Let’s Go Racing Update 

August 21, 2023 

We’re at the halfway point of the 4th Quarter Let’s Go Racing membership incentive program. Some Clubs were fast starters, bolting to the lead in the first days of the competition. Others have chosen the strategy of slow and steady, adding a new member one week and another the next. Still others laid in the back of the pack waiting for the appropriate time to use the “draft” to rocket their way to the front of the pack. At least our members haven’t gone crazy and tried something unorthodox ... or maybe they should.

There is a new leader for most members added since July 1. The Lapel Optimist Club from Indiana North posted 17 new members this past week, nearly doubling the size of the Club. The development pushes Fredericksburg, from South Texas, into second place with 15 new members since the green flag dropped. It’s bumper-to-bumper for third place: Centerville Noon, of Ohio, is in third with 10 new members, followed by Clinton Sunrise, of West Missouri, in fourth with seven new members.  But race observers are saying there is still plenty of time for these positions to change or for another Club to come out of the pack to take the lead. All they need is a great membership recruitment program. 

We also have a new leader in the percentage growth race. The Clinton Optimist Club of Central Ontario has grown 45.4 percent since July 1. The Harker’s Hall Optimist Club in Jamaica is close behind at 44.4 percent growth, while the Las Vegas Northwest Optimist Club is now at 33 percent, having led this phase of the race since mid-July. 

The top prize in the race is $1,000 for the Club adding the most members. The Club with the highest percentage of membership growth during the period will also collect $1,000. 

There will be cash prizes for second and third place in both categories as well. Any club not falling into the top three positions of each category will be placed in a random draw for one of two additional cash prizes. 

The racing rules require that all new members added during the race be paid members through the start of the 2023-2024 second quarter (January-March 2024).

Questions about the 4th Quarter Incentive program can be sent to membership@optimist.org.