UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Hi Everyone,

The Board members will meet tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11 at Noon in the University Center, room 260. I’ll provide a recap of the meeting at our Wednesday evening meeting, along with Breakfast with Santa and Trivia Night updates.

A reminder that this week’s meeting will be Wednesday evening, November 12, 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant.

Next week’s Tuesday meeting will be something out of the ordinary. I have moved the lunch for the Optimist Club on November 18 to University Center rooms 068 & 069 in the lower level. That will give us enough space for the drummers from LINCS, the Youth of the Month students, guests, and staff from the WMS (I think it’s WMS, or else WHS), and the expected 12-16 club members. Lunch will begin at 12:00 PM, served from a buffet line in room 069. Guests and members can disperse between the two rooms to eat at the 8 tables shared between the rooms.

At about 12:20 I’ll ask everyone to move to the Summers Auditorium for the program.

1. We’ll begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.
2. Then I’ll have club related announcements.
3. We’ll introduce the two Youth of the Month and their guests and take a few pictures.
4. About 12:30-12:35 the drummers from LINCS, under the direction of Christine Hayes, will begin.
5. 12:55, wrap up and saying of the Club creed.
6. Dismissal by 1:00pm.

With the Warhawk football team at least earning the automatic NCAA playoff bid, the campus will likely be hosting one or more playoff games. Be on the lookout for ticket taking signup info coming out this week or early next week.

That’s all for now.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Hello Everyone!

What spectacular weather this past weekend! Hope your were able to enjoy time outside.

There is no Tuesday Noon meeting this week BUT we’ll have a social gathering/party at Kim Adams and Angie Alesci’s home, 640 Stonefield Lane, Whitewater, Thursday October 30, 5-8 pm. Please RSVP to either Kim or Angie if you will attend (you can copy their email address from the list of recipients of this email) Please bring a dish to pass. Thanks Kim and Angie for hosting!!

Next week, November 3-7, is Youth Appreciation Week. Earlier today Therese Kennedy sent out a signup list asking for helpers at the various events next week. Please review the signup form and reply directly back to Therese if you can help. If you didn’t receive the email with the signup sheet, contact me directly.

As part of Youth Appreciation Week, and since November 4^th is the first Tuesday of the month, we’ll have our club meeting at 12 Noon in the UC and have lunch with the Whitewater School District student leaders from all 5 schools. The location with be UC 275, Old Main Ballroom on the 2^nd floor. UW-W Catering will be providing lunch, cost is $7.00 per club member attending. Please RSVP Therese Kennedy if you’ll be attending the meeting that day.

Denise Kaminski is working with Carol and Jim Miller and Connie Murray to gather and write the instructions/guidelines for Breakfast with Santa. Yes, it’s time to start thinking and planning for Breakfast with Santa 2014. It’s also time to start recruiting replacements for Carol, Jim, and Connie, our longtime planners of this event. We also need a  replacement for Santa himself!! If you’re interested in assuming the role of Santa please let Denise Kaminski or Jim Miller know.

We also need someone to lead the planning process this year for the annual Gyro Stand that Barb and Duane Dickens have guided for many years.

The next Board meeting will be November 11. If any club members have an item for the Board to discuss please let me know.

A reminder that membership dues are due this month.

At the October board meeting we finalized our evening meeting schedule through September 2015. Evening meetings will be held on Wednesdays at 5:00pm. The format will be social, plus a little business and/or speaker. Jeanine Fassl is checking with Jessica’s Restaurant to see if they could host the meetings and allow individuals to order off the menu if they want.

The dates are:

o             For October 30, Kim and Angie will host a social at their home

o             November 12

o             December 10

o             January 28

o             February 25

o             March 18 or 25 (final decision to be made in January or February)

o             April 29

o             May 27

o             June 24

o             July 29

o             August 19

o             September 29 – banquet

That’s all for now!

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Thank you to Kim Adams for her leadership of our club in 2013-14. And thank you to all of you for your commitment to our club, as well as to the ways in which you help serve our youth and our community.

Tomorrow is our first meeting of the new Optimist year but I guess technically it’s already week 2 of the new year.

