Amy Dodge was named 2020 Optimist of the Year, and Pete Wilson earned the 2020 President’s Award.

The gathering was held at Pompeyo’s Mexican restaurant in Alpena. It had been postponed from November 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on indoor gatherings.

The group was happy to finally meet and honor Dodge and Wilson.

Optimist Club President Beckie Thomson said both of them have gone “above and beyond” in their roles with the club.

Above, Pete Wilson, left, accepts the 2020 President’s Award from Alpena Optimist Club President Beckie Thomson.

Wilson has been a member of the club since 1994.

“The President’s Award is determined by the president,” she explained, based on “a lot of different factors, but mostly the person in the club who has assisted the president in more matters than other people have, and maybe has given more input.”

The Optimist of the Year is selected based on the board’s consensus.

Thomson said they “determine who has assisted the Optimist Club in the most helpful way.”

She said Dodge really stood out this year.

“Amy has multiple ideas, and tries to bring them forth for the betterment of the club,” Thomson said. “She has gone above and beyond to ask new people to become members of the club. So she has helped to build the club.”

Dodge has been a club member for more than five years,

Thomson said.

These awards are based on the Optimist Club’s year, which runs from October to October, Thomson noted.

“So these would have been for the year of 2020,” she said.

The club currently has 27 members and is always seeking more.

The Optimist Club’s primary goal is to help the youth of the community while keeping a positive outlook, she said.

“We are always trying to look on the bright side,” she said, “Which I think everybody needs right now.”

The Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.