Kids, pets and pirates on parade

The Optimist Club of Mason County, Washington recently participated in the annual Forest Festival celebration. The festival recognizes the logging heritage of the area, gives a nod to Paul Bunyan and encourages sustainable uses of our forests. It also serves as one of the biggest community events, giving residents a fun weekend to share with their families and friends.

The Mason County Optimist Club produced and coordinated the annual Kiddie and Pet Parade, a precursor to the larger than life Paul Bunyan parade that takes place later in the day.

The theme this year was fairy tales and there were Paul Bunyan look-alikes, medieval warriors and princesses, and my favorite, pirates! As you can see, this whole family got in the spirit, but I have to say, my favorite pirates are the ones in the bottom photo - all four of them!

Good job Mason County. Thank you for sharing your photos. See more on Facebook at the Mason County Forest Festival Parade.

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.

Teens create optimistic t-shirts

T-shirt competition in Kirkland, WA.

New Optimist Clubs often provide new projects in a community. Adults come together to meet a need that they have seen bonding in a special way for a cause they hold dear. Once that cause is identified, the organization comes together quickly and the work begins.

The Optimist Club of Lake Washington in Kirkland, Washington is on such a path. As their major cause, they have chosen wellness, especially health and wellness for children in coordination with the Apple Core project Bastyr University.

That has put them in touch with a number of organizations that need caring adults including Boys and Girls Clubs, YMCA, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and the Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB) where they have just completed their second project.

The project looks like a lot of fun: an optimistic t-shirt design competition. Each week, the club would meet with the teens to help them with their ideas and over the weekend, a winner was chosen. The first place entry says, "Don't worry." An optimistic thought indeed!

See more entries on the Lake Washington Optimist Club Facebook page.

New Optimists Welcome

In two short days, Optimist International will celebrate the new year. With only 48 hours left to achieve their annual goals, Optimist District governors and Optimist Club presidents are still seeking new members to join the movement to bring out the best in children.

Since Optimist Clubs have different cultures, different approaches are taken in membership recruitment, but two show-and-tell type events crossed my desk recently that I want to share with you.

The first was a NOW (New Optimists Welcome) banquet hosted by the Tri Cities Optimist Club in Richland, Washington. (right) The Tri-Cities Optimist Club invited members of their community to enjoy dinner and learn more about the Optimist Club with a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, current Optimist Club members hosted each of the tables and talked to their guests about the projects their club performs and what they enjoy the most. It's not high pressure, but they do ask for the sale and were rewarded with ten new members that evening.

On a little softer side, the Optimist Club of Newark, California hosted what they billed as the "Social Event of the Season" for their Optimist Club and invited members and guests to an afternoon BBQ picnic at the Jett Ranch. (left) Lunch was catered, bocce ball was played, a DJ entertained, and in between the members and guests looked at scrapbooks and talked in glowing terms about the club's projects and youth activities.

According to the report, potential new members were impressed, felt comfortable with the club and members and were sent home with applications to complete. They say the applications will come "flowing in."

It's always interesting to hear how different clubs promote themselves to others. The key to membership growth is to do projects that people want to participate in, talk about the projects (a lot), and then ask others to get involved.  And then remember, sometimes you have to ask more than once because no may just mean tell me more.

How do you recruit new members to your Optimist Club? Please share your stories with us in the comment section. Inquiring minds want to know!

Optimists at the fair

It is fair time in the Pacific Northwest and Optimist Clubs in Idaho, Oregon and Washington are working day and night at their biggest fundraisers.

In Caldwell, Idaho, the Optimist Club works the food booth at the Caldwell Night Rodeo. This week-long event is one of the top 20 professional rodeos in the United States. There are events for junior ropers and a rodeo queen competition with scholarships and also country music artists free with rodeo admission.  The 48-member club found a little (or a lot) of help from the Junior Optimist Club. 

In Oregon City, Oregon, the Oregon City Optimist Club works the Clackamas County Fair for an extended weekend, Wednesday through Sunday, making pronto pups. As the only pronto pup supplier at the fair, they work non-stop. In other words, don't believe the pictures that show them waiting for customers. 

