Dear fellow Optimist,
I just returned home from Atlanta, Georgia, where more than 400 resilient Optimists came together for the 103rd Optimist International Convention. Hundreds more rallied online in our first hybrid event. For fifteen long months, we have waited for the pandemic to end and for life to return, to what we will probably call a new normal. As Optimists, we cannot wait. Optimists must remember we have the power to lead the way to rally our communities and clubs to success as the pandemic recedes. We will innovate and initiate different ways to achieve our goals. The fourth quarter is the time we put all our efforts into success.
What does success look like for an Optimist Club? I believe it means our members are positive-minded, happy, and engaged, and we are doing our best to flood our community with the same attributes. It means that the Optimist organization is growing in membership and service. A successful Optimist Club leaves its legacy for the children and community it serves. Most importantly, it is leaving its indelible mark of optimism in its community.
To help your Optimist Club achieve success, I recommend taking the following actions:
- Invite at least one person to visit your club, which I asked everyone present at the convention in Atlanta to do. Please note, I am not asking you to get them to join. I am just asking you to invite someone to see your club in action or at a club gathering. If you provide optimism and purpose, people will join.
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Review the steps to be an Honor Club. Honor Club is truly about setting a model for success and leaving a legacy. There is still time to achieve all elements. Please contact me, if you don’t see a way to get there, and I will assist you.
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Consider starting a new Optimist Club in a neighboring community and then do it! Starting a new Optimist Club is one of the best ways to share optimism. Every community needs an Optimist Club to provide hope and positive vision to youth and the members of the new club. By the way, an Honor Club upgrades to Distinguished Club when they start a new Optimist Club.
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Complete the steps to be a Certified Optimistic Optimist Club. Your club has probably performed all the steps by now – please tell us about it by clicking on each link of the pledge form and sharing your story. Marketing tip: take each story and share it on your social media channels and with your local newspaper. Tell the world what your Club did to become a Certified Optimistic Optimist Club.
Find out when your District Convention will be held and make plans to attend with other members of your Optimist Club. Whether you attend live or virtually, the opportunity for learning and fellowship are immense. Boost your Optimism and your Optimist Club’s success by being engaged.
Rally until the end. That is the best way to success.
Sincerely,
Mark Weinsoff
President 2020-2021
Optimist International
