Welcome to the Breakfast Optimist Club of Kalamazoo – BOCK

Optimist Mission:

By providing hope and a positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in our youth, our communities, and ourselves.

Optimist International President:

For the 2024 – 2025 Optimist Year (October – September) the Optimist International President is Janet Oord Graves.

Janet started as an Optimist when she joined BOCK on October 14, 1997.

She was the BOCK club president in 2001 – 2002.

She was the Governor of the Michigan District of Optimists International in 2010 – 2011.

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Oratorical2024March
BowlForKidsSakeBBBSFeb2024
PowerUpFeb2024
JOIDecember2023
ChristmasGifts2023
Uganda2024March
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BackToSchoolAugust2022
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If_interested_Jan2023

Gatherings:

Club Gatherings are on most Thursday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, at Mark’s Diner (https://www.marksdinerportage.com), at 677 Romence Road, Portage, MI 49024 (see map below). 

There is no gathering when Kalamazoo or Portage Public Schools are delayed or closed due to weather.

On the fourth Thursday of each month, the gathering starts at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time and is at Old Burdick’s Bar and Grill Wings West, https://www.oldburdicks.com/location/wings-west/, 5076 Sports Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49009 (see map below). There is no morning gathering on the fourth Thursday of the month. The next Thursday evening gathering is on June 26, 2025.

If a Thursday night gathering is cancelled due to weather, the Club President and/or other Board Members will notify BOCK members.

Be a first-time visitor. The club pays for your meal.

Trivia Night, Friday, June 6, 2025:

Purpose: Raise funds for Back To School Program. The Back To School program takes place in August and allows needy students to purchase new clothes for the new school year.

Location: Portage Zhang Senior Center, 203 East Centre Avenue, Portage, MI 49002.

Time: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Trivia starts at 7:00 p.m. Use entrance on west side of senior center.

Food and Drinks: Desserts and non-alcoholic beverages are provided. Trivia players can bring their own adult beverages.

Players per team: Up to six.

Cost per team: $150.

Registration: Use the Contact link in the heading of this webpage to request a team registration form.

Payment (Check or Venmo): One payment per a trivia team. If payment via check, make payable to BOCK. If payment via Venmo the account is KalamazooBreakfastOptimist (no spaces and same upper and lower cases).

Payment and registration deadline: Sunday, May 25, 2025.

Questions: If questions, use the Contact link in the heading of this webpage to contact BOCK.

O.W.L.S. = Optimists Working for Learning Success.

Optimist clubs partner with local schools or classrooms to provide nutrition, clothing, school supplies, hygiene products, tutoring and mentoring to help students survive.

In the Spring of 2024 BOCK started a partnership with Beth Heimann’s 2nd-grade class at Comstock Elementary School. This partnership continues during the 2024 – 2025 Optimist year.

Link to May 2, 2024, Thank You letter from Dr. Jeffrey J. Thoenes, Superintendent of Comstock Public Schools, thoenes.pdf.

Tuesday, May 6, 2024: Book Club,  Paper Palace by Miranda Crowley Heller.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025: Bock members tutor second grade students at Comstock Elementary School.

Wednesday, May 7, 2025: PowerUp (https://www.radiant.church/powerup).

Tuesday, May 13, 2025: Bock members tutor second grade students at Comstock Elementary School.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025, BOCK Board Meeting.

Saturday, May 17, 2025: Girls On The Run https://www.girlsontherunkazoo.org/.

Saturday, May 17, 2025: Michigan District Quarter 3 gathering, Saginaw, https://michiganoptimists.org/events/2024-25-spring-gathering/.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025: Bock members tutor second grade students at Comstock Elementary School.

Tuesday, May 27, 2025: Bock members tutor second grade students at Comstock Elementary School.

Tuesday, June 3, 2025: Book Club, Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls.

Friday, June 6, 2025: Trivia Night, raise funds for Back to School Shopping.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025: BOCK Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Wings West.

Thursday, June 19, 2025: An “impromptu” social gathering starting at 6:00 p.m. at Steinspark Biergarten and Food Court, 2603 E. Milham Ave, Portage, MI 49002, https://steinspark.com/.

Saturday, June 28 – Thursday, July 3, 2025: Optimist International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Smile Always Uganda Foundation Optimist Club, assists 2023.
The Rise Optimist Club, Kalamazoo, founded 2022.
Movers and Shakers Optimist Club of Greater Grand Rapids, founded 2020.
Portage Central High School Rise & Shine Optimist Club, founded 2019.

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.

 

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”―Noam Chomsky

Google Maps, Thursday Gatherings:

Thursday Mornings: Mark’s Diner, 677 Romence Road, Portage, MI 49024

Thursday Evenings: Old Burdick’s Bar and Grill Wings West, 5076 Sports Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49009.