Optimist Club of Puslinch celebrates 50th anniversary
From funding recreation centre to hosting events, the club has left a legacy in the community – and in community building
PUSLINCH – They’ve been called the heart and soul of Puslinch Township, and without a central gathering place to meet with neighbours, the Optimist Club of Puslinch really is the glue that binds this rural community together.
They are a modest group, hesitant to get in front of a camera and reluctant to blow their own horn.
What they are more comfortable doing, as the club celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is highlight the events they host and the happy faces – young and old alike – that attend these community events.
The club currently has 44 members, said Dave Smedley, who joined four years ago and is chair of the 50th anniversary committee.
“I’m quite impressed with what they do,” he said in an interview.
“They don’t toot their own horn but from this little group has come an impressive list of accomplishments.”
Perhaps most impressive is the Optimist Recreation Centre (ORC) that features an indoor gym and outdoor rink.
The club initiated the project and raised one-third of the funds, with the remainder provided by Puslinch Township and the federal government.
It opened in 2012 and is a busy, well-used addition to the Puslinch Community Centre with its expansive sports fields behind.
At the urging of some local children, the club also spearheaded construction of a basketball court in Boreham Park in Arkell.
Its annual events are a big draw for the community.
“The community supports the events we put on and that’s why we’re so successful, I think,” said president Jamie Holmes.
“When we see the turnout, it gives us more reason to want to do it.”
The club hosts the annual Family Day Winter Classic, which this year is on Feb. 16.
It features a two-day hockey tournament with some 30 teams and all sorts of family-friendly events, like human bowling, a magician, sleigh rides, archery, snowshoeing, skating, ice sculpture carving – it’s a long and changing list from year to year depending on weather.
The club has hosted the annual Santa Claus Parade for some 30 years, which sees more than 30 floats and, of course, Santa, who sticks around for photos with children at the ORC.
They prepare the food for Whistle Stop Preschool’s annual fundraiser Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and also host the annual spring clean-up along roadsides in May; a bike rodeo in conjunction with the OPP, Puslinch Fire and Rescue and VIA Rail; the family fish fry fundraiser in May and the Steak Night fundraiser in the fall.
The club’s Canada Day celebrations draw attendees from near and far. July 1 starts with a pancake breakfast at the Puslinch Community Centre and wraps up with free fireworks at dusk.
“Last year Guelph didn’t have fireworks and 5,000 people showed up for ours,” Smedley said.
Every year the club funds initiatives at Aberfoyle Public School like Scientists in the School, No Kids Go Without, and Skates and Helmets
Club members also provide the food and labour for the school’s fundraising barbecue at the beginning and end of each school year.
It provides funds so Aberfoyle Public School students can attend Empowerment Day, and an annual oratory contest in partnership with the school. Winners can go on to district and international competitions.
Each year the club offers three scholarships of $1,500 each, to a local student heading to university, one to college and one to the trades.
“They come and present to us and we choose,” Smedley said. “Over 25 years we have awarded over $65,000.”
Without a local Legion, the Optimist Club of Puslinch organizes the Remembrance Day service that honours Puslinch residents whose names are engraved on the cenotaph outside the community centre.
It also supports a number of local organizations like the junior garden club, 4-H club, Special Olympics and Friends of Mill Creek, Smedley said.
“A lot of our members do much more than this club,” he added.
As well, the club hosts all-candidate debates before local, provincial and federal elections.
That’s a long list of accomplishments, Smedley said, but it’s also a long list of events for just 44 members to coordinate, though many non-members help out with set-up and take-down at some of the larger events.
“The club does so much for the community,” Holmes said. “If it didn’t exist a lot of events wouldn’t run. We can’t rely on our township to be responsible for everything.”
For more information about the club, its events, and ways to get involved, visit optimistclubofpuslinch.com.