The Tri-Cities Optimist Club in Richland, Washington also work a full week at the Benton County Fair. They have a large, permanent building where they cook and serve, and a nice covered picnic area for the patrons. And, oh, did I mention the mechanical bull? 

All of our fair fundraisers are well-supported by their respective communities. Fair-goers enjoy knowing their money stays right in the community to support projects that bring out the best in children. Please enjoy the slideshow from Optimists at the Fair. You'll see being an Optimist Club member is not all work; it's a lot of fun.

Photos provided by Lareena Roberson, Casey Crookham and the Oregon City Optimist Club. Thanks! 

Safety on wheels is fun for all

Optimist Club Bike Rodeos are a way to connect your Optimist Club with the children in the community. Most important, they allow  children the opportunity to meet with police officers on friendly, helpful terms.

The Optimist Club of Chehalis-Centralia, Washington held their annual bicycle rodeo on June 18 and as you can see in the pictures, none were too young to participate. They also welcomed one young lady in a wheelchair, and were able to teach safety on wheels to all.

Helmets were given away to those who needed them and at the end of the event, all participants received goody bags. Three young cyclists had their names drawn at random to take home new bicycles courtesy of the Optimist Club.

Bikes, children, and the great outdoors

Optimist Clubs are involved in helping keep our children safe. One of the more popular activities is a Bike Safety Fair or Bike Rodeo.

It is fairly easy to teach bicycle safety and most police departments enjoy being asked to help. They often bring the the safety cones and help the young bikers go through an obstacle course.

Have someone on hand to take a look at the children's bikes, make sure the chain is tight and the wheels are in good shape. Always emphasize how important it is to the use a helmet.

Now, the rest of the activity is up to your Optimist Club! Add refreshments, entertainment, exhibits, raffles, drawings and other safety tips to the day. Make it fun for the family and you are sure to make it fun for the Optimist Club members too.

It's summer! Time to show our kids that it's fun to be outdoors.

No age barriers for Optimist Club Christmas baskets

Christmas baskets, loaded with food and presents, are a regular project for Optimist Clubs. Members of the Optimist Club of Pasco-Tri-Cities in Richland, Washington made a "Supermarket Sweep" to fulfill their requests.  As you will see in the slideshow, members have fun together as they serve their community.

Most clubs ask for donations from the community. That's what the Junior Optimist Club at Hartland High School in Hartland Township, MI did. They collected 4,000 pounds of food and supplies with help from their friends in the school district.

Their school advisor, Nicole Conley, commented on the student' generosity. She said, "I am always awestruck how much teenagers want to give. Many people believe them to be selfish creatures, and some are, but I generally believe they lack the knowledge of how to get involved.

Optimist Club members will agree with Ms. Conley's statement. That's why they spend time with children, providing projects for them to do and as they get older, helping them to carry out projects on their own. A caring community begins with caring, involved adults. We like to call them Optimist Club members.
Read all about the Junior Optimist (JOOI) project here.

Roll into summer with bicycle safety

Keeping kids safe is a priority for the Optimist Club of Issaquah, Washington. Over the past five years they continuously developed and enlarged their Bicycle Safety Day to include more communities.  According to Bruce Pflaumer, President, this year they will conduct three events in Federal Way, June 5; Issaquah, June 12; and Bellevue, June 13.

How to share your happiness

Many Optimist Clubs have a curious currency known as Happy Dollars.

Happy Dollars are donations made to the clubs fine pot for telling a happy story to your friends at your Optimist Club meeting.  After handing over the contribution, the storyteller gets to share something positive that has happened to them since the last time that the club met.

I've heard happy stories about who is pregnant, who didn't get a speeding ticket, who got a job, who got a promotion, who retired, who got married, who got elected, who got new shoes, who went on vacation, who got a clean bill of health and who is happy just because the sun came out today.

