UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

Greetings Optimists,

A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to create the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held  in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

I’ve updated the web site so the link for the paper application for the City-wide Rummage should now work properly. If you or someone you know were unable to access the form before, please try again.

We have received one application for the Rummage Sale through the online signup form!

This week’s meeting will be tomorrow night at Jessica’s Restaurant starting at 5pm. Hope to see many of you there.

Other upcoming events to beginning planning for:

Fishing Derby, Gyro Stand, and Jefferson County Fair Ticket Selling. Rick Fassl has indicated he’ll help with the Fishing Derby, Teshona Bennett has indicated she’ll help organize the Gyro Stand again, and I’ll help organize the ticket sellers for the Jefferson County Fair. Hopefully everyone will be able to pitch in on one or more of those events.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting. Youth of Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Saturday, May 21, City-wide rummage sale.
• Tuesday, May 24, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 31 (5^th Tuesday of the month). No meeting this day/week.
• Saturday, June 4, Fishing Derby??
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

How is everyone doing today? It’s been nice to have sunshine most to the day. Puts me in an “Optimist” mood.

Thanks to club member Jim McLernon for donating $100 to the club. Jim presented the check to us at the general member meeting last week, April 5.

No general member meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, April 12.  Instead the Exec Board will meet at 12 Noon in UC 268.

We had some great discussions at our April 5^th meeting. It looks like we WILL organize the event again this year. The date will be Saturday, May 21.

A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to begin planning for the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held  in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

With the plan to move forward with the City-wide Rummage sale, I’ve been looking into ways to better manage the sign-ups and payments. What I’ve done on behalf of the club is:

1. Created a Club email account with Google. The address is optimist.club@gmail.com.
2. With the creation of the Gmail account, the club now has a 15 Gb file storage space that can be used for file and picture storage.
3. Going forward we could use the Gmail account to move our web site from the University to Google’s free web site hosting, thus making it easier for future officers to access the web site and update content.
4. I created a Pay-Pal account to accept Rummage Sale sign-up payments. I think we’ll be able to also use the Pay-Pal account for dues payment and Trivia Night team payments in the future.
5. I’m planning on creating an online Google form to allow people to sign up for the Rummage Sale event. The form will put their info into a Google spreadsheet. The form will also include a button that will take the person to the appropriate Pay-Pal page to pay the $10 to the club.

Any further ideas from club members about using Google, Pay-Pal, etc. in the future?

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Tentative speaker will be Jeremy Reed, Director of UW-W Admission Office.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting. Youth of Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Saturday, May 21, City-wide rummage sale.
• Tuesday, May 24, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 31 (5^th Tuesday of the month). Fellowship Meeting? Other type of meeting? When/where?
• Saturday, June 4, Fishing Derby??
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

PLAY BALL!! Any club members go to the Brewers home opener today?

Our next general member meeting will be tomorrow, Tuesday, April 5, 12 Noon, University Center 259A.

We had some great discussions at our March 29, meeting at Jessica’s Restaurant. Topics included City-wide rummage sale and Gyro stand. We’ll discuss those further at tomorrow’s meeting.

City-wide Rummage Sale. We had discussed whether or not we should continue this project. Many people in the community take advantage of the event but don’t pay the $10 fee to be included on the locations listing. Over the past few years we’ve seen paid participation dropping while overall number of sales in the community seems to be the same. Is the effort worth it? Would we do it Saturday May 14 or 21?

In case we don’t sponsor a city-wide rummage sale this year, here is a comment Jan Olson just shared with me from Palmyra via Facebook (that we might receive also).  “For anyone in Palmyra looking to join the Village wide rummage sale coming up. I was informed at village hall the Chamber of Commerce has chosen not to do the work and advertise this year. This is a HUGE inconvenience to us all. If you would like to call the Chamber of Commerce president I have his name and phone number.” As Rick Fassl pointed out, an event like this doesn’t benefit the Chamber of Commerce members so that’s why they don’t get involved. It seems that it takes someone else, like our club, to organize these events.

