UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Hello Optimists,

 As we gear up for Thanksgiving week, Angie and I want to let you know we are grateful that you are a member of our Club.  Thank you for the ways in which you contribute to our community.

 We had a successful Youth Appreciation Week!  The movie, luncheon and bowling were all well attended.  Thanks to all who helped to chaperone and who attended the luncheon.

 Tuesday’s meeting (Nov. 22) will feature guest speaker Dr. Greg Cook focusing on the importance of a liberal education at UW-Whitewater.  Next week (Nov. 29), we will be stuffing goodie bags for Breakfast with Santa and hearing from our Optimist interns.

 If you haven’t had a chance to sign up for Breakfast with Santa, please check out the online list Lanora sent out.  We are happy to announce that James Lanouette has agreed to be Santa this year—yeah!  We are also pleased that Brenda will serve as Mrs. Claus and that Jim M. will serve as Frosty!

 Also, here is the link to sign up for football ticket taking:  (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oYPqDg34tliwozxpT4uNHbhg9ToQW8JW30dmVyTJJZk/edit?usp=sharing).  Our Warhawks will be hosting the second round of playoffs this coming Sunday against Wittenberg.  Hopefully it will be less windy—and that our Hawks will add another win to their season!

 As I mentioned at the meeting last week, we will go caroling at Fairhaven on December 9 at 4:30pm, have our “Gifts with a Meaning” and Mitten Tree on December 13, and gift wrapping for the Whitewater Food Pantry on December 19 from 4:00pm-6:30pm at the Old Armory.

 Lastly, Therese reminded us last week that she is starting to look for judges and essay readers for the Academic Decathlon.  The competition is set for Friday, January 6.  Please email her if you are interested and available. 

 That’s it for this week.  Hope to see some of you at the meeting on Tuesday.

 Thank you—and just keep smiling!

 Kim and Angie 🙂

Hello Optimists,

This weekend saw the Warhawk football team wrap up an undefeated season, which will lead to hosting the playoff games for the next several weeks.  This Saturday, November 19, the Warhawks will host Lakeland College at 12:00pm.  Go Hawks—and thank you ticket takers!  Frank will be sending out updated sign up sheets.

Speaking of sign up sheets, Lanora is coordinating our Breakfast with Santa (BWS) sign up sheet.  We are in need of cooks.  Please check your schedules and see if you are able to assist—even if for a few hours.  I meet with a couple of the Student Optimist executive members tomorrow, and we will be talking about staffing BWS, as well as the Holiday Parade.  Our Club will stuff goodie bags for BWS at our meeting on Tuesday, November 29.

Saturday, November 12, was the kickoff event for Youth Appreciation Week—with seven of us serving as chaperones for the movie “The Secret Lives of Pets.”  There were around 130 participants, and two theaters were opened to excited viewers.  Sue from the Theatres of Whitewater seemed pleased with the attendance, as they were busy with concessions.  Thank you to Ken, Duane, Barb, Chloe, and Ben (Student Optimist) for helping to chaperone.  Angie and I were there to support the event, as well.

Tuesday will bring a large turnout for the Youth Appreciation Luncheon in UC 259 A & B.  We hope you can join us for lunch and to hear the presentations from the various school councils, JOOI Club, and Octagon Club.

Wednesday, November 16, will be the bowling event for kids at Hawk Bowl.  Thank you to Therese, some of our members, and a handful of Student Optimist who will serve as helpers for this annual event.  A report will be shared next week!

Please note that our calendar of events is posted on our Club web site.  We will run updates on a regular basis as new information about speakers and times for future events are confirmed.  Please check your schedules to see if you will be available to participate in caroling at Fairhaven on December 9, our “Gifts with a Meaning” meeting on December 13, or in wrapping gifts for the Food Pantry on December 19.

That’s it for now.  Have a great week!

Always with Optimism,

Kim and Angie

Greetings, Optimists,

Our Warhawks pulled out a nail-biting win on Saturday, which brings us one step closer to hosting the post-season playoff games.  Frank sent out an updated ticket-taking schedule last week.  Please check your calendars to see where you might be able to help out in the coming weeks.

