Where do we go from here?

I've always tried to inspire others to action through an Optimist Club with this blog. Over the past however many years, I haven't been giving it any attention. It struck me today that it might be time to revisit the purpose to see if I might inspire myself to share a little more. 

After reflection, really months of reflection, I've decided that this organization is difficult to promote for various and numerous reasons, which I have no doubt discussed in many posts before this one. Today, I will give my personal belief, not an acknowledgement of areas that need to be improved. 

It is my personal feeling that Optimist Clubs, and thereby Optimist International, have lost their purpose*, and my struggle to help them find it leaves me feeling apathetic. I'm not burned out. I have plenty of energy to share and even more knowledge and experience to guide me and others; however, it no longer gives me joy to do so. I know so many others who have drifted away for this reason, even if they wrapped their departure in a more palatable excuse. Lack of joy is why this blog remains a dated relic of how vital the organization once was. 

I'll continue to wait for that call that will never come, asking me to help lead us away from extinction. Until then, I'll accede that the purpose of this blog has run its course. No mission creep for me. Should the organization return to providing joy, I'll return to telling about it. 

 Thank you, readers, for your faith in me.

*When an organization loses its purpose, it suffers a fundamental loss of direction, motivation, and strategic focus, often leading to stakeholder distrust, high staff turnover, and declining influence. In the non-profit sector, this "mission drift" or inactivity can lead to the IRS revoking tax-exempt status because the entity is no longer serving its public, charitable, or educational mission. (Director Prep, Candid, and the IRS)

 

Yes, I am still here

Hello friends, 

It’s been far too long since my last check-in, and I wanted to take a moment to provide an update. I’m happy to share that my commitment to optimism remains as strong as ever. I continue to stay actively involved as a proud member of the Share-a-Smile Optimist Club, and I also help support the scholarship programs with the West Tacoma Optimist Club—efforts that bring real hope and opportunity to our community.

Most importantly, I continue to share daily messages of optimism on Facebook, as I’ve done for the past eighteen years. I actively manage five pages and one group, all dedicated to spreading positivity. I’d love for you to join me there so we can share the journey of optimism together. 

Just click the links below to like, follow, and stay connected. Thank you!

Join An Optimist Club - Inspiration from Linda Vaught Disney

West Coast Region - Optimist International

PNW Optimist Clubs

Share-a-Smile Optimist Club

Pacific Central District - Optimist International

Experience Optimism

Happy New Year 2024

As we cross over from one year to the nxt, it is a time to continue those activities that bring joy, discard

those that do not, and share your optimism with all. 

Don't block engagement

 My posts are few and very far between. I apologize for the lack of attention I have been able to put into this site and hope to one day return to more optimism. 

It's tough. Engagement is harder these days. It could be because I'm trying to engage in my work over my optimistic pursuits. It could be because I don't understand the district I reside in where committee chairs are not listed on the website. What? How can we engage with them and the programs offered by Optimist International and the PNW District?

I truly believe it is the latter. When individuals are elected into positions where they have little or no experience, they return their service with wildly out-of-tune procedures indicative of their lack of knowledge. 

If you want people to engage with you, you must offer them the opportunity for engagement first. Period. Nothing more to be said. 

Opt for optimism

 I am curating a group on Facebook made up primarily of Optimist Club members from various clubs in the West Coast Region - Optimist International. To begin the week, I publish a little nugget of inspired loyalty to the organization that I call Membership Monday. 

Brand awareness is as important to internal audiences as it is to external audiences. After all, the external audience has not become loyal yet. It takes continued dedication by members to inspire and invite others to join the cause. It is then a conscious decision one makes to choose optimism. 

Choose optimism and join an Optimist Club today. Send me a note and I will help you find a club near you.

Push on with optimism

 A year ago, my world stopped. That happens when you lose a loved one, especially when they are the love of your life. 

Dick Disney and I met through our work with the PNW District - Optimist International. We fell in love as leaders of the District who wanted only the best for our Optimist Clubs. Through that common interest, we found other things that we shared including a love for travel, a sense of humor, and solitude. 

