UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

At our February 28th Community Optimist Club evening meeting, we were fortunate enough to have Jeremy Lade and Christina Schwab speak about the famous wheelchair basketball program on the UW-Whitewater campus. Jeremy, nicknamed “Opi” from having red hair, is a 2005 graduate of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and has competed in 3 Paralympic games. He is currently the head coach of the UW-W Men’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. Christina, nicknamed “Barney” for her purple wheelchair at a youth camp, is a 2005 graduate of the University of Illinois, and is the head coach of the UW-W Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. She has participated in 5 Paralympic games, and has even won gold metals in Athens and London. Thank you for sharing your optimistic outlooks on life and inspiring dedication to UW-W, Jeremy and Christina; we will be cheering on your teams!

Don’t miss the Men and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball National Championship on March 9th on the Whitewater campus! Come watch and support women play at 4pm, and men play at 6pm.

*Photos viewable in our photo gallery, above. 🙂

Happy Sunday, Optimists,

This will be a very short note.

Thank you again to all those you helped to contribute to our Optimist Trivia Night.  We are pleased to say that we met our financial goal—raising (gross proceeds) just over $11,000.  A full report will be shared with the board on March 14, and then will be given to the full membership.  In the meantime, the Student Interns and Student Optimists will continue to work on thank you notes.

Our intern Anne is working hard at posting photos and information on FaceBook and on the web site on a regular basis.

Our intern Kayla is almost done designing the Easter Egg Hunt flyer and those will be distributed to the elementary schools in the near future.

This week’s meeting will be held on Tuesday evening from 5:00pm-6:00pm at Jessica’s.  Dave will be leading the meeting, and our guest speakers will be UW-W Wheelchair basketball coaches Jeremy “Opie” Lade and Christina Schwab.

“Just keep smiling,” everyone!

With Optimism,

Kim and Angie 🙂

On February 23rd, Food Pantry items collected from Trivia Night were delivered to the Whitewater Food Pantry by two of our Service Learning Students, Emma Grainger and Kelly Hanlon, and one of our Optimist Interns, Anne Zietlow. All items were accepted with gratitude. Thank you again to all who donated and showed commitment to our community!

Check out photos from the delivery in our photo gallery!

Good Morning Optimists, here are the highlights from our February 21st Noon Meeting:

Jan Bilgen spoke on behalf of the UW-Whitewater Campus Memory Garden, which is being created in honor of Mary Beth Mackin, the previous UW-W Dean of Students and past Optimist Club president. It will be located to the east of the Greenhill Center of the Arts, and the groundbreaking is expected to take place in late spring 2017. Contributions and donations are welcome. To give online, please visit www.uww.edu/foundation/give/form.

Also, Jim McLernon, a UW-W faculty member, presented a generous $100 check to the Community Optimist Club for an upcoming sports fundraiser. We accepted this gift with much gratitude!

Finally, congratulations to Jimmy Duval for receiving the Youth of the Month Plaque! Jimmy is a junior at Whitewater High School who is involved in a variety of organizations, including the National Honors Society, Peer Mentors, FBLA, and Primetime Youth Group, as well as multiple sports. His hobbies include spending time with friends, going on mission trips, and spending time outside. After high school, he aspires to play college football, and strives “to be a positive role model to kids on and off the field.” His proud mother, Julie, and teacher, Jeff, were there to support him in receiving this honorable recognition.

Check out our “photo gallery” link above to see the pictures!

Good evening Optimists,

The Club calendar of events has been updated, and now includes NEW MARCH events!

Check it out on the left side of the blog and learn when the Lakeview Elementary School Landscaping Project Planning and Birthday Box Stuffing are taking place, as well as upcoming meeting times.

It is also viewable here: 2016-17 Club Calendar of Events.

Keep on smiling. 🙂

Good afternoon, Optimists!

NEW photos from Trivia Night 2017 have been posted under the “Photo Gallery” link, above! Check them out! Additional photos have been posted on our UW-W Community Optimist Facebook Page, as well!

Thank you to our sponsors, Club members, trivia participants, volunteers, and Optimists for making our 4th Annual Trivia Night such a success! None of it would be possible without the endless optimism that you all offer.

Can’t wait for next year’s event, already! (It will be on Friday, February 16, 2018 — Save the date)!

& Keep on smiling. 🙂

Good Evening Optimists,

Here are some very brief updates:

We do not have a Club meeting this week.  The Board will meet this Wednesday (Feb. 15) from 5-6pm at Jessica’s.  Please let me know if you can not be there.  We have a couple of important items to discuss, including the requests for the City-Wide Rummage Sale and a proposal for help with the Gyro Stand.

Here are our speakers for upcoming meetings:

February 21–Brenda O’Beirne, Counselor Ed Dept. Award

February 28–Jeremy Lade & Christina Schwab, Wheelchair Basketball

March 7–Jan Bilgen, Campus Memory Garden

The Club clothing order is in.  Thank you to Jenny for organizing it so quickly.  Please make sure you get your money to Jenny or me.  Right now, I have the running list.

Lastly, it looks like we are going to have a beautiful day for the 4th Annual Optimist Trivia Night this Friday.  Thank you to all who are contributing to the efforts.  We are very pleased to have 30 teams signed up for the event.  If you are willing to help set up for the event or to volunteer a few hours during the evening, it’s not too late to sign up.  Please contact Lanora or me.

Thanks so much–ad see many of you soon,

Just Keep Smiling!

Kim and Angie 🙂

Happy Saturday, Optimists!

Want a chance to win a special prize? Bring 3 or more nonperishable food pantry items to donate when you come to Trivia Night on February 17th! A great cause for a great chance to win!

Read all about it on our Trivia Night 2017 Food Pantry Flyer, as well as under our “Helpful Links” category to the right of the blog.

Your generosity is greatly appreciated. It keeps us smiling! 🙂