Hopewell Optimist Club

10/17/2026

Hopewell Optimist Club braved the rain to lend support to the Czechoslovian festival cooking and serving Kielbasas. A bit cold and rainy but a good day

10/16/2026

Jan Butterworth was always a great supporter of the Optimist Club. A great teacher and Principal. Always involved with the youth, she will be missed.

It is with the deepest regret and sadness, but also the utmost honor and privilege that I represent the collective loss and organizational grief of all of HCPS employees in the recent passing of our colleague and friend, Jan Butterworth. Simply put, we are all heartbroken.

And while we trust in God’s plan and timing for her precious life, we cannot imagine our work, our district or our city without her in it. Jan was truly one of the finest human beings I have ever known. If you knew her, you loved her. And if she knew you, she loved you.

As our School Board Office Staff and Instructional Leadership Team gathered early this morning to simply celebrate her and grieve together, we shared the essence of Jan with each other. To no surprise, we heard statements like, “faithful,” “loyal,” “friend,” “hard-working,” “funny,” “loving,” “all about our students,” “dedicated,” “inspiring” and “focused on what matters the most in life.”

We will remember her 34 years with HCPS, her
life-long career in public education, her advocacy for Language Arts, the Fine Arts, gifted education, Cub Scouts and the James River Ball, just to name a few. Additionally, we will forever cherish the memories of her gentle and kind spirit, her positivity under all circumstances, her grace and care with hard and courageous leadership decisions, her unwavering trust and confidence that we could do anything we put our minds to through the people we were blessed to inspire and serve, her laughter and light, her playful and funny approach to the good and the bad in our world and her forever example of pure goodness she has modeled for all of us. She was a gem and we will honor her legacy and memory for the rest of our days.

Selfishly, we wish the plan had been different. But we also knew our friend was ready, at peace and confidently communicated the knowledge and enthusiasm of where she was headed. She is wrapped now in the arms of her God, and we will cling to the hope and promise that one day we will be with her again. It has been our absolute joy to love and serve with her. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of Jan Butterworth. We will be forever grateful for our time together.

Melody Hackney
Superintendent of Schools

10/07/2026

Hopewell Optimist Club at the National Night Out event

10/06/2026

National Night Out, Optimist Club cooked hotdogs at Hopewell High School. Thank you to all first responders for all you do.

10/06/2026

Hopewell Optimist Club hosted the West End Crusaders for dinner before their home game this evening, come on out and support West End Football today at Middle Rd, PG

09/25/2026

Yesterday evening Optimist Club Presented Elect awarded Joe Moore the Optimist Club Optimist of the year for his outstanding dedication and hard work he puts into our club.

09/25/2026

Yesterday evening the Hopewell Optimist club hosted the annual Officer Installation dinner, club President Kevin Parr passed the gavel to incoming President Mike Miller. Incoming Officers Bubba Honaker, Billy Ray Johnson, and Todd Shepherd were sworn in. And Registered Agent honored the family’s on fallen members Don Strouth, Juan Getty and James Coleman with Opti-Mrs Treasurer Pat Steininger. Opti-Mrs Officers Carol Shepherd and Dana Clemons were honored as Present.

09/23/2026

The Hanover Optimist Club will be having its Fall Sausage Fundraiser on Oct 17th. Sausage will be sold in 1lb vacuum sealed bags for $8 per pound in either mild or hot. Sausage will be available for pickup after 12 noon at 9257 Old House Rd Mechanicsville Va. Please reach out to a club member or use Messanger to place your order. All profits will go to Wings of Hope Ranch to help children ages 5-17 facing challenges in their lives. Help us help the children

09/17/2026

This morning the Hopewell Optimist Club hosted the 2026 Homecoming court from HHS for morning breakfast. Good luck to all the ladies and gentlemen and let’s go big BLUE!!!!