Optimist, Week 27

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Happy Spring, Optimists,

What a beautiful day!

Here are a few quick updates:

1) We have a noon meeting this Tuesday in UC 259A. It will be a catered meal. Courtney Nelson (from Downtown Whitewater) will be our guest speaker.

2) We are needing to put together a slate of officers for 2017-18. Thank you to Cort, Susan and Joyce for saying yes to joining/continuing as board members for the new Optimist year. We are still in need for volunteers for several other positions, including that of president/co-president. Please contact Kim or Angie if you would be willing to serve on the Board.

3) Congratulations and welcome to Lori Heidenreich for being our newest member! We look forward to seeing Lori at a meeting in the near future. We are hoping to induct Lori and Robin Fox on Tuesday, May 2.

4) This past Tuesday, the Board voted to donate $250 to the Campus Memory Garden in memory of all deceased members of the UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club. More info to come in the neat future.

5) This is a reminder that our Club is not sponsoring the City-wide rummage sale this year. This has been communicated to the Chamber and to Jim Stewart.

6) The Board also voted not to be involving other youth groups to help staff the 4th of July Gyro Stand. Rather, we will staff the booth more efficiently and will count on our members, as well as the Octagon members and UW-W Student Optimists to assist with the fundraiser. Dave Halbach will be following up with other event helpers, starting a sign up sheet, and contacting the 4th of July Committee to confirm our participation.

7) Last Monday, we delivered over 100 birthday items to the Whitewater Food Pantry. This included 67 completely wrapped and stuffed shoe boxes. Thank you to those who donated time and product to this service project. The workers at the Food Pantry were very grateful to receive the donations.

8) We will be holding 4 landscaping work sessions at Lakeview Elementary on Tuesday, April 25; Thursday, April 27; as well as Tuesday, May 2 and Thursday May 4 (all from 4pm – 8pm). If you would like to help out, please contact Kim or Angie. We will need all of the helping hand we can get for this project. Some of the money from Trivia Night will be used for this project.

9) Next Wednesday, April 26, our Club meeting will be held at 5pm at Jessica’s. Our interns (Anne and Kayla) will be our guest speakers. Please plan on joining us!

10) Speaking of our Optimist Interns, we sill be interviewing several candidates for summer and fall positions (in the coming weeks).

That’s it for now. Enjoy your week–and “Just Keep Smiling!”

Kim and Angie 🙂

Optimist, Week 26 (Revised)

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Happy Sunday, Optimists,

Thank you to all Club members, Student Optimists, Kayla (our intern), and other community volunteers who helped to facilitate our Annual Optimist Easter Egg Hunt yesterday at the Middle School. A special thank you to Connie Murray for chairing the event and to her stepson for serving as our Easter Bunny. We had beautiful weather, a record turn out, and three news photographers there to cover the event. Watch for a story on the Whitewater Banner and in local papers. In the meantime, enjoy the group photo I have attached.

We do not have a Club meeting this week. Rather, we have a Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 11 at 12pm in UC 268. I will send an agenda by tomorrow evening. Please let me know if you can not participate (in person or via phone). Right now, I know of only one member who can not be there.

Angie and I are starting to work on the slate of officers for next year. Thank you to those who have said YES so far and to those who are considering a position on the Board!

In addition, thank you to those who contributed to the Birthday Box Project for the Whitewater Food Pantry. If anyone is interested in helping to stuff and label the boxes, we will be working with the Service Learning and Leadership students tomorrow from 8:30am – 10:00am in UC 259A&B. Many hands make light work–so please know we would gladly take any member’s assistance.

Another volunteer opportunity for Community Optimists, Student Optimists and Service Learning students will be to help with landscaping work sessions at Lakeview Elementary on April 25 and April 27, May 2 and May 4 from 4pm to 8pm. More information to come soon. In the meantime, feel free to contact Angie or me if you are interested in helping.

Our meeting schedule for the next few weeks is as follows:
Tuesday, April 11–Board Meeting, UC 268
Tuesday, April 18–Cub Meeting, 12pm, UC 259A (Guest Speaker: Courtney Nelson, Discover Whitewater; Youth of the Month)
Wednesday, April 25–Club Meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant (Guest Speakers: Anne and Kayla on their work as Optimist Interns)
Tuesday, May 2–Club Meeting, 12pm, UC 259A (Induction of New Members; Guest Speaker TBD)

Angie and I will share key points from our Board meeting within the next week. There are a few important decisions that the Board will need to make this week.

