February 1 proclaimed “Optimist Day” by Mayor at Town Park ceremony

Mayor Tom Mrakas declared Thursday, February 1 to be “Optimist Day” in Aurora in a flag-raising ceremony in Town Park.

Mayor Mrakas read the proclamation that declared that “six million young people are helped worldwide by the Optimist Club annually” and thanked the members of the dynamic local Club for “truly making a difference in peoples' lives in the Town of Aurora.”

While Mayor Mrakas extolled the virtues of the service club, Optimist President Georgia Pottage initiated the flag-raising ceremony and spoke about the synergy between the Town and the Optimist Club.

“We love working side-by-side with the Town. We coordinate so many events together for the benefit of the community.  Their support enables us to give so much back to the Town and its youth.”

President Pottage noted that “It was great seeing so many members of the Optimist Club out on a damp, soggy afternoon and how much support this group gives the young people of Aurora throughout the year.”

Mayor Mrakas echoed the sentiments of the Optimist Club's President.

“As the Mayor, I always talk about the importance of volunteers as the backbone of the community.  The Optimists exude the spirit of volunteerism and show their support of youth through so many events.”

The Optimist Club's motto is “Friend of Youth” and one of the prime purposes of the service club is “to aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one's self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life, and the world.”

That spirit of helpfulness and all of its manifestations, as demonstrated by the Optimist Club's annual Marshalling of the Aurora Christmas Parade to its yearly Essay Contest and Chess Tournament for high school and elementary students to its care packages for indigent youth to its scholarships for local student-athletes to its sponsorship of local hockey teams to its famous Kitchen on Wheels featured at so many fundraising events during all four seasons of the year, were recognized at Town Park on Wednesday afternoon.

By Jim Stewart