Newly-Named Optimist of the Year enrolling students for “the mission”

CENTERVILLE – Optimist Clubs everywhere are dedicated to one mission: to be a “Friend of Youth.”  To carry out that mission, Club members in chapters around the world work selflessly in countless ways to encourage the development of young people.

A local chapter, the Noon Optimist Club of Centerville, is the largest Optimist Club in Ohio with over 200 members.  It is also among the most active not-for-profit service organizations in the nation.  Noon Optimists lend a hand in a variety of ways to programs and events that benefit the area’s youth, especially those in Centerville and Washington Twp.  Their volunteer efforts help young individuals to grow and prosper, paving the way to a successful adulthood.

As much as Optimists give of themselves, few are as dedicated to the mission than Kelly Eggers, the newly-recognized 2008/2009 Centerville Noon Optimist of the Year.  Eggers, a Washington Twp. resident and co-owner of Remodeling Designs, a full service remodeling firm, took it upon herself to take the mission to a much higher level.  She achieved that by establishing a college Optimist Club and engaging university students in youth-oriented causes.

Eggers was named Optimist of the Year at Centerville Noon Optimist’s Annual Awards Banquet in October.  The title is awarded to the member who exemplifies the mission and gives their time and energy to promote optimism during the previous year.  Kelly, a Noon Optimist since 2001, currently serves the Club as Vice President and has involved herself numerous ways from the beginning.

But she is especially applauded for founding and sustaining the University of Dayton Flyers Optimist Club.  Kelly embraced the challenge to get a Club started at UD without hesitation.  She and her husband Erich are UD grads and they have a daughter who graduated from there last year.  So she felt connected to the task and wholeheartedly accepted it.  Her initial planning began in the winter of 2005.  By September, and shortly after the school year started, she chartered the club with 32 student members.  Today, UD Flyers Optimist Club membership has expanded to 85.  The Club meets twice a month at 9:00 on Monday nights, demonstrating the commitment its membership has to the mission. As one might guess, Kelly is right there with them, even after a long day at work, serving as an advisor and participating as a Club member.

“Starting and building an Optimist Club is quite an undertaking,” admitted Eggers, “especially an organization that has to survive constant turnover in student members.  It’s a revolving door that has to be nurtured 24/7.  But I enjoy impacting the students - people in their age group.  At the college level they can literally go from graduation to an adult Optimist Club.”

The satisfaction that Eggers enjoys from her UD group isn’t hers alone.  It is also shared by her Noon Optimist associates who are aided by UD students volunteering for Noon Optimist activities.  UD Flyers Club members are easily recruited for those events, including the Christmas Tree Sale, the Tom Frazier Tee-Off for Youth golf tournament, Avenue of the Flags, the Americana 5K race and more.  In fact, on Wednesday and Thursday, October 21 and 22, 40 UD students showed up in two vans to pitch-in at this year’s Haunted Trails at Grant’s Park.  The students could have chosen to study or doing something else in their spare time, but volunteered instead.

By partnering the UD and Centerville Clubs, Eggers is helping to sustain one club and support the other.  It’s a win-win for both!  The UD students don’t have to expend a lot of time, energy or money to initiate volunteer efforts and Noon Optimists don’t have to look far to find a support group they can count on.  Mike Bevis, the current Centerville Noon Optimist President, stated, “Kelly’s work with the UD Flyer Club has set the standard for all college Clubs in America.  In fact, her outstanding efforts were recognized and highlighted in the Optimist International news magazine this fall as a template to follow.  We are all proud of the example that Kelly has set for all Optimist Clubs worldwide.”

“I’m very proud of the UD Club and the impact the students are having on the community,” said Eggers.  “It’s rewarding because the students are the next generation of what we do as Optimists.  They see how worthwhile it is to give back.  It gives them the opportunity to be leaders in an organization and in a community,” she emphasized.