UW-Whitewater/Community Optimist Club

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 🙂

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 🙂

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 🙂

Greetings, Optimists,

Thank you to those who served as judges for the Academic Decathlon this past Friday.

Our first Club meeting of 2017 will be on Tuesday, January 17 (the first day of classes at the University).  Our guest speaker will be Artanya Wesley (our new Dean of Students at UW-W).  We hope we can have a good turnout at the meeting to greet and learn about Artanya.  We will continue into the new year with a catered meal.

Please watch for a brief survey regarding meetings to be sent out by our intern Brandon in the next week.

Thanks and stay safe on our slick streets and sidewalks.

Of course, we encourage you to “just keep smiling!”

Kim & Angie 🙂

Greetings for the New Week, Optimists!

 Thank you for your support of our December programs, to date.

 Tuesday, we will meet at Noon in UC 259A for Youth of the Month, honoring our high school students.  Ryan Callahan from Continuing Education will also be our guest speaker.

There is no scheduled meeting on December 28.  The board also agreed there will no longer be a meeting on January 3.  Enjoy the two weeks off from meetings and programs! 

The board also discussed two items related to our regular Optimist meetings.  One, there was discussion about the continuation of catered lunches.  We are not always meeting our quota of 15–therefore needing to tap into the Club budget to cover on meals where we are short.  Two, there was discussion about potentially changing (or rotating) the day of the week we meet (as well as the time).  Our intern Brandon will be creating a survey related to these topics in order for you to provide your feedback.  When you see it in your email, please complete it and return it promptly.  Thanks, in advance for your investment of time.

Thanks again to our interns–Rachel and Brandon for a great semester!

Remember . . . just keep smilin’!

We wish you a happy and safe holiday season,

Kim & Angie

Greetings, Optimists,

It definitely looks like a winter wonderland out there!  That means it’s a perfect time for our Mitten Tree Project  and “Gifts With A Meaning!”  Please join us for a fun-filled meeting for both of these projects this Tuesday, December 13 in UC 259A.  We encourage you to bring a guest to join in the fun.  Mittens, gloves, hats, scarves, socks and children’s underwear are still needed.  These items will be donated to the representatives from the Whitewater Unified School District on Tuesday.  You are encouraged to also bring a gift that represents you.  Brenda O’Beirne  will facilitate our guessing activity.  The gifts will then be donated to our toy wrapping project for the Whitewater Food Pantry.

Our next Board Meeting will be on Wednesday, December 14 at Second Salem in Whitewater from 5pm – 6pm.  

We will hold our last meeting of the semester on Tuesday, December 20–featuring “Youths of the Month” from the high school.  In addition, Ryan Callahan (from Continuing Education) will be our guest speaker.

We will not have a meeting on Tuesday, December 27.  Take time to enjoy the holidays, family and friends!​  Our meeting on Tuesday, January 3 will be held in UC 69.  We will not be having a catered meal for this meeting.

That brings us to Friday, January 6 with the opportunity to help with judging the Academic Decathlon on campus.  Therese has put out a request asking for folks to serve as judges.  Please see the email she sent last week–or reply to Kennedyt@uww.edu if you are able to volunteer.

That’s a wrap for now. 

Just Keep Smiling,

Kim and Angie 🙂

Good Evening, Optimists,

Wow–what a successful Breakfast with Santa event!   Angie and I do not know where to begin with our thanks!  Please accept our heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped to plan, arrange and order items, manage the sign up sheet, promote, decorate, cook, staff, play Santa–Mrs. Claus–Frosty–or an elf, pay for items, and clean up for the event, as well as other tasks in-between!  It was great to see so many folks (including children of members, UW-W Student Optimists, and Octagon Optimists) helping to ensure that the event was a success.  The parade helpers (Student Optimists, Intern Brandon and Frosty) are greatly appreciated, as well.

