Brighton Optimist Club

Optimist Clubs are chartered to serve the youth of their communities. Sometimes that can be a pretty large area. Most Clubs participate in Optimist International's signature programs like the Oratorical Contest, which provides young people the opportunity to develop their public speaking skills and a chance to win college scholarships; the new Internet Safety Program, designed to inform both young people and their parents of potential online dangers and offering safe practice tips while online; and the Childhood Cancer Campaign, created in 2001 to be "the leading force to rid the world of childhood cancer"; Clubs also conduct their own local service programs.

Meetings

The Brighton Optimist Club meets every Thursday morning at 7:30am at the Bauery Restaurant, 4141 Bauer Rd, Brighton 48116. We have speakers of general interest the first three weeks, and a Club Business Meeting on the last Thursday of each month. Buffet breakfast is $7. First time visitors eat for free.

Update

If you missed our Spring Break Fun Day for almost 300 kids aged K-4, you can see the video recap this Thursday, May 3rd at 7:30 am at the Bauery Restaurant. Courtesy of videographer George Moses!

Welcome to our newest member, Connie Risner! She follows aour second newest member, Denise DiSantini.

Congratulations to our Oratorical Contest winners - Matthew St. Germain and Elizabeth Devlin. They each receive a $500 college scholarship and progress to the Area 4 Oratorical Contest. Area winners will compete in the Michigan District Contest on May 5th, at Weber's in Ann Arbor where the winners will get a $2,500 college scholarship. Good luck Elizabeth and Matthew! We'll get to hear their speeches at the March 22nd Brighton Optimist Meeting, so plan to be there.

George Moses' video titled, 'Brighton Takes The Polar Plunge' was seen at our weekly meeting on Thursday, March 15th at the Bauery Restaurant (Mt. Brighton). George did a great job including not just the 'plunge', but the other activities in town that week. $36,000 was raised for the Special Olympics.

Camel Race Success!

The 4th Annual Camel Race was a success! Thank you to our sponsors, advertisers and those who joined us for a great evening of fun. Special thanks to all of the Optimists, their friends and family that helped us pull off this great fundraiser. See BigCamelRace.com for info.

Recent Activity

President James Lewis has started a 'Meet The Optimist' program. We had a great turnout on Wednesday, March 14th , at Jameson's Irish Pub in Green Oak Village Place. Have you wondered about the Optimists? This is a great, low-key way to meet them and ask questions. Look for our April venue to be announced soon.

The Brighton HS Junior Optimist (JOOI) Club is up and running strong. Great job by their advisors, Adele Stocker and Dennis Kallio.

Donna Campbell collected enough things to send 10 gift boxes to our troops in Afghanistan! Way to go Brighton Optimists. Reports are that the servicemen and servicewomen appreciate our gifts.

The Brighton Optimist Club was awarded 'Honor' Club status at the 2nd Quarter Awards Banquet on February 4, 2012. We also picked up best Community Project Award (CPA) for club size and overall District Honors for CPA, too!