UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Dear Whitewater Community:

The UW-Whitewater Community Optimist Club regrets that we are unable to staff the gyro stand for the Fourth of July Festival this year. This would have been the 35th year of operation, and we know that many of you will be sorely disappointed!  As you might know, our Club has used the proceeds of this fundraiser to provide opportunities for the youth of the area through events such as Breakfast with Santa, the Easter Egg Hunt, a fishing derby, scholarships, youth grants, the school district emergency fund, the Whitewater Food Pantry, and much more.

We appreciate the support that the community provides through participation in our fundraisers throughout the year, but our membership has dwindled as potential new members have found themselves pulled in many directions and participation in civic groups has declined in the City of Whitewater and throughout society, in general. We welcome new members who are interested in reversing the trend and who would actively participate in helping our Club serve the youth of Whitewater.  Membership is not restricted to UW-Whitewater staff; “Community” is an important word in our Club name!  At one time, there were two Optimist clubs in Whitewater (University and Community) and we merged several years ago.

We hope to return to making gyros and seeing your happy faces next year, but we need your support through participation in our Club. Let’s keep our “Friend of Youth” motto alive and thriving in our community!  If you’re interested in being a part of the solution, please contact me for information about joining the UW-Whitewater Optimist Club.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach, Club President

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Our general member meeting this week will be Tuesday night, June 28, at 5:00pm at Jessica’s Restaurant!! See you there.

!!! A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. Seriously, who’s willing to be an officer for 2016-17? It’s time to create the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. Contact me or Kim Adams if you’re willing to be an officer for next year. “Many hands make light work.”!!!

***Gyro Stand.*** While we have canceled the stand for 2016, I don’t want to say it’s totally dead and gone. A couple of you have already shared ideas regarding how we might be able to streamline operations in the future to try and get staffing down to 4 per shift or even 3 people per shift during slower times. Any and all ideas are worth discussing. We’ll do more brainstorming tomorrow night at the evening meeting.

I want to share with you part of the message the exec board received from Duane Dickens last Friday after I announced the cancelation of this year’s Gyro Stand. “I was thinking the other day that this year would have been the 35th year of the Gyro Stand at the 4th of July event.  I want to thank all the folks that have been involved and have worked the Gyro Stand over all those years.  Maybe this year I can actually watch the complete parade.” Duane & Barb, I hope you can enjoy the entire parade also this year.

Upcoming events needing helpers:

***Jefferson County Fair Ticket selling.*** Sign for ticket selling is going very well. 33 of the 38 slots have been taken. Please review the signup sheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SDeuVZwl_Z75zxa8SxXP8PkcJTJoZetuZbEczlfXcnQ/edit?usp=sharing.  The Club receives payment from the Jefferson County Fair for each hour that we have a club member working at the various gates. One day of work with all of the shifts filled can really help the club budget. If you have trouble opening this spreadsheet, let me know what shifts you can work and I’ll add your name.

NFL “FUND CRAZR” RAFFLE TICKETS!! We have sold (or are still selling) all 100 of the first 100 tickets we received. We’ve received money for 33 of the tickets so far. Please return any money for sold tickets, and the ticket stubs, to me as soon as possible.  If you can’t sell all the tickets you presently have, I may be able to give them to other club members who have “sold out” their own set(s) of tickets. I’ve also asked Fred Dorn for an additional 50 tickets and hope the additional tickets will be here by next week. All sold ticket stubs and unsold tickets must be returned to the SWIS District before August 28. 100 sold tickets will net the club $1,200. 150 sold tickets will net the club $1,800.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events:

• Tuesday, June 28, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Club discussion about future of Gyro Stand.
• Tuesday, July 5, NO MEETING!
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.
• Tuesday, July 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, July 19, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed. Bring your own lunch.
• Tuesday, July 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, August 2, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed. Bring your own lunch.
• Tuesday, August 9, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, August 16, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed. Bring your own lunch.
• Tuesday, August 23, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, August 30, 5^th Tuesday of the month. Should we meet? Fellowship meeting?

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

< No club meeting of any type this week due to “Plan-it Purple” (again) in the UC utilizing all available meeting rooms! >

!!! A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to create the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. Contact me or Kim Adams if you’re willing to be an officer for next year. “Many hands make light work.”!!!

NFL “FUND CRAZR” RAFFLE TICKETS!! You can still pick up tickets for selling. We have sold (or are still selling) 90 of the 100 tickets we received. Selling all 100 tickets will earn the club $1,200. I’m keeping a list, by ticket number, of who has picked up tickets to sell. I’ll bring the tickets with me to our next meetings until they are gone. If you know you can sell tickets but can’t be at the next meeting, let me know and I’ll set aside whatever number you want/need to sell. All sold ticket stubs and unsold tickets must be returned to the SWIS District before August 28.

Upcoming events needing helpers:

***Gyro Stand.*** I’m still waiting to see how work shift signup goes over the next 2-3 days. If you have trouble opening this spreadsheet, let me know what shifts you can work and I’ll add your name. I’ll keep you posted what is decided this week.

***Jefferson County Fair Ticket selling.*** Sign for ticket selling is going very well. 32 of the 38 slots have been taken. Please review the signup sheet.  If you can’t help with the Gyro Stand, perhaps this is the event you can help with. The Club receives payment from the Jefferson County Fair for each hour that we have a club member working at the various gates. One day of work with all of the shifts filled can really help the club budget. If you have trouble opening this spreadsheet, let me know what shifts you can work and I’ll add your name.

–> If we don’t do the Gyro Stand could/should we sell more NFL “Fund Crazer” raffle tickets? <–

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events:

• Tuesday, June 21, No meeting due to UW-W “Plan-it Purple” use of entire University Center for the day.
• Tuesday, June 28, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4th of July Celebration.
• Tuesday, July 5, NO MEETING!
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.
• Tuesday, July 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, July 19, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed. Bring your own lunch.
• Tuesday, July 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

whitewater.optimist.club@gmail.com

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

!!! A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to create the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. Contact me or Kim Adams if you’re willing to be an officer for next year. “Many hands make light work.”!!!

NFL “FUND CRAZR” RAFFLE TICKETS!! You can still pick up tickets for selling. We have sold (or are still selling) 85 of the 100 tickets we received. Selling all 100 tickets will earn the club $1,200. I’m keeping a list, by ticket number, of who has picked up tickets to sell. I’ll bring the tickets with me to our next meetings until they are gone. If you know you can sell tickets but can’t be at the next meeting, let me know and I’ll set aside whatever number you want/need to sell. All sold ticket stubs and unsold tickets must be returned to the SWIS District before August 28.

Upcoming events needing helpers:

***Gyro Stand.*** Teshona Bennett and Duane Dickens have started organizing the Gyro Stand for next month. We’ll need someone with a truck-type vehicle and trailer hitch to volunteer to bring the trailer from Jim McLernon’s place to Whitewater for cleaning and setup the week before the event. We’ll also need helpers to deliver product each day to the stand from where ever we store the items once purchased. Teshona has created a signup spreadsheet using Google. The link to this signup sheet is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1h4pGvt-JuUBRMfL2WD1KrM09hXE4QXprLhjBladIoDo/edit?usp=sharing.  If you have trouble opening this spreadsheet, let me know what shifts you can work and I’ll add your name.

***Jefferson County Fair Ticket selling.*** Sign for ticket selling is going very well. 30 of the 38 slots have been taken. Please review the signup sheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SDeuVZwl_Z75zxa8SxXP8PkcJTJoZetuZbEczlfXcnQ/edit?usp=sharing.  If you can’t help with the Gyro Stand, perhaps this is the event you can help with. The Club receives payment from the Jefferson County Fair for each hour that we have a club member working at the various gates. One day of work with all of the shifts filled can really help the club budget. If you have trouble opening this spreadsheet, let me know what shifts you can work and I’ll add your name.

Our club email account is: whitewater.optimist.club@gmail.com

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events:

• Tuesday, June 21, No meeting due to UW-W “Plan-it Purple” use of entire University Center for the day.
• Tuesday, June 28, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4th of July Celebration.
• Tuesday, July 5, NO MEETING!
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.
• Tuesday, July 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, July 19, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, July 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

whitewater.optimist.club@gmail.com

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

< Regular club meeting tomorrow, June 7. “Bring Your Own Lunch.” We’ll gather at 12 Noon in the University Center, room 261. >

Our Fishing Derby on Saturday, June 4 can only be described as a flop. Al Hutchinson volunteered to chair/organize the event and had equipment available but I was unable to send out publicity notices to the school district or Whitewater Banner. Also, the park was VERY busy that morning due to the run/walk fund raiser event for the Whitewater Police Department K9 unit.

!!! A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to create the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. Contact me or Kim Adams if you’re willing to be an officer for next year. “Many hands make light work.”!!!

NFL “FUND CRAZR” RAFFLE TICKETS!! You can still pick up tickets for selling. We have sold (or are still selling) over 50 of the 100 tickets we received. If all club members sell 2 or 3 tickets the entire 100 tickets will be gone. By selling all 100 tickets, we’ll earn $1,200. I’m keeping a list, by ticket number, of who has picked up tickets to sell. I’ll bring the tickets with me to our next meetings until they are gone. If you know you can sell tickets but can’t be at next week’s meeting, let me know and I’ll set aside whatever number you want/need to sell. All sold ticket stubs and unsold tickets must be returned to the SWIS District before August 28.

Upcoming events needing helpers:

***Gyro Stand.*** Teshona Bennett and Duane Dickens have started organizing the Gyro Stand for next month. We’ll need someone with a truck-type vehicle and trailer hitch to volunteer to bring the trailer from Jim McLernon’s place to Whitewater for cleaning and setup the week before the event. We’ll also need helpers to deliver product each day to the stand from where ever we store the items once purchased. Teshona has created a signup spreadsheet using Google. Once I can get it moved into the club’s Google drive account, I’ll email everyone the link so we can begin signing up for work shifts.

***Jefferson County Fair Ticket selling/taking.*** I’ll help Lou Zahn organize the ticket sellers for the Jefferson County Fair.  If you can’t help with the Gyro Stand, perhaps this is the event you can help with. The Club receives payment from the Jefferson County Fair for each hour that we have a club member working at the various gates. One day of work with all of the shifts filled can really help the club budget. I’ve created a simple Google spreadsheet with the worker times/location/number needed. Once I clean it up a little, I’ll send the link out to everyone.

Our club email account is: whitewater.optimist.club@gmail.com

Don’t be surprised if you receive an email message with a link to a Google Calendar with the Club’s name. I’m creating a calendar for member use with upcoming events, speakers, project/event kickoff dates, etc.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events:

• Tuesday, June 7, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, UC 261.
• Tuesday, June 14, Executive Board meeting.
• Tuesday, June 21, No meeting due to UW-W “Plan-it Purple” use of entire University Center for the day.
• Tuesday, June 28, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4th of July Celebration.
• Tuesday, July 5, NO MEETING!
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.
• Tuesday, July 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, July 19, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, July 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

whitewater.optimist.club@gmail.com

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749