Lastly, please note that our Club is the featured business for the Whitewater Chamber this week. Check out the Chamber’s web site for more details! They promoted our Easter Egg Hunt and offered to feature several Club photos.

Thank you for your commitment to being Optimists, and as always–“Just keep smiling!”

Kim and Angie 🙂

Optimist, Week 24

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Greetings, Optimists,

We hope you have had a relaxing spring break.

Here are a few tidbits related to upcoming Optimist activities:

1) We have a noon meeting this week (March 28). We will be featuring three “Youths of the Month!” We will also have a guest speaker–to be announced!

2) On Tuesday, April 4, we will stuff goodie bags for the Easter Egg Hunt, as well as host guest speaker Mike Flanagan, from the Crossman Art Gallery. Our meeting will be in our usual location–UC 259A.

3 Our Easter Egg Hunt will be Saturday, April 8, starting at 11:00am and set up begin an hour or so before the Easter Bunny arrives. Thank you to Connie for organizing this event. Sign up info will be coming out very soon!

4) The Board will meet on Tuesday, April 11 in UC 268. There will not be a Club meeting on that day. We have many topics to address at this meeting. Board members, please let Kim know if you can not attend.

5) Therese has indicated that the NCAA Division III Regional Baseball Tournament will be hosted by UW-Whitewater and that they are hoping the Optimist Club would be willing to take tickets. This would be an additional fund raising project for our club, in addition to being a nice service for us to offer. The dates of the tournament are May17-21, and times are yet to be determined. We will start a sign up sheet on this project very soon, as well.

6) Mark your calendars for Saturday, June 3 for the Optimist Fishing Derby. Thank you to Al Hutchison for leading this project. The event will likely take place at Tripp Lake. A flyer and other promos are being signed by our interns.

That’s it for now. Enjoy the rest of your day–and “just keep smiling!”

Kim 🙂

Optimist, Week 20

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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 🙂

Optimist Week 18, February 6, 2017

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Happy Monday, Optimists!

I know this note is reaching you later than usual.  I hope many of you enjoyed the exciting events of Super Bowl LI.

Here are some Optimist updates for this week:

Our Club meeting is tomorrow at 12:00pm in UC 266 with Josh Duesterbeck from Thrivent Financial serving as our guest speaker.  He has some interesting information regarding ways of partnering with community organizations.

Please see the list of speakers that Dave has shared for the next month:

February 7, 2017, Josh Deusterbach, Thrivent

February 21, 2017, Brenda O’Beirne, Counselor Ed Dept award

February 28, 2017, Jeremy Lade & Christina Schwab, Wheelchair basketball

March 7, 2017, Jan Bilgen, Campus Memory Garden

 

Jenny is trying to finalize a first-round clothing order for Club members.  She has 13 folks on the list and is planning to place the order very soon so that we have the items here in time for Trivia Night.  If you ordered an item, please bing your money to the Club meeting, or get it to Jenny, Kate or Kim within the next 10 days.

Next week, we do not have a Club meeting.  The board will meet from 5:00pm – 6:00pm at Jessica’s on Wednesday, February 15.  Brandon and Kim will share updates regarding where we are at with the Club Policies project (3 sections will be shared).  It will also be good to touch base on the Easter Egg Hunt, Fishing Derby and the Gyro Stand.  Also, we have had some folks in the community asking about the Optimist/City-Wide Rummage Sale.  We will add this item to agenda to confirm our decision.

Lastly, we could still use some help with Optimist Trivia Night on Friday, February 17.  Please email Lanora or Kim if you are able to volunteer a few hours during the evening.  We have 30 teams signed up and lots of great Silent Auction items.  Our goal is to raise $11,000–and it seems reasonable to reach our goal (based on number of participants and items available).  Now, we just need the helpers!  Please double-check your availability.  Thanks so much!

Late last week was International Optimist Day.  Thank you for all the ways you serve our community as Optimists and engaged citizens.  Your commitment to serving our youth and local/regional community is greatly appreciated.

See many of your soon!

Kim and Angie 🙂

Optimist, Week 17, January 29, 2017

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Happy Sunday, Optimists,

Here is our Optimist news for this week:

1)  We will meet this Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 12:00pm in UC 259B (next to where we usually meet).  Frank Bartlett (Optimist member and Director of University Housing) will be our guest speaker.  We will also recognize Youths of the Month from the Middle School.