Life is much more solitary now that he is gone. I still look to optimism for friendship and hope. I find it in some places. I find it desperately lacking in others. I push on. 

I miss you every day, Dick, but I will push on. Soon I will attend the 104th Optimist International Convention, only the second one to be held since the pandemic restrictions have lessened. Only the second since you left me too soon. 

At the convention, I will see old and new friends and I will push on. I'll look for the inspiration - the optimism - that allows me to move forward and to push on. 

Virtual photography contest goes to a storefront in Vernon, BC

 We continue to be impressed by the North Okanagan Optimist Club. This post reflects its successful photography contest that was held online in April 2021.  Not only was the club able to conduct its contest online, but it is also reaching into the brick-and-mortar community with a storefront display of the results. Kudos to the North Okanagan Optimists for a job well done!

Due to the pandemic, all Optimist Clubs have had to be creative in their approach to programs. We would love to hear what your Optimist Club has done to serve its community and its members. Please send us a note here. 

Rally with the Optimists in Atlanta for the Optimist International Convention

Next month, Optimist Club members will rally in Atlanta, Georgia for the 103rd Annual Optimist
International Convention. It will be a hybrid event as some members will not be able to attend in person and will enjoy a virtual program; but for those with the ability and willingness to travel, it will be a family reunion of great importance. 

It will be the first time that Optimist Club members have come together on a large scale since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

That in itself forecasts optimism. The hope and desire to gather with friends who feel like family is real and medical experts are cautiously approving travel as the global economy slowly begins to regain normalcy. 

I plan to travel in person to the Optimist International Convention and I hope that you will join me. The agenda includes two keynote presentations: Michelle Gielan will present on happiness and Blake Leeper will describe what it means to rally in the face of obstacles. Business sessions will help lead the organization and education sessions to improve skills needed to lead an Optimist Club and District with a positive impact. Fellowship activities will include a night at the Atlanta Braves baseball game, the Heritage Brunch, and the International Presidents Celebration. 

And if you have been to a convention before, you know, the networking opportunities outweigh everything else. It's where we meet new friends and finally see those in person who we've been seeing on Zoom for almost two years. It's where friends become family as optimism reigns high. Prove that you are an Optimist and join the Optimist International Convention in Atlanta.  Don't forget to wear your mask!

Rally for optimism

Optimist Clubs ask you to rally to service and to rally to optimism. 

It's fairly simple to join an Optimist Club and do both. 

Share a positive attitude and give back to your community by clicking here to find an Optimist Club near you and join.

 

Celebrate the International Day of Happiness with Music

 It's coming! The International Day of Happiness is March 20, 2021. 

Optimist International will kick-off the day with the Music Makes People Happy OptiForum. This upbeat opportunity is free to all Optimist Club members via Zoom. Registration is required at this link: https://bit.ly/3ewLSfM. 

The Music Makes People Happy OptiForum will feature inspiration by Bill Myers, a third-generation Optimist Club member, Emmy Award-Winning actor, musician, and producer. Bill will share stories of how music shaped his life and career in a positive way. 

Participants will also see the winners of the first-ever Musical Happiness program. The top three winners in the musical and vocal categories will be announced. You may watch their submissions on YouTube by searching for #OptimistMusicalHappiness2021or clicking on this link: https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/optimistmusicalhappiness2021. 

Optimist Clubs are encouraged to host a simple project for the Day of Happiness. It might be as simple as turning your Club's Facebook page into a Happiness wall by sharing uplifting notes of encouragement or perhaps sending an email chain of happy stories to each of your Optimist Club members.. 

If you reside in a community that has been able to relax its COVID restrictions, perhaps your Optimist Club might set up a happiness wall in a local park and ask people to write what makes them happy on a post-it note. Be creative and have fun. 

Most of all, be a #happyoptimist. 

