Interview
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INTERVIEW<br />
What made you decide to join<br />
Optimist Club?<br />
Andrea Schroder I was really involved<br />
with other things in the community like<br />
the PTA, the school district, and I did a<br />
lot of volunteering for all sorts of different<br />
causes. So I encouraged my husband to<br />
also give back to the community. He got<br />
involved with The Optimist Club and really<br />
enjoyed it, so I became a member as well,<br />
and I’ve been involved for 7 years now. It’s<br />
a great group.<br />
Don Brose I didn’t know much about it,<br />
but I decided to join because I like working<br />
with the community. I have been here for<br />
23 years.<br />
Tom Middleton I enjoy the speakers.<br />
Every week there is a speaker at<br />
Optimist Club. Often, these are not speakers<br />
that I would’ve necessarily chosen for<br />
myself, but I learn about different subjects<br />
and broaden knowledge. I also enjoy the<br />
friendship and the camaraderie that develop<br />
there.<br />
What is the best part of the Optimist<br />
Club?<br />
Andrea Schroder The friendship, and<br />
the fellowship, and the people you meet<br />
- service-oriented, community-oriented<br />
good people that do a lot of different<br />
things. A bunch of people are in the Farm<br />
Garden club, for example; I can’t grow<br />
anything, but I know people who can and<br />
how to get a hold of them. There’s a professional<br />
network also, especially when<br />
it comes to other community events and<br />
services. It’s a great network.<br />
<strong>Interview</strong> with Clarkston<br />
Optimist Club<br />
Don Brose Working with kids in schools<br />
with the Optimist Youth Clubs. We have<br />
seven different youth clubs in Clarkston<br />
right now.<br />
Tom Middleton We laugh every<br />
Wednesday morning. People ask, “why in<br />
the world would you want to get up at 7:30<br />
in the morning?” But we laugh; we have a lot<br />
of subtle jokes amongst the forty members<br />
that regularly attend the meetings, and we<br />
always have a great time.<br />
With your professional work and<br />
family, how do you manage to have<br />
time for volunteer work?<br />
Andrea Schroder When it comes down<br />
to a choice between having a clean, tidy<br />
and neat house and doing the things in the<br />
community that are important to us,<br />
we’re going to choose the community.<br />
Every one of us has an obligation<br />
to society to do what we can to give<br />
back; we take that seriously and we<br />
enjoy it, too. So you have to be willing<br />
to make the time.<br />
Q<br />
A<br />
Andrea Schroder<br />
Business Consultant; married,<br />
three children<br />
Don Brose I make it a priority. It’s<br />
like a hobby. If you like what you’re<br />
doing, it’s not an effort.<br />
Tom Middleton You have to try and fit the<br />
volunteer work into your schedule, and that<br />
is easy to do if you really enjoy it.<br />
Don Brose<br />
Lighting Showroom<br />
Owner and Manager,<br />
married<br />
Tom Middleton<br />
County Commissioner,<br />
Farmer; married, three<br />
children, four grandchildren<br />
Who do you think should join<br />
Optimist Club and why?<br />
Andrea Schroder I think anyone who<br />
has an interest in improving the quality of<br />
life in our community and improving opportunities<br />
for kids should join. It’s a very<br />
social group, and you can be either very or<br />
minimally involved. It is always fun; we are<br />
always laughing. If anybody feels life is too<br />
busy or something is missing, the Optimist<br />
Club is a great organization to join.<br />
Don Brose Everybody should! It’s for anyone<br />
that wants to be around good people<br />
and stay connected with the community.<br />
Tom Middleton People that are about<br />
forty, with kids in school, would get a lot out<br />
of the club. We learn a lot about what’s going<br />
on, especially with Clarkston Schools. There<br />
are teachers and principals that are members<br />
of the Optimist Club. We have kids who<br />
are honored for being good citizens in their<br />
school. It’s really refreshing to see the good<br />
things kids do. We also see the leadership<br />
that Optimist Club teaches to the kids in the<br />
Octagon Clubs. So even our kids and their<br />
friends can capitalize on the things that the<br />
Optimist Club does.<br />
October 2015<br />
7<br />
Publication INC.