The Optimizer

February 2019

Menomonee Falls Optimist Club

 

— In this issue —-

• Meeting Schedule
• President’s Thoughts
• Up-coming Activities and Events
  • Calendar
  • DYW
  • Trivia
  • Optimist Knit Caps
  • Scholarships
  • Kids’ Fishing Contest
• Optimists After Five (OA5)
• Junior Optimists
• Board Briefings
• Getting To Know You – Cathy Sharkey
• Past Events
  • Football Crazr
  • Chili Supper
  • Optimist Meeting Photos
• This Month in Club History
• Falls Patio Players Presents “Leaving Iowa”
• Brewer Reports from Spring Training
• How to Publish Optimist News

—- Meeting Schedule —-

All meetings are at 7:15 am at the Community Center, except as noted.

• Wed. Feb. 6: A site tour of the Riverwalk on the Falls Apartments is tentatively scheduled for 6:00 p.m. There has been more “buzz” on this project than any others for several years and this is now your chance to check them out. We strongly encourage you to bring a guest or two. After the tour, several members have suggested some folks might be interested in gathering at the American Legion Post #382 or Fiddleheads…or both!
• Wed. Feb. 13: We’re happy to welcome Library Director Karol Kennedy.  She will fill us in on what “todays” library has offer.  She’ll also talk about the Library’s National Endowment for the Arts grant of $12,800 to host the NEA Big Read starting February 23^rd.  Menomonee Falls Public Library is one of only 79 nonprofit organizations to receive an NEA Big Read grant to host a community reading program.
• Wed. Feb. 20: We welcome the St. Mary’s February and MFHS January Students of the Month.  Principals Bob Vitale of MFHS and Linda Joyner of Saint Marys will introducing the presenters and their outstanding students.
• Wed. Feb. 27: We’re happy to recognize both the January and February Students of the Month from NMS. Principal Lynn Grimm of NMS will introducing the presenters and their outstanding students.

—- President’s Thoughts —-

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
– Abraham Lincoln

January proved to be a great start to the New Year! While we celebrated the 100^th anniversary of Optimist International on January 8, 16 fleece blankets, coordinated by the Optimists After Five group, were delivered to the Menomonee Falls Fire Department; we had a great chili dinner; informational morning meetings with Citizens Utility Board presenter, Your Choice program update, Packer raffle winners ~ great meetings and guests. Due to weather cancellations of meetings, some of our January guests will be rescheduled. If you have not come to a meeting in a while, I encourage you to do so. Every meeting is news filled and a great way to start the morning.

Thank you to Kirsten Sperl and her team of volunteers for a fun-filled chili dinner on January 25^th. So glad the weather cooperated for the event.  Although chilly outside, the turnout and chili inside was terrific. We look forward to hearing a re-cap of the event.

A special shout-out to Don Gorzek and Jon Cline for all the photos they take at our meetings and events. We so appreciate all you do and thank you for posting on Facebook and submitting to Express News. Getting the word out about our Club is essential and your photos certainly help to do so.

Remember to please encourage those youth groups you are aware of to remember the Optimist Club when they are looking for project funding. The request form is on our website – fallsoptimistclub.org. We work hard to live up to our mission and bring out the best in kids so let’s get the word out!

Coming up for February is the Distinguished Young Women program on February 23. The speakers committee continues to provide great guests at our meetings – be sure to read about them all in this newsletter and my weekly emails.

Last but not least – we are looking for one or two folks to help Terry Fitzsimmons out with the highway clean-up project. And we are in need of a coordinator for the annual Essay Contest. Please let me know that you can step-up and help out.

Thank you all for everything you do on a daily basis.

Jeanine Dederich

 

—- Upcoming Activities and Events—-

• Tue. Feb. 19: OA5 meeting. Essential oils.
• Sat. Feb. 23: Distinguished Young Women. 7:00 pm at North Middle School
• Tue. Mar 19: OA5 Book Discussion Meeting. See OA5 article below.
• Sat. Apr. 6: Trivia Night. Mark your calendar. See article below.
• Sat. May 11: Kids’ Fishing Contest. See article below.

 

The 55th Annual Distinguished Young Women of Menomonee Falls Program will be held Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the North Middle School Auditorium. Six young women from the Class of 2020 will be participating in the program with the winner representing Menomonee Falls at the state program this summer. Participants are Kate Feltman, Robyn George, Sydney Holseth, Abbie Hughes, Hannah Xiong, and Kylie Zimdars. The program begins at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $5.

