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Optimist International Essay Contest. Why should my Club hold an Essay contest?. Gives young people a chance to write about their opinions regarding the world they live in Gives young people the opportunity to earn a scholarship for further education
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Why should my Club hold an Essay contest? • Gives young people a chance to write about their opinions regarding the world they live in • Gives young people the opportunity to earn a scholarship for further education • Introduces your Club to the community, parents, schools, local youth and businesses
Where do I find information on holding a contest? • District Essay Chair • Essay Program Planning Guide (http://www.Optimist.org) • Optimist International Staff (1-800-500-8130 ext. 235 or 261 or programs@optimist.org)
This looks too hard…. • This could be a lot of work! • How will we get students to participate? • I don’t know if we can find three judges… • There are a lot of rules… • The secret is…it’s easier than you think!
A New Resource • The Club-Level Essay Contest Program Package available • Includes tools to help your Club run a contest • Job Responsibilities by Position • Sample Letters • And More!
Piece By Piece • Please remember that the responsibility breakdown and timeline are only suggested and can be modified to fit your Club!
Job Responsibilities • A list of all the necessary things that need to be done to run a successful contest • You may think of additional things that need to be done
Job Responsibilities By Position • Project Chair – organizes contest details, sends press releases, reviews judges’ evaluations, ranks essays, announces winners, sends information to District Chair by February 28th
Job Responsibilities By Position (cont.) • Contestant Coordinator – sets deadline for students, asks Principal to make entry part of curriculum, promote the contest to local youth, notify participants of winners
Job Responsibilities By Position (cont.) • Judging Coordinator – secure 3 judges and a back-up, provide judging sheets, make sure judges understand procedures, send “thank you” letters to judges after contest
Job Responsibilities By Position (cont.) • Club Board of Directors – decide whether Club will offer a monetary award to winners
Project Timeline • Responsibilities broken down by weeks leading up to the judging, the day of the judging and then the weeks immediately following the judging • This is only a suggestion.
Press Release – Before Event • Press Releases are fill in the blank – simply type your Club’s information in the highlighted areas • Send to local newspapers, radio stations and television stations • Free publicity for your contest and your Club!
Judging Sheets and Contest Forms • Instructions to Judges • Judge’s Score Sheet • Instructions for Master Score Sheet for Club Chairs • Master Score Sheet • Club Essay Chair List of What to Submit to the District Chair • District Essay Contest Entry Form
Sample Letters • Fill in the Blanks • Letter to Parents – thank them for letting their child participate, inform them about your Club’s other programs and what your Club does, invite them to a Club meeting • Judges Letter – thank them for their work, inform them about your Club’s other programs and what your Club does, invite them to a Club meeting
Press Release – After the Event • Fill In The Blank – type your Club’s information in the highlighted areas • Announce Club Winner and send photos!
Remember • The program package is not a substitute for the Program Planning Guide. The guide contains all the rules and forms needed to conduct the contest. • All Clubs NEED to print the Club guide from the Optimist website (http://www.Optimist.org) before running the contest!