PB Optimists plan dinner for police, firefighters, rangers

Neal

For the first time since 2004 and Hurricane Ivan, the Pensacola Beach Optimist Club (PBOC) announces that they are now ready to present a very special program on their own: hosting a Police, Fire Fighters, and Park Rangers Appreciation Dinner on September 4.

Prior to Ivan, this was an annual event and club members hope it can be returned to annual tradition status PBOC beginning this year.

New member Scott Neal took the bull by the horns and helped to organize a sizeable fundraising effort to pay for this event, volunteering to chair the Appreciation Dinner for local heroes.

"We are a small club in a very caring community, and all of us are extremely grateful to Scott's willingness to serve as leader on this project, so our club can provide a nice thankyou dinner for these fine police, fire fighters and park rangers who risk their lives every day for our safety on the beach," expressed PBOC President, Joe Woodall.

It is anticipated that up tp 100 local heroes and their spouses could be in attendance at the Appreciation Dinner, so soliciting funds to pay for the event has been a creative challenge.

"No problem," said Neal, "We'll do whatever is necessary to get the job done."

Neal, along with fellow island Optimists Kathleen Shelton (who kept everyone laughing and spirits high though out), Sandi Johnson (who never takes a break and is a machine), Phyllis Neal (Scott's better half who collected big bills from unlikely places), Sharon Pierce (express-are her), Skip Pierce (who was ouchie, but raked in some good revenue), Jeff Castleberry (famous island man to whom money flows naturally) and Maria Schafer (aka: flash) worked endlessly Saturday June 23 at their special revenue-raiser and managed to pull in more than half of the entire anticipated expense to put on the Appreciation Dinner. Kudos to Scott and his 6-23-07 team.

Neal also placed donation receptacles at key business locations throughout the beach community, and urges everyone who appreciates all that our law enforcement and fire fighting teams do for us to seek out these donation containers & be generous so that the PBOC can serve a nice dinner to honor the life-saving people who protect our safety.

Additional contributions (checks made out to the Pensacola Beach Optimist Club) to help fund this critical project can be mailed directly to PBOC Treasurer, Dave Sundstrom 1000 Ft. Pickens Rd. F4, Pensacola beach, FL32561.

If you love kids and civic involvement, the Pensacola Beach Optimist Club is for you. The club's motto, "Friends of Youth" is vividly clear in all that they do for the area's children.

The club serves local folks with the true spirit of genuine optimism, and has lots of fun doing it. They meet the first and third Tuesday evening of each month (with the exception of July, when we meet July 17 only due to the holiday) at 6 p.m. at the Beach Community Church House on Via De Luna and Avenida 18. Should you desire to become a member of the beach Optimists, please call Mary Ann Claus, VP, PBOC, 206-1341 for more information.

Bubba's column will return next week.