Optimist International boosts happiness with music

Optimist International to host first-ever musical happiness competition for youth on the International Day

of Happiness

Optimist International invites middle and high school youth to participate in the first-ever Optimist International Musical Happiness Competition. The entries are due March 15, 2021, and the winners will be announced on the International Day of Happiness, March 20, 2021.

• Minimum age to participate is 11 and no more than 18 years old as of October 1, 2020.
• Submissions are directly to YouTube using #OptimistMusicalHappiness2021
• Six prizes will be awarded for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in musical and vocal categories
• The guidelines are available at https://www.optimist.org/documents/optimist_musical_happiness_competition.pdf

According to Optimist International President Mark Weinsoff, Optimist International chose to recognize the International Day of Happiness with music because music makes people happy. “Optimist Clubs provide many programs for youth, based on the needs in their individual communities. With the pandemic, we thought it was especially important to reach out with as an organization to share positive emotions with children and adults.”

The winners will be recognized at a special event on Zoom, March 20, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. CT. “As Optimist Club members, we choose optimism every day. We believe optimism, happiness, and now music, go hand-in-hand,” Mr. Weinsoff concluded.

Optimist International is made up of more than 2,200 Optimist Clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and throughout the world where more than 70,000 adult and youth members strive to bring out the best in youth, community, and their very own selves. More information may be found at optimist.org

Celebrate 50 years of the Optimist International Foundation with a donation

Throughout 2021, the Optimist International Foundation (OIF) will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. It has commissioned special artwork from artist Jeff Hansen, an interesting young man who met many Optimist Club members at the Optimist International Convention in Louisville, KY.  Jeff had multiple health conditions from birth and succumbed this year to complications of the brain tumor he had lived with since a child. 

Please consider honoring both the Optimist International Foundation and Jeff's memory by making a donation to the OIF of $50 and receiving its 50th Anniversary pin. 

Click here to purchase the pin.

Scarves, ties, and other items featuring Jeff's unique style are also for sale and all money raised benefits the Childhood Health and Wellness Campaign. 

Go here to purchase these special items.

As is the OIF's way, it helps Optimist Clubs help Youth. At this time there are two grant opportunities to which  Optimist Clubs may apply.

Club Grant Application – You may submit an application for a Matching Grant to start up a new project this year. The amount requested can range from $250 to $1,000. The Club Grant program is a long-standing effort by OIF to assist Clubs in helping more in their communities. The application can be found on the OIF website by clicking here. The deadline for application submission is March 15, 2021.

Childhood Health and Wellness – This new Grant program, which grew out of the Childhood Cancer Campaign, is accepting applications for the second grant cycle. The deadline for applications is April 30, 2021. The next consideration cycle after that ends on August 30, 2021. The application can be found on the OIF website by clicking here. The process will award $250 – $1,000 for a Matching Grant in one of the four focus areas:

• Healthy Lifestyles (Child Obesity, Healthy Eating, Physical Fitness, Happy Heart Advice, March of Dimes)
• Chronic Diseases (Childhood Cancer, Juvenile Diabetes, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Sickle Cell Anemia)
• Mental Health (Depression, Bullying, Abuse)
• Disabilities – Physical, Intellectual, & Developmental (Autism, Special Olympics)

Optimist Clubs and their members are the principal donors to the Optimist International Foundation. To make giving fun during this time of celebration, the OIF is hosting an online auction. The auction ends on March 11, 2021. 

Please go here to make a bid: Optimist International Foundation Auction 2021. 

File the IRS Form 990 by February 15

Here is your annual reminder.

It's time for all US Optimist Clubs to file Form 990 to the IRS. The form is due February 15. The filing is simple. All you need are the following:

• Employer identification number (EIN), also known as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
• Tax year
• Legal name and mailing address
• Any other names the organization uses
• Name and address of a principal officer
• Web site address if the organization has one
• Confirmation that the organization’s annual gross receipts are $50,000 or less
• If applicable, a statement that the organization has terminated or is terminating (going out of business)

E-file is an option for tax-exempt organizations not required to file a long-form which includes nearly all Optimist Clubs except those managing large sums of money (over $50,000) or property. Please consult an accountant or tax preparer if you are uncertain if this applies to your Optimist club.

