Club makes Burlington better through special projects and fundraisers.
By William Smith
It only happens five times a year.
From seemingly out of nowhere, more than 800 American flags sprout from the ground across Burlington and West Burlington every Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day and Flag Day.
The flags, planted by the members of the Burlington-West Burlington Optimist Club and other neighboring service organizations, are gone by that night. A patriotic display that’s as brief and meaningful as it is practical.
“You can’t leave the flags outside,” said Dave Nuebel, longtime Optimist Club member. “The stars that are sewn on are cotton, and they will start to mold.”
Lovingly dubbed The Avenue of the Flags, the volunteer service project serves as the biggest fundraiser for the Optimist Club. Residents pay a fixed amount to have a flag planted in their yard, festooning neighborhoods with patriotic color. Since there are 801 flags to plant in such a short time, the Optimist Club enlists other service organizations to help.
The money itself is used for various charity projects, such as the annual Coats for Kids drive and scholarships for local students.
“We’ve done some amazing projects over the years,” said Jerry Rigdon, the only charter member left of the Optimist Club.
Rigdon joined the club, which is part of Optimist International, back when it began in Burlington. That was 1974.
“There was a time in the 1970s when there was great growth in these organizations,” said Rigdon, who noted there were 54 members in the beginning.
Founded in 1916, the Optimist Club expanded into an international organization in 1919 and has grown to more than 80,000 members spread across 3,000 clubs throughout the world. Each club is autonomous, tasked only with employing service projects to help local children and the club’s community.
Locally, in addition to providing free winter coats to children, the club also gives away presents to area needy kids during the Christmas season.
Then, there are the scholarships — one of the least recognized and publicized aspects of the group’s efforts. Every year, the club hands out 14 scholarships to local students totaling $6,850.
“I like the Optimist Club because of their motto, which is ‘Bringing out the best in kids,’ ” said Marguerite Fehseke, who has been a member of the club since 2010.
Twice each year, Fehseke dresses up and reads to children for the Optimist Club. She’s usually dressed as one of the characters from the book she’s reading. If it’s “Cat in the Hat,” she’ll be dressed as the cat himself.
“After they listen to the stories, we give away free books,” said Fehseke, who is a former children’s author and parole officer.
Fran Tillman was the first woman to join the Burlington-West Burlington Optimist Club back in 1987. Her late husband was also a member.
“I was the first one to receive the master secretary treasurer award for the state,” she said.
Things were different then. The Optimist Club volunteers manned a popcorn stand at Steamboat Days. Selling Christmas trees was a primary fundraiser for the club.
The fundraisers are different now, but Tillman’s commitment remains the same. You can find her every week at the Thursday meetings.
“I plan on being a member as long as I live,” she said.
Optimist Youth
Optimist Club member Becky Ruberg, who is an assistant in the youth services department at Burlington Public Library, heads up the junior Optimist Club. Also known as a JOI (Junior Optimist International) club, the youth work just as hard as their adult counterparts.
“I don’t know if there is any other library in the state that has a JOI club as their teen advisory board. So, it’s kind of unique,” Ruberg said. “We’re talking to a couple of other libraries that are thinking about doing that.”
Just like the adult version of the club, the JOI club has official meetings, complete with motions and votes. They even have their own club name, TICOS, or Teens Inspiring Change, Optimism, and Service.
They spend most of their time working, trying to complete service projects before planning for the next one. Last week, they stuffed bags full of local employment information for a passive job fair.
“I enjoy helping people. I like coming down here,” said Kayley McAninch, 15. “Every time we come down here to do things, it’s just a fun time.”
Youth club member Korina Sears, 15, currently serves as the lieutenant governor of the Junior Optimist International for southeast Iowa. But when she’s at work on a service project, it’s hardly the first thing on her mind.
“I love working with people, even if they are a little bit older than I am,” Sears said.
Sears joined the club when she was 12, and her mother initially worried she was too young to handle it.
But Sears is a take-charge kind of youth and blazed into her volunteer work with confidence.
“I want to be an engineer someday, and I want to join the adult Optimist Club,” she said.
Becoming a member
Like most service organizations across the country, the Burlington-West Burlington Optimist Club has difficulty recruiting new members. And they’re always looking.
It’s harder to recruit people than it used to be,” Rigdon said.
For those who are interested, the group meets weekly at noon every Thursday at Happy Joe’s. Nae Hillyer, who heads up the Coats for Kids charity, also accepts calls from potential members.
“Everyone has my phone number,” she said with a laugh.
Hillyer can be reached at (319) 759-0349, or you can check out the club on Facebook.