Spring is right around the corner or so Punxsutawney Phil says. I looked it up and found that big ground hog only has a 39% accuracy rating! Well, anyway we can still hope for an early spring. Spring always gives us a sense of renewal, and  wellbeing. It makes us want to get out and walk, clean our yards, clean closets, and spruce up our houses. 

For the Optimist’s Club, it means our annual garage sale is coming up the second Saturday in May and we need to start looking for items to donate. The sale each year is held at the Casting Club. We have thousands of items donated. Anyone can donate, it’s not only members. We will take anything in good condition; clothing, bikes, furniture, kitchen items, etc. And, it’s all for a free will offering.....no prices! Just tell us what you want to pay for the item and it’s yours! This year all the money collected will go to the Chillicothe Optimist Town Theater for much-needed repairs.

So....start cleaning out your garages, closets, sheds, and houses and save those things you don’t need or want any more to give to the sale. You will be helping our town and our theater.

Winner of the teacher’s drawing last month were: Maryanne Trotter – Mossville, Jody Tolley – Mossville, and Mary Taylor - Calvary Baptist. Each teacher will get  a check for $50 to spend on their classroom.

All of our Membership meetings are held at Grecian Gardens, 8am on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month. Once a quarter we will have an evening meeting. Date, time, and place will be announced. The public is always welcome. Our speakers for our meetings in March are as follows:

March 2nd, General meeting with a speaker, Kevin Yates, Executive Director at Shore Acres Park. Kevin has been the park’s Executive Director since 2002 and serves as the chief administrative officer of the Chillicothe Park District and is responsible for the implementation of agency policy and the overall management of the park and recreation system. He will be speaking about all the new things coming to the Park District, Foundation, and to Shores Acres.

March 16th, General Meeting with a speaker, Chad Allison, Superintendent at IVC. Chad is a native of Bryan, Ohio, and has an extensive background in education. He will talk about his experiences in the education sector and his current role as Superintendent at IVC. Chad will update us on everything that is going on in the district. Chad and his wife Kristy are residents of Chillicothe and have three sons.

After participating in the Chocolate Tour on February 10th, we had some leftover chocolate covered popcorn to share. The Optimist Club wanted to thank the police department for their service and keeping us safe. Officer Koser is shown accepting the popcorn.

Until next month stay optimistic.... and go downtown and see a movie!