Optimists Honor Local Students During Youth Appreciation Ceremony

Press release from Plant City Optimist Club:

Oct. 26, 2022

Every October, the Plant City Optimist Club holds an annual Youth Appreciation Ceremony recognizing eight local high school students for their outstanding accomplishments. A dinner in their honor was held in the Plant City Parks & Recreation administrative office conference room on October 24, 2022 with the students, their relatives, school representatives, and Optimist Club members in attendance.

The eight students from Plant City High School (PCHS) were selected for recognition because of their efforts in athletics, academics, and community service work. Each student received an award for their accomplishments.

PCHS Principal Susan Sullivan and College & Career Counselor Jamie Stephens introduced the students and summarized the youths’ amazing involvement in community service through projects and school clubs which make them role models for the underclassmen to look up to for leadership and guidance.

In addition to the recognizing the students, the Plant City Optimist Club made a financial contribution to the PCHS Senior Awards Ceremony to be held in May.

Plant City Optimist Club president Pat Stottlemyer spoke to the students sharing some words of support and appreciation for their outstanding contributions to our community and wishing them the best in the future.

The Plant City Optimist Club has been honoring local youth through the Youth Appreciation program for nearly 60 years. Other programs and service projects the Plant City club members participate in include Respect for Law Week, an Oratorical Contest, and providing at least six college scholarships and vo-tech scholarships for high school graduates. The Club is very active in its support of youth by working closely with the Plant City Parks & Recreation Department in their youth flag football, basketball, and soccer programs as well as the annual Easter Egg Hunt and various sports skills competitions. Other support includes the youth programs of the United Food Bank of Plant City and other area youth needs as they arise. The Club’s two fundraisers to support their community programs are an annual golf tournament and the sale of Christmas trees each year.

Optimist International (www.optimist.org) is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with over 80,000 adult and youth members in over 2,500 clubs in over 20 countries. Carrying the motto “Bringing Out the Best in Kids,” Optimists conduct over 65,000 positive service projects annually that reach more than six million young people each year, spending over $78 million in their communities. The Youth Appreciation program is one of the most popular programs sponsored by clubs throughout Optimist International, with more than 2,000 clubs participating each year.

For more information about the Plant City Optimist Club, please visit their web site at www.plantcityoptimistclub.org or contact Club President Pat Stottlemyer at
president@plantcityoptimistclub.org or 813-494-9615.

This press release was produced by Plant City Optimist Club. The views expressed here are the author's own.