Happy Easter from @Midfire and @Midoptimist

I doubt there is anything more fun than the 60 seconds following the horn that blows to start an Easter Egg Hunt. Whether you call them a scramble, dash, roll or hunt, Optimist Clubs around the US and Canada get in the action to bring family-friendly cheer to their communities. It's just one way that Optimist Club members say, "We care."

Shown here is Optimist Club member and Middleton Rural Fire District Community Relations Officer/Paramedic Victor Islas taking a selfie as he readies the crowd for the egg-off at Foote Park, Middleton, Idaho.

On behalf of Victor and the Middleton Rural Fire District, and especially the Middleton Area Optimist Club, it my honor to wish you a Happy Easter.

A special fishing derby in Idaho

I belong to two Optimist Clubs. One is near where I live and I attend regularly and participate in nearly every activity coordinated by the Middleton Area Optimist Club.

However, my other club, the Jerome Optimist Club is two hours away. That's not a terribly long distance when you consider the rural state that is Idaho; however, it is too far for general participation, especially on weekdays.

On Monday, May 12, 2014, the Jerome Optimist Club put on one of its most cherished events: the Special Needs Fishing Derby. Sheri Mitchell, club president and activity manager, is shown here with the some of the participants. They're showing off their small catch of the day.

More than 100 fishermen and women were at this year's Fishing Derby. They were joined with at least 50 or more fishing buddies, adult volunteers who help the kids land their catch.

Clear Springs Foods supplies the trout and Idaho Fish and Game and Sportsman Warehouse help with supplies, and high school students assist with onsite activities; but it is truly the passion of the Jerome Optimist Club, and Sheri, that brings this remarkable event to life.

The kids appreciate it; the community appreciates it; and so do I. Great job my friends, the Jerome Optimist Club.

Hunt, scramble and dash

Optimist of North Augusta, SC hosts annual Easter egg dash

This weekend, children throughout the US and Canada will be dashing, hunting and scrambling for eggs as many Optimist Clubs host one of their favorite activities: the Easter Egg Hunt.

Ask any Optimist Club spokesperson and they will say it's the best 60 seconds of the year. After weeks of planning and hours of setting up, the children arrive and wipe out the colorful, candy-filled eggs in record-breaking time. Smiles are seen all around as the kiddos claim their prizes and Optimist Club members and parents look on with delight.

The Optimist Club of Meridian, Idaho proudly claimed on its Easter egg scramble flyer that it is the 37th consecutive year to host the event. That's an important record to publish for it acknowledges that the Optimist Club has been strong and contributing to the community for a very long time. It signifies its staying power and demonstrates value in belonging to the Optimist Club. Don't be afraid to brag a little about your Optimist Club's commitment to those it serves.

So when the whistle blows this weekend, don't be looking the other way or you'll miss all the fun.

Photo credit: Derrek Asberry for The Star

The greatest thing about being an Optimist is

Yesterday was the last day to submit a video to Optimist International for the #ReelOptimism video contest. Late in the evening, the Middleton Area Optimist Club shared theirs with me. The link came with the message, "While we don't expect our videography to win any awards, we hope that our testimonies win some hearts."

The Optimist Club used the prompt I shared with them the week before at the regional meeting for Idaho Optimist Clubs. They gathered the answers provided by others at the meeting and put some of them together in a video format. The club explained that they had a number of entries and that they would share longer ones as posts on the PNW District Optimist Clubs blog. To stay within the 3-minute limit for the contest, they chose only the ones that made instant statements.

Find out what "The Greatest Thing About Being an Optimist is" to this fine group of people in this YouTube video.

Optimist Club creates calendar to connect newcomers to the community

Find out what is happening in 2014 with a
Middleton Community Calendar from the Optimist Club.

The Middleton Area Optimist Club is only three years old, but it's made quite an impact on its hometown in Idaho. Most of the club's members are new to the community so they've come with fresh ideas about how to make their city a great place to live. Of course being a newcomer in a small town of less than 5,000 people can also be difficult because long-time residents "just know" when things happen and community events can pass by without the new resident's knowledge.