The girls are currently working on their fitness routine, preparing their talents, and learning interview skills. They will participate in practice interviews with Optimist volunteer judges to get a feel for the interview process. The weeks leading up to the program will be filled with rehearsals, an ice cream party with their Little Misses, and hours of preparation leading up to the showcase event on the 23rd.

We are in need of Optimist members to help sell tickets and programs, assist backstage, and “moms” to help in the dressing room. Please email Cathy Sharkey csharkey224@yahoo.com if you are able to help.

Cathy Sharkey

 

OPTIMIST ANNUAL

TRIVIA NIGHT

APRIL 6, 2019

ST. AGNES, 12800 FAIRMOUNT AVE. BUTLER, WI

QUESTIONS- Call Sue Jeskewitz -262-251-9595

 

Optimist Knit Caps

We still have Menomonee Falls Optimist knit caps for sale.  You can purchase them by coming to a weekly meeting, contacting Larry Hebbring or by going on line at the Club Store and ordering.  They are in stock and you can get them right away.  $10.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimist Scholarships

The Optimist Board has graciously agreed to award $16,000 in scholarships to the 2019 graduating class of Menomonee Falls High School seniors. If you are a member and your child attends another high school, they are eligible to fill out the application that will be on the Menomonee Falls High School page beginning February 28, 2019.  We will award ten, $1500 scholarships and one, $1000 scholarship to a graduate of the Quest program, should one be available.

Students applying for the Optimist Club Scholarship must have served in a voluntary capacity to be eligible for an Optimist Scholarship.  Rank in top 50% of the class. Be of strong, moral character. The more extensively the student has given his/her time, the more weight such involvement will carry with the committee.  All activity sheets must be verified by a supervisor, coach or employer.  One of the scholarships will be for a son or daughter of a member.

Be sure to have your child attend the senior informational meeting at the high school on Thursday, February 28.  If they miss this meeting, please visit mfhs.sdmf.schoolfusion.us and look under Student Services for the MFHS Local Scholarship Application.  If you have any difficulties or questions, please contact Cathy Hazzard at 414-350-4749, or jhazzard@wi.rr.com.

Cathy Hazzard

 

Kids Fishing Contest

The Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls will host the 2019 Kids Catch and Release Fishing Derby on Saturday May 11th, 2019 at the Mill Pond in downtown Menomonee Falls. The contest is free and is open to all boys and girls age three through 16 that reside or attend school in the Menomonee Falls area. All participants will receive a t-shirt and a chance to win a door prize. Trophies will be awarded to boys and girls in five age divisions for the longest fish and most fish caught during the contest.

Registration for the event will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am at the Mill Pond Shelter. The fishing contest will be from 10:00 am to Noon followed immediately by the presentation of trophies and door prizes. Bring your own fishing equipment. A limited supply of bait will be provided. Children under nine years old must be accompanied by an adult. 16 year olds must have a fishing license. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be sold during the event by the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch.

Sponsors/Supporters include the Menomonee Falls Police Department, the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch, the Village of Menomonee Falls, RB Enterprises, Krueger’s Recreation Center, Sandy Spring Farm, Kwik Trip, Mills Fleet Farm and the Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls.

Note: Because of a recent major construction project in the area parking may be restricted or limited. Please plan accordingly.

Tom Walkner

 

—- Optimists After 5 (OA5) —–

The one-hundredth anniversary of Optimist International was celebrated on January 8^th, 2019. A goal for each of the nearly one-thousand Clubs world-wide was to provide support to a community group. The Optimist Club of Menomonee Fall’s “Optimists After 5 (OA5)” made sixteen blankets to be donated to the Menomonee Falls Fire Department to be placed on paramedic equipment for when a child is involved in an accident or fire.

Optimist and Fire Department members exchanged the blankets at Fire Station #3 on January 8.

Pictured from left include:

• Front row – Anthony Ewing, firefighter/medic, Kathryn Hoff, Kathie Jensen, Marcia Hebbring, and Nick Coon, firefighter.
• Second row – Kenten Karis, Division Fire Chief, Joanne Wanner, Shannon Dederich, Jeanine Dederich, President of Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls, Larry Hebbring, and Nicholas Boehlke, Battalion Chief
• Back row – Ryan McMenamin, firefighter/ EMT, and Don Umhoefer, Deputy Chief.