Here is this week’s note:

Oct. 7, 12:00pm— UC 259A (our usual meeting place on campus) This will be a “Bring Your On Lunch” (BYOL) meeting. Guest speakers will be Eric Runez and Nathan Jaeger from the Whitewater Unified School District speaking about State of the Whitewater Unified School District and the upcoming referendum.

Oct. 14 — No club meeting but the first Board Meeting will be held. Time and location to be determined.

Oct. 21, 12:00pm – UC 259A. Youth of the Month with guest speaker. Lunch will be provided by UWW Catering. Lunch cost is $7.00 per member attending.

Who can help me line up speakers for our club meetings? I already have a list of possible topics but could use the help of one or two people to share phone calling and scheduling of speakers.

See many of you tomorrow!

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Club web site: http://blogs.uww.edu/uwwcommunityoptimist/

Optimist International web site: http://www.optimist.org/

Southern Wisconsinn District web site: http://www.swisdistrict.org/

UW-W Student Optimist Club: http://uwwstudentoptimist.blogspot.com/p/uw-w-student-optimist-club.html

Good Evening Optimists,

I hope you enjoyed the spectacular weather this weekend.

Thank you to our football ticket takers on Friday night.  What a victory for our Warhawks.  We’re off to a great start for the 2014 season!

Thank you to the committee that is planning our installation celebration.  There will be an update at our Tuesday club meeting.  Information will also be sent out to the club members very soon.

Our club meeting this week will be in UC 259A.  Please remember to bring your own lunch.  Angie and I will be your guest speakers on our participation in the Yellowstone Travel Study experience.  We have some fun stories, nice photos and artifacts to share with the group–as well as an OI Foundation gift for one lucky winner!

We will be selecting a new intern for our club within the next two weeks.  Also, planning continues for our Back to School Rally/NOW Meeting for the Whitewater Unified School District on Sept. 24.  I hope that some of you will be able to join us for this gathering.  We have heard that at least 25 faculty/staff have already signed up for this meeting.

Board members, please remember that we have a joint board meeting this Tuesday from 5:30pm-7:00pm at Jessica’s. Thank you to all who have replied for the meeting.

See many of you soon,

Kim 🙂

Happy Fall Semester Optimists,

It is hard to believe that August is ending and and the start up of the new academic year is just around the corner.

Thank you to Jeanine, Dave, Denise, Jan, and Kelly H. who have kept things rolling in forward motion on many accounts. Jeanine and I spoke last night–just hours after my return from out west.  Here are a few important updates:

*  We do not have a meeting this week.  We also will not meet next Tuesday (since it is right after Labor Day–and it is the week that classes begin)

*  Our September meeting schedule is as follows–Sept. 9, 12pm meeting, UC 259A;  Sept. 16, 12pm meeting, UC 259A; Sept. 24 (Wed), 4-5pm Back to School Pep Rally/Optimist NOW Meeting at Whitewater High School, Multipurpose Room; Sept. 30, Installation Celebration–time and location to be announced.  Thank you to Mills, Connie, Rick, Hans and Carla for volunteering to coordinate our Installation evening.  More information will be sent out very soon regarding the details of our September meetings and the Installation event.

*  An evite has been sent to folks in the Whitewater Unified School District regarding our NOW meeting for September 24.  We will also be getting invitations sent to our members.  We will be counting on the support, attendance, and some assistance with food for this event.  Our planning team is very excited about the opportunities to recruit several new members from the school system.  We are very grateful to have the support of the District administration and to have the full involvement of members Joe Lynch and Lanora Heim!

*  Dave and I facilitated an information table about our cub at the Faculty/Staff involvement Fair today on campus–just prior to the Chancellor’s “State of the University Address.”  I am happy to report that 8 new faculty/staff signed up to learn more about our club.  Our follow up with these individuals will be very important.

*  Therese has been sending out emails regarding football ticket taking for fall 2014.  We only have four home football games–so we’ll have to really keep our fingers crossed for some more home-field advantage in the post season.  Please look at your calendars to see if you can fill any of the regular season slots that are still open.

*  Dave will be coordinating an ACPC meeting in the next two weeks.  All outgoing and incoming board members can expect more information from Dave in the near future.

I will sign off for now.  Please enjoy the six attached photos from our travel study trip to Yellowstone.  I look forward to giving a program about the trip in the near future.  Hopefully Angie will be able to join in the effort!  It was an amazing learning experience.

