Hello, Georgia Optimists!
Last night, I left my office pretty much as usual, and met Cheryl for dinner.? ? We made a couple of stops, and then headed for home.? ? As I followed her car down the road, I flipped through the radio channels, settled on a station, and listened to a little country music.? ? Randy Travis was singing…
“There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway. Why there weren’t four of them, Heaven only knows. It’s not what you take, when you leave this world behind you. It’s what you leave behind you, when you go.”
As the 2003-2004 year draws to a close, I think about what has happened during “the dash” (as MY Governor Linda Lee likes to say).
We served thousands of young people in hundreds of projects.? ? We raised 10’s of thousands of dollars just to be able to perform those projects.? ? We implemented programs that will continue to reach children for several more years.? ? We recited and attempted to live our Creed.? ? We conducted our business, we had some fun and productive meetings, and we made it through to this day with our faith and our Optimism thriving and growing within.? ? We did a GOOD job.
We lost some great Optimists this year.? ? Ken Alexander, Barry Carroll, Ed Scott, and so many others too numerous to list.? ? From what I know of these special people, they left something behind that was so powerful, so meaningful, and so wonderful that it’s difficult to describe.? ? They left a changed world.? ? The children that were served by these fellow Optimists will BE the future of our nation and this world.? ? The Optimists that these people influenced, guided, and mentored will lead our organization for years to come.
I hope that the things that we accomplished this year will have just a small measure of the same impact.? ? I hope that we have lived up to the standards of service that were set for us by those that have traveled this path before.? ? I hope that all of you have gotten satisfaction and fulfillment for your worthwhile efforts.? ? I hope that those children, whose lives have been touched by you and your clubs this year, will build a future that we all can be proud of…
Tomorrow will dawn a new day, and a new opportunity to serve.? ? I’ll have my morning coffee, go to my office, and see my patients, just like always.? ? I will be the same person tomorrow as I am today, and as I was yesterday. However, my life will be forever changed.? ? It will be richer for the experience of working with such special people, it will be brighter for the light you have brought to my path, and it will be fuller for the loving friendships that I have come to know.
In the fullness of time, we may not remember what projects we did or when we did them.? ? We may not remember the names of those kids that we served.? ? But, we will always remember that WE SERVED TOGETHER, as Optimists in this great Georgia District.? ? THAT is who we are, and who we shall always be.? ? Thank
you all for what you have done this year!? ? May you always be blessed!
“What we do in life…echoes in eternity.” Maximus Desmus Meridias
Yours in Optimism,
Keith Pruitt