Everyone involved with the Clarkston Optimists dinner-dance celebrating the club’s upcoming 20th anniversary has great expectations for the event on March 25 at the Deer Lake Banquet Center.
‘We founded our club in Clarkston in August of 1986. There were 40 members back then, we are close to 100 now,? founding member and former president James Evans said. ‘This is our big fund-raiser. We get the best of everything ? We’ve got the best dance band we’ve ever had. We are featuring the number one menu at Deer Lake.?
Area businessman and past Clarkston Optimist President Don Brose, who is now the Optimist Michigan District Chairman, feels the theme he set for Michigan this year, ‘Illuminating our Youth,? will be well recognized at the Clarkston Optimist dinner-dance.
‘The event is pretty special. We’ll raise close to $30,000 in that one night. A lot of that money goes to our youth clubs,? Brose said. ‘Plus it’s a great party.?
Those in attendance can groove to the classic stylings of the Dan Rafferty Band to aid digestion of no doubt sumptuous salmon, steak and chicken from the Deer Lake banquet center kitchen.
The Optimist’s dinner-dance also features a cornucopia of must-haves spread across a raffle, a live auction and silent auction.
Included in the bounty this year are vacations to exotic locales like Cozumel which make a quiet Michigan spring seem like the Yukon. Golf packages to local havens such as Oakhurst, Shepherd’s Hollow and Oakland Hills will not be in short supply. Carl Matisse, who coordinated the donation drive with Jill Papour for this year’s festivities, expects the ever popular ‘Night at the Ballpark? package ? which includes an inning in the broadcast booth to return this year. A slew of tickets to Pistons, Tigers and Red Wings games are sure to be on hand as well.
‘We have the members solicit items. We try to get everyone to participate,? Matisse said. ‘If anybody wants to donate they should call us.?
For anyone wanting to donate items to the auction or in search of tickets to the event, call Mike Page at 248-330-2632 or Ahdi Dasuqi at 248-625-0504. Tickets for the dinner-dance are $100.
Over the past 20 years the Optimists have donated to many area causes such as the Renee Przybylski Memorial Spray Park, Independence soccer fields, sponsor high school and music scholarships, honor students monthly, offer oratorical and essay contests, basketball competitions and youth golf outings.
The Clarkston Optimists have five Alpha clubs across the Clarkston Elementary schools and Octagon clubs at Sashabaw Middle School, Clarkston Junior High School and Clarkston High School.
The Optimists regular meetings are every Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at Liberty Golf Course and are open to the public. For more information call Roger Diederich at 248-625-5915.