UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Greetings Optimist!!

Don’t you just love the ups and downs of spring weather! At least this past weekend was nice and the upcoming weekend looks pretty good also. That’s my “optimistic” outlook for today.

On to Optimist business:

• This week’s meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday, April 21 at 12 Noon.  We will meet in UC 266 due a request from the Chancellor’s Office to use our regular meeting room. Lunch will be catered, cost is $7 for club members. It will also be Youth of the Month. Our speaker will be Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
• Duane Dickens reminded me this morning that the club is in need of a no-cost or low-cost storage location for the Gyro trailer! And we need a new site within the next week!!!! Denise Kaminski and her husband will no longer be able to store the trailer at their home. If you have a location or idea for future trailer storage please let the officers know. Thanks Denise (and Kevin) for storing the trailer for the last few years!
• Need help around the house or yard for spring cleaning? Hire a UW-W Student Optimist!
• A message from the UW-W Student Optimist Club and Kim Adam’s Service Learning Class “ We are still in need of donations for the birthday box project.  Things such as birthday cake mix, candles, streamers, wrapping paper, balloons, party hats, birthday cards, party plates, party napkins, gluten free and sugar free items. We are asking for all donations to be dropped off by April 21st to Kim (Adams).”
• The UW-W Student Optimist club is collecting children’s school playground equipment such as Kick Balls, Soccer Balls, Basketballs, Footballs, Frisbees, and Jump Ropes. If you would like to help donate please review the information flyer at our website.
• It’s that time of the Optimist Club year to begin thinking about a slate of officers for 2015-16. What would YOU like to do next year to contribute? How about an Exec Board position? Perhaps one that you’ve not held  in the past? Please begin thinking about volunteering to be an officer for 2015-16. “Many hands make light work.”
• I have created a Club calendar using Google Calendar. It’s only useful if there is lots of information so feel free to add club related events to the calendar for the future. This includes starting dates to plan/organize club events such as Whitewater High School scholarship reviewing, food ordering for the Gyro Stand, etc.
• Have you looked for the Exec board minutes? Click the “Club Documents” link to find many of uploaded club documents, including minutes of the Exec Board.

Speakers for upcoming meetings are:

• Tuesday, April 21, Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
• Wednesday, April 29, Judy Harms, Whitewater High School Girls Basketball Head Coach (5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant)
• Tuesday, May 5, Cameron Clapper, Whitewater City Manager.
• Tuesday, May 19, Tami McCullough, UW-W Campus Facilities Planner.
• Wednesday, May 27, Karen Wislocki, Director of the UW-W Intensive English Institute. (5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant)

Dates for upcoming club events include:

• Friday, May 8, 1:55pm, Whitewater High School Awards, the Club presents the Optimist Female Athlete of the Year.
• Saturday, May 16, City-Wide Rummage Sale.
• Wednesday, May 27, Whitewater High School Scholarship Night.
• Saturday, June 6, Fishing Derby
• Thursday, July 2-Sunday, July 5, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Wednesday, July 8, 2015, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Everyone,

Thank you to all who traveled this past week and brought back warmer weather. And…how about those Badgers (again)! Let’s hope for a National Championship next weekend!

On to Optimist business:

• Our final meeting for March will be an evening meeting on TUESDAY,  March 31 at 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant. Our speaker will be Tom Grosinske, Washington Elementary School Principal and new Whitewater High School football coach.
• Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4 at the Whitewater Middle School , 401 S. Elizabeth Street. If you can help but haven’t contacted Connie Murray, please do so in the next day or two so Connie knows who to expect this Saturday at the event.

• Speakers for upcoming meetings are:
  • Tuesday, April 7, Kat Shanahan, UC Promotions Coordinator
  • Tuesday, April 21, Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
  • Wednesday, April 29, – no speaker yet (perhaps a fellowship event?)
  • Tuesday, May 5, –  Cameron Clapper, Whitewater City Manager
  • Tuesday, May 19, Tami McCullough, UW-W Campus Facilities Planner.
  • Wednesday, May 27, Karen Wislocki, Director of the UW-W Intensive English Institute.

• Other dates coming up for club events include:
  • City-Wide Rummage Sale, Saturday, May 16.
  • Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration, July 2-5, 2015.
  • Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

That’s all for today.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Everyone,

For the sports fans in the club, what an exciting weekend we just had!! Whippets and Warhawks and Badgers, Oh My!!

