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 🙂

Happy 4th of July Week, Optimists!

We have a lot happening these few weeks.  Here are the highlights:

June 28 –thank you to Jan and Kate for chairing our Relay for Life Team.  Thanks, too, for our other Optimists who supported our team by walking and staffing our site.  Don and Lou, Hans and Carla, Carla’s daughter and son, Angie, Kate’s daughters Shelli and Laura, Jim Mc. and I were all involved at different times.  Our intern Kelly also helped to set up our site–which included hauling all of the pavers.  I learned from Jan that our team came in third place with the fund raising, bringing in a total of $3,098!  Way to go team.

This Tuesday (July 1), we will have a meeting to set up and clean the gyro stand at Cravath Lake.  We will also have an informal social meeting and will order food the the crew.  Duane will send out an updated work schedule for the 4th of July festivities this week.  Duane–could you please confirm what time you would like folks to show up?  THANKS!

On Wednesday, July 9, we will be staffing the Jefferson County Fair (for “Kids’ Day).  PLEASE check your calendars to see if you can volunteer for even a few hours.  There are still many open slots and we can’t put all of the pressure on the Zahn family to staff the entire event.  I have reattached the sign up sheet for the fair.

Kelly is doing a great job sending out updates on club activities via Facebook.  She just sent out another update.  Feel free to check it out!

Our next board meeting is Tuesday, July 8 at 5:30pm at Jessica’s.  If you haven’t responded to me yet, please email me to indicate your attendance.

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 yesterday.  Please email me to let me know if you would like to participate. We had a great time last Sunday.  It’s a fun fellowship activity.

Thank you–and Happy 4th!

Kim 🙂

Happy Memorial Day, Optimists,

I have just a few short reminders for this week:

* Tomorrow’s noon meeting will feature Dick and Maggie Winz on the Ten Chimneys of Genesee Depot. It will also be our last Youth of the Month of the season, as well as our last catered meal until fall. We will meet in UC 259A.

* This Thursday, we will meet at the UC loading dock at 4:45pm to caravan to our highway cleanup project. For those joining us in progress, please find us on our Optimist stretch of highway. We will have gloves, vests and bags ready for the project. Remember to wear proper shoes. I think the following members have said yes to helping with the clean up. If I have you on the list, but you are unable to help out–just let me know. I was partially working from memory–which hasn’t been the best as of late. Helpers: Hans, Carla, Angie, Joyce, Al, Jan, Kate, Don, Rick, Jeanine, and Kim.

* You will note that I am now copying our new student intern (Kelly) on our emails, as well as another student (Anna) who came to our evening meeting last week. Anna is interested in helping with some of our projects in the coming months. Thanks, Anna! Kelly has some great ideas in how to help promote our club and will be working with Jeanine and me to finalize and implement our plan. Thanks, Kelly!

* Thank you to Jeanine and Angie who will be putting a slate of officers together for the 2014-15 Optimist year. If you are contacted, I ask you to give their request thoughtful consideration. If you are not contacted and would like to serve as an officer or on the board, please reach out to Jeanine, Angie or me. THANK YOU!!

Enjoy the rest of this holiday weekend!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Good Morning Optimists,

I encourage you to look back at last week’s email for the dates and information on various activities we have coming up this spring and summer. Several sign ups are also starting to circulate.

Please continue to respond to Duane regarding the Gyro Stand, respond to Therese regarding the Baseball Regions that are this week, respond to Jan and Kate regarding your progress on funds raised for our Relay for Life team, and respond to Lou and Don for the Jefferson County Fair. I have also attached the fair sign up for folks to see the open slots.

Please note that there is a board meeting this Tuesday from 5:30pm-7:00pm at Jessica’s. Remember that all past presidents are also invited to attend the meeting–and really anyone else interested in rebuilding our club is welcome to attend. We will be discussing the future direction/leadership of the club. Some different ideas are being explored, and your active participation and creative problem solving is encouraged to help our club develop a sound direction for this next year.

I am excited about our guest speakers this Tuesday as we will be hearing from our outgoing intern Seth Arp and incoming intern Kelly Holck. Jeanine, Dave and I met with these two dedicated students this past week and are looking forward to them sharing their insights and suggestions for the club at our noon meeting.