We do not have a club meeting this week.  The board will meet on Monday is UC 262 at noon.  An agenda will be sent yet today.  Our 2016-17 Club budget has been approved by the board, as well as the Club members (finalized on Nov. 1).

Our next club meeting will be our Youth Appreciation Luncheon on November 15 from 12pm-1pm in UC 259 A & B.  We hope you can join us to support the councils and Optimist groups from the five schools within the Whitewater Unified School District.  They will each give a short presentation at our luncheon.

Please also follow up with Therese if you are able to assist with chaperoning the movie (Nov. 12, 10:30am – 12:30pm) or with bowling (Nov. 16, 4:00pm – 6pm) during Youth Appreciation Week.

If anyone knows of any businesses we can approach for serving as sponsors for Trivia Night, please contact Kim.  A few of our regular sponsors have pulled out for the 2017 event.  We could use some good leads!  Thanks.

Lanora has sent out the Breakfast with Santa sign up sheet.  Please consult the various tasks and how they might match with your schedule.

Our most up-to-date version of the Optimist calendar is attached here: new_optimistclubcalendar_updated_2016-17 Please refer to this version of the calendar going forward for club meetings and locations. This version also includes which club meetings are catered so that we can plan to keep up great attendance for the catered meals.

That’s it for this week.  In this time of transition for our government, please help to keep Optimism going strong.

Thank you,

Kim and Angie 🙂

Greetings, Optimists,

Here are a few updates for this week:

1)  Our noon meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 1 will feature guest speaker Matt Amundson.  Back by popular demand, this will  be our first of ongoing catered meetings (on Tuesdays).  Just as a reminder, we need to strive to have 15 members in attendance and paying the $7.00 for lunch in order to cover our costs.  Also, please note that we will be voting on our Club budget on Tuesday.  This was emailed last week.

2) Our Warhawk Football team is on a great run.  Frank will be emailing regarding post season ticket taking sometime soon.

3)  Thank you to those who were able to attend the Halloween Fellowship Party last Tuesday.  We were happy to present a $400 check to Mariann Scott from the Whitewater Food Pantry.  The money presented was from the remaining Trivia Night (2016) proceeds.

4)  Please note that Ken and Kate have sent out dues letter–indicating that all dues are due by Dec. 1.

5)  Our next board meeting will by on Monday, Nov. 7 at noon in UC 262.  We will not have a club meeting on Nov. 8.

6)  Kate has encouraged me to share that a student organization (C.H.I.P.​–Communicating Health In Practice) she advises is collecting new or gently used socks for a local shelter.  If you are interested in donating socks, please contact Kate or bring them to the Youth Appreciation Luncheon on Nov. 15 in UC 259A&B.  Also, please let Dave know if you are able to help chaperone the movie on Nov. 12 at 11am or let Therese know if you can assist with the bowling event on Nov. 16 from 4 – 6pm.

7)  Keep an eye out for the Breakfast with Santa sign up list.  Lanora will be organizing the list and emailing folks to sign up in the near future.  We will decorate on Dec. 2, and the event  will be held on Dec. 3.  Last week, I was able to reserve Esker Hall (and the Whitewater Room) for the Breakfast.

8)  We are celebrating a great first month of the new Optimist year as we have added six new members to our club.  We encourage you to keep inviting guests to our meetings and programs.

That’s it for this week.  Happy Halloween–and “just keep smiling!”

Thanks,

Kim and Angie 🙂

​​“Just Keep Smiling” Optimists!

 Greetings to All,

 Tuesday, October 18 there is a Noon meeting in UC 259A.  Our speaker is Angela Meldonian.  She will be talking about new features in UW-W Dining Services, including the new Food Truck coming to campus.   This is a catered lunch where we will be honoring youths of the month.