February’s meeting will be hosted February 19, location TBD, with an introduction to Essential Oils, followed by a short business meeting.  There will be an opportunity to make an Essential Oil Roll On or blend just in time for the spring cleaning.

The March meeting will be a book discussion in collaboration with the Menomonee Falls Public Library’s Big Read event. The book is “True Grit” by Charles Portis. The meeting is on Tuesday, March 19th at 6:00 p.m. at Three Cellars — N72W13400 Lund Ln Suite A, Menomonee Falls, WI. The meeting is open to Optimist Club members and any other community members that would like to attend.

As always, all members are encouraged to join the OA5 group for their meetings!

Shannon Dederich

 

—– Junior Optimists —–

This month the Junior Optimist Club hosted a very successful bake sale alongside the adult Optimist Club’s Chili Dinner. We love getting to join the Optimist Club on this night, and we appreciate them letting us set up and utilize the big crowd they draw! The money we raised will be used to fund some of our spring events and, hopefully, allow us to make another charitable donation at the end of the year. We are currently hosting for our annual Souper Bowl of Caring Food Drive at the high school. Classrooms each have two containers for food collection—one for each team in the Super Bowl. The class with the most food in the winning team’s bin will win a prize from our club. It’s a fun way to support the Menomonee Falls Food Pantry and involve a bunch of our members school-wide. Our drive started on January 22^nd and will conclude on February 1^st. We are also looking forward to visiting the adult club at the end of January where we will introduce our hardworking board of students for this school year. See you then!

 

Ali Leon

 

 

 

 

 

 

—– Board Briefings • January 15, 2019 —–

Present; Jeanine Dederich, Todd Paulus, Rick Kohl, Marcia Hebbring, Steve Fleming, Ann Freudenthal, Kathryn Hoff, Joanne Wanner, Lynette Shepherd and Don Eisenhauer.

Absent; Dave Curran and Barb Schmit

Approval of 12-18-18 minutes. Kathryn moved seconded by Ann. All approved.

Bob Kraemer of Cop & Kids requested $750. Rick motioned and Ann seconded. All approved ($750).

Jerry Mislang requested a club donation for the dime-a-day program ($621). Lynette motioned, seconded by Joanne. All approved.

Review of treasurers report. Rick motioned, seconded by Todd. All approved.

Chili dinner is January 25th.

Approved $350 to Badger Girls .

Approved a sponsorship for the chamber awards dinner. Jeanine and Lynette will attend. ($355).

Meeting adjourned at 7:50am

Next meeting 2-19-19.

2018-2019 Optimist Board: President Jeanine Dederich, 1^st Vice President Todd Paulus, 2nd Vice President Rick Kohl, Treasurer Marcia Hebbring, Past President Lynette Shepherd, Past Presidents Council Don Eisenhauer

Board Members: Dave Curran, Kathryn Hoff, Barb Schmit, Ann Freudenthal, Steve Flemming, Joann Wanner

Rick Kohl

 

—– “Getting to Know You” Cathy Sharkey —–

Cathy grew up watching her mother and grandmother volunteer at church and school. She admits she was born with “Church Lady” in her blood. Looking to get involved in Menomonee Falls Community, she joined the Optimist Club in 2004 . She was asked to help with the Junior Miss Committee (now Distinguished Young Women) and a few years later found herself chairing the program. Cathy has gone on to serve on the Board of Directors and in 2011-12 was the club president. She has said many times, the year she was president was one of the most rewarding of her life. Cathy went on to be Lt. Governor for Zone 1 of the SWIS District in 2014. She currently serves as a Optimist International Foundation Representative along with Jerry Mislang as well as the Membership Administrator for the club. That means she has the fun job of collecting dues, maintaining an accurate roster, and putting it all together for the annual directory.

Chairing the Distinguished Young Women program has been Cathy’s favorite event each year. She has a dedicated committee who helps with so many of the program details. She enjoys getting to know a new group of girls every year and staying in touch with so many of the DYW alumni from Menomonee Falls. Cathy also enjoys chaperoning Post Prom in May. For someone who is usually in bed by 9:00 PM, staying up until 4:00 AM isn’t easy. However, seeing over 300 kids arrive home safely after prom is one things that makes her most proud to be an Optimist.

