Recognizing the 100th Anniversary of the Mansfield Noon Optimist Club

Floor Speech

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Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to commend to the House the Mansfield Noon Optimist Club. Members of the club gathered earlier today to kick off an extended celebration of the centennial of their organization.

Optimist Clubs date back to the early 1900s, established to support young people and encourage their development. The Mansfield club, founded in October 1923, is the second oldest in the State of Ohio. Through the years, its members have devoted countless volunteer hours to promote youth-related programming throughout Richland County, from clothing drives to college scholarship competitions and Adopt-a-Child gift drives.

To commemorate this special anniversary, this year the club has donated $50,000 to build a children's playground at the Buckeye Imagination Museum in downtown Mansfield. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place next month.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of Ohio's Fourth Congressional District, I congratulate the members of the Mansfield Noon Optimist Club as they mark 100 years of being ``Friends of Youth.''

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