 The Student Optimists are preparing for Homecoming next Saturday, October 22.  They are in need of a vehicle and driver to pull their float.  If you are able to assist, please email Kim at adamsk@uww.edu or call at 608.201.2151.

 Tuesday, October 25 from 5:30pm – 8:00pm, Kim and Angie will be hosting a “Spooktacular Halloween Potluck Dinner.”  We are planning to provide the main entrée and beverages.  Please plan on bringing a dish to pass.  Please RSVP by October 22.  (Details are on the attached flyer.)

 Attention Optimist Board Members – Mark Your Calendars: We have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, October 19, 5pm-6pm at Jessica’s Restaurant.  As always, we have a full agenda and your voice and support are needed for the conversation.

 Final details for Youth Appreciation Week will follow soon in an email.

 Finally, keep your eyes and ears open for Football Playoff ticket-taking information.  We are hopeful that we will be needed at the gates for post-season play!

 As Coach Kevin Bullis said–thanks for being Optimists in Action!

Enjoy your Week,

 Kim and Angie 🙂

Greetings, Optimists,

This will be a short note this week. We are writing from beautiful Door County.

We do not have a general member meeting or a board meeting this week. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, our general member meeting will be a catered meal and will feature Youths of the Month as well as guest speaker Angela Meldonian on some new features through Dining Services (including a new Food Truck on campus).

Next Wednesday, October 19 will be our next board meeting at Jessica’s starting at 5pm.

Thank you to Dave for researching some new options for Youth Appreciation Week. More info will be sent out soon.

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

Angie and Kim 😃

Happy October, Optimists,

Angie and I want to kick off our Week 1 email with a sincere thanks to Dave Haibach for two great years of serving as Club President!

We also echo Dave’s thank you to Rick and Jeanine Fassl for hosting our Installation Celebration this past Monday.  It was a fun evening and a great opportunity to connect with one another while enjoying gyros, and a few other treats.  We also extend our welcome to new members Stephanie, Cort and Chloe!

Tuesday, Oct. 4 will our first club meeting of the new year, and we are excited that Dave has lined up Head Football Coach Kevin Bullis as our program speaker.  We can’t wait to hear about the hopes and highlights of the year for the team–and to learn about Kevin’s take on the nail-biting win over UW-Platteville yesterday!  Please bring your own lunch to this meeting.

Thank you to the board members who were able to attend our planning session on Friday, September 30 at Casual Joe’s.  A “Calendar of Events” was started and a draft budget was presented and voted on by the board members.  Ken and Kate will be providing a few more updates to the board, and then we will present the budget to the general membership for their vote on Tuesday, Oct. 18.  Dues letters will also be sent to club members within the next few weeks.  The board voted to maintain our current dues structure.

Our interns have a long list of projects to work on for our club.  Kate and I meet with them every Monday afternoon.  Expect some updates from Rachel and Brandon at a club meeting in the near future.

Angie and I would like to invite all members and families to attend our Optimist Halloween Social on Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 5:30pm – 8:00pm at our home (640 Stonefield Lane, Whitewater).  We had a great time the last two years, and are hoping for a “Spooktacular” time this year.  We will provide the main dish and beverages and ask that those attending bring a dish to pass.

We have included Dave’s email from this past Thursday so that you can review the other good information and dates he shared.  We are still looking for a speaker for Oct. 18, so please let Dave know of any ideas you may have.  He has agreed to coordinate speakers for this new Optimist year.

Thank you to all of you for being an active part of this great organization.

Always with Optimism,

Kim and Angie 🙂

Co-Presidents, 2016-17

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

“Just Keep Smiling!”

The passing of the gavel to new co-presidents Angie Alesci (left) and Kim Adams (middle) from immediate past president, Dave Halbach (right).

New members of the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club. Chloe Rettinger (left), Cort Hartmann (center), and Stephanie Hartmann (right). Welcome to the club!

Kate Ksobiech (left), Co-Treasurer, pictured with the two student interns of Fall 2016, Rachel Sullivan (center) and Brandon Lindholm (right).