Service organizations are a big part of the ‘beating heart’ of a community like Winterset. They put into action the adage that, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” All across our community, there are wonderful people, performing altruistic deeds for their fellow citizens. When a group of those civic-minded folks comes together, though, it seems that their power multiplies.
One such organization in our community is the Winterset Optimist Club. There are many others as well, and I intend to feature them all in the coming weeks, but the Optimists get the spotlight this week because February 4th just happens to be Optimist Day!
PS. Read all the way to the end for a chance to win something cool!
Today’s Feature: Winterset Optimist Club
I asked Stuart Hoven, who is currently serving as the club’s president, if he could tell me why he decided to join Optimists and what he saw as the most meaningful way that the organization is involved in the community.
I was asked to do a presentation for the Optimists and knew I would join the club after reading the Optimist Creed for the first time at that meeting. For the first few years that I was a member, I could not regularly attend the weekly meetings but eventually made a change to my work schedule to allow my participation and have been a regular attending member for over 15 years now. I was not aware of the community service opportunities with Optimist when I first joined, but I soon found out.
I was part of the original group to get the joint Optimist/Lions club flag project up and going and it is my favorite community service activity. I love to see all of the flags up across town each holiday that we put them out. I don’t think at the time any of us realized the financial benefit to the clubs that the flag project would provide. I am very happy to know that all of the money we raise through our service stays local and funds opportunities and services for youth.
I really enjoy the Optimist Fun Night each year that is put on for the elementary age children, our youth basketball tournament, helping the Junior Optimist club sponsor families for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and honoring a high school student that embraces optimism. It takes a community to raise healthy children and Optimist contributes thousands of dollars annually to local program for youth.
Stuart Hoven
Background & History
Optimist Club is a voluntary organization of civic-minded men and women working together toward progressive thought and action in community service. Members are composed of people drawn from all walks of life, who are motivated by the desire to contribute to the community from which they and their families reside.
The earliest Optimist Clubs were chartered at the beginning of the 20th century. According to Optimist Gordon S. “Bish” Thompson, “initially, optimist clubs were developed between businessmen in order to reciprocate business between members and provide a desired fellowship and a fraternity. It was soon discovered that the rewards of serving the community, especially the youth, far outweighed the limited gratification of serving each other in an elite group.” I found this great video on the Optimist International website from a few years ago when the organization celebrated their 100th anniversary.
The Winterset Optimist Club was chartered in February of 1984 with 42 members (all men at the time) and Ken Bassett served as the first president of the club. An article written by Carol Bassett that appeared in the Madisonian in 1998, reported that the idea for organizing the group came from Ken Bassett who was the superintendent of the Winterset Community School District at the time. “When attending an Iowa Community Betterment Program in Ames in the fall of ’82, Ken Bassett took notice of an Optimist Club, thus sparking his curiosity. With the encouragement of Gayle Leeper, Bassett proceeded with the idea of bringing an optimist club to Winterset. Without the cooperation of many people, however, the club could not have gotten off the ground.” The article went one to report that there were 85 members of the group in 1998 and outlined the many ways that the club had been active in the community as a “friend of youth” in the 15 years since their start.
Optimist Creed
One of the central tenets of Optimist International is 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.
Whether a member of an Optimist Club or not, these are some pretty wise words by which to live.
Community Involvement
The Winterset Optimist Club is dedicated to fulfilling the role of Friend of Youth. They endeavor to encourage and assist our youth to:
- Develop OPTIMISM as a philosophy of life;
- Inspire patriotism and friendship among all people;
- Urge courteous, enthusiastic participation in individual and community activities;
- Inspire respect for law enforcement and each other.
In a normal year, the Optimist Club supports a variety of youth-centered community programs
- Family Fun Night – Held in October at Winterset Elementary School, this is a night of fun games and prizes for the elementary-aged kids in our community.
- Boys & Girls Basketball Tournaments – Held in February at Winterset Middle School for 7th and 8th grade boys and girls.
- Fishing Derby – Held each spring/summer at Cedar Lake
- Turkey Dinner – Held each year in mid-November. A delicious meal of turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, stuffing and sides. This involves the whole club, along with help from all of the Junior Optimists, as we feed about 500 people!
- Toys for Tots
- Youth Appreciation Week
- Food Bank Drive w/ Jr. Optimists
- Help Fund Bicycle Safety
- Help Fund Post-Prom Party
- Local Boy Scout funding
- Sponsor little league team
- Scholarship Program – Support two graduating seniors with $1000 scholarships to assist with post-high school education.
The club also financially supports other organizations in their efforts to provide programs to the youth in our community. It’s not uncommon to find that the Optimists have supported a program of the Winterset Stage, the Winterset Public Library, Winterset Community Schools, and many more.
How to Get Involved
Optimist Club meetings are held every Friday morning at 6:45 am in the Montross Pharmacy Café. Any community member interested in learning more about the group is invited to attend a meeting at any time.
Members that want breakfast and fellowship start arriving at 6:00am (enter from rear alley). Meetings start promptly at 6:45 with announcements first. The Judge usually does a round of trivia and questions for all members. You are “fined” whether you get the answer right or not! The Judge also recognizes milestones in the club, like birthdays, anniversaries, etc, and concludes with a joke.
Each meeting features a program and guest speaker that typically lasts 15 to 20 minutes. These programs are community related and/or youth-oriented whenever possible. Meetings typically conclude by 7:15am.
I’ve presented several times to the club and at a meeting that I attended a few months ago, I was introduced as a guest along with Matt Floden who was becoming a member of the group. Matt shared with me why he felt that service to the community in this way was important to him.
After 17 years of commuting to Des Moines for work, and wishing I had more time to be involved in my community, I decided to start my own company (Grace Architecture) here in Winterset last year. As I considered all of the time that I had reclaimed not having to commute, it was time to find ways to serve.
I was invited to an Optimist meeting by someone in my church to present about my new business and as I was sitting in that initial meeting, I was remembering all of the ways that I remembered the Optimist Club being involved in my community as I was growing up. My wife and I also operate Winterset Gymnastics, so I was impressed by the Optimist club’s involvement with youth. I appreciate the optimistic approach to life, and sharing service with other community members who view children as our future leaders and are willing to invest in that.
Matt Floden
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my goals for the Winterset Citizen (the blog) this year is to shine a light on the many wonderful ways that Winterset citizens (the people) choose to serve in an effort to encourage others to find their own way to serve! If you’re interested in learning more about the Winterset Optimist Club, you can drop them a line here.
And now, the PRIZE offer!
Another one of my goals for the Winterset Citizen (the blog) this year is to grow readership, especially those who receive posts via email (instead of just Facebook). So, I’m borrowing a page from a friend – “be specific, and ask for what you want.”
I would LOVE for you to take 60 seconds right now, think of 6 people in your contact list and forward this email to them! Copy me on the email (TheWintersetCitizen@gmail.com) and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win A FREE TICKET to the Winterset Stage’s Virtual Dinner Theater on Friday, February 12th.
You can even copy and paste this text into the message, “Hey! I subscribe to this blog called The Winterset Citizen and I thought you might like it as well. It’s all about the people, places, and events in our groovy town. Read this post and, if you think it’s great, subscribe!” All you have to do is send the email to be entered, whether or not your friends join our online community.
Thank you for reading and tomorrow, practice optimism!
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Winterset Optimist Club
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