September 2020

Optimist Club of Kingston, Jamaica celebrated its 40th anniversary

A milestone was achieved and celebrated in August by the oldest Optimist Club outside of North America.  The Optimist Club of Kingston, Jamaica celebrated its 40th anniversary having been organized on August 10, 1980. The Club has a rich history and has sponsored 23 new Clubs and nine Junior Optimist Clubs over the past 40 years.  Much of that history was recounted during a ceremony last month. You can learn more about the history of the Optimist Club of Kingston through review of a 14 page supplement that was produced by the Gleaner Newspaper in Jamaica. Congratulations to the Optimist Club of Kingston, Jamaica for 40 years of “Providing Hope and a Positive Vision to Children, the Community and Themselves.”

Expansion Continues Across the Globe

Four new countries joined the Optimist family last month, as expansion of the Optimist footprint continues around the globe. We welcomed the Optimist Club of Kinshasa-Pool in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 25 members are being sponsored by the St-Eustache-Est Optimist Club of Western Quebec.

The Optimist flag is being flown for the first time over another African country.  The Optimist Club of Lusaka, Zambia organized with 15 members at the end of August.  It will be guided, in part, by the sponsorship of the Optimist Club of Hernando, Mississippi.

Optimist International opened a new era in its history last month, when it organized its first Club in the Middle East. The Optimist Club of Lebanon in Beirut chartered with 15 members.  It is being sponsored by the Optimist Club of Fort Smith Arkansas.  The Optimists in Arkansas are no strangers to international development, having already co- sponsored a Club in Nepal.

Optimist International would like to thank these new Optimists from the Middle East and Africa for their support of the mission of the organization, and those Optimists in North America who are helping to support these new community servants by developing mentorship and cultural enhancement relationships.

Administrative Corner The end of the Optimist fiscal year is upon us.  All of our Clubs in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Central and South America are being asked to make certain their financial house is in order and their membership rosters are up-to-date. This is also a time for a friendly reminder to those Clubs in the United States and Canada that sponsor an overseas Optimist Club, to check that your obligations have been met for the current year.  Sponsor Clubs are being asked to continue their efforts to maintain a positive and growing relationship with our Clubs overseas and those Clubs should continue to reach out to their sponsor Clubs. This will enable the relationship that began when the Club was organized to deepen and become a more lasting exchange between Optimists around the globe.  Optimist International President Designate Mark Weinsoff has appointed eight Optimists from the United States and Canada to serve in the coming fiscal year on an International Development Committee.  It will help with new Club development outside of North America and the Caribbean as well as helping Optimist International work on developing deeper relationships with our overseas Optimists, through improved communication and education.