I know we lost a number of our workers by the time we got around to taking the group photo–but it’s still an impressive group.  We will post more photos on the Web site this coming week.  Our numbers included serving 760 guests for the breakfast.  My best guess is that we took nearly 2000 photos (including candids and 2-4 photos per family– depending on their situation).  We were also about 8-10 goodie bags short for our last few Santa seekers.  I will share some photos and other updates at our meeting on Tuesday.

Thank you to those who scooted over to Perkins Stadium to take tickets for the Warhawks’ football playoff game.  It was disappointing for the Warhawks to not come out on top again, but we are grateful for a successful season.  It was a fun run for our Hawks in 2016!

Please note these additional tidbits:

1)  Dues were due by December 1.  Some members still need to pay for the quarter or year.  Our Club’s budget is counting on folks to pay soon in order to balance our budget and to carry out the many activities for youth in our community.  Please connect with Kate or Ken for paying dues–and THANK YOU!  We will review our progress at our next Board meeting.

2)  Caroling at Fairhaven is scheduled for Friday, December 9.  Please email Kim if you are planning to be a part of spreading holiday cheer.  We will meet in the lobby of Fairhave at 4:15pm to begin warming up our voices!  We will be done caroling by 6:00pm.

3)  “Gifts with a meaning” and the mitten tree will take place at our noon meeting on December 13.  You are encouraged to bring hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, children’s underwear or socks for the mitten tree presentation.  You are also invited to bring a gift that represents you–your interests or hobbies (e.g. music, sports, playing games, books, gardening, animals, etc.).  Participating members will guess who brought which gift.  We then bag up the gifts and they will be contributed to the toy wrapping activity for the Whitewater Food Pantry on December 19.

4)  Our next Executive Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14 from 5:00pm – 6:00pm at Second Salem.  Board members, please let us know if you can not attend this meeting.

5)  Our last meeting of the semester will be December 20​.  Our next meeting (in the New Year) will be Tuesday, January 3 at noon in UC 69.  There will not be a catered meal for this meeting.

That’s it for now.  Hope to see many of you this week!

Just Keep Smiling,

Kim and Angie 🙂

Hello Optimists,

 As we gear up for Thanksgiving week, Angie and I want to let you know we are grateful that you are a member of our Club.  Thank you for the ways in which you contribute to our community.

 We had a successful Youth Appreciation Week!  The movie, luncheon and bowling were all well attended.  Thanks to all who helped to chaperone and who attended the luncheon.

 Tuesday’s meeting (Nov. 22) will feature guest speaker Dr. Greg Cook focusing on the importance of a liberal education at UW-Whitewater.  Next week (Nov. 29), we will be stuffing goodie bags for Breakfast with Santa and hearing from our Optimist interns.

 If you haven’t had a chance to sign up for Breakfast with Santa, please check out the online list Lanora sent out.  We are happy to announce that James Lanouette has agreed to be Santa this year—yeah!  We are also pleased that Brenda will serve as Mrs. Claus and that Jim M. will serve as Frosty!

 Also, here is the link to sign up for football ticket taking:  (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oYPqDg34tliwozxpT4uNHbhg9ToQW8JW30dmVyTJJZk/edit?usp=sharing).  Our Warhawks will be hosting the second round of playoffs this coming Sunday against Wittenberg.  Hopefully it will be less windy—and that our Hawks will add another win to their season!

 As I mentioned at the meeting last week, we will go caroling at Fairhaven on December 9 at 4:30pm, have our “Gifts with a Meaning” and Mitten Tree on December 13, and gift wrapping for the Whitewater Food Pantry on December 19 from 4:00pm-6:30pm at the Old Armory.

 Lastly, Therese reminded us last week that she is starting to look for judges and essay readers for the Academic Decathlon.  The competition is set for Friday, January 6.  Please email her if you are interested and available. 

 That’s it for this week.  Hope to see some of you at the meeting on Tuesday.

 Thank you—and just keep smiling!

 Kim and Angie 🙂