BILLMEYER SAVORS FELLOWSHIP

Craig Billmeyer, president of the Noon Optimist Club of Cape Girardeau, knows how to mix club business with pleasure.

"My first and foremost reason for being a member is the guys in the club," Billmeyer said. "We have a lot of fun, but we also do good works. Membership in the club is not overwhelming, but we have a purpose that makes us feel good."

Billmeyer said his favorite social outing is the club's annual fishing trip to Kentucky Lake. The trips, he said, contain one practical joke after another.

"We leave town and spend three or four days fishing," he said. "It's a good time to get away, and these guys are notorious for giving people a hard way to go.

"There's also a lot of good fellowship. You're there with the guys you've known forever, and you also get to know the new guys better."

Social events, however, aren't the only part of being an Optimist that Billmeyer enjoys. He described the satisfaction he feels as a result of helping youth.

"It's good to see that the kids have projects provided for them," he said. "They have good role models, and they learn at any early age that there is some need to give something back to the community."

Billmeyer joined the Optimist Club after moving to Cape Girardeau from Belleville, Ill., in 1985. He has served as club vice president and as a member of the board of directors. He established and runs the club's indoor soccer program.

An attorney with Finch, Bradshaw, Strom and Steele, Billmeyer and his wife, Mary, have a three-year-old son, Andy. They are expecting another child.