Optimists provide opportunities for youth
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More than 30 contestants compete for the top six spots in the Optimist Oratorical contest. They are Harper Hamilton, Gabby Schieber, Faye Hornickel, Xyrah Wixom, Chloe Hargrave and Hinton Hamilton. Faye Hornickel won first place with Gabby Schieber placing second.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — The Maryville Optimist Club’s main priority is to present the area youth with opportunities for growth, development and socialization.
To this end, 27 members, including two charter members, Harry Schieber and Ron Moss, work to provide these opportunities. Mary Shields is the current president of Optimists. Heather Stoecklein is the Maryville High School sponsor for Octagon, which is the Optimist youth organization.
Some history about Optimists includes the first club being formed in 1911. The group added International to its name in 1919. The Maryville club has been active for over 50 years.
The club meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the First Christian Church, 201 W. Third St., Maryville.
The Optimists join in on several activities with the Octagon members, including a tailgate at a football game.
“Finding My Voice in a World Full of Noise” is the topic for the annual essay contest which is a class assignment in Nicole McGinness’ English class. The completed essays are given to the Optimists after McGinness has graded and selected the top six essays. Last year, Anmol Prabhakar went on to the West District competition where he was awarded a $2,500 scholarship.
The 2026-2027 topic is “How My Actions Strengthen Those Around Me” in the oratorical contest. These are judged by Trudy Kinman and Brenda Schildknecht, an Optimist who won the competition 50 years ago.
Middle School instructor Marti Nolte narrows the field to six students who then present. Last year, MMS student Faye Hornickel placed in the top three at the state level competition.
Optimists Lois and Al Terhune run the youth appreciation awards for elementary and middle school students. These students are nominated by their teachers and are for people who make a difference in the classroom. Reasons for the nominations vary and students are selected based on qualities besides popularity.
The Maryville Optimists’ fishing tournament is normally held the first Saturday in July with the Optimists providing bait, poles and supervision during the morning tourney. Forty children participated this year and enjoyed the activity.
The “Just Say No” poster contest is run by Optimists Lynn Beason, Mary Walkup and Beth Zech. The Optimists take poster boards to each school for the fourth-grade class to make their works of art.
A Missouri leadership seminar is held at Warrensburg each year. The Optimists sponsored two students to attend, one from Jefferson and the other from Maryville.
Another child-centered activity the Optimists take part in is the annual Maryville Downtown Trick-or-Treat.
The group also does a “Respect for Law” day where members deliver cookies to area law enforcement officers.
If interested in promoting youth in the area, the Optimists can be joined by contacting any Optimist. Shields can be reached at 660-541-5156 or at [email protected]; Kinman at 816-383-2335 or at [email protected].
CORRECTION: The original version of this article incorrectly named the winner of the essay competition for the West District. It was Anmol Prabhakar. The Forum apologizes for the error.
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The Optimists are ready to work for area youth. They are, in front: President Mary Shields, Mary Walkup, Beth Zech and Lynn Beason; back: Trudy Kinman, Doug Sutton, Jim Zech, Julie Filips and Joe Handlos.