In order to overcome this problem, the members of the Middleton Area Optimist Club decided to create a community calendar for 2014. Members sought out dates for annual activities like craft bazaars, church socials, sports league sign-ups, among other things, and then added in their own events that include their popular Free Movies in the Park series in the summer and charity bingo throughout the year. The calendar also includes phone numbers to city services and other organizations so that a newcomer or a long-time resident can be plugged in to the events and activities year-round.

The calendar includes photos from events and activities in Middleton in 2013 and all money raised goes towards the Middleton Area Optimist Club's next big project. They are raising $150,000 for playground equipment in Foote Park, home to their signature movie in the park program.

The Middleton Area Optimist Club has become a point of pride for the community. According to one member, Victor Islas, who is shown holding the calendar in the above picture, a lot of groups start in Middleton with good intentions, but they somehow fail to follow through.The Optimist Club isn't like that, he says. They do more than talk about projects. They get things done.

Learn more about the Middleton Area Optimist Club at this link. 

Buy a Middleton Area Community Calender by sending an email here. 

Pizza Party!

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day for pizza. That's right! On September 7, 2013, the Middleton Area Optimist Club in Idaho treated their community to free pizza. It purchased 100 pizzas and 36 orders of breadsticks from a local pizzaria and invited everyone to enjoy a free slice while it lasted.

The pizza party coincided with three events. First, it was the club's third birthday. Three years ago, the Middleton Area Optimist Club was chartered and began doing good things in the community. Club members thought the pizza party was a nice way to say thank you to all of their supporters. The pizza party also took place on a Free Movie in the Park night. Free Movies in the Park is the Optimist Club's signature event. And being the weekend after Labor Day, the club also helped kids celebrate the return to school. 

Middleton, Idaho's population is approximately 5,000 residents. According to a club spokesperson, the 800 pieces of pizza went a longer way than expected, but even so, they are looking at increasing the number of pizzas for next year. "Watching the kids smile is worth it every time," explained Tyson Sparrow, coordinator of the event. 

Yes it is, Tyson. Those smiles are the individual payment for a productive Optimist Club.

Fundraisers may create your identity

Fundraisers - big or small - not only help you accomplish your goals, they help create your Optimist Club's identity within your community. The Middleton Area Optimist Club in Idaho, only three years old, has become known in their community and the PNW Optimist District as the bingo club. Through monthly bingo games, they've raised enough money to host free movies in the park ( now at 10 shows and counting), be a major contributor to the fireworks display in their small town, and support the middle school athletic program at two school districts with tennis equipment. Additionally, they've started a Junior Optimist Club and collaborated with the Middleton Area Parks and Recreation District and the Middleton Fire District to perform a number of programs that needed volunteer participation to come to life.

But it's that bingo fundraiser that the are most known for and that's okay with them because through bingo, the Optimist Club mobilizes other people's money to do more for the community.

In Jennings, Louisiana, another Optimist Club has become known for its major fundraiser and that's okay with them too. The Optimist Club of Jennings, Inc. is the watermelon club. Throughout the summer, and especially over the 4th of July holiday, they sell watermelons, and few cantaloupe too, to help them fulfill the mission of bringing out the best in youth.

Does your Optimist Club have a fundraiser that makes them stand out from others in the community? Tell us about it so we can share the news.

Jerome Optimist Club takes 140 kiddos fishing

The Optimist Club of Jerome, Idaho has a few favorite projects. As membership has declined over the years, they've promised the community and themselves that there are some that are just too important to let go. They fear that no one would step up to fill the void in the community, plus, these particular projects make the children, community and Optimist Club members feel good.

Those special programs are Coats for Kids, Breakfast with Santa, Easter Egg Hunt, and the Special Needs Fishing Derby. 

The Special Needs Fishing Derby took place on Monday and more than 140 students came out to fish. They were met by volunteers, Optimist Club members, high school mentors and other volunteers, and treated to a day of catching some whoppers - up to 5 lb. trout - thanks to the Clear Springs Trout. Everyone went home with smiles and memories, thanks to the Optimist Club's promise to care.

