Put this $500 incentive to work for your Optimist Club

Announced on its Facebook page, Optimist International says when you recruit a new member into your Optimist Club, you will be entered into a drawing to win $500. If it is your first new member, you will be entered into two drawings for $500 each.

The drawings will be held on a quarterly basis. There will be two winners in the members sponsoring their first new member category each quarter. There will be one winner in the all member category.

This is your opportunity to share optimism with a family member, friend or colleague and possibly reap a monetary award straight from Optimist International. Or your Optimist Club might hold a NOW event or a membership drive and ask everyone in the community to participate as an Optimist Volunteer. Wouldn't it be awesome to have your whole membership entered into the drawing?

Act quickly and your new members can get in on the drawing too!

Prepare your Optimist Club's legacy with Honor Club

For more years than I can remember, Optimist International has measured the success of an Optimist Club based on one recognition:
Honor Club.

The Honor Club criteria has been adjusted over time, but its award has always meant that an Optimist Club is managing itself in a way that will help it succeed far into the future.

Earning Honor Club helps your Optimist Club create its legacy. 

The Honor Club criteria are set forth by the Optimist International Board of Directors in Policy ICD-135.  They are:

1. Complete three or more service projects each year 
2. Complete the President’s Pride Report and Club Officer-Elect Form 
3. Recognize a Club member or local community individual 
4. Grow Club by Net of +3 in membership
5. Appoint a Club Foundation Representative and make a non-restricted contribution to the OIF or CCOF 
6. Conduct a Membership Recruitment/Drive (i.e. NOW) Program 
7. Club President or Club President-Elect (or two Designees) attend District Convention (or two other District meetings/conferences) 
8. Be current on District and OI Dues and Fees

Optimist Clubs that demonstrate a further commitment to growth are called Distinguished Optimist Clubs. 

Earning Distinguished Optimist Club helps Optimist International create its legacy.

The Distinguished Club criteria are set forth by the Optimist International Board of Directors in Policy ICD-135. In addition to earning an Honor Club recognition, they must also:

1. Meet Honor Club requirements
2. Add Net + 15 in membership OR Build one or more new Clubs OR Increase by Net + 8 and build two or more JOOI Clubs

Many Optimist Club members say they do not do what they do for an award. They appreciate the smiles on the faces of the children they serve and enjoy the cameraderie of their fellow members in service. I get it; that in itself is a reward. However, it is selfish to think that way for it serves only those who can participate today. 

We must rid ourselves of that selfish thinking so that Optimist Clubs will be able to serve others well into the future. It's up to you to ensure that your Optimist Club is providing the best service to its community and members by demonstrating excellence in administration, service and growth through the Honor Club Recognition Program. Don't wait - start today. 

Optimist Clubs are recognized for 2015-2016 achievement

Optimist Clubs are recognized each year by Optimist International based on one measurement: Honor Club. Some clubs achieve Honor Club and thenk do just a little bit more; they are called Distinguished Clubs.

The Special Recognition Awards Hotline for the 2015-2016 administrative year (October 1, 2015-September 30, 2016) was released today.

We salute those clubs in the PNW District for that earned Distinguished and Honor recognition.

Distinguished Club
Lebanon, OR
Tacoma-West, WA

Honor Club
SFU, BC 

Hillsboro, OR 

Meridian, ID 

McCall, ID  

Portland-Northeast, OR 

Roseburg, OR 

Vancouver, BC 

Vancouver-North Shore, BC 

Nampa, ID 

Issaquah, WA

Please click here to read the Awards and Recognition Hotline. 

February 2 is Optimist Day

February 2 has long been known as Groundhog Day. You know, the day when Punxsutawney Phil crawls out of his den to tell us if there will be an early spring or if we must hunker down for another six weeks of winter.

This year, the prognostication is sunny because for the first time ever, Optimist International is promoting #OptimistDay.

On February 2, 2017, all Optimist Club members are encouraged to wear a shirt, hat, or pin to promote their Optimist Club. As our club members promote their individual clubs, Optimist International will gain recognition as a connector of people and deeds around the world that makes it a better place to live.

I'm in; are you?

Show your Reel Optimism in 2017

For the fourth year, Optimist International and the Optimist International Foundation are asking Optimist Clubs, Junior Optimist Clubs and the public to submit video entries for the Reel Optimism Contest.

In 2017, the topics are:
Optimists in Action (adult and youth categories) - video must be 3 minutes or less
Make Optimism Go Viral (adult and youth categories) - video must be 45 seconds or less
Optimism (public category) - video must be 3 minutes or less

Clubs should begin working on their entries now. Submission dates are February 17 to April 14, 2017. Finalists will be announced on May 12, 2017 and public voting will begin, ending on May 31, 2017. Winners will be announced on June 2, 2107. See the full Reel Optimism Contest rules here.

Need some inspiration? Here are the entries from 2016 to get your creative juices flowing.

Optimist International reveals new program logos

In 2016, Optimist International and St. Louis University launched the revised Optimist International Oratorical World Championships. Along with larger scholarship amounts and global participation, the contest also received a much needed makeover. It received a new logo.

Standing tall at the top of this logo pyramid, the Oratorical Contest was the first of the Optimist International programs to be updated.

At the December Board of Directors meeting, new logos for Optimist International's traditional programs were revealed.

From left to right, please take a look at the logos for the Optimist International Essay Contest, Communication Contest for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Respect for Law, Youth Appreciation, Tri-Star Sports, and Youth Safety.

Optimist Clubs may download the new program logos here. 

Promise to live the Creed 2017

Happy 2017

Welcome to the best year of your life.

How do we know that it will be the best? Because we know that you are an Optimist and all Optimist Club members make the promise to think only of the best and to expect only the best. Optimist Club members live the Optimist Creed.

Those ten tenets inspire all who read them and for those who take the oath to belong to an Optimist Club, they become a way of life - a positive way of life.

We encourage you to take that promise with you as a daily mission. Live the Optimist Creed.

Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.