Optimists unveil new sign at RO Schools
Fri, 09/01/2023 - 4:24pm
admin
Nick Johansen
The Red Oak Optimist Club officially unveiled the new LED sign at the Red Oak High School with a ribbon cutting Aug. 25.
Optimist Club President Dan Crouse said he was excited to officially unveil the sign, saying it was the culmination of a dream. Crouse added the Optimist Club has served the community’s youth for more than 60 years, and takes pride in its motto, which is “Friend of Youth.”
“About a year ago, the club made a major commitment to continue that service by providing the students one of the major requirements to grow: recognition. Lack of recognition will cause a child to develop feelings of loneliness, social anxiety, low self-esteem, and even mental health problems,” Crouse said. “It has also been proven that students recognized for their achievements develop major coping and decision-making skills.”
Crouse added after discussions, it was noted there was a lack of, and a need for, the LED sign.
“A little more than a year ago, the Optimist Club members made a major financial commitment to begin raising funds for this sign in order to proudly display the accomplishments of all the students in the Red Oak Community School District, as well as reached out to Tim Fridolph with the Red Oak Rotary Club for assistance, as they completed a similar project. I also want to recognize Jen Bruce, who’s been supportive of the project from the start,” commented Crouse.
Additionally, the sign was purchased through a local vendor using as many local resources as possible.
“With these resources, we established the goal to raise the projected cost of $65,000. With the blessing of the Red Oak School Board, we actively sought the financial resources to attain this goal. With an initial commitment of 20% of the total cost, the Optimist Club and its members have collectively contributed over 50% of the money raised. We also received a substantial grant from the Red Oak Hotel/Motel Tax Fund,” Crouse said. “We were able to demonstrate the sign could promote tourism and community pride, and we’re thankful for the resources and hope the committee is as proud of this achievement as we are.”
Crouse also praised KCSI and the FiveOne8 for assisting with a radiothon to raise money. He also noted the joint Rotary Club project to redeem and process redeemable cans and bottles at the Fareway parking lot.
“The drive is a valuable source of income that the Optimist Club uses for all of its projects, and we are appreciative to everyone who contributes their cans and bottles,” advised Crouse.
Crouse said the vision was that the sign would be used to recognize every student for their achievements in academics, artistic performance, and athletic competition and planned to work with the staff and students to teach the operations of the sign.
Red Oak superintendent Ron Lorenz said the new sign is definitely a wonderful example of the support the district receives from the community.
“We have people line up to help us and donate their time and resources. It’s just a wonderful feeling. Also, any time we get an opportunity to showcase all the wonderful things are kids do, that’s a good thing,” stated Lorenz. “People tend to look at the negatives, and we have to do a better job of showcasing all of those positive things that happen every day. We have a great group of kids, a great staff, and they all work hard to do wonderful things that reflect well on our community, and we want to make sure we accentuate them. I’m very appreciative to the Optimist Club for this generous gift.
Lorenz said he and the rest of the staff and students are excited to start using the sign with school underway.
“It’s a great resource. There’s going to be a learning curve, so we’re going to have to make sure we’re on top of getting everything programmed and doing those kinds of things, but we’re going to put it in capable hands. Mark and Janelle Erickson are going to take the lead in that, and we’ll have kids involved as well. We plan on using the sign as completely as possible,” Lorenz said.
Lorenz added without the Optimist Club generosity, installing the sign themselves would have been virtually impossible.
“We have a number of needs, and unfortunately we have to prioritize. We can do just about anything, but we can’t do everything. This is a project that was probably on a list somewhere, but the odds of it coming to the top of the list are probably very slim. We’re so appreciative when people or organizations step forward and say they want to help. We’ll take any help we can get,” Lorenz said.
“A little more than a year ago, the Optimist Club members made a major financial commitment to begin raising funds for this sign in order to proudly display the accomplishments of all the students in the Red Oak Community School District, as well as reached out to Tim Fridolph with the Red Oak Rotary Club for assistance, as they completed a similar project. I also want to recognize Jen Bruce, who’s been supportive of the project from the start,” commented Crouse.
Additionally, the sign was purchased through a local vendor using as many local resources as possible.
“With these resources, we established the goal to raise the projected cost of $65,000. With the blessing of the Red Oak School Board, we actively sought the financial resources to attain this goal. With an initial commitment of 20% of the total cost, the Optimist Club and its members have collectively contributed over 50% of the money raised. We also received a substantial grant from the Red Oak Hotel/Motel Tax Fund,” Crouse said. “We were able to demonstrate the sign could promote tourism and community pride, and we’re thankful for the resources and hope the committee is as proud of this achievement as we are.”
Crouse also praised KCSI and the FiveOne8 for assisting with a radiothon to raise money. He also noted the joint Rotary Club project to redeem and process redeemable cans and bottles at the Fareway parking lot.
“The drive is a valuable source of income that the Optimist Club uses for all of its projects, and we are appreciative to everyone who contributes their cans and bottles,” advised Crouse.
Crouse said the vision was that the sign would be used to recognize every student for their achievements in academics, artistic performance, and athletic competition and planned to work with the staff and students to teach the operations of the sign.
Red Oak superintendent Ron Lorenz said the new sign is definitely a wonderful example of the support the district receives from the community.
“We have people line up to help us and donate their time and resources. It’s just a wonderful feeling. Also, any time we get an opportunity to showcase all the wonderful things are kids do, that’s a good thing,” stated Lorenz. “People tend to look at the negatives, and we have to do a better job of showcasing all of those positive things that happen every day. We have a great group of kids, a great staff, and they all work hard to do wonderful things that reflect well on our community, and we want to make sure we accentuate them. I’m very appreciative to the Optimist Club for this generous gift.
Lorenz said he and the rest of the staff and students are excited to start using the sign with school underway.
“It’s a great resource. There’s going to be a learning curve, so we’re going to have to make sure we’re on top of getting everything programmed and doing those kinds of things, but we’re going to put it in capable hands. Mark and Janelle Erickson are going to take the lead in that, and we’ll have kids involved as well. We plan on using the sign as completely as possible,” Lorenz said.
Lorenz added without the Optimist Club generosity, installing the sign themselves would have been virtually impossible.
“We have a number of needs, and unfortunately we have to prioritize. We can do just about anything, but we can’t do everything. This is a project that was probably on a list somewhere, but the odds of it coming to the top of the list are probably very slim. We’re so appreciative when people or organizations step forward and say they want to help. We’ll take any help we can get,” Lorenz said.