Club of the Year Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth
The Club sponsors events such as the Girl Power "With Her I Stand" conference, with more than 100 girls and young women attending.
T
he Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth is a powerhouse of Optimist leadership, but it’s the Club’s local impact that earned it the honor of Optimist Club of the Year for 2019-20. “I’m extremely proud of the Club and the Members who do all the hard work,” said Club President Charles Hodges. “Every time we meet, every time we get together, every time we have calls, it’s constantly about what we can be doing and how we can be helping. Even though we’re out of our regular routines, people are still thinking with that service-oriented mindset. That’s the kind of the thing that every Club wants to have.” Of the Texas Club’s 76 members, three are Past International Presidents—Danny Rodgers, Don Arnwine and Ken Garner, plus Patsy Garner, who is PresidentElect. Numerous other Members have served at the District and International levels, Hodges said. These Optimist leaders are regular
members who roll up their sleeves and do the work with everyone else, however, they also offer important perspective when it comes to generating ideas that strengthen the Club.
one at a high school. The Club has benefited by recruiting educators to be Members and promoting JOI Clubs as a great way to foster leadership and community service among the students.
“What it brings to our Club is a greater vision of what’s possible,” Hodges said. “They’ve had an opportunity to interact with Clubs all over and they bring those ideas and those thoughts and enthusiasm back to us.”
For Clubs looking to build their membership and impact, Hodges recommends attending District meetings when possible, and communicating with other Optimist Clubs in the area.
The Club of the Year Honor is determined by the impact of community service projects, participation in Member development programs, Club growth and community awareness, and sponsorship of new adult Clubs or JOI Clubs. That last one is something important to the Club, Hodges said. The Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth began sponsoring JOI Clubs several years ago, with three at the elementary level and
“It really makes you a stronger Club to find out how people are doing it and and learn from their mistakes and their successes,” Hodges says.
Members of the East Handley JOI Club collected nearly 1,000 pairs of socks for their annual donation drive.
Summer 2020 • 11
