To the Members of the GATEWAY District Hall of Fame:
We would like to submit the name of Mary Still for Hall of Fame Nomination.
Mary Still is a true Optimist. She was raised in a military family, growing up she saw her Mother become very involved in the military community when her father and other military men were deployed. At a young age she was a member of the Camp Fire Girls which her mother was the leader. She continued her community involvement as she grew up and went off to college.
When she met Albert, and as they settled in Tucker, Mary stepped up in support of her children’s activities that included serving as a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout Committee Chair, Sunday School Group Leader and a member of the Youth Council of their church. As Susan and Michael started school, Albert and Mary became more involved in their local community. Albert joined the Tucker Optimist Club and naturally Mary joined him in the sponsored children service projects/activities. In 1999, she was among the first women to join the Tucker Optimist Club. She served as a member and in 2003 she started her leadership role in the organization. This gave Mary the opportunity to focus on “Bringing Out the Best in Kids” through Optimism.
One of the first leadership roles that Mary held in the Tucker Optimist Club, was Club Foundation Representative where she encouraged members to participate in the Dime a Day program. She’s also a supporter of the PGI program where she achieved Level 10 herself in 2013. Mary attended Leadership Academy in 2014. Mary was the last District Secretary/Treasurer (serving in a combined role) in the Georgia District where she achieved being distinguished in 2014. In that role, she implemented several technologies that brought the district into the 21st century such as Online Registration, Constant Contacts, and PayPal.
As Mary begins her 21st year in the Optimist organization, she has held 50 leadership roles, built 2 clubs, sponsored 27 members, and has received 7 awards. As the 2018 Distinguished District Governor, Mary created a new incentive for all clubs to achieve (Added Dimensions in Service) where each club was asked to conduct a service project the club hadn’t done before. She encouraged each club to reach out to local government to proclaim the first Tuesday of February as Optimist Day. Mary also asked the clubs to participate in a district wide service project on Optimist Day 2018 by handing out Child ID Kits. Mary led the Gateway District to be #7 overall in Optimist International that year. Besides achieving that distinguished award, she received the Pacesetter Award for growth in the first half of the year.
Besides being an Optimist, Mary also serves in other Tucker organizations (Tucker Civic Association, Tucker Business Association, and Tucker Community Activity Team).
Sincerely,
Kathy Forster Christy Buss