Thanks–and enjoy your Sunday. Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, step mothers, grandmothers, Godmothers, Aunts, etc.!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

It’s May, Optimists!

As we welcome in the signs of warmer weather, I invite you to join in many of the upcoming opportunities.

Here’s a preview of what’s coming:

• Tues., May 6–guest speaker Angie Alesci–on creating home-made gifts on a low budget and with resources on hand. (This will include a tasty treat for members to enjoy at the meeting.)
• Tues., May 13–Guest speaker TBD. I am just waiting for a confirmation.
• Tues., May 13–Board Meeting, 5:30pm – 7:00pm at Jessica’s. All former presidents of the club are invited to this gathering. The main focus of the meeting will be the future of our club, including leadership for 2014-15. We need a slate of officers for the new year–including someone to take the helm as president in October. Anyone wishing to step forward to serve as president, please contact me. I will gladly chat with you about how to make a smooth transition–and I promise I will be a good support as Immediate Past President.
• May 14-18–Ticket Taking for Baseball Regionals. Please contact Therese if you can assist with taking tickets. This will serve as an extra fund raiser for our club. Therese emailed a sign up sheet this past Friday.
• Sat., May 17–City Wide Rummage Sale. Jeanine is taking care of one more “promotional blast” this week.
• Tues., May 20–Evening Meeting at the Lakefront Pub, 5:00pm-7:00pm. Meet our new student intern–Kelly Holck!
• Tues., May 27–Youths of the Month, plus guest speaker TBD. If you have a suggestion for a guest speaker, please contact me.
• Thurs., May 29–Highway Clean Up. Meet by the UC (metered parking lot) at 4:45pm if you want to caravan to our two-mile stretch of highway. We will begin our clean up at 5:00pm. Garbage bags, vests, and gloves will be provided. Feel free to bring your own gloves, as well.
• Sat., June 7–Fishing Derby, Cravath Lake

Enjoy your week–and hope to see some of you on Tuesday.

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Happy Easter Weekend, Optimists!

We had a excellent turn out and very nice weather for our Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, April 19. The Easter Bunny and McGruff were both very popular! Hopefully, we can use the middle school again next year. Thank you to Connie and Wes for coordinating the activity–and for getting us organized for the rescheduled event. Thanks to all of our members who helped out with the event, as well. See the attached group photo. Watch for more photos on Blog in the next few days.

I am excited to announce that our guest speakers for this Tuesday’s meeting is Gymnastics Head Coach Jennifer Regan and a few of the national champion gymnasts! Please join us to learn more about the team’s season and the road to another national championship.

Please remember that our evening meeting is coming up on April 29 from 5-7pm at the Lakefront Pub. We are hoping that our new PR Intern (Kelly Holck) will be able to join us for this meeting so that she can meet some of our members.

Have a good night, and hope to see some of you soon!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂

Optimist Club members helping at the 2014 Easter Egg Hunt at Whitewater Middle School.

Greetings Optimists,

I am Optimistic that we will have a beautiful day on April 12 as we host our annual Easter Egg Hunt at Starin Park.  Right now, the weather forecast is for partly sunny and 62 degrees!  We do have a backup location at Whitewater Middle School.  Our intern (Seth) has distributed flyers to all of the schools, the chamber and several businesses.  Thank you to Connie and Wes for planning the event, Jeanine for helping to promote it, and to those who are helping behind the scenes, as well as at Starin Park.

At this week’s meeting, we will be stuffing Easter Egg Hunt goodie bags.  Additionally, our guest speaker will be Stacy Sherman, Assistant Marketing Director at the Young Auditorium.  Stacy will be giving us a preview of events at ILY.  Please note that our meeting will be in UC 261 this week.

At last week’s meeting, I brought up the possibility of sponsoring a fishing derby for kids on the free fishing day, which is Saturday, June 7.  Rick Fassl has shared some ideas on how we might do some outreach.  Please contact me if you are willing to help plan or work at the event.  Al is willing to help plan it, but can’t be there to facilitate the event.  In order to make the event happen, we need to have someone willing to take the lead for the day of.

Thank you to those working on some of our other spring projects!

Finally, If you need to use an email list for communicating with our club members, please work off of this one.  It includes Kate and Ken Ksobiech (our newest members)!

In Optimism,

Kim 🙂