Have a great week–and please keep the Burkina Faso group in your thoughts as they make their way home on Wednesday, August 27!

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

P.S.  Please use this email list as I have now added in Lanora Heim.  Thanks!

Happy Monday Optimists,

It’s hard to believe that we are at week 40 for our Optimist year!

Another terrific fund raising project took place this past Wednesday–and we had picture perfect weather.  Thank you to Don and Lou Zahn for coordinating our workers–and to all of our helping hands (Optimists, family members, and one UC student volunteer–Elaina) for the Jefferson County Fair!  We’ll look forward to learning how much we raised.

We had a board meeting this past Tuesday.  Here are a few highlights:

*  Our slate of officers is almost complete.  Thank you to those who have agreed to serve–including Dave Halbach as president.  The rest of the slate will be announced soon as we are waiting to hear back from a few individuals.

*  We are recommending to try two meetings per month next year–one noon meeting and one evening meeting.  More discussion will follow at a club meeting.

* We need to review the planning and budgets for larger projects for next year, such as Breakfast with Santa and Trivia Night.  The goal is to ensure we continue to serve needs, have successful projects, allocate appropriate funding, and/or raise budgeted monies.

* Jeanine will facilitate a discussion at the club meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 12 to address various topics like the ones above, as well as how we implement Youth of the Month in the future.  We invite you to attend the noon meeting in UC 259A.  Discussion about a less expensive approach for our installation banquet will also take place.

This week’s meeting will be at noon in UC 259A and will feature Steve Bertagnolli as our guest speaker.  Steve will share an informative presentation about many of the grounds projects on campus that he and his team oversee.

Next Sunday, July 20 from 12pm-6pm at Kim and Angie’s House will be our second paver painting party.  We have some orders to complete from Relay for Life. Please email me to let me know if you would like to participate. Even if you don’t think you are very creative, you are welcome to participate–to share ideas (and to partner up with someone).  We are confident you will have fun.

Finally, this is a reminder that we will have our summer picnic–also at Kim and Angie’s house on Tuesday, July 29 from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Please R.S.V.P. to let me know if you can attend and what you will contribute to the potluck.  We will provide the meat and beverages.  We look forward to having some good fellowship time with you.  The pool and hot tub will be open, and several backyard games will be available.  For those who don’t want to be outside, we  will have some tables with board games set up inside.  Please note that Angie is very hard to beat in “Bananagrams!”  We hope you are able to join in the fun!

Have a good week!

Kim 🙂

Greetings Optimists,

I send a great big Thank you to all who helped with the 4th of July Gyro Stand.  I have learned that $5,800 was taken in on gyro sales over the three days of the festivities.  This is a fantastic number given that the fair was one less day this year.  Kelly has already posted pictures and info on Facebook.  Barb also wanted me to inform the group that  there are four tubs of the gyro sauce for sale to any interested members.  Please contact Duane or Barb if you would like to purchase one.  Thanks, too, to those who were promoting our club at the event.  I understand from Brenda O’Beirne that there were two interested individuals.  I have already sent a follow-up email to them.

This Wednesday (July 9) is the Jefferson County Fair.  I know that Lou has emailed the schedule to all workers.  I am requesting that you check and re-check your availability to assist with any additional hours.  We are very short on help for the 10am-2pm and 2pm-6pm shifts.  Please consider asking family members, friends, and/or colleagues if to help out–even if it is for two hours at a time.  I have several “asks” out there, and will follow up with Don and Lou tomorrow. 

Our next board meeting is tomorrow (July 8) at 5:30pm at Jessica’s.  If you haven’t responded to me yet, please email me to indicate your attendance.  A review of finances, slate of officers for 2014-15, membership recruitment/letter to new teachers, and planning our trivia night for next year will be among our agenda items.

July 15 at 12 noon will be our next on-campus Optimist meeting in UC 259A.  Our guest speaker will be Steve Bertagnolli who will discuss our campus grounds–current and future projects.

We will have another paver painting gathering on Sunday, July 20 from 12pm-6pm at Kim and Angie’s House.  We have some orders to complete from Relay for Life.  Please email me to let me know if you would like to participate. We had a great time at our first session.  It’s a fun fellowship activity for sure!

Thanks–and enjoy your week!

Kim 🙂