Warsaw Community High School student Caleb Smith recently won the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club’s essay contest based on a theme of “How Optimism Connects Us.”
Smith will be awarded a cash prize of $300 for the honor. In addition, the essay will be sent to the district level to be judged, along with winners from other Optimist Clubs in the district. College scholarships are available for top winners at the district level, according to a news release from the club.
The club also recognized second-place winner Bryttin Wagoner of Lincoln Elementary and third-place winner Lynk Klinefelter of Wawasee High School, who will receive cash prizes and recognition at the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club on March 27. The club meets at the Shrine Building at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds with breakfast at 6:45 a.m. and the meeting is 7 to 8 a.m. Guests are welcome.
The Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club has been participating in the Optimist Essay Contest for four years and has been active in the community since 1958. Other programs and service projects that the club is involved in include the Oratorical Contest, which will be held March 27. The application and details for that contest can be found at warsawoptimist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Oratorical-Contest.pdf
Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with 80,000 adult and youth members in 2,500 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and throughout the world. Carrying the mission statement “By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves,” the release states. Optimists conduct positive service projects that reach more than 6 million young people each year. To learn more about Optimist International, visit the organization’s website at www.optimist.org.