Inside the Mehlville Optimist Club

Mehlville Local Editor Sarah Flagg and I had the pleasure of speaking at this morning’s Mehlville Optimist Club meeting at Gingham’s restaurant.

Secretary Milt Lane kicked off the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer. Members then updated the group about certain youth happenings in the community. Oakville Middle School is hosting an oratorical contest tomorrow night in the school library at 7 p.m. Latecomers are asked to wait outside until each speech is finished. Winners are invited to a March Optimist Club meeting to deliver their winning speeches. Two Oakville and two Lindbergh High School students will receive a $200 savings bond. “How My Education is Key to a Successful Future” is the topic, chosen by the incoming president of Optimist International.

The Academic Olympics, a Mehlville School District-wide hosted student competition scheduled for Feb. 26, has enough volunteer judges, but they could always use more.

Next up were the Patch presentations. Lane introduced Sarah and myself by talking about how he grew up in Fulton, MO, and it used to take him 2 ½ hours to get milk at the store. Everyone knew everyone and they were so involved in their communities. He really liked the hometown feel of Patch and receives our daily newsletter.

Sarah and I spoke about our corresponding Patches and were presented with the Optimist Club creed and a pen. We drew the 50/50 winners and had a delicious breakfast. 

Highlights for next week’s meeting will include the Student of the Month recipient and updates on the new Optimist Club website, which will be linked on the Mehlville and Oakville Patches.

Optimist International is one of the world‟s largest and most active service Club organizations with 117,000 members in 3,500 Optimist Clubs in the United States, Canada and other nations.

Promoting the motto “ Friend of Youth,” Optimist Clubs conduct positive service programs, which reach six million young people each year.