Schools

IB Optimist Club Celebrates 25 Years

The club whose charity focuses on children began with sponsorship from the Coronado Optimist Club in 1987.

The Imperial Beach Optimist Club celebrated its 25th anniversary Saturday evening in a banquet hall at the Fleet Reserve Association.

About 25 people attended the event where dinner was served, champagne was poured and stories were told in remembrance of 25 years of efforts to support local young people.

Established in 1987, former Navy helicopter pilot instructor Bill Zidbeck helped found the international organization's IB branch after extensive involvement with the Coronado Optimist Club.

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Since getting started 25 years ago, the group has helped support talent shows, a food drive, speech and essay contests, scholarships and the Kids 'N Kastles Sandcastle Competition.

"We're not only a wonderful club, but we are a very close family," said the club's historian Barbara Sanders after recounting some favorite stories over the past two decades. 

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Multiple volumes of pictures, letters and other keepsakes she compiled were strewn across a table nearby as she led a toast at the celebratory dinner. 

Earlier this year, on the group's behalf, Sanders gave gift certificates to local businesses to the South Bay Union School District .

Bill Zidbeck, 79, was part of the group's founding members. After retiring from the Navy he moved with his wife to Coronado, but after two years moved south to Imperial Beach.

Young people like the nine girls and two boys at the club's oratory contest earlier this month are why he is optimistic, he said.

His favorite moment since the start of the club was seeing Art Zamisch win the Optimist International's highest honor in Reno in 2000.

Even though he never joined the club, Zamisch, who owned a plumbing business, donated money to Christmas Comes to IB celebrations and often dressed up as Santa Claus.

"I remember as he walked up to the stage people saying 'He does look like Santa Claus!'"

Zidbeck helps distribute care baskets to needy families every year with his friend John Reid, a member of the Bonita Optimist Club.

The two first met in December 1966 in Key West, Florida when Zidbeck was a helicopter pilot instructor and Reid was his pupil.

Their helicopter squadrons would later assist in the recovering astronauts who splashed down in the ocean during NASA's Apollo missions to the moon.

"I didn't really want to fly helicopters. I wanted to fly a jet. I was one of those guys, ok?

"And Bill knew this and he was understanding. I love him like a brother… my older brother," he said laughing. 

Zidbeck recruited the club's current president Rico Toscano to get involved. 

"At the start, we had a lot of military people but because of deployments at the time it made it very difficult," he said, "but now we've continued with educators and other people."

According to Optimist International, the group has more than 2,900 clubs worldwide.

The IB club holds weekly  Tuesday from 4-5 p.m.


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