Ingrassia, and to the Ingrassia family on the loss of Anthony's brother,Christopher, on September 11 at the World Trade Center. Chris was employed by Cantor Fitzgerald, and was in his office on the 104th floor of Tower One when the building was attacked. A memorial mass for Christopher Ingrassia will be held on Saturday, October 13th at 10 am, at St. Mary's. A memorial fund in his name will be established at Princeton University. Donations may be made to Princeton University, Office of Recording Secretary, P.O. Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543.

In the wake of the September 11 attack

A committee has been formed by the New Jersey District of Optimist International, to investigate how we as Optimists can help in the relief effort, and to coordinate the efforts of the clubs in our district. Leslie Tasch of Union club is chairing this committee; among the members are Watchung Optimists Kurt Steckley, Gene Garb and Joe Higgins. Contact any of us for further information.

Our next meeting

will be held at Bob Duyckink's house, at 54 Robin Glen, on Monday, October 15, at 8:00 PM. All members are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting to plan for the coming year. Due to the poor attendance at our dinner meetings, we have decided to have only one dinner meeting each month; the other meeting will be a business meeting to be held in a member's home. Hopefully, by not taking time out for dinner, these meeting will be shorter, and members will not have to sacrifice an entire evening from their schedules in order to attend. As I have said before, we do need the participation of all of our members if the Watchung Optimists are to continue to serve the community.

Paying the Dues

Dues bills will be in the mail soon. Please try to pay your dues promptly, including any past dues that you may owe. You may not realize that our club pays a portion of your dues payment to Optimist International, and to the New Jersey District. The amount paid each quarter is based on our total membership, and must be made even if you don't send in your check. If you are not paying your dues, it hurts the club by taking money away from our other efforts. Please support the club with your dues payment, as well as with your time.

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