Outside of the club, Cathy works as a receptionist for DeWitt Law Firm. She has been married to Ross for 32 years. Her son, Sam, married Samantha last September and her daughter, Madeline, is marrying Dan in June.  In addition to planning weddings, she enjoys backpacking in the mountains with Ross. Cathy competes in the sport of Towerrunning (stair climbing). She has raced up the Willis Tower, Hancock Tower and US Bank Building multiple times. She is currently ranked as the #129 female towerrunner (of 15k participants) in the country by TowerRunningUSA.com.

Cathy is truly grateful she has had the opportunity to serve the youth of Menomonee Falls through the Optimist Club and values the many friendships she has made over the years.

 

—- Past Events —-

Football Crazr

All the monies have been distributed for this year’s Football Crazr Raffle 2018 and here’s a short overview of the fund raiser.  We started with 1000 tickets and sold 653.  We can sell more, but our club received a check for $8,358.40 from Swis District for selling the 653 tickets.  We had a total of $1706.25 won by our ticket buyers with the additional $668.50 won by Lannon, Sussex, Lisbon and Butler club (Carl Trapp) for a total $2374.75 won in our area.  This information should help you sell next year.

 

Here’s a week by week with winners and sellers:

Week    Winner                              Seller                                 $                           Place

3            Mike Newman                 Tim Newman                   25.00                   lowest

4            Rick/Beth Schepp            Joanne Warner               70.00                   T3rd

4            Kelly Fitzsimons               Terry Fitzsimons             70.00                   T3rd

4            Jean Christian                  Jean Christian                  30.00                   7^th

4            Joe Reiter                         Joe Reiter                         5.00                     T8th

5            Fay Bernardo                   Bill Haise                           60.00                   4^th

5            Jolene Halback                Jerry Mislang                   10.00                  3^rd last

5            Mike Lee                           Larry Barbera                  6.25                     T8th

9            Jerry Brown                     JJ                                        150.00                 2^nd

10          Terry Frisk                        Terry Frisk                        80.00                   T3rd

10          Nilsa Gebert                    Kirsten Sperl                    32.50                   T6th

11          Sharon Blank                   Kirsten Sperl                    25.00                   lowest

12          Julian Herrera                  Lisa Winkler                     500.00                 1^st

12          Mike Menzel                    Dan Knodl                        100.00                 3^rd

13          Codie Barbera                 Larry Barbera                  5.00                     3^rd lowest

14          John Hebbring                 Larry Hebbring                5.00                     8^th

15          Christine Clinszinski       Kirsten Sperl                    325.00                 T1st

15          Ashley Kerslake               Donna Bosch                   35.00                   6^th

16          Kim Wenzel                      Kim Wenzel                      32.50                   T6th

17          Jake Sommer                   Larry Hebbring                70.00                   T3rd

17          Jim Dyrhaug                     JJ                                        70.00                   T3rd

 

Thank you all for your help in selling tickets.

New members, After 5 Optimist and existing members interested in being on the Football Crazr committee, please contact Larry Hebbring.  We can sell more!

Larry Hebbring

 

Chili Supper

It was another successful year for the annual Optimist Chili Dinner.  Despite the subzero temperatures we were able to feed 505 people.   Raising almost $6000 and having less than 3 gallons of chili left at the end.

 

Photos by Don Gorzek and Jon Cline

We started Thursday afternoon into the evening cooking up 90 – 100 gallons of chili.  Thanks to all who helped open cans, (72 in total),  chop vegetables,  fry hamburger, stir and clean up. With a special thanks to Shannon Dederich who was able to find 5 volunteers to help us.

Friday starts at 9:00 am dumping the chili into the large steam kettles, then letting it simmer all day. Thanks to Kathy Matthiessen,  Matt Goile, and Sue Carney for watching so we had no eruptions.  Thanks to everyone who stirred,  wrapped hot dogs,  filled containers,  poured drinks,  served and kept everything flowing.  Thanks to those who took money/tickets and ran our 3 raffles.  Thanks to our Kohl’s volunteers for helping people to their tables and cleaning up.  Thanks to those who washed and dried dishes and stayed until the bitter end to help load everything up. Thanks also to the Afer 5, and SLBL club members who came to help out.

We were able to secure $1395 in donations.  We had $4817.50 in advanced ