The Optimist Club of Perdido Bay was founded in January of 1986. The club met weekly on Saturday at 7 a.m. and immediately opted to award a college scholarship for a senior in high school. The $500 scholarship was funded with proceeds from the weekly breakfast. That first-year breakfast fee was $2 per meal and guests were free.
Today, the Optimist Club of Perdido Bay (OCPB) is the largest in the state of Aloabama and Mississippi. Our 86 members perfform over 10,000 hours of community service and conduct over 30 programs annually. We offer that same breakfast today, but it is $4 per person and guests are still free. The kitchen duties are split among our able body workers, who each serve two Saturday's in a row, and then again six months later.
Many of the OCPB programs are very impactful. A short list is the Respect for the Law (Baldwin County Law Enforcement Recognition; Baldwin County Special Olympics; Lillian Christmas Parade; ARC Community Thanksgiving Luncheon; Breakfast with Santa; Easter Egg Hunt & Party; Fishing Rodeo and more. Check out the list to the right to see a more complete list.
The local club also participates in the Optimist International programs like the Oratorical Contest; Essay Contest; Respect for the Law; Sports and more.
This year the OCPB elected to take a lead role in the Bicentennial Celebration for the State of Alabama. As such, the OCPB is offering a quarterly Bi-centennial Lecture Series to promote greater understanding of the history of our region and our state. The first one is May 26, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. For the next two year's, the Lillian Christmas Parade will adopt a Bi-centennial theme and be promoted as an area event to celebrate the 200th Birthday of the State.
The OCPB meets weekly on Saturday at the Lillian Community Center at 8 a.m. For more information on joining the organization, please contact Membership Coordinator Robert Pocreva at 251-961-1084 or Jeff Keener at 859-991-4619 or email him at jeffreyakeener@gmail.com.