“Chuck Dickerson, who owns some properties in Bellbrook, had some connections and talked to business owners, and it sounded like there were people interested in how they can serve the youth of the community,” Eggers said.
Bellbrook once had an Optimist Club, but it folded years ago. The Bellbrook Lions and Lioness Clubs are very active in Bellbrook and Sugarcreek Twp., running youth sports leagues, offering scholarships, doing service projects and making donations to community organizations.
“We don’t want to step on the Lions Club’s toes,” Eggers said. “Hopefully we can cover some areas they don’t offer.”
Centerville’s club offers several annual youth events — basketball and soccer competitions, a bike rodeo, a haunted trail Halloween event, a fishing derby and essay and oratorical contests — as well as Christmas tree sales, the Avenue of Flags holiday event, and college scholarship awards.
Centerville Optimist President Mike Bevis said his group has more than 200 members, some of them from the Bellbrook area, and membership has become more balanced in age and gender. He said Optimist International likes for its bigger clubs to start new groups, and Bellbrook was an obvious choice.
There are more than 3,000 Optimist Clubs worldwide. Each Optimist Club determines the needs of the young people in its community and conducts programs to meet those needs. According to its Web site, Optimists annually conduct more than 65,000 service projects and serve more than 6 million young people.
Eggers said there would have to be at least 25 people to start a Bellbrook club. She said she would prefer 35.
Anyone interested can contact Eggers at (937) 604-6015 or kellye@remodelingdesigns.com.
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