2)  Please contact Lanora or sign up on line to help out with Trivia Night if you are able.  Last Friday, Lanora indicated that we only have 27% of the slots filled.  We are now less than three weeks away from hosting the event.  Please remember that we would welcome gift cards, homemade items and other donations for the silent auction.  We also could use extra clothes baskets/wicker baskets for the silent and bucket auctions for the event.  Please contact Kim if you are able to assist.  Jan has sent out a note to team captains for Trivia Night.  We welcome your assistance in helping to recruit teams for the event.  We are nearing 20 teams, but would still like to recruit 10 more teams.  Last Friday, Kim was interviewed on WFAW regarding Trivia Night, and a story appeared on the Whitewater Banner.  Many news outlets have been contacted.  We are grateful for all of the support.

3)  We will be organizing the Optimist Storage Room this Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 4:30pm – 6:00pm in Starin Hall.  If you are able to help out, please contact Kim (we will need to let people into the hallway area).  Kim’s cell is 608-201-2151.

4)  Thank you for participating in the Optimist meeting survey that Brandon Lindhom sent out.  We discussed the results at last Tuesday’s evening meeting, and will be making some decisions at our next board meeting on Feb. 15.

5)  Thank you to Wes Therrian who has already built one buddy bench for the Lakeview Elementary School Landscaping Project.  More news to come on that project in the coming months.

6)  Watch for more FaceBook posts by our Optimist Interns.  Also, our most recent Club calendar is updated on our Club website.  More updates will be added regarding guest speakers as Dave works on his list.

We are grateful for your Optimism!  As always– “just keep smiling!”

 

Kim & Angie 🙂

Optimist, Week 16

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Good Evening, Optimists,​

Here are just a few Optimist tidbits for the coming week:

1)  This Tuesday’s meeting will be held at Jessica’s Restaurant, starting at 5pm.  Marie Koch (Chamber Director) will be our guest speaker.  We will also chat about Trivia Night, the Easter Egg Hunt, and the Gyro Stand.  We hope you can join us.

2)  We will also have a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 12:00pm in UC 259B (next to where we usually meet).  This was not originally on our calendars.  Dave is waiting for a confirmation on our guest speaker.  Catering will be provided, and we will recognize Youths of the Month from the Middle School.

3)  Lanora has sent out the sign up list for Trivia Night.  We are three weeks away from hosting the event.  There are many slots that need to be filled yet.  Please check your schedules and sign up if at all possible.  Our goal is to raise $11,000.  We need many hands to help make this happen.  We could also use help with food contributions for the volunteer room at Trivia Night, gift cards and other items for the silent auction, and extra clothes baskets/wicker baskets for the silent auction.  Please contact Kim if you are able to assist.  Jan has sent out a note to team captains for Trivia Night.  We welcome your assistance in helping to recruit teams for the event.

4)  We will be organizing the Optimist Storage Room on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 4:30pm – 6:00pm in Starin Hall.  If you are able to help out, please contact Kim (we will need to let people into the hallway area).

5)  Please remember to complete the Optimist meeting survey that Brandon Lindhom sent out this past Tuesday.  It takes less than a minute to complete.  Your feedback is important to us.

We are grateful for your Optimism!  As always– “just keep smiling!”

Kim & Angie 🙂

Optimist, Week 15

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Happy Sunday, Optimists!

We do just have to say–“what a Packer game!”

On to Optimist business.  Please note the following:

1)  We will begin the University semester with our Club meeting on Tuesday at noon in UC 259A.  Catering will be provided, and Artanya Wesley (our new Dean of Students at UW-W) will be out guest speaker.  

2)  Please watch for a survey to be sent out by our Intern Brandon Linholm.  It should take less than two minutes to complete.  The board has approved the survey–which will help us to learn when the best times are to hold meetings for our members.  Please share your feedback.  Your input is important!

3)  We received a check for $1650 from UW-W Athletics for Football Ticket Taking.  Thank you to Frank for coordinating the sign up list and to all members who assisted with taking tickets during our regular season and post season home games.

4)  Trivia Night Planning will be going strong during the remaining 4 1/2 weeks before the event (Friday, February 17).  Our next planning meeting will be this Friday at 11:45am in UC 268.  If you are interested in helping with the planning or in helping to staff the event, please contact Kim or Lanora.

5)  Thank you to Connie Murray for saying “yes” to chairing the Easter Egg Hunt.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 8 to welcome kids of all ages, the Easter Bunny and McGruff.  The event will be held at the Whitewater Middle School–rain, snow or shine!

6)  We are sad to say goodbye to Teshona Bennett and Josh Tepps as members.  They have both submitted their resignations.  PLEASE keep inviting potential new members to our meetings.

Thanks so much–and “just keep smiling!”

Kim & Angie 🙂

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