Giving money, making sausage

There are two things the Green Valley/Sahuarita Optimist Club is known for: giving money and scholarships to the youth in their community, and sausage — yes, sausage.

The club is part of an international organization that is dedicated to helping youth worldwide, and the sausage, well, that's unique to the Green Valley/Sahuarita Optimist Club. But more about sausage later.

"We raise money for the children in the community; all our money goes to that and we don't keep any money for ourselves," said Charlotte Gates, president of the club and director of business for the Sahuarita Unified School District.

The club has about 40 members who range in age from about 35 to 80, said Gates. While many of the members are retired, others work full time in a variety of jobs.

"We have a lot of people who work full time and when we have an event they show up to help," said Tim Trosper.

With such a diverse group coming together for weekly meetings and other events, it's clear one thing draws them all together: helping children.

The club does "a lot of public service and a lot of events; we did four this month alone. But the bottom line is to serve youth," said Barry Roche.

Optimist Club members can usually be found selling hamburgers and hot dogs at community events like school open houses. All the money they make goes directly back to schools and students.

The Optimist Club gives out thousands of dollars throughout the year to various youth groups, clubs and sports teams. At the end of the school year, it also gives scholarships to graduating seniors. The club gave $7,500 in scholarships in May to five graduating seniors.

"When we started doing this years ago, our goal was to help that one child that might not go to college," said Trosper.

"You'd be surprised how many children have come back and said 'thanks for the start,' " added Fred Roof.

3,000 pounds a year

And about that sausage: The club is lucky enough to have been given a secret family recipe for sausage, which members make and sell — and sell out quickly — several times a year.

"We make it ourselves using a special blend of herbs and spices," said Trosper. "There's only one guy in the club who knows the recipe."

When one of the club's charter members, Larry Caldarello, moved away from the area about eight years ago, he passed on his family's secret sausage recipe to his good friend Ken Woodward — whom he swore to secrecy.

"Gosh, I tell you the first year I don't know how many times he called me saying, 'Ken, you didn't give anybody that recipe did you?' " said Woodward. "I've been making it ever since. I don't think Larry quite knew what he started."

Club members get together several times a year to make big batches of the sausage — anywhere from 300 to 600 pounds, said Woodward. All the profits from sausage sales also goes toward helping youth.

"Ken comes (with the recipe) and we make it from scratch, we have an assembly line," said Gates. "It's amazing what we can do in a short time. Within a couple hours, we can make 300-400 pounds of sausage."

"When we started, we were making a few hundred pounds a year, but now we've gotten to the point where we do almost 3,000 pounds a year," said Woodward.

When Caldarello passed away last year, his family gave the club permission to keep using the recipe. To honor Caldarello, the Optimists named their annual golf tournament after him.

Club members are currently gearing up for a busy school year. Last Thursday they sold hamburgers and hot dogs at the Sahuarita Middle School open house, where they also debuted the club's new food trailer.

To sell hamburgers, hot dogs and their popular sausage, the Optimists were using a food trailer that had been around since the 1970s. Members recently decided it was time to update the trailer, and with help from a $13,000 donation from the Country Fair White Elephant, a nonprofit thrift store in Green Valley, and a $500 donation from Phelps Dodge Corp., they were able to purchase a brand-new trailer, which they will use at all their events.

"It's twice the size of what we had," said Gates. "It's really going to be meeting our needs. There's plenty of room for everybody to work in."

The ever-giving Optimist Club donated its old trailer to the 49ers Pop Warner football league to be used for a snack wagon, said Gates.

"Most of us were helped by somebody in our lives," said Roof. "We just want to give that back to the community."

East side

l What: The Green Valley/Sahuarita Optimist Club meetings. Meetings are open to the public; to join the club, just go to a meeting.

l When: 7:15 a.m. each Tuesday.

l Where: Arizona Family Restaurant, 80 W. Esperanza Blvd. in Green Valley.

l Details: To find out more about Optimist International and Optimist clubs in your area, visit www.optimist.org online.

● Promise yourself:

l To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

l To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

l To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

l To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

l To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

l To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

l To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future.

l To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

l To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

l To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Source: Optimist International