UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

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 🙂

A few new photos from recent Optimist Club events have been added. Click the “Recent Photos” link in the banner above to see and enjoy.

Dave

Here are some of thephotos from the paver painting party we had on Sunday!

Pavers are the bricks that people use to pave paths in their yards. We painted these to sell at Relay For Life; all of the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. The pavers will be $20 a piece but extra donations are welcome. They would look beautiful in a garden! If you’re interested in purchasing one, send an email (with the paver you’d like) to either Jan Olson at olsonj@uww.edu or Kate Ksobiech at ksobieck@uww.edu. Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped paint pavers yesterday.
If you’d like to donate to our team you can visit http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=60365 and press Donate.
Thanks!
Optimists, we hope to see you at Relay For Life this Saturday from 3pm-Midnight!

Good Evening Optimists,

I will start my weekly email by reminding you that we do not have a Tuesday lunch meeting, rather an evening meeting at the Lakefront Pub from 5:00pm – 7:00pm on April 29. We will have brief updates on the Fishing Derby, Relay for Life, Highway Clean-Up, and the high school scholarship selection process, in addition to enjoying our social.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to venture to the SWIS District Meeting at the Abbey in Fontana. I was accompanied by Angie Alesci, Hassimi Traore, Dawn Kiernan, three UW-W Student Optimists, and one ambulance. Our presentation went well, and we raised just over $600 from personal and club donations, as well as charging for Optimists to have their photos taken with the Africa-bound ambulance. See the photos below.

The third photo is of some members from the Monroe Optimist Club who have donated over $700 over the past year, in addition to AV equipment for schools in Burkina Faso.

I also came back from the conference with Football Craze Raffle tickets, which we will work to distribute to interested members in the coming months.

Have a great week. Keep the sunshine inside, as there won’t be a lot outside!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Dear Members,

Optimism is shining in Warhawk Country as our men’s and women’s basketball teams are headed to the Final Four later this week! It’s exciting to be a Warhawk Fan!

On the club front, we have an excellent meeting coming up this Tuesday. We will host guest speakers Anna and Traci who will discuss the “Discover Whitewater” Ride scheduled for September 21. We will also enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day fellowship activity guided by Connie, Brenda and Anne.

Mark your calendars for the City Wide Rummage Sale on May 17. More information will be sent out very soon. The committee is finalizing all of the details and publicity.

Wes asked me to circulate a sign up sheet for the Easter Egg Hunt, scheduled for April 12. I will collect volunteers’ names at our meeting on Tuesday, and then will send out the list via email.

Some new photos will be appearing on our Optimist Blog this week, so keep referring to the Blog for updated information.

Have a Safe and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Happy Sunday Optimists,

I am pleased to say that our first annual Trivia Night went very well.  I have received some nice emails and face to face comments about the evening. We had 17 teams participate with great energy and generosity in the Hamilton Room.  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 taking second place at the event.  Kim Simes and her team might get an award for the rowdiest group!

Within the next week, I will share a full report of our income and expenses from Trivia Night.  For now, thank you to ALL who helped out and enjoy the photos on our Blog and on Facebook (which will be posted soon)!

Please remember that our noon meeting this Tuesday is cancelled, and instead we will meet from 5-7pm downtown at the Lakefront Pub (in the Warhawk Room).  We will have a social and fellowship activity from 5:00-5:30pm, with an important discussion to follow at 5:30pm  Our board has addressed some ideas about the future/leadership of our club as we look to the next year, and we believe that it is important to have an open discussion with all members. Please RSVP to me to confirm your attendance.  Please also don’t let this scare you away.  We are genuinely interested in feedback and ideas on how we can still serve the community with resources we have access to.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Always in Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Hi Everyone,

Check out the recent photos added to our web site. They include Whitewater Middle School Youth of the Month for December, 2013, Whitewater HighSchool Youth of the Month for January 2014, and pictures from our recent “New Optimist Wanted” (NOW) meeting on February 11, 2014. Enjoy!!

Sincerely,

Dave Halbach, Optimist Club Electronic Communications Chair.