The Optimist Clubs of Zone 13 are members of Optimist International. Optimist International is the umbrella organization for all of the Optimist Volunteers in North America, the Caribbean, France, Hungary and England.

For administrative purposes Optimist International is divided into districts and our district, the Pacific Northwest, is comprised of volunteer groups in Alaska, B.C., Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Districts are, in turn, divided into zones. We are a part of Zone 13 which includes volunteer groups in Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge,  Coquitlam and Burnaby as well as Abbotsford.

Each district is administered by a team of elected officers headed by a District Governor. For this year, Oct. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30, 2008 our Governor is Steve Andersen from the Optimist Club of Gresham, Oregon. Our Zone Lt. Governor is Gwen Settle from the Optimist Club of Abbotsford.

Members of the district meet four times per year at various locations throughout the district. These quarterly meetings are used to conduct district business, train district and club officers, meet old friends, make new friends, play golf and have a good time. These meetings usually take place in October, February, May and August. The August meeting is our district convention and has been held in such great places as Whistler B.C.; Kaneeta, Oregon; Rippling River, Oregon; and others. Clubs throughout the district take turns in hosting these great events.