A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to begin planning for the slate of officers for 2016-17. I have received word from two club members they would be willing/able to be on the board as an officer or general board member next year, depending upon what time of day the monthly board meetings are held. I also want to let everyone know that I WILL continue on the board as past-president and will be more than willing to assist with weekly emails, web site updates and Facebook postings.  So…what would YOU like to do next year to contribute? Perhaps one that you’ve not held  in the past? Please begin volunteering to be an officer for 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speaker will be Jeremy Reed, UW-W Director of Admissions.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Saturday, May 14 or 21, City-wide rummage sale?????????
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting. Youth of Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 24, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 31 (5^th Tuesday of the month). Fellowship Meeting? Other type of meeting? When/where?
• Saturday, June 4, Fishing Derby??
• Friday-Monday, July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Wednesday, July 6, Jefferson County Fair ticket selling/taking.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Our next general member meeting will be tomorrow night, March 29, at 5:00 PM, Jessica’s Restaurant. I’m still searching for a speaker. Otherwise we’ll discuss the Easter Egg Hunt and City-wide Rummage Sale.

Easter Egg Hunt update. Many, many thanks to Kim Adams, Connie Murray, Rick Fassl, Jeanine Fassl, Jan Olson, Susan Hiscox, Lanora Heim, Jenny Musilek, Michele Filip, Josh Tepps, Linda Kinson, Hans Hahn, Carla Cheek, and Angie Alesci (and any others I’ve missed) for quickly putting together last Saturday’s Easter Egg Hunt!!!

City-wide Rummage Sale. We are in need of a co-chair/co-leader for this event. Michele Filip has volunteered to co-chair/co-lead. Would we do this Saturday May 14 or 21? Therese Kennedy has already received a call wondering when the event would be. Please let me know ASAP if you’re willing to co-chair/co-lead this event.

A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to begin planning for the slate of officers for 2016-17. 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 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

The February Exec Board Minutes were approved at the last Exec Board meeting. I’ve posted them on the web site for your reading.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, April 5, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Saturday, May 14 or 21, City-wide rummage sale?????????
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting. Youth of Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 24, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, May 31 (5^th Tuesday of the month). Fellowship Meeting? Other type of meeting? When/where?
• Saturday, June 4, Fishing Derby??
• July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Our next general member meeting will be tomorrow, March 15, at 12 Noon, University Center 259A. This is a “catered lunch day” ($7.00). There WILL be a Youth of the Month presentation at this meeting. We’ll have two shorter presentations, one from Bunny Schoen speaking about Delta Kappa Gamma, an international group of educators.  This group does a lot for kids, and the teachers who teach them, similar to Optimists.  The other speaker will be Whitewater High School Principal Doug Parker speaking about the alternative graduation program.

City-wide Rummage Sale. We are in need of a co-chair/co-leader for this event. Michele Filip has volunteered to co-chair/co-lead. Would we do this Saturday May 14 or 21? Therese Kennedy has already received a call wondering when the event would be. Please let me know ASAP if you’re willing to co-chair/co-lead this event.

A Call for 2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to begin planning for the slate of officers for 2016-17. 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 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

THERE IS NO MEETING NEXT WEEK, MARCH 21-25 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 29 at 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant. I’m still looking for a speaker.

The February Exec Board Minutes were approved at last week’s Exec Board meeting. I’ve posted them on the web site for your reading.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, March 15, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speakers will be Bunny Schoen and WHS Principle Doug Parker.
• Saturday, March 26, Easter Egg Hunt???????
• Tuesday, March 29, Evening meeting, 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant.
• Tuesday, April 5, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Saturday, May 14 or 21, City-wide rummage sale?????????
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting
• Tuesday, May 24, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant.
• Tuesday, May 31 (5^th Tuesday of the month). Fellowship Meeting? Other type of meeting? When/where?
• Saturday, June 4th, Annual Fishing Derby????? (DNR Free Fun Weekend)
• July 1-4, 2016, Gyro Stand at Whitewater 4^th of July Celebration.
• Jefferson County Fair ticket selling, Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

After hiding in Phoenix, AZ, last week for a conference, I have been forced back to reality this week.