Watch a video from KMVT here. 

Please contribute to the Optimist International Foundation during Idaho Gives

The PNW District - Optimist International is participating in Idaho Gives today, May 2, 2013. Idaho Gives is an online fundraising campaign and many nonprofit associations across Idaho are participating. They have posted their causes on the online tool Razoo and sent notices to supporters and others that they should contribute now...today...don't wait.

The Idaho NonProfit Center has also secured sponsors for this one-day event. In addition to receiving contributions for their missions, the registered nonprofits are also competing for prizes to be awarded to the nonprofits that raise the most money. At 9:00 a.m., sponsor St. Luke's said that more than $100,000 had already been raised. As of 10:30 a.m., the amount had risen to $174,000. That's pretty awesome.

Find out more and make a donation. The PNW District - Optimist International cause is the Communications Contest for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. The district has a long-term goal of raising $10,000 to endow this scholarship for students with special needs.

Donate to CCDHH Optimist International Scholarship at Razoo

When success doesn't equal growth

At the Boise Noon Optimist Club evening meeting this week, Larry Highley (right) announced that he was running for club president. That was quite welcome news for a club that has been twisting arms to get members to step into leadership roles.

You see, the Boise Noon Optimist Club has been suffering from membership problems of late. Not that all service clubs don't experience attendance and participation issues, but the Boise Noon Club's are just a little bit different.

About 12 years ago, the Boise Noon Optimist Club partnered with the City of Boise to develop the Optimist Youth Sports Complex. It seemed like a great idea and with a growing population in Boise, more and more kids would soon be going through their popular football program as players or cheerleaders.

What happened is the Optimist Club became developers, fundraisers, coaches, facility maintenance workers, and concessionaires of a vibrant city park instead of being an Optimist Club. Wow! Some might say, what a great problem to have! But for some, that level of commitment and involvement became tantamount to having a second job. For others, the coaches especially, the commitment began and ended with the twelve weeks they devoted to the football program each year. They didn't share the ongoing, year-round commitment that the Optimist Club members owned.

Signing the coaches on as Optimist Club members didn't help and while the club averaged membership levels of approximately 280 people for at least 8 years, less than 15 members would regularly attend meetings. Those 15 were getting quite a workout, tending to fields and facilities, and recruiting volunteers to staff the concession stands and other spots needed to run a sports facility.

They would try valiantly to host other programs and have been successful in maintaining a relationship with Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) at St. Luke's Hospital as part of the Childhood Cancer Campaign, but other programs fell by the wayside. There wasn't enough manpower to do it all.

To right-size their club, they dropped most of those football coaches last year and now sport only 76 members on the roster; but recruiting more members has been a tough sell for this Optimist Club. The successful football program is well known and people very often say, "My kids aren't in football; I'm not interested," or "No thanks, I don't want to be involved with a football program." Unfortunately, the club has put itself in a position that it can't say, "But we do so much more!"

This is an example of when success doesn't always equal growth.

Now back to Larry. Larry is one of the regular 15 members that attends most meetings, fundraisers and football games. He came to Boise from an Optimist Club in Missouri several years ago and hadn't wanted to step up to lead because he has already been there and done that. But he knew that something had to give or the Boise Noon Optimist Club would wither away.

His election will usher in a new era. I predict that the Boise Noon Optimist Club will soon be the sponsor of  Boise Optimist Football and that they will hire people to run the program and facilities. As an experienced association manager, let me say, that is how it should be. Volunteers are great. I love to volunteer; but sometimes, professional management is needed to take a group to the next level.

Good luck, Larry. I hope you achieve your goals.

Time to scramble for eggs

Tomorrow is Easter. That means today, Optimists Clubs throughout the United States are hosting Easter Egg Hunts for the kiddos. It's the most fun that anyone can have in 2 minutes or less. Here's a look at some of the fun with the Optimist Club of Jerome, Idaho. Happy Easter!