It seems that Happy Dollars might be a less intimidating way to say what we are grateful for.  At the 2009 Optimist International Convention, author and motivational speaker MK Mueller gave an inspirational keynote presentation on her book 8 to Great.  She encouraged us to be responsible for our own happiness  by expressing our gratitudes every day.  She challenged us to reach deep and allow ourselves to recognize more than the superficial benefits of each day.

What an inspirational challenge!  Friends, Happy Dollars are a great way to start.  If your Optimist Club doesn't participate in the happiness currency, encourage them to give it a try.  After all, sharing positive news is, well, optimistic.  Isn't that the main reason we come together as Optimist Clubs?

Take a look at the West Tacoma, WA Optimist Club bulletin for some examples of Happy Dollars. 

Clean-up effort on the Lewis River

The Optimist Club of Vancouver owns a 42-acre youth retreat along the Lewis River in Washington.  It is a rural setting just outside of an urban area.  Like most rural settings, if you aren't living on them, out of sight means out of mind.

While the Optimist Club owns the camp, they are not the ones who use it and while they were busy doing other Optimist programs, it became overgrown. When elected as president, Gay Enyeart said, "No more.  This camp is an asset for us and the community, let's clean it up."

Cleaning up the camp is just what the Optimist Club is doing!  For several weekends they have been working at the camp.  They have enlisted the help of the Mentors of Boys (MOB) Junior Optimist Club and are now inviting the public to join them in their final efforts.  If you live or travel to the Vancouver, WA area, please come out on May 8 and give a couple hours of time to this clean-up effort.

The MOB is also collecting tools and supplies for the project.  Please enlarge the flyer for more details.  For more information, please contact Gay Enyeart.

Membership is a community effort

Optimist Clubs are just finishing the second quarter of the administrative year.  There is always a lot of jockeying for position at this time of year because whether you believe the year is "half started" or "half over," reality begins to set in.  If you are a club leader, you might ask yourself, will I be able to accomplish everything that you wanted to do in the time that remains? 

Some clubs and leaders might want to adjust their goals.  Others might want to set new ones. Please remember though, as part of an Optimist Club, your goals, your dreams, your mission is shared by others.  There is not a finite ending date.  Our communities will always need our energy.  Our kids will always need our programs.

Another thing that  never changes is the need for new, vibrant people to join us in our endeavors.  We must find caring adults to help us carry out our projects, identify new activities and help us reach more children in a positive way.  Today, I am in Poulsbo, Washington helping their small club become a larger one.  We are touching the community with a walk 'n talk - we walk in to business, talk about Optimist Clubs, talk about community needs, and ask them to get involved. 

We hope to add members.  We hope to build awareness.  By reaching out to people with direct one-to-one contact, we share our positive attitudes with others.  Try it today. It is a good reminder of how nice your community is and how willing merchants and others are to be involved.

Easy to read, easy to promote

Optimist Club program chairpersons are probably aware of this problem.  Optimist International has created an application for the Optimist Oratorical Contest and Optimist Essay Contest that contains so much fine print that one might wonder is it worth it or will I agree to something that I really don't want to do. 

What's the solution?  Make a flyer that is easy to read.  The Optimist Club of Issaquah, Washington has great success with the Optimist Essay Contest.  I think it has a lot to do with their simple, straightforward marketing approach that begins with this flyer. 

The Issaquah Optimist Club has also secured a good relationship with their school district and the scholarship contests are published on the school district websites.

It does take a little work to promote activities in your community, but the increased participation will make it all worth it.

Optimist Club members double as Santa's elves

The City of Auburn, Washington has published their Christmas festivities schedule and front and center is the Auburn Optimist Club.  Auburn Optimist Club members are Santa's very special helpers because they maintain his Auburn home throughout the year.  The Auburn Santa House has been an Optimist Club tradition for forty years. 

These happy elves are promoting the Santa's visit and offering photos with the jolly old elf himself before and after the parade.  Located in the B Street Plaza; the Santa House will be open though Dec. 23, with weekday hours of 3 - 6 p.m. and weekend hours of noon to 6 p.m.