No general member meeting this week. Instead, the Exec Board will meet on Tuesday, March 8 at 12 Noon, in the University Center, room 268. If you have any topics for the Exec Board to consider tomorrow, please contact me so I can include the item/topic on the agenda.

Easter Egg Hunt update. We are in need of a chair/leader for this event! The Whitewater Middle School is reserved for the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, March 26. We still need to order items for the “goody bags” and Connie Murray has information she can share regarding what has been ordered in the past. Also, Rev. Wendt in interested in coming and saying a few words.

For our new members, here is a basic description of the event from last year. “The event is scheduled to take place at 11 am at The Whitewater Middle School grounds, 401 S. Elizabeth Street, weather permitting.  Inclement weather will move the event into the WMS building, so the event will be held rain or shine on April 4th.  There will be a short invocation, with the arrival of the Easter Bunny and McGruff the Crime Dog aboard a Whitewater Fire Dept. truck before the signal to start the hunt is given.  Children through 5th grade are welcome and will be grouped as follows:  Ages 2 years and under; Ages 3 & 4; Kindergarten & grade 1; grades 2 & 3 and grades 4 & 5.  Children are encouraged to bring a basket or bag to collect the eggs.  The plastic eggs they find will be returned in exchange for a small bag of treats.  Several “special” eggs will earn the finder a special basket of treats.”

City-wide Rummage Sale. Another event in need of a chair/leader. Would we do this Saturday May 14 or 21? Therese Kennedy has already a call wondering when the event would be.

For our new members, here is a basic description of the event from last year. “The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club, in cooperation with the Whitewater Chamber of Commerce, will be hosting a City-Wide Rummage Sale on Saturday, May 16, 2015.  Registrations are now being accepted.  All proceeds from this event help fund activities to support youth programs throughout the year.  Last year saw over 60 families benefit by having their rummage sale on the same day.  More sales draw more people and that means more items you don’t have to store anymore!

The cost to participants will be $10 per household, which guarantees each seller a spot on the master rummage sale locator list, a sign for their yard, and a brief, 10-word description of the most attractive items available for sale.  This is a community service project offered by the UW-W/Community Optimist Club and we appreciate persons registering with us as the very reasonable registration fee gives them better publicity at a  cost savings over running a separate ad.  Funds raised cover the costs for the project and any money in excess of costs goes to fund other youth service projects throughout the year.”

2016-17 Club Officers. It’s time to begin thinking and planning for the slate of officers for 2016-17. 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 2016-17. “Many hands make light work.”

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, March 8, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon, UC 268.
• Tuesday, March 15, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speaker will be Bunny Schoen.
• Tuesday, March 22? Evening meeting? This is the week of the University’s and Whitewater school district spring  break.
• Saturday, March 26, Easter Egg Hunt???????
• Tuesday, March 29? Evening meeting instead of March 22?
• Tuesday, April 5, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Youth of the Month presentation. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant.
• Tuesday, May 3, Regular club meeting
• Tuesday, May 10, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, May 17, Regular club meeting
• Saturday, May 14 or 21, City-wide rummage sale?????????

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Have you checked the SWIS District web site lately?

A “shout-out” to club member Jim McLernon!!! Jim organized a “Super Bowl Squares” event for “The Big Game” this past February 7 and was able to make a $100 donation to the club at our Tuesday, February 16 meeting. Thanks Jim!!

Easter Egg Hunt update. Easter will be Sunday, March 27, 2016. Information from the School District indicates that the Middle School is available for the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday, March 26. The building is already in use Saturday, March 19. Finally, who would be willing to chair/lead the event and who can help with the event?

Wow!!! What a great time this past Friday night at the 3rd Annual Trivia Night. 28 teams from the campus, community, and surrounding area. 22 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 “bucket raffle” items.

There are many “Thanks Yous” to be shared but they need to start with Kim Adams, Jan Olson, and Lanora Heim. To Jeanine Fassl for leading much of the publicity. Thanks also to Ken & Kate Ksobiech for all their efforts managing the money received before and during the event. Thanks to Angie Alesci and Betsy Brandt for managing the Silent Auction. Thanks to Dr. Tom Drucker for writing the 80 trivia questions used for this year’s event. Thanks to the UW-W Student Optimist Club for providing so much labor.

