No regular meeting next week, June 7. The golfers among us, and anyone else who cares to go, will assemble at "The Bridges" a little before 1 PM, where DON NEVIASER says foursomes, or whatever, will be set up and sent off, starting about 1:02. We understand that dinner will also be at The Bridges, afterwards. For details, or to sign up if you haven't, call DON at 798-3657. Remember, if you sign up, show up!

We will have regular meetings on June 14 and June 28. No meeting at all on June 21. In July, we will meet on the 12th and the 19th, consecutive dates made necessary by International Convention and the Service Club Olympics. August dates are the 9th and the 21st. First meeting in September is September 6.

Our last meeting was in the meeting room at Olbrich Park, with a nice sunny day and a view of the gardens. CHUCK BASFORD presided ("Charles In Charge") in this informal setting, but he could have used the bell. When a measure of order was reached, none of our regular song leaders were present, so new talent, in the person of DON NEVIASER, stepped forward.. We got off all right and DON waved us through it The reverberating acoustics of the room lent a unique quality to our efforts. The ever-prepared JOHN JENSON produced an American flag from his portable "office", and JODI BURMESTER gave the invocation, mindful of Memorial Day the day before.

The only guest was Marian Stevens, wife of DR. TOM.

DON NEVIASER said he's still looking for "athletes" for the Service Club Olympics on July 25 and 26. On Opening Day, July 25, Eight Ball Pool and Bowling will be contested. On Tuesday, July 26, the 5K Run, Golf, Volleyball, Bike Race, Gnip Gnop, Swimming, Backgammon, Bocce, Bridge, Checkers, Cribbage, Euchre, Horseshoes, Racquetball, Scrabble and Tennis are scheduled. The Agility Course, Bait Casting and Darts are open to all. Cocktails @ 4:30, and the Dinner/Awards from 5:30 - 8:00. There's something there for everyone, and it's a chance to go and have fun with a bunch of members of other clubs like ours. Sign up with DON for the event(s) of your choice.

OTTO FESTGE has reported in. He's home from the hospital, on the mend. Had a major bellyache, but is feeling much better. His movie-watching will be impaired, however - popcorn is now forbidden, along with nuts and a few other things. The part about nuts strictly relates to his diet, though - he can still associate with the rest of us, and hopefully he'll be back doing that soon.

After a buffet sandwich lunch, Club members scattered through the Olbrich Botanical Gardens to enjoy the day and see what's going on. There's a new garden pavilion of some sort, several new walks, a new rose garden starting up, and of course the beautiful Thai Pavilion, with its exquisite detail. Not a lot of things in bloom at the moment, so the staff has added color with some strategically placed pots of annuals. Our "pathfinders" who got there early located the MCLC bench in the central arbor of the gardens. It marks a donation we gave them 10-15 years ago. We were also able to explore the Bolz Conservatory tropical rain forest. Commenting that you couldn't have a rain forest without rain, SCOTT GROVER set out to find the sprinklers, and finally located them along the outside walls. We even saw a quail and a free-flying canary, along with a lot of familiar and unfamiliar tropical plants. On a nice day you can always find something to enjoy at Olbrich, and if it's cold and raining, take the kids through the Conservatory. There's a lot to see and do in Madison.

Our Board has had a lot to work on this year. We have some energetic new members, and that's a good start. The Board is looking at finances, both in the operating funds and the service funds, and also reviewing everything we do to see if it's still appropriate. That includes our meeting schedule, where the question is whether to stay on an every-week basis during the Fall-Winter-Spring period, or change to a twice- a- month schedule. Obviously, such a change would reduce meal costs, and also some mailing costs, as well as the time commitment from members. But would it improve attendance, or make it easier to miss meetings, and what would the effect be on our service projects? Think about it, and share your ideas and questions with Board members. This would be a major change for us, but "we've always done it that way" has been a drag on a lot of organizations, and we need to do what is necessary to adapt to today's conditions.