Bill Edgerton - Dedicated to Sevice

Bill Edgerton - Dedicated to Service

I first joined the Breakfast Optimist Club of Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 1975 or 1976. I was employed by the Telephone Company and averaged moving every four years for 37 years. I have been a member of five clubs, two of which I helped start.

I attended my first International Convention in 1982 in St. Louis. At that convention, the Foundation was turning 10 years old. In the first 10 years, the Foundation had raised $900,000. During that convention, an elderly gentleman donated a check to the Foundation for $100,000 to bring the total to one million dollars. I was very impressed.

Now I don't remember the exact time I made my first donation to the Foundation, but for the past 10 years my wife and I have been the only William H. Harrison members in our district. But last year, a second member joined the William H. Harrison Society.

The governor that first asked me to be the DFR probably influenced me more than anyone else. I have been the DFR numerous times since then as well as a CFR. I have influence others to get involved because I firmly believe that you cannot ask members for money if you do not support it yourself. My goal has been to give more than the ones I was asking to give.

My favorite project has probably been the oratorical contest. It is at the top of my list of favorite projects the Foundation supports. My wife Jan was a school teacher for 34 years so seeing young children speak in front of a group of people is important and a great skill to have. Our daughter was in the Optimist Oratorical contest when she was 12 or 13 and now, she is a grandmother of three children. The contests impact so many people.

I personally promote the Foundation by giving. And because I do give, I do not mind asking other people to give. Any member that you can get the message to as to all the benefits of the Foundation should want to participate. As of now, forty percent of my club members have joined the Dime-A- Day. My push this year is to try to get more members and more clubs to donate something. We have way too many members that have not donated anything. The clubs that do not donate are probably not going to have members that donate.

While I am no great orator or have many words of wisdom. But I know what we as members of Optimist International and must do is continue to educate our members about the importance of the Foundation and all the things it does to "Help Optimist Help Kids." We can do this by supporting the Foundation and all the efforts they have in helping Optimist International impact children in communities.

4494 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63108(800) 500-8130oifoundation.org