By Chandler Holland

The Brookings Register

BROOKINGS – The Brookings Optimist Club is celebrating 45 years of bringing the best out in youth in the community.

The group will mark the occasion from 5-8 p.m. June 13 at 9 Bar & Nightclub on Main Avenue in downtown Brookings at its New Optimist Welcome event.

The gathering will have hors d’oeuvres, door prizes and a cash bar. A short program will start at 6:30 p.m. All former and current members along with anyone from the community are welcome to join the celebration.

All about the kids

The Optimist Club of Brookings was chartered in 1972 with the Sioux Falls Morning Optimist Club as its sponsor. The club started with 37 male members. Now, the club has expanded to 110 members with men and women of all ages.

The club has been able to support more than 40 youth activities in the area.

“The Brookings Optimist Club has goals of helping youth; we provide educational, physical and mental support for the youth of the Brookings area,” said Sally Damm, lieutenant governor for Zone 6 of DMM District 35.

Mike McCann, Les Tlustos and Bob Hurd are all members who have been involved with the Brookings club since its beginning.

McCann, a retired lawyer, has stuck with the group all these years and keeps coming back.

“The duties we have as volunteers get more difficult as we get older, but trying to pick up on some of the challenges we have with one of our programs is something that keeps us hopping,” he said.

The Optimist Club commitment to Brookings youth is channeled into community activities and organizations that “bring the best out in kids.” In recent years, the club has been able to raise around $45,000 for Brookings area youth annually.  

“We are able to provide financial assistance to many of the organizations that help the youth in the community,” Damm said.

“The Boys & Girls Club has been a real big thing for the Optimist Club, because our goals and their goals are very similar … to support the youth in our community,” Hurd added.

Optimist Janet Brubakken said the club works well with Brookings schools. Examples include giving money to children who might not have the funds to go on a class field trip or event. Members have also donated to the new Food for Thought program that pays for students’ school lunches when their families are unable to do so.

“The best thing about Optimists is every single thing we do is for kids, and there is no other organization like it,” Brubakken said.

Raising funds

The club hosts two major fundraisers: the Avenue of Flags, and running concession stands at Brookings High School sporting events with help from the BHS choir. By working the concession stand, the club is able to raise money from about 90 events throughout the year.

Avenue of Flags is put on five times a year. For a subscription of $35, the club will place a 3x5-foot American flag in front of each home on its rolls. All proceeds are used in the Optimists’ ongoing support of the youth and community projects.

The Optimist Club teams up with Brookings High School band members and boosters to deliver flags. About 604 flags were recently put up for Memorial Day.

Programs

Damm said the club aims to help anyone from infants through college students be successful in life. She says they have seen positive behavioral turnarounds from some children who don’t have the support they need elsewhere.

One program sponsored by the club is Teen Court, which is run by the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings. The diversion program for youth ages 11 to 17 years old offers them the opportunity to accept full responsibility for their behavior and work toward clearing their juvenile record, only if they’ve admitted guilt and it’s their first criminal offense.

Coming up, the Optimists will put on a free Kite Festival at Fishback Soccer Park. It’s open to all June 24 and 25.

Kite specialists come to town to fly large, specially made kites that can be seen from across town. The event will also feature a bike rodeo and an appearance from the fire department with their trucks.      

Always recruiting

Most of the members agreed that the main challenge for the club is finding new members. Even with 110 participants, Optimists are looking to expand even more by including younger residents. They are open to new project ideas and encourage people to share their thoughts to make them reality.

“In trying to work with younger people, we do try to accommodate people who can’t make our meetings earlier in the mornings, due to their personal schedules,” President Dee Bormann said.

Hurd said that he loves the diverse membership in Brookings and that each person brings a different view to the common goal of supporting activities for kids.

The Optimists Club meets each Tuesday morning at 7:03 a.m. because, like they say, 7 a.m. is too early. On the third and fifth Tuesday of the month, the club meets at noon.

All meetings are held at 1429 Roadhouse in the EconoLodge on Sixth Street, Brookings. For more information, contact Damm at sallydamm@swiftel.net.