• Tuesday, March 17 (tomorrow) we’ll meet at 12 Noon in UC 259A for our Youth of the Month meeting. Lunch will be catered and cost is $7.00 each.
  • FYI, I let the UW-W catering chef pick our menu for the Youth of the Month meeting dates. I’m not sure what the menu is for tomorrow. I’m hoping for an Irish theme.
  • Also at tomorrow’s meeting, there will be a short, 10-15 minute, presentation/wrap-up of Trivia Night 2015.
  • Our speaker for tomorrow’s meeting will be Dr. Beverly Kopper, UW-W Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
  • THERE IS NO MEETING NEXT WEEK OF ANY KIND for the club. UW-W and the Whitewater School District are on spring break which will mean some/many people will be on vacation, including me.
  • Our final meeting for March will be an evening meeting on TUESDAY,  March 31 at 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant. Our speaker will be Tom Grosinske, Washington Elementary School Principal and new Whitewater High School football coach.

• Speakers for upcoming meetings are:
  • Tuesday, April 7, Kat Shanahan, UC Promotions Coordinator
  • Tuesday, April 21, Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
  • Wednesday, April 29, – no speaker yet (perhaps a fellowship event?)
  • Tuesday, May 5, –  Cameron Clapper, Whitewater City Manager
  • Tuesday, May 19, Tami McCullough, UW-W Campus Facilities Planner.
  • Wednesday, May 27, Karen Wislocki, Director of the UW-W Intensive English Institute.

•  Other dates coming up for club events include:
  • Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4 at the Whitewater Middle School.
    • Helpers are needed for this event.
  • City-Wide Rummage Sale, Saturday, May 16.
  • Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration, July 2-5, 2015.
  • Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

That’s all for today.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Wow!!! What a great time this past Friday night at the 2^nd Annual Trivia Night. 24 teams from the campus, community, and surrounding area. 33 children who participated in the children’s activities, supervised by many of the UWW Student Optimists, while Mom and Dad participated in the trivia competition. Wonderful silent auction and live auction items. Check the Whitewater Banner web site for descriptions and pictures.

Kim has received some nice emails and face to face comments about the evening. We also had a good balance of Student Optimists, Community Optimists and other helpful volunteers at the event. Congratulations to Jan Olson and her team for winning the event this year! Kim Simes and her team are to be complimented again for their many creative answers to some of the difficult questions. Some of their answers were even correct!

There are many “Thanks Yous” to be shared but they need to start with Kim Adams. Kim once again took the lead on this event and started the planning and promotion last October. She and I have already discussed ideas for next year’s event, such as location, maximum number of teams, how to display team standings on the computer system in the venue, how to collect evaluations electronically, and on, and on. With Kim’s help, I hope to have a complete list of thank yous later this week.

Overall, a great success!! Preliminary numbers are: Gross income of approximately $8,900. Net income of approximately $7,100. More details regarding the split of proceeds between our club and the UWW Student Optimist Club will be discussed and shared with you.

This week’s meeting will be Wednesday evening, February 25 at 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant. See our list of upcoming speakers below.

• Speaker for upcoming meetings are:
  • Wednesday, February 25 – Dr. John Chenoweth, new Dean of the College of Business and Economics at UW-W.
  • Tuesday, March 3, UW-W photographer Craig Schreiner
  • Tuesday, March 17, UW-W Provost, Dr. Beverly Kopper
  • Tuesday, March 31, Tom Grosinske, Washington Elementary School Principal and new Whitewater High School football coach
  • Tuesday, April 7, Kat Shanahan, UC Promotions Coordinator
  • Tuesday, April 21, Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
  • Wednesday, April 29, – no speaker yet
  • Tuesday, May 5, –  no speaker yet
  • Tuesday, May 19, Tami McCullough, UW-W Campus Facilities Planner.
  • Wednesday, May 27, – Karen Wislocky, Director of the UW-W Intensive English Institute

• Other dates coming up for club events include:
  • Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4 at the Whitewater Middle School, pending approval from the school district.
  • City-Wide Rummage Sale, Saturday, May 16. (The one and only planning meeting will be Thursday, February 19.)
  • Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration, July 2-4, 2015 (based on calendar but still to be confirmed)
  • Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 8.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Everyone,

After being very busy two weeks ago and out of state for a conference last week, I’m back and ready to get caught up on most/all things Optimist.

