Twenty Friends in Twenty Five Days!

Fellow AMSNW Optimists,

Twenty Friends in Twenty Five Days!

That’s correct. Bring in twenty “Friends of Optimist” by September 30th and bring International President Danny back to this district, and a personal visitation to your CLUB.

We are in the final stretch, the finish line is in sight, and our race is almost complete!

Can we catch that spurt of energy to drive us to victory, and drive through that ribbon strung across the finish line? Let’s take this opportunity to ensure the clubs in your zones can move on to the next season healthy, and with renewed growth.

Watch this video from President Danny:

Please send an email to all Optimist members you have in your email address book with a link to this blog post. This is YOUR time to make a difference in this district.

Let’s push to the finish line and the greater achievements of the future.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt…
“who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement , and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

I believe in you and know we can push through these next 26 days…

Governor Tim,
“In the Arena! In the Race! In Tune!

21 Top Optimist Questions (Part 1)

In this 3-part series, we will list 21 common questions with corresponding answers and links to the appropriate online resource or service. Here are the first 7 questions:

1. I want to recruit a new member. Where can I get help?
2. I want to run a club service project. Are there any examples of Optimist service projects available?
3. Where can I locate forms online?
4. I heard that there are online course materials available. Where can I get access to those?
5. I want to build a new Optimist club and I need help. Where should I start?
6. I am trying to find the contact information for a Club President. Where should I go?
7. Someone has approached me about building a club for kids in our neighborhood. Can you provide me with some information?

1. I want to recruit a new member. Where can I get help?

Jay Strever
Membership Chair

Congratulations and thank you in advance. You should probably start by discussing this with your Club President. You can find additional information at our "New Optimists Wanted" resources and feel free to contact "Jay Strever who is the District Membership Chair. Jay can answer any question you might have.

2. I want to run a club service project. Are there any examples of Optimist service projects available?

Yes there are. Here is some online information about club project profiles and club activities.

3. Where can I locate forms online?

You will find a quick pick list of common Optimist forms and documents at on our For Our Members page. Optimist International hosts dedicated pags for forms and documents.

4. I heard that there are online course materials available. Where can I get access to those?

We have links to Optimist training materials in our "Member Training" page.

5. I want to build a new Optimist club and I need help. Where should I start?

Edie McInnes
New Club Building

Bless you. Building a new club is an noteworthy achievement that can have lasting positive affect on the community the club will serve. Not only will you introduce Optimism to a new community or neighborhood, you will help recruit 25 new members and build a legacy for you and your club. There is a wealth of available online information. First, you should discuss this with your club as it involves a commitment from them. Second, I would suggest contacting Edie McInnes, our District New Club Building Chair. Edie has built a new club and can pass along valuable tips and suggestions to ensure your success. We invite you to investigate our online resources for building a new club.

6. I am trying to find the contact information for a Club President. Where should I go?

We have several places you can look. You can try one of the following:

• Our District Directory
• Our Contact Us page includes "Contact Cards" in PDF format that you can print
• Our Zones and Clubs online list.

7. Someone has approached me about building a club for kids in our neighborhood. Can you provide me with some information?

Lee Weiszhaar
JOOI - Youth Clubs

Certainly. Optimist International has a special level of clubs for youth organized under the Junior Optimists and Octagons International (JOOI) program. Youth can build their own clubs, elect their own president and club executive, raise their own funds and run their own community service projects. Many of these clubs are organized as School extra-curricular activities. JOOI clubs provide a great opportunity for our youth to volunteer their time serving their community and it gives many youth practical leadership and management experience. You can learn more by checking out our "Youth Clubs" section on our website at []. If you are interested in starting a JOOI club, please contact our Lee Weiszhaar, our District JOOI Chair.

Other Questions:

• The Second Set of Common Optimist Questions (coming soon)
• The Third Set of Common Optimist Questions (coming soon)

Comments or suggestions:

Do you have a common question that you need answered or additional suggestions for the questions we listed above? We invite you to share your contribution.

Optimists, Lets Finish Strong

It's been an amazing year and as we enter into the last 29 days, let's remember everything we have accomplished this past year and work to finish the year strong by achieving the Twenty Friends incentive and making Honor Club!   

Please share my message with your Optimist friends and be sure to tell them what a great job they are doing in their community! 

Optimists, I believe in you!

Let's finish this year with positive vibes, service to kids & new Friends! 

Optimistically, 

International President Danny

Is Your Club on Facebook Yet?

I did a little research and discovered that there are 15 unique Facebook pages or groups representing 13 District clubs, Zone 5 and the AMS&NW Optimist District itself. Considering how recent Facebook pages are, that is truly remarkable. Some clubs host a Facebook "Group" while other clubs host a Facebook "Page".

Sylvan Lake Optimist Club on Facebook

That leaves 45 clubs that do not have a Facebook presence ... why haven't you joined yet?

What is your club missing?

What is so important about an online presence ... why does my club need to go online?

That's a resonable question. There is NO mandatory reason to put your club online. In fact, you can save yourself and your club members effort and time by not creating an online presence for your club ... but ... you will be missing out!

What will you be missing? Ahh, now that's the more important question! Here goes ... what will your club be missing out on:

• A chance to add credibility to your club throughout your community.
• A chance to tell your club's story ... what is unique about your club.
• A chance to thank volunteers and donors for their contributions.
• A chance to recognize your members publicly for their efforts.
• A chance to invite people to join your club.
• A chance to advertise your club fundraisers and community service projects.
• A chance for the recipients of your club's service projects to thank you for your efforts.
• A chance to connect to your club members, advertise meetings and special guest speakers.
• A chance to connect with fellow Optimists throughout the District.
• A chance to learn how other clubs do what they do.
• ... and so much more.

And what will it cost ... NOTHING ... NADA ... ZERO ... well, just some volunteer time.

Here are the top 3 reasons why Facebook is so attractive to a service club:

1. Easy and quick to implement: Anyone with average computer skills and a Facebook account to create an online presence for their club. All you need is a little background info, a digital image file to use as a logo, and some spare time. With the proper instructions, you can create a Facebook "Page" or "Group" in under one hour.


2. It's all about community: Facebook gives you the ability to engage club members, friends, co-workers, fellow members from other clubs, non-member volunteers and potential new club members in sharing content and expressing ideas.


3. People can find you in Google: Facebook content is indexed in major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. So people who do a search for your club can easily find it ... go ahead and try it ... search for "Optimist Club Prince Albert" in Google and Bing. Facebook also comes with it's own powerful search engine that allows Facebook users to search for you. Again, log in to your Facebook account (if you have one) and run a search for "Optimist Club Prince Albert".

Still Not Sure?

Why don't you spend a little time and explore some of the active Facebook pages from clubs in our District:

AMS&NW Optimist Clubs with Facebook pages:

Prince Albert Optimist Club on Facebook

Sylvan Lake | Prince Albert | Prince Albert High Noon
Regina Downtowners | Regina High Noon | All Nations Medicine Hat
Calgary Dinner Optimist | Blackfalds | Waskasoo Red Deer

How to get started

There is no reason why a club should not be on Facebook. It is easy, engaging, and fun. All you need is  How-to Guide that can walk you through the process.