Volunteerism and your community

"Those who aren't volunteering, just probably haven't been asked yet," says Tahna Cooper, executive director of the CASA program in Twin Falls, Idaho. In this video Cooper explains how volunteers make time to give one-on-one support to children through the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program and comes to that conclusion based on the feeling one gets in service to others. It is fulfilling to give of oneself in service to others. It makes our communities better places to live.

Barry Knoblich is also highlighted in this video. As the membership chair for the Twin Falls Optimist Club, he explains that service is fun. Over the past three years, the Twin Falls Optimist Club has grown by 50 members, and now 125 (and still growing), the club has donated more than $30,000 to a school track fund, and made many other contributions of money and time to a number of worthwhile projects that may not have happened without the club's support. The Optimist Club understands that if a project is not fun, a volunteer might not stay around long enough to feel the fulfillment that service brings.


Twin Falls, Idaho is blossoming from the attention of its community volunteers. Your city can too. Get involved - one way to do that is to start an Optimist Club. Ask me how.

Jerome Optimist Club serves Breakfast with Santa

Jerome, Idaho is a small farming community in southern Idaho with a large population of Mexican immigrants. Each year for Christmas, the Optimist Club serves a free Breakfast with Santa at St. Jerome's Catholic Church, meeting a need for many.

According to Club President Julie Stadelman, the breakfast is one of the club's favorite activities. Seeing the kids as they meet Santa with wonder in their eyes is a heartwarming experience.

Like the community, the Optimist Club is small as well, but everyone turns out for this activity and they bring their friends to share in the joy of serving others at this special time of year.

Being an Optimist Club member is a special commitment to the community. Breakfast with Santa is just one of many ways the Jerome Optimist Club demonstrates their responsibility in a timeless manner. Thank you.

Thanks to Traci Hine Brandebourg for the photos.

Santa's elves visit Middleton, Idaho

Steve Thompson and helpers at Santa's Workshop

Optimist Club members take on many roles in their communities and during the holidays a special role is being one of Santa's elves.

Many clubs adopt families, work in food banks, collect and redistribute toys or host a Breakfast with Santa. And a great many clubs host their biggest fundraisers of the year by selling Christmas trees.

This year, the Middleton Area Optimist Club partnered with the Greater Middleton Parks and Recreation Department to bring Santa's Workshop to life. With a donation of wooden toys from Home Depot, the Optimist Club and other community volunteers helped children in their community build a toy that they could take home with them.

Santa's Workshop was set up in the Middleton Rural Fire Department and more three hundred people enjoyed the day as part of the community's Christmas celebration that included a parade and tree lighting ceremony.

Talking trash at the Optimist Club

Ken Wall speaks to the Boise Noon
Optimist Club

The Boise Noon Optimist Club was talking trash today. That's right; member Ken Wall was there not only for lunch, but he had been called upon to discuss his job at the Ada County, Idaho landfill.

What's so unusual about this? It has been my experience that Optimist Clubs are often reluctant to call upon their members for presentations. In my opinion, they are most certainly missing out on great, interesting information that members have to share about themselves and their careers as well as how their work impacts the community in which they live.

The other odd thing about Ken's presentation was the topic. What could be interesting about a landfill? A lot! As well as learning that it is anticipated to last at least 100 years, members learned about drainage, terracing and ground cover options, recycling and energy production. These are things that impact the way we live and make us better citizens.

And we know that Optimist Clubs are all about making better citizens. Have you learned anything recently about being a better citizen? Share it with your Optimist Club. They need... and want.. to know.

Slide before the show

Today's choice for Music Sunday at Experience Optimism is all about the movement. The Cha-Cha Slide movement that is, by Mr. C the Slide Man.

Are you ready [y'all]? Clap your hands and get up and move!

Of course there is an optimistic reason for showing the Cha-Cha Slide. The Middleton Area Optimist Club in Idaho has begun a Free Movies in the Park series for its community. Movies start at dusk, but in Idaho it doesn't get dark until after 9:30 p.m. That means there is plenty of time to entertain the guests who have arrived, some with their entire families, before the show starts.