• A “shout-out” to club member Jim McLernon!!! Jim organized a “Super Bowl Squares” event for “The Big Game” this past February 1 and was able to make a $100 donation to the club at our Tuesday, February 3 meeting.
• Tuesday, February 17 (tomorrow) we’ll meet at 12 Noon in UC 259A for our Youth of the Month meeting. Lunch will be catered and cost is $7.00 each.
• Our speaker for tomorrow, February 17, will be Jan Bilgen, Associate Director, UW-W Career and Leadership Development. Jan will be speaking about the value of joining student organizations, how to find out about student organizations, general categories of student organizations at UWW, and (if time permits) basic overview of career development and those related services from C&LD.
• Friday, February 20 is the second annual Trivia Night. We presently have 23 paid teams for the evening with the possibility of one more team. Helpers are still needed for setup and cleanup on the 20^th. The team putting this together has been outstanding! Further updates will be provided at our Tuesday meeting.
• Speaker for upcoming meetings are:
  • Wednesday, February 25 – no speaker yet
  • Tuesday, March 3, UW-W photographer Craig Schreiner
  • Tuesday, March 17, UW-W Provost, Dr. Beverly Kopper
  • Tuesday, March 31, Tom Grosinske, Washington Elementary School Principal and new Whitewater High School football coach
  • Tuesday, April 7, Kat Shanahan, UC Promotions Coordinator
  • Tuesday, April 21, Deb Weberpal, Senior Coordinator for the Seniors in the Park program in Whitewater.
  • Wednesday, April 29, – no speaker yet
  • Tuesday, May 5, –  no speaker yet
  • Tuesday, May 19, Tami McCullough, UW-W Campus Facilities Planner.
  • Wednesday, May 27, – no speaker yet

• Other dates coming up for club events include:
  • Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 4 at the Whitewater Middle School, pending approval from the school district.
  • City-Wide Rummage Sale, Saturday, May 16. (The one and only planning meeting will be Thursday, February 19.)
  • Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration, July 2-4, 2015 (based on calendar but still to be confirmed)
  • Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 8.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Everyone,

Ok, who’s sad we’re not getting the 1.5 – 2+ feet of snow forecast for the east coast tomorrow? Think of the snowmen we could build, and the sledding!!

This week our meeting will be Wednesday evening, 5pm, January 28 at Jessica’s Restaurant. I plan on having the induction ceremony for one or two of our new members. I’ve also asked them to briefly “introduce” themselves and mention why they joined our club and where/how they will be able to helps us.

I would appreciate any help lining up speakers for our February 3, 17 & 25 meetings. I have a list of ideas for consideration along with any ideas you may have for speakers/topics. Your help in making one or two phone calls to secure speakers will be greatly appreciated by all.

Jan Olson has received initial information regarding Relay for Life. However, she is unable to chair that event this year. Who would be willing to lead the club in participating in the event this year? Contact Jan or me if interested and we can pass the information. The Relay will be Saturday, June 27, 2015, from 3 p.m. – midnight at the Whitewater High School track.

Lanora Heim has sent me the updated Trivia Night information form and registration form. I’ve updated the web site with the new documents. She also reported she put a challenge out to the each building in the Whitewater School District to enter a team into the trivia contest. The high school and LINCS already sent back registration forms with teams. She also reported that the high school is working on a second team and that there are people trying to put together teams at the other buildings. Thanks Lanora!!

That’s all for the moment. Hope to see many of you Wednesday evening.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Warm Greetings, Optimists,

How ‘bout those Packers!? Any club members attend the game? Any stories to share if you attended?

• Board members, we will have a meeting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, January 13 in UC 069. This meeting room is also located in the lower level of the UC. I know a couple of you can’t make it, but hopefully you can still give input outside of the meeting.
• Tuesday, January 20^th will be a Youth of the Month meeting. We’ll meet in our usual location, UC 259A. Lunch will be catered that day, $7 per club member.
• Wednesday, January 28 will be our evening meeting for the month. 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant.
• I would appreciate any help lining up speakers for our January 20 and 28 meetings and the February 3, 17 & 24 meetings. I have a list of ideas for consideration along with any ideas you may have for speakers/topics. Your help in making one or two phone calls to secure speakers will be greatly appreciated by all.
• Please note the information I sent out last week regarding Trivia Night on Feb. 20. Please help spread the word about the event, and to feel free to form a team.
  • Also, we are still looking for more helpers from 6:30pm – 10:00pm that evening. Please let me know if you are able to help out for even a portion of the evening.
  • A reminder also that I would appreciate any assistance to line up speakers for our January and February

That’s all for now.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings,

We had a very small turnout today for our meeting but Kim Adams provided us with a great update on the status of the February 20th Trivia Night. Highlights are:

What: Trivia Night 2015.

When: 7:00 pm, Friday, February 20, 2015.

Where: Old Main Ballroom in the James R. Connor University Center on the UW-Whitewater campus.

Why: To raise funds for the Whitewater Unified School District Family Emergency Fund, Whitewater Food Pantry, LINCS school beautification project and other youth oriented projects!

Sponsors, participating teams, silent auction items and event helpers are still needed.

Trivia Night Team Registration Form, 2015.

Trivia Night 2015 Information Flyer.

Watch for more info.

That’s all for the moment.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749