Complete instructions and log-in filing information can be found here. Form990-N Electronic Filing System e-Postcard. It is free to file and required in order to maintain your tax-exempt status as an Optimist Club.

Show your Optimist pride on February 4

On February 4, Optimist International encourages all Optimist Clubs and Optimist Club members to tell the world that they are proud to be an Optimist. 

Take a photo of yourself in Optimist-branded attire and post it on your Facebook page for all to see. Use the hashtag #OptimistDay and join the movement. 

I'm proud to be an Optimist and you should be, too. 

While you are at it, please share the Optimist Creed because, now, more than ever, we must Choose Optimism. 

Optimist Clubs encourage creativity

The United States of America inaugurated a new president on January 20, 2021. Amid the symbolic importance and gravity of the event, a 22-year-old woman amazed the audience around the world with her words, her poise, and her ideas. We share here the poem recited by Amanda Gorman at the Biden-Harris Inauguration, "The Hill We Climb."

 

Gorman was 14-years-old when she became the youngest poet laureate for the city of Los Angeles. As Optimist Clubs, we salute her talent and perseverance. We also want to encourage other young people to find their voices and creativity and offer the following projects promoted by Optimist International. 

A Kaleidoscope of Performing Arts

Optimist Photography Contest

Optimist Visual Arts Competition

The Kaleidoscope of Performing Arts and Photography Contest may be conducted at any time by an Optimist Club. The links provide ideas for conducting a project with your community. 

The Optimist Visual Arts Competition has awards provided by Optimist International. Entries must be received at the International Office by May 1, 2021. 

West Tacoma Optimist Club assists the homeless

Before the pandemic, the West Tacoma Optimist Club would help the Pierce County Emergency Food Network once per month with its repack project, taking bulk items and repacking them into family-sized bundles. Because of COVID-19, the group can't get together and that activity has had to be put on hold. 

That didn't prevent the Optimist Club from making an annual donation to the organization of peanut butter. Seven hundred jars went to the organization, half chunky and half creamy, to help fulfill their requests because peanut butter is something that can't be purchased in bulk. 

Members John Hickman and Dick Disney made the deliveries before Christmas. 

Also on the West Tacoma Optimist Club's Christmas donation list was a contribution to the Tacoma Rescue Mission. 

Member Ron Thompson visited the Rescue Mission and gave $2,000 to help them continue to serve the homeless and hurting in Tacoma and Pierce County. 

Photos contributed by the West Tacoma Optimist Club. Please click on the photos to enlarge. 

Hillsboro Optimist Club inspires students to ring bells

We're all used to seeing that red kettle in front of stores during the holiday season. In fact, we might be so aware of it that we completely overlook it! Overlooking was not an option in Hillsboro, Oregon this past season as students were the designated bell-ringers for The Salvation Army.

According to Monte Akers, President, Hillsboro Optimist Club:

Century High School students partnered with the Salvation Army and the Hillsboro Optimist Club to pull off a double whammy in fundraising!

Twenty students rang bells at The Salvation Army's kettles on Dec 19 and 23 and raised over $6,500 for The Salvation Army.

For their efforts, they were rewarded with $800 designated for the Century High School food pantry by the Hillsboro Optimist Club.

The Hillsboro Optimist Club hopes to perform similar 3-way partnerships with other youth groups and organizations in the future. Wayne Bohm, Hillsboro Optimist Club member and a teacher at Century High School explained that the students are usually knee-deep in the Elk's canned food drive this time of year, but that project was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Working with Tami Mandrell and Lisa Cole at The Salvation Army the students found a great way to give back to their community.

Photos contributed by the Hillsboro Optimist Club.

Happy New Year!

