2021 Trivia Night for the Family

This was a brand new event for us given the restrictions placed on all of us due to COVID. We worked on the logistics of holding the event online using Zoom. We initially hoped that players would be able to gather in small household groups of six to eight in a home and that our twenty or so volunteers would be able to work together under one roof in the Oxford Dodge showroom, but a late December lockdown in Ontario meant that our eventual decision to plan for the 'worst case' scenario was the right choice. This was a family trivia night with ten rounds of 7 two-part questions. In most cases the first part was geared to younger children and the second part was a bit more challenging for older kids and adults. All of our volunteers worked virtually from their own homes.

We purchased a Zoom Pro account that allowed 100 participants on the meeting. We needed 8 slots for the volunteers and we sold 91 team slots to play. We had one family joining from Atlantic Canada. Our sponsors and advertisers came through big time. We were unable to hold a 50/50 draw or a raffle draw, but we did find an online platform for our silent auction, MobilBid.ca. We had 27 great donors that gave us wonderful auction items and packages.

The night went off without a hitch and we received many notes of congratulations and thanks for providing an opportunity for families to have a fun and stimulating evening at home.

Champions - The scaled down version meant that teams self marked and we did not offer cash prizes but these teams earned bragging rights. Four teams shared 4th place - Team 11Michelle Cavanagh Team 14 Mike Chute, Team 55 Pamela McKenzie and Team 88 Megan Winkler. Team 1 Paula Adams, also a round advertiser, came in third. Team seven captained by John and Ellen Brennan were second and the winner of the first ever online Trivia Night for the Family was Team 36 Ron Gulka. Congratulations to everyone.

Thanks to all of our volunteers, donors, sponsors and advertisers and we hope to see you all back at our regular venue in 2022.

2020 Trivia Night

Thank you to all of our players, sponsors, advertisers, donors and volunteers for your dedication to our primary fundraiser. The financials are not yet complete but we will be able to enrich the lives of youth in our community because of you. Here is a list of some of our winners.

50/50 Draw Winner - Alan Harkness of Kitchener bought the winning ticket and took home a prize of $2,587.50. That is a record prize for our event. Congratulations Alan and thanks to the Chapman Real Estate Team for sponsoring this contest.

Bonus Bracket Winners - The bottom 32 tables at the end of 5 rounds of play were entered into the Bonus Bracket sponsored by Crossings Pub & Eatery and iVest Mortgage. These tables went head to head over the next 5 rounds until two winners remained. The Howard Shears team won the White side of the bracket with a score of 54 and the Heather Hoare team won the Red side with a score of 60. Each person at these tables won $25 gift certificates provided by our sponsors.

Champions - Cash prizes were awarded to the top 5 teams. The prize board is sponsored by Oxford Dodge. Here are the winners with their table prize in brackets. 5th place with 76 points - the Joe O'Neill table ($160), 4th place with 77 points - the Derrick Shadlock table ($240), tied for 2nd place with 79 points - the Maureen O'Neill table ($440) and the Josh Morgan table ($440) and in 1st place with 82 points - the Peggy Sattler team ($560).

Thanks again to everyone who supported us, our volunteers and for the great job done by Michelle and her team at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel. We hope to see you all back next year.

Koats for Kids Collection 2019

Thank you to all of the Optimists and the students at Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School who helped with Koats for Kids! With over 1,000 coats donated in total, the Boy's and Girl's Club of London was able to provide 364 families with coats for 954 children and youth. The largest family we helped has 11 children and youth. From October 21^st to 26^th, we had 84 volunteers (including 8 children) contribute 218 volunteer hours.

2019 Oakridge Optimist Charity Golf Tournament

A record 133 golfers registered and played in our 12th annual event at FireRock Golf Course near Komoka on Sunday, September 15th. We raised enough funds to present Heather Hoare from Ronald McDonald House with a cheque for $10,000.00. These funds allow them to operate one room over the course of 3 years and this is the sixth year that we have made this donation. We had good weather, good food and good times. The golf contest winners are below. Thank you to all of our golfers, sponsors, donors, volunteers and the great staff at FireRock for making this such a wonderful and successful event.

Contest Winner

Winning Men's Team Chris Newcombe, Brett Horst, Justin Scapinello and Evan Cranshaw with a score of -15

Winning Mixed Team Doug Steinburg, Harold Taylor, Karen Sutton and Derek Sutton with a score of -5.