Music is a given and the Cha-Cha Slide gets many out of their seats to move. I thought I'd share it here and get some practice in before the next show. Join me, won't you? It's good for you to get up off of that seat.

JOOI of Reading: Seuss on the Loose

Read-aloud programs are some of my favorite activities, especially when the readers are young Optimist Club members. 

As an end-of-the-year school activity at Vision Charter School in Caldwell Idaho, the JOOI students, part of the Middleton Area Optimist Club, coordinated a read-aloud program for grades kindergarten through second grade.

Focusing only on books written by Dr. Seuss, the read-aloud program was called "Seuss on the Loose."  The young students, anxious to be dismissed for the summer, were enthralled with the freshman and sophomore readers as they sat in small groups around the soccer field.

Some students  acted out parts of the stories, changed their voices, and tried out other storytelling tricks to keep the younger students engaged.

All enjoyed so much that they hated to hear the bell ring that dismissed them not only from the activity, but also from school that day. 

Annually, JOOI (Junior Optimist Octagon International) promotes literacy through the JOOI of Reading. As with any Optimist Club program, the club is encouraged to make it their own. 

About 150 students participated in the Seuss on the Loose program. They did a great job and plan to do something similar again next year.

The coordinating group and readers are shown to the left. 

A reflection on belonging

I chose to join an Optimist Club because in my hometown the Optimist Club represented influence and affluence. To belong to this group meant something more than joining a service club; it was an opportunity to be mentored by some of the most successful business people in the community and to occasionally rub elbows with them in social settings. It was prestigious.

Funny, as a teenager, one never wants to be associated with the group tagged as social climbers, yet then and now, we all seek that prestige of belonging when we buy expensive accessories like handbags or tennis shoes that align us with certain groups.  We even carry around a Starbucks coffee cup like a badge of achievement sending the messages, "I can afford it," and "I'm worth it," among others. Prestige may be a subconscious trigger, but compelling nonetheless.

Yesterday, I attended a regional gathering of Optimist Clubs in Twin Falls, Idaho. This club is fast approaching the 150-member mark. An active and vital service organization, they have that prestige trigger working for them. The prestige of belonging to the Twin Falls Optimist Club is that you get to associate with fun people who are actively involved in positive change the community. Isn't that motivation enough? Perhaps, but even more encouraging is to learn that all of those many people really care about their community and what's more, they care about you. 

On my way home from the meeting, I heard the sad news that vocalist Whitney Houston had died. Sparked by the feeling of belonging to an Optimist Club, I thought how sad this remarkable artist was not able to find such comfort in her life. Despite her success, she seemed to live on the fringe.

In tribute to Whitney Houston and others who grapple with their own dependencies including issues of self esteem and others, I offer this powerful song, "Someone Like You," by Adele for Music Sunday at Experience Optimism.

"I wish nothing but the best for you," sings Adele. That single line reminds me of the feeling I get from the Twin Falls Optimist Club members. Concern, combined with a sense of belonging can be a powerful force for good.

Take a tour of the PNW District blog

One of the most ambitious website projects to be conducted by an Optimist District is going on in the Pacific Northwest. This district has created a dynamic blog platform that incorporates all 50 Optimist Clubs in the district.

The PNW District stretches from Idaho to Alaska and includes Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The main blog site attempts to highlight stories from all around the district and bulletin editors and others are encouraged to contribute to their own blogs which also serve as an enhanced club directory.

Visitors can go on a quick tour by watching this video. Click here to visit the PNW District blog.



Do you belong to an Optimist Club in the PNW District? They are looking for authors, photographers and more. Contact the district at this link for an assignment.

Skiers in Sun Valley are always optimistic for snow

Sun Valley, Idaho takes an optimistic approach to their economy every year by assisting Mother Nature with their own snow-making machines. While other ski resorts were struggling to open, Sun Valley logged-in a record December because every night, they have the ability to produce 2-3 inches of snow.

Thanks to KTVB.com for the video story; please watch to find out more about snow-making and how it keeps the economic engine turning for the famous ski resort. 

Make your plans today to ski Sun Valley.