Club Information

Who Are We?

What is an Optimist Club? Who are Optimists? What does your Optimist Club do? These are questions that are often asked when people hear about an Optimist Club.

Optimists are men and women who come from all parts of their community. They want to see their community become an even better place to live than it presently is. They have joined together, in their Optimist Club, to provide various services and programs for the community.

There are approximately 3,000 Optimist Clubs, with 98,000 members throughout the world (primarily the United States, Canada and the Caribbean) that are all part of an organization called Optimist International. All Optimist clubs operate with a great deal of latitude as to their programs, but they all serve the same purposes and strive to live up to the tenants of "The Optimist Creed". Our motto is "Friend of Youth".

The Plainfield Optimist Club was formed in November 1954 and currently has approximately 137 members. The club meets weekly, for dinner, a program and fellowship. There are also several club social functions throughout the year. Our Club is one of the largest and most active clubs in Optimist International. Four of our members have gone on to be District Governor and two of those have served as International President.

We are best known for the youth baseball, football, cheerleading and soccer programs. From 1972 until 2005, those programs were conducted at Jim Lovell Memorial Field, a 35 acre sports complex on property owned by Duke Energy and leased (at a nominal fee) to the Optimists. With the sale of that property, 2006-2010 became transition years as the sports programs continued at temporary locations on property owned by the State, the Town, the Township, and the Schools. New permanent facilities were constructed on property leased by the Town of Plainfield by the State of Indiana on a long term basis.  The Club established a Capital Improvements Fund to assist in the cost of constructing new facilities.  Cinergy Corporation made a significant contribution to that fund in honor of it's former Chairman, and long time community supporter, Al Barker.  Mr Barker and his wife Jan, also made a significant contribution to the fund.  In April of 2011, the Town named the new facilities the Al & Jan Barker Sports Complex.

Sports are not the only activities that our Club is involved in. We are involved in many different  activities so finding something that would be of interest to you should not be a problem. The Distinguished Young Woman Program (formerly Junior Miss) recently became an Optimist Club project in 2008.  Check out some of our other youth work  and community service activities. All of our programs are funded by a variety of fund raising activities.

What is the monetary obligation of being a member of the Plainfield Optimist Club? The Club’s initiation fee is $40.00 which pays for your registration with Optimist International and Club dues until the next dues billing date. Dues are $72.00 ($54.00 for spouses) per year payable in $36.00 installments due in March and September. The total annual budget for the Plainfield Optimist Club for all programs is approximately $170,000. We do a lot of good for our community.

The club takes pride in the quality of its membership. If you are interested in joining a service club and becoming more of an asset to your community, we hope that you will seriously consider the Plainfield Optimist Club. If you do, you will be associating with many good people who are making a difference in the lives of the youth of Plainfield. Membership in the club is open to men and women who have an interest in serving youth. If you have an interest in the encouragement and development of youth, we invite you to become a club member. For additional information, contact our webmaster Mike Woodward at mjwoodwardiu@yahoo.com. We hope to be hearing from you soon.

Club Officers and Directors (2011-2012):

Club Purposes

An Optimist Club is a voluntary organization of civic minded men and women banded together for progressive thought and action in community service.  Community service is their byword, recognizing that they must contribute something to the life of the community from which they and their families draw daily benefits. The purposes of the organization are:

                            THE OPTIMIST CREED

                                Promise Yourself -

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to
        permit the presence of trouble.

                                      OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL

Current Members of the Plainfield Optimist Club (10/01/2011)

Club Social Functions