Greetings Optimists,
What an amazing year we had celebrating Optimism in this 2021-2022 year. We laughed together, we worked hard together, we challenged each other to leave our campsite better than we inherited it.
Sixty years ago on May 25, President John F. Kennedy stood before a crowd in Houston, Texas, and declared to the world that the United States was going to put a man on the moon. This was 1962 and the Space Race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R was not going well for America. The Soviets had put the first satellite in orbit when they launched Sputnik in 1957, and then put the first human in space when Yuri Gagarin was sent up in 1961. There was a fear that the U.S. would forever be playing catchup in the race to the stars.
Yet in his celebrated speech, President Kennedy thrilled the nation with his determination to put an American on the moon. “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
It was a stirring call to action — one that would ultimately help expand humanity’s scientific knowledge and to pinpoint our place in the cosmos. Kennedy did not live to see Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the surface of the moon, but when they did the astronauts brought a message of peace with them: The crew of Apollo 11 carried two medals commemorating Soviet astronauts who had lost their lives on missions to show that this really was “one giant leap for mankind.”
This past Optimist year, I challenged us all to be concentrate on serving the community thru various avenues of Optimism – with the ultimate goal of a +212 in Membership. We did not meet that goal, however as President Kennedy reminds us that choosing Optimism and Being Optimistic – is sometimes hard, but challenges us with a passionate intent to win. I believe we will reach that goal in the near future, and when we do – it will be One Giant leap for Optimism.
Today…we recognize and celebrate the Members, Clubs, Zones, Districts, and Regions that reached a level of achievement in their communities. On behalf of Optimists, communities, and children throughout our world, I thank you for going One Degree More – and congratulate you in those accomplishments.
Thank you for Being Optimists!