We also had a good balance of Student Optimists, Community Optimists and other helpful volunteers at the event. The winning team was “Desire 2 Learn Y’all Some Trivia” with Corey Davis, Kelly Davis, Josh Kapfer, Jen Kapfer, Kerry Katovich, Nadine Kriska, Chris Calvert-Minor, Deilee Calvert-Minor, and Mark McGuire. Once again Kim Simes and her team are to be complimented for their many creative answers to some of the difficult questions. Some of their answers were even correct! Kim and I have been communicating with Tom Ganser who is working on an article for the Daily Jefferson Union paper with highlights of the night. Those of you who receive that paper, watch for an upcoming article about the night.

Overall, a great success with preliminary gross income of slightly over $10,000. In addition to the food pantry money raised, 388 food items were collected –a great gift to share with the pantry in the coming week.

Well done everyone, well done!

This week’s meeting will be Tuesday evening, February 23 at 5pm at Jessica’s Restaurant.

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Tuesday, February 23, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Business meeting and Trivia Night review.
• Tuesday, March 1, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, March 8, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, March 15, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker will be Bunny Schoen.
• Saturday, March 12 or 19 or 26 Easter Egg Hunt???????
• Tuesday, March 22? Evening meeting? This is the week of the University’s and Whitewater school district spring  break.
• Tuesday, March 29? Evening meeting instead of March 22?
• Tuesday, April 5, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749

Greetings Optimists,

Our next general member meeting will be tomorrow, February 16, at 12 Noon, University Center 259A. This is a “catered lunch day” ($7.00). There WILL be a Youth of the Month presentation at this meeting. Our speakers will be Amy Edmonds, who will provide a brief update on Warhawk athletics, followed by Kristina Navarro and Kirby Mills talking about new efforts with student-athlete engagement with focus on the Warhawk Leadership Academy.

Trivia Night is this week!!!!! We are still in need of volunteers for some of the tasks that night, as well as tasks that need to be completed in advance. Here are other updates and requests:

• Online volunteer signup, use this link. Help is still needed for:
  • Packaging of Silent Auction items on February 16, starting at 5pm at Kim & Angie’s house.
  • Food for the event volunteers
  • Food for the Child Care room
  • Helping serve food in the Child Care room
  • Staffing the Food Drive table
  • Trivia room hosts
  • Child Care providers
  • Selling Raffle Tickets
  • Clean up crew
• It appears we are at or slightly over team capacity!! Woohoo! Thanks to all of you who are participating and/or helped to recruit teams for this year’s event.
• Contact Kim Adams if you or someone you know is interested in being a sponsor for this event. There are 5 different sponsorship levels. A form with more details is available upon request.
• Watch the club’s Facebook page during Trivia Night for pictures and updates during the event.

Have you checked the SWIS District web site lately?

I didn’t receive much feedback last week on this topic so I’ll ask again. Easter will be Sunday, March 27, 2016. What are people’s thoughts regarding a date for the Easter Egg Hunt? The University and Whitewater School District will be on spring break March 21-25. Should we host the hunt on March 12? March 19? March 26? Also, who would be available on which dates to help with the event?

Dates for upcoming club meetings and events include:

• Friday, February 19, 2016, Trivia Night!! 7:00 pm, University Center Hamilton Room.
• Tuesday, February 23, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, March 1, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, March 8, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, March 15, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Saturday, March 12 or 19 or 26 Easter Egg Hunt???????
• Tuesday, March 22? Evening meeting? This is the week of the University’s and Whitewater school district spring  break.
• Tuesday, March 29? Evening meeting instead of March 22?
• Tuesday, April 5, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 12, Executive Board meeting, 12 Noon.
• Tuesday, April 19, Regular club meeting, 12 Noon, University Center 259A. Speaker needed.
• Tuesday, April 26, Regular club evening meeting, 5pm, Jessica’s Restaurant.

That’s all for tonight.

Share the Optimism,

Dave Halbach

UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

920-650-6089 or 262-472-5749