Helen Keller wrote, "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

It is that spirit that leads all Optimist Clubs and their members to push forward, seek new challenges, overcome more hurdles, and make the world a better place. 

This year, more than ever, we must choose optimism. As you awake each morning, think of one way that you can demonstrate optimism in your daily activities and then do it. Your thoughts, put into action, will help others choose optimism, too. 

Think only of the best. Happy New Year! 

Hindsight is 2020. Choose Optimism in 2021

 

In less than 24 hours, 2020 hindsight will have a new meaning. It used to be that when we said hindsight is 20:20 we were speaking of being clear, with all things known. Now and forever, 2020 hindsight will be known for its disruption and the sheer unknowing that COVID-19 unleashed during this most unprecedented year. 

While vaccines have been developed and approved with what seems lightning speed, we still face the uncertainty of their effectiveness, safety, and availability leading us to hope for the best in the new year.  Frontline health care workers and seniors were the first to be inoculated and soon, perhaps, the vaccine rollout will cover all. Perhaps life will eventually return to something bearing a reasonable semblance to what we used to call normal.

As we press on to the greater achievements of the future, as good Optimists are willed to do, I believe we must also look back on the past year with gratitude. We've learned that technology is truly our friend, patience is truly a virtue, and love is truly what makes life worth living. 

Looking forward to the new year, we must think only of the best and expect only the best because now, more than ever, we must #ChooseOptimism. 

Happy New Year to all the Optimists out there. Help us share messages of resilience and happiness as we rally all of those around us to success in 2021. 

Optimist International Scholarship Contests in the Pacific Northwest District

The Scholarship Contests are perhaps the most beloved of all Optimist Club activities, next to, of course, the fellowship that we feel as part of a group of positive-thinking advocates for youth and community. Each year since 1928, Optimist International has held the Oratorical Contest at the Optimist Club and District Level. It also promotes the Essay Contest and Communications Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as opportunities for students to improve their communication skills. 

The Optimist International Essay Contest is the first in the series of competitions. The topic for the 2020-2021 school year is "Reaching your Dreams by Choosing Optimism." 

The Club planning guide may be found at this link. 
The student entry form may be found at this link.

The Optimist International Essay Contest is currently taking place and Optimist Clubs have until February 28, 2021, to submit their winning entry to the PNW District. Each club may submit one entry to compete at the District level for the $2,500 scholarship prize. A check for $50.00 US must accompany the winning entry and mailing instructions will be provided before February 1 by Chair Monique Connors. 

The Optimist International Oratorical World Championships is a multi-level event that begins at a local Optimist Club. The top two contestants from each club move forward to the Zone-level competition. The top speaker in each Zone then moves forward to the District-level competition where the contestants compete for $1,000, $1,500, and $2,500 scholarships. The first-place speaker then moves on to the World Contest where they may achieve an additional $20,000 scholarship award. 

The topic for the 2020-2021 school year is "Healing the World with Optimism."

The Club planning guide for Oratorical Contests may be found at this link.
The student entry for the Oratorical Contest may be found at this link. 

Cathy Cena is the PNW District Chair for the Optimist International Oratorical competition. She will be reaching out to clubs with more information for participating soon. Please note that the sponsoring Optimist Club contributes $50.00 US for each contestant that advances to the Zone competition. The District competition will take place in the spring near or at the time of the third quarter meeting for the PNW District. If COVID-19 rules remain in effect, the contest will be held virtually. 

The Communications Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CCDHH) may be held at the discretion of the Executive Board based on the number of clubs likely to participate and the ability to fundraise for the scholarship for deaf students who speak, among other things. Should the competition go forward, the topic for the 2020-2021 school year is "Healing the World with Optimism." 

The Club planning guide for the CCDHH may be found at this link.
The student entry form for the CCDHH may be found at this link. 

As with the other scholarship contests, the sponsoring Optimist Club contributes $50.00 US for each student that competes at the next level following the Club event. The District Chair will communicate additional guidelines if the CCDHH contest is to be held this year.