Tavistock Optimist Club gearing up for busy summer during 50th anniversary year
- May 14
- 2 min read
By Gary West
After 50 years, membership in the Tavistock Optimist Club continues to grow.
The club, which was chartered on April 15, 1976, was one of the largest Optimist clubs in Ontario at the time with 81 members – a provincial record that still stands today.
The club’s inaugural president, Bruce Swartzentruber, said membership has now grown to 92 members.
Three charter members – Bruce Swartzentruber, his brother, Brian Swartzentruber, and Eugene “Beany” Bender – sat down Tuesday to reflect on the club’s history and growth over the past five decades.
Other charter members who remain involved with club activities include Lyle Bender, Steve Bender, Steve Yantzi, Ken “Took” Zehr and Brian Wilhelm.
During the club’s first year, Steve Bender served as secretary-treasurer while Paul Steinman was first vice president.
The club was originally chartered and sponsored by the Optimist Club of Shakespeare under the leadership of Gill McNeil and with support from members of that club.
The group’s first dinner meetings were held at the Tavistock Legion and its charter night celebration took place in Stratford on July 17, 1976, with many local members attending.
With its longtime motto, “Friend of Youth,” the club has remained heavily involved in promoting youth activities throughout the community.
The charter members recalled one of the club’s earliest and most ambitious fundraising projects – raising money to purchase the club’s 11-acre property on the west side of Tavistock.
To finance the purchase, members built a new house in Tavistock and sold 2,400 raffle tickets at $100 each. The fundraiser launched July 29, 1976, and by Dec. 5 of that year, every ticket had been sold.
The project generated a profit of $115,000, allowing the club to purchase the property from Canada Food Distributors and establish what has since become a busy community park.
Today, the club is once again in fundraising mode with a $200,000 campaign to help pay for a new pavilion addition and recently installed ball-diamond lights completed by D&D Electric of Tavistock.
The charter members said the club has already raised 75 per cent of its fundraising goal and thanked community members for their continued support.
As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, the club is inviting the public to an open-air anniversary celebration June 6 from 7-11 p.m. at the Optimist Park ball diamond featuring the popular band, Highway 21.
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