Saturday, September 17, 2011, several members of the Springfield Summit Optimist Club volunteered at the ADA STOP Diabetes 5K.  It was a cold rainy day but every time I saw a fellow Optimist member they had a smile on their face.  Members directed runners on what route to take along the course, assisted with taking pictures at the event, worked our membership booth, as well as many other tasks to help make the event a success.  Summit Optimist Club represented well while supporting a great cause!!!!

The Optimist Carnival on Saturday August 27, 2011 was a success!!!

Deann Kraichely from the Summit Optimist Club stated "I enjoyed watching the children and the happy looks on their faces!  I think that for the very first carnival it went better than I expected and we estimated that Optimist in our Zone reached out to 125 + children on Saturday.  We were expecting 75 so I think this was great!  As I was walking around and looking at everything I could not help but think if it was this great the first year just think how wonderful it would be if we could keep up the good work".

Sean Saunders from the Westside Optimist Club stated "I thought the carnival was a great project and should be an annual event for the clubs. It is a good recruiting tool and fits the mission of getting involved in the community and working with kids. Great job Deann and all those who organized the event! I think all the kids enjoyed it. I think we had around 50 kids come through our area and played SNAG and I saw a lot of smiles an excitment for the Bigs and littles which is great to see! Look forward to the next one!