DAPHNE, Ala. — “Optimism is alive and well in Daphne, Alabama” Ben Spencer of the Optimist Club told attendees of Mayor Fred Small’s Coffee with the Mayor gathering at City Hall on Thursday.

Spencer, the club’s chapter president in Daphne, described the variety of programs the club had run for young people in its first year of existence, including a fire safety poster contest, a youth appreciation week, an oratory contest, a golf tournament, an essay contest and a Christmas tree maze.

“Our strength is our diversity, black and white, young and old, and men and women. We have highly educated and not so much,” Spencer said.

The goal of the club is to improve the lives of young people, to pass on traditional values, and to recognize the achievements of youth.

Future plans include a fishing rodeo, a gumbo cook-off, a political forum, a haunted house and a course on Internet safety.

“We aren’t trying to remake Daphne, we just want to make it a little better. Optimism is like salt on your popcorn, it just makes your life a little better,” Spencer said.

The Optimist Club meets every Tuesday at 7 a.m., at the Daphne United Methodist Church on Main Street.