Governor Jane, Welcomes you!

Welcome to the 2025-2026 optimist year! This past year, Governor Sue did a great job in igniting and inspiring our optimist spirit. Now it is time to continue that inspiration as we cultivate a sense of optimism across our state. Iowa Optimist Clubs are doing the important work of meeting the needs within a community, but there is always more we can do to cultivate and grow optimism. To cultivate means to nurture, improve, encourage, or develop something, whether it’s land for growing crops, one’s mind, or a skill or interest. That is the theme for this year’s Iowa District – Cultivate Optimism Across Iowa. We will nurture our existing clubs, we will improve what we do within our communities, we will encourage our members and the youth in our communities, and we will develop something that is bigger than ourselves.

At each conference we will learn ways to cultivate optimism – fostering it in our community, in the youth we support, in our relationships, and in ourselves. This will be a year of growth because what we do in our Optimist Clubs is too important to keep to ourselves. It is impressive to see what our clubs are accomplishing as we live the creed whether it be through encouraging our youth, providing scholarships, taking part in community events for families, or supporting local food pantries. The impact of Optimist Clubs can be felt throughout Iowa. Every community needs an Optimist Club.

It is my goal as governor to assist existing clubs to maintain and grow their membership. We want each club to be strong and focused on its purpose within a community. The important step is to set goals because what we do is so important we need to continue to extend our outreach. What we do makes a difference, and we have to decide what kind of difference we want to continue to make in our community and with youth. We can all find that making a difference for others makes the biggest difference within ourselves.

I look forward to sharing this year with you as we move forward with a strong purpose. Let’s go MAD (make a difference) this year – being the change in our state – by cultivating optimism across Iowa.

Governor Jane