Winning Women's Team Janine Easton, Malea Levesque, Mary Anne Gillespie and Dana Riley with a score of +5

Closest to the Keg Matt Heisz

Men's Longest Drive Shane Riley

Women's Longest Drive Heather Gillespie

Men's Closest to the Pin Peter Boyle

Women's Closest to the Pin Tina Da Silva

Mystery Hole Rick Gillespie, Paul Dodgson, Heather Gillespie & Krissy Belanger on #10 with a score of 6.

Putting Contest First Liam McLean, Second Gary Masters, Third Anne Dennerley, Riley McLean.

2019 Optimist International Essay Contest

Congratulations to Eshal Raza who won the Oakridge Optimist Club's 2019 Essay contest. She is a student at Clara Brenton Public School. Her essay has been forwarded to the Midwestern Ontario District Optimist Essay Contest. The topic for her essay was "When all the world's problems are solved, is Optimism still necessary?"

2019 Optimist International Oratorical Contest

Is there a fine line between Optimism and Reality? That was the question our seven Oratorical contestants addressed in their speeches at out club's annual public speaking event on April 6th at the Byron Public Library. All seven delivered well thought out speeches to a crowd of families, teachers, friends and Optimists. Our judges selected Sophia Smith from St. Nicholas School as our first place winner. Second place was awarded to Taylor Helwig from Northridge Public School while Matthew Landis from St. Nicholas finished third. Oratorical Chair Don Lucas congratulated all of them for their speeches. Both Sophia and Taylor competed in the Zone Oratorical contest on April 13th where Taylor finished second. She advances to compete at the Midwestern Ontario District Oratorical contest in May.

2019 Trivia Night

Thank you to all of our players, sponsors, advertisers, donors and volunteers for your dedication to our primary fundraiser. The financials are not yet complete but we will be able to enrich the lives of youth in our community because of you. Here is a list of some of our winners.

50/50 Draw Winner - Kate Taggart of London bought ticket number 802025 and took home a prize of $2,485.00. That is a record prize for our event. Congratulations Kate and thanks to the Chapman Real Estate Team for sponsoring this contest.

Bonus Bracket Winners - The bottom 32 tables at the end of 5 rounds of play were entered into the Bonus Bracket sponsored by Crossings Pub & Eatery and iVest Mortgage. These tables went head to head over the next 5 rounds until two winners remained. The Jeff Kafka team won the White side of the bracket and the Peggy Sattler team won the Red side. Each person at these tables won $25 gift certificates provided by our sponsors.

15th Anniversary Winners - This was our 15th anniversary edition of Trivia Night. Joe Kool's and Fellini Koolini's provided eight, $25 gift cards for the table that came placed, you guessed it, 15th. We had four tables tied for the honour - Paula Adams, Krys Teall, Rob and Mira DiCecco and Doug Ferguson all had 71 points. We awarded the prize based on a coin toss and the Krys Teall table took home the prize.

Champions - Cash prizes were awarded to the top 5 teams. The prize board is sponsored by Oxford Dodge. Here are the winners with their table prize in brackets. 5th place with 79 points - Peggy Sattler table ($160), 4th place with 80 points - Rob Gillespie table ($240), 3rd place with 82 points - Maureen O'Neill table ($400), 2nd place with 83 points - Cameron Boyd table ($480) and in 1st place with 84 points - John and Ellen Brennan table ($560).

Thanks again to everyone who supported us and for the great job done by Michelle and her team at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel. We hope to see you all back next year.

2018 Charity Golf Tournament

The tournament was held at FireRock Golf Club on Sunday, September 16th and was a big success with 32 teams registered and a host of sponsors, donors and volunteers to make the day complete. We raised enough money to give $10,000.00 to Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontarion and have just a little left over to support the many other programs that benefit youth in our community. Pictured in this photo are Taylor Longfield from RMH, Optimist President Rick Gillespie and Optimist Golf Chair Ramona Fudge.

Here is a bit of what Taylor had to say. "Just wanted to take a minute to pass along our gratitude. Oakridge Optimists has been a HUGE support to the House and families with sick children. This year marks the sixth year that the Annual Golf Tournament has donated to the House – that’s a grand total of $60,000 – WOW! Because of you we’re able to help give families more time together, a gift that is priceless. Thank you for your continuous support, from dinners at the House – I know the baked chicken was a hit last night – the golf tournament proceeds, other donations and giving, etc. you are truly one of our Champions."

Thanks go out to all of these sponsors and donors. Have a look at a few pics.

Hole and Contest Sponsors: Chapman Real Estate Team, Byron Pizza, Joe Kool's, Oxford Dodge, Melchers Construction, Crossings Eatery and Pub, Scott Galpin and Stewart MacDonnell Real Mortgage Associates, Downs Law, jpw systems inc., R.J. Lyons Real Estate Appraisal Services, Western IT Group, Paula V. Adams Law, Real Canadian Superstore, Ford Keast Chartered Professional Accountants, 3 D&M Contracting, Ivest Equity, Oakridge Optimist Soccer Club, Breakfast Sponsor: McDonalds Dinner Sponsor: Spriet Family Companies. Prize and Other Donors: FireRock Golf Club, Tim Horton's, Boston Pizza, Crossings Eatery and Pub, Steam Whistle Brewery, Keyline Industrial Ltd., Muskoka Brewery, Caradoc Sands Golf Course, Culligan Water, Molson's, Paula V. Adams Law, Kelsey's Fanshawe Park Road, Team Works, Montana's, Double Tree by Hilton, Bennett Truck Rental, Domino's Pizza, Farley-Brodie Associates Inc., City of London, Jenny and Optimist Drew Hauser, Optimist Bill Adams, Dad Club London, Kate Brown, Picard's Peanuts, Chatter's Hair Beauty Salon Masonville, Stephen Lehman (In Fashion, JAS Shoes, Life Style), Beer Town, Westown Shoe Clinic, Western IT Group, 3M Canada, Western Auto Service and London Hydro.

Oakridge Optimists partner with Western Frosh

Oakridge Optimist Community Park on Valetta Street was the scene of a big clean up on Saturday, September 8^th. Optimist volunteers partnered with over thirty Western University frosh to pick up garbage, clean the Optimist office in the arena and clean out the concession booth near the splash pad as part of Western’s Orientation Serves Day. One of the more important features in the park that got a make over was the newly installed Optimist Memorial Bench. It is located near the field house and was placed there as a place for quiet reflection and is a symbol of recognition for Optimist members that have passed.

The Optimist Club formally “adopted” the park last year and we are responsible for having a minimum of two clean ups each year. The first occurred in conjunction with Clean and Green in April.

London saw thousands of first year students coming to Western and Frosh Week serves to give them an orientation to the campus and the community. Western’s OServes program partnered with over 50 organizations and had almost 2,000 students volunteering to support these local programs across the city.

The Optimist Club would like to thank the students who helped us and send a big welcome to London to each of them.

London Food Bank

Our club members and families volunteered at the London Food Bank on May 8th, 2018. Many thanks to Optimist Murray Bain for organizing.

2018 Optimist International Essay Contest

Topic: The topic for the 2018-2019 school year was "Can society function without respect?.

Result: Anika Garg won our Club contest and went on to win at the District level as well. Congratulations Anika on taking home the $2,500.00 scholarship.

2018 Optimist International Oratorical Contest

What: The topic for the 2017-2018 school year was "Where are my roots of Optimism?"

Who: Students under the age of 18 as of October 1, 2017

When: The club contest was held on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 930am at the Byron Public Library.

Result: Winner - Aaliyah Cromwell from Notre Dame Catholic Elementary School on left, 1st runner up - Revya Chhibber from Matthews Hall on right, 2nd runner up - Matthew Lantis from St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School in the centre. Congratulations to each student who participated. The top two speakers will go on to the Zone Contest on April 25th at 700pm at the RCAF Hall on Crumlin Road in London.

On May 12th, our very own Revya Chhibber competed at the Mid Western Ontario District contest and placed first. Congratulations Revya! She competed at the Regional s on June 28 but did not make the World Competition. Well done Revya!

2018 Trivia Night

We sold out all 70 tables at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel. Thank you to our guests, volunteers, committee members, donors, sponsors and advertisers for your support that helped us raise over $30,000.00 that will fund our programs and donations that support the youth of our community.

2017 Golf Tournament

This year's event was a great success with 34 foursomes and a cheque for $10,000.00 given to support Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario. A big thanks goes out to all of the golfers, donors, sponsors and volunteers. Have a look at a few of the pics here soon.

2016 Oratorical Contest

The first round of competition will be held on Saturday, April 2nd, 2016 at the Byron Public Library at 9:30am. You must be under the age of 18 years and be a current student at a school within the Oakridge area. The topic for your speech is "How my best brings out the best in others." Top competitors from our contest may go on to compete at the District and International levels and could win a valuable scholarship. For more information contact Optimist Don Lucas at 226 663-4854 or by email at oratorical@oakridgeoptimists.ca.

Oakridge Optimist Charity Golf Tournament

Our tournament is held each year on the third Sunday in September at Firerock Golf Course. For all the details see our golf tournament page.

Reunion Breakfast Meeting

The club held a special breakfast meeting onSaturday, December 14th at Jim Bob Ray's. Special guests included our Lieutenant Governor and the District Past Governor. We had almost a dozen past members join us for a plentiful buffet breakfast served by the great people of Joe Kool's. President Bruce's agenda included updates from several Optimist members who chair the many activities our club undertakes. Members had lots of time to reminisce and view photos and other memorabilia from years past.

6th Annual Oakridge Optimist Charity Golf Tournament

Our 2013 golf tournament was held on Sunday, September 15th, 2013 at FireRock Golf Club and was a huge success that raised over $8500.00. We gave all of that and more in a cheque for $10,000.00 to Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario right here in London. Thanks to all of our volunteers, sponsors, donors and golfers who made all of this possible.

9th Annual Oakridge Optimist Trivia Night

Our 9th annual, and best ever, trivia night fundraiser was held on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 at the Hellenic Centre in London. Over 50 volunteers hosted 440 trivia players at 55 tables. The players were challenged by 10 rounds of trivia questions and had opportunities to bid on silent auction items, raffle draws and lots of free contests. Al Boudreau of London won $1977.00 with ticket number 278134 in our licensed 50-50 draw. Thanks to our major corporate sponsors (Chapman Real Estate Team, Oxford Dodge and Scotiabank), advertisers, donors, volunteers and players for helping us raise almost $30,000.00 that will be used to support youth health, recreation, safety and education programs that benefit so many people in our community. Please have a look at some of the images taken that night. Coming Soon!

5th Annual Oakridge Optimist Charity Golf Tournament

Our annual tournament was held at FireRock Golf Club on Sunday, September 16, 2012. We enjoyed great weather and the company of 104 golfers. Thanks to them and our sponsors, donors and volunteers we raised almost $9,000.00 that has been donated along with other fundraising efforts to ChildCan, Sunshine Foundation, Solidarity Experiences Abroad and many other local Optimist programs that benefit the youth of our community. I hope you enjoy some of the images captured that day.

2012 Oratorical Contest

Our club contest for public speaking was scheduled for April 27/12 at the Byron Public Library. Speaking contestants from Ms Kelly McKenzie's STA Grade 11 Public Speaking Class entered. That morning at 9:30 there were nine orators and many classmates plus Ms McKenzie as spectators. Carolyn Cameron, Diane Price and Tony Stacpoole were the speech evaluators. Optimist wife Judy Lucas plus Optimists Doug Mackay, Ron Fisher, Stewart Blair, Rick Gillespie, Don Draper and Don Lucas took part in the contest organization.

All the speakers were wonderful and showed great skills of Public Speaking! Mary Austin placed first and Nicole Murphy achieved second place. Following the contest we all had a PIZZA LUNCH before the students returned to STA and we Optimists wrapped up the morning. As a consequence of our club Contest both Mary Austin and Nicole Murphy were selected to speak and represent of club at the May 1st ZONE 9 Contest on May 1st.

Mary and Nicole competed against five other contestants representing London Middlesex, London Fanshawe and London East Optimist Clubs. Mary placed third but Nicole was chosen in second place and as a result, Nicole was asked to speak in Holstein at the District Oratorical Contest on May 12/12. At that contest, Nicole Murphy, even with her broken collar bone, placed third and received a scholarship of $1000 for her post-secondary education!!!

WHAT A SUPER REPRESENTATIVE FOR OUR OAKRIDGE ACRES OPTIMIST CLUB THIS YEAR. Way to go, NICOLE! (see her with the arm sling in the District photo)

Thanks again to Optimist wife, Judy Lucas, for all her help and driving skills to the different contests.

Submitted respectfully by

Opt. Don Lucas

Oakridge Acres Opt. Club Oratorical Chair

London Clean and Green 2012

Join the Oakridge Optimist Club at Oakridge Optimist Community Park, 825 Valetta Street as we spruce up our park. Bring your work gloves and dress for the weather. We will have everything else. You can check out more details at http://www.cleangreen.london.ca or contact Optimist Mike at presidentelect@oakridgeoptimists.ca.

London Clean and Green 2010

On April 17th 2010 the Optimist Club of Oakridge Acres will be participating in the 2010 London Clean and Green. We will be organizing activities at the Oakridge Arena (Oakridge Optimist Community Park). For details see our Clean and Green Page.

Community Legacy Project

The club celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. As part of those celebrations a legacy committee was struck to design projects that leave a lasting impact on the Oakridge community.

For details on the projects please see our legacy project page.