By Laurie Lechlitner
InkFreeNews

Greg Mellinger

ROCHESTER — “The Optimist Club is full of amazing people,” stated Greg Mellinger, Rochester. “In my four years in the service club, I’ve met people I wouldn’t have come to know otherwise. We have a diverse group of members: farmers, attorneys, business owners. Our oldest members are in their 70s and 80s. Our youngest members are in their 20s. Although we come from all walks of life, we have one thing in common, we all want to make a difference in our community.” Mellinger is serving his second consecutive term as Optimist president.

Mellinger remarked, “I got started in the club because I’m a beekeeper. My friend of 20 years, Jim Straeter, is also a beekeeper. We moved our bees each year to the 10-acre fields to pollinate the Optimist Club pumpkins.”

Staeter, who is a member of the Optimist Club, was Mellinger’s sponsor, nominating him for membership. “Because we’re from a small town, many of the members pretty much knew me. I’ve enjoyed serving the community through my involvement in the club.”

Through the year, Mellinger helps with the club’s projects. “Our main event is the Pumpkin Project. We raise 10 acres of pumpkins, which is a lot. And it takes a lot of time to maintain the crop, which includes weeding. We use area youth groups to help us harvest. We pay them by the hour. So, if the Boy Scouts want to raise money for their organization, they volunteer to help us harvest. It teaches young people the relationship between effort and reward.”

The Optimist Club also has three to five pancake breakfasts a year. They’ve had a food booth at the county fair since 1978. “With the proceeds we earn from our projects, we’re able to donate about $35,000 to local groups annually. Some of these groups include Matthew’s Market and Hope for the Homeless. We supplied the seed money to start Recovery Café, an organization that helps people with addictions. We also bought the movie screen for the Times Theater.”

The Optimist Club has always been youth oriented. “Each year we give about ten scholarships, $1000 each, to area high school seniors heading to college.”

Mellinger, who’s been a part of the organization for just four years, considers himself somewhat of a newcomer. “We have a solid core of active members. Some have been in the club for more than 40 years. They make my job as president easy. We meet every Monday morning at 6:45. And I work for them. I start meetings and end them. The core members give direction to the organization.”

Calling himself an ecologist, Mellinger loves to study how ecosystems work firsthand. He’s kept bees for 15 years. “I have a biology background. For the past two decades, I’ve put out a fairly large garden that I raise one step above organic, with no artificial input. I’m interested in preserving and improving the health of the soil. I also have an orchard. My bees pollinate both.”

He and his wife Patricia have three grown children and seven grandchildren. “I really love being a grandpa. It’s a lot more fun than it was being a father, where I had to discipline the kids. When the grandchildren visit, I simply enjoy them.”

Another of his pastimes is hosting purple martins. “With the help of Jim Straeter, we have at least 20 different colonies in Fulton County.”