Like the winner of the Kentucky Derby, the second annual Mother’s Day Brunch & Bubbly staged by the Clinton Mid-Day Optimist Club started out with long odds. Because of high-school graduation parties, all the venues in town were taken for the Saturday before Mother’s Day, May 12.
So the Optimists booked the Clinton Country Club for May 4. But they were less than optimistic because tickets sales were slow out of the gate compared to the previous year, according to club member Kristi Kenney. In 2023, the brunch was held on Mother’s Day weekend at the Delozier Building.
But like Mystik Dan, this year’s brunch came through in the finish, beating last year’s ticket sales by more than a nose.
“We sold 10 tickets at the door, for a total of 62,” said Shauna Smith. “It was more successful than last year.”
Shauna headed the event committee for the brunch, a fundraiser for the club’s annual Back to School Fair. Members of the club brought the food, she said, decorated the tables, recruited 32 sponsors for the brunch and gathered 45 items for the silent auction.
A night’s stay and a round of golf at Old Kinderhook Resort, Golf Club and Spa, on the lake near Camdenton, Mo., brought the highest bid of $500.
“We made $2,000 on the silent auction, and almost $4,500 overall,” Shauna said.
That ensures lots of school supplies for the Optimists’ annual Back to School Fair, which will be held this year on August 1 at the Benson Center. Sign up online, (ssmith@fsinhomelic.com) now through the middle of July to pick up supplies on August 1, Shauna said.
Many families in Clinton rely on the Back to School Fair to provide supplies on the list, sent out by the school district, needed for each grade level.
Inflation, like for all consumer goods, has driven up the price of outfitting a child for the school year.
The club is also accepting used backpacks to distribute at the fair, which can be brought to Four Season Homes Care, 908 N. 2nd St., Clinton.
The Mid-Day Optimists meet at the Clinton Senior Center for lunch and a program on first and third Wednesdays at noon. Most of the members work or are retired, Shauna said, and the majority are female, although there are six men who belong. One of the members works at Primitive Olde Crow and Winery, where the club found the emcee for the brunch, Nick Lecer. Nick is a comedian who runs open mike nights at Olde Crow, a winery/beer hall and brick-oven pizza restaurant.
Rider Smith, who plays acoustic guitar at Primitive Olde Crow, entertained the brunch attendees as they made their way through the buffet line with songs by Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton and Waylon Jennings. Rejuuv Luxury Spa provided a speaker for the event.
A balloon arch served a photo-op frame for mothers, daughters and granddaughters who attended the brunch.The Clinton Mid-Day Optimist Club has two mother-daughter duos, Michelle Jones and daughter Paige McNabb, and Theresa Evans and daughter Shauna Smith.
What’s nice about the Mid-Day Optimists, Shauna said, is that you can choose how much time you can spare for club activities out of your schedule. Some members just work on this event, she said. The Mid-Day Optimist Club also handles the food concession for the Snowflake Garage Sale in January at the Benson Center.
“You can be involved at your own pace,” she said.
In 2025, the Optimists are aiming to hold the brunch on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, May 11, probably at the Clinton Country Club.
“It went really well here,” she said.
For more information, go to the Clinton Mid-Day Optimist Club facebook page.
