Being part of an Optimist Club means that once a week, or at a regularly defined schedule, one has the opportunity to get together with friends and have a little fun while serving their community.
I often hear, and see, that attendance is down at club meetings. "We want to do projects, not get together to eat," say rushed volunteers who contribute their time while keeping in balance with their other obligations like families and careers.
However, meetings are important for many reasons including:
- Optimist Club meetings provide a venue to hear presentations from others in your community so that your club members can make informed decisions about where to donate your time and make contributions
- Optimist Club meetings allow you to work together and make plans for solving problems that arise in a manner that is fair to all involved
- Optimist Club meetings allow you to celebrate the good work that you have done to make your community a healthy, happy and prosperous place to live
- Optimist Club meetings are forums to celebrate the good work of others and to give recognition to outstanding community leaders, members, nonmembers, children and adults
- Optimist Club meetings are fun
I admit, it can be boring when an Optimist Club, or any service club, gets together only to eat; but even the "slurp and burp" club has its positive attributes and even the most active clubs will take a day off from a busy schedule so that members may enjoy each other's fellowship. That's when it is important that club members like each other for in the end, no matter the cause, we aren't going to hang out regularly with people that make us uncomfortable.
What is your Optimist Club doing to make everyone feel like they are part of the group? As we head into a new year, we'll begin to explore some ideas to make your club fun for all. Cheers.
Photo courtesy of Walt Callahan, Boise Noon Optimist Club.
