You know Bruce - he's friendly, but quiet and always seems to think things through and make wise comments and decisions; but did you know that he was a charter president of the Optimist Club of Laramie, Wyoming before moving to Salem, Oregon where he has served as president of the Salem Optimist Club three times? He's been a lieutenant governor and District supporter because that's what you are supposed to do when you are or have been an Optimist Club president.
On August 27, 2016 Bruce added a new Optimist title to his name when he became Governor-elect of the Pacific Northwest District. Following a thorough supporting nominating speech from Peter Sudduth, President, Roseburg Optimist Club, Bruce raised the confidence of the District with a speech that outlined what he hopes to accomplish as Governor. He said,
"Besides building on what Gov. Rick Matkin gets started I want to:With such goals already defined, the PNW District - Optimist International is in good hands with our new Governor-elect.
- Find out what we need to do to attract our regular club members to our district meetings so they can get fired up along with their officers.
- Focus our efforts on helping our struggling clubs. There is too much invested in them to let them slip away.
- Increase our membership and find a meaningful way to get younger people involved so we can continue to serve our kids in the future.
- See if there is some way to get a larger number of clubs in the voting process on making changes to our policies, dues, and who will serve them as Governor-elect."
Congratulations, once again, to Bruce Gilbertson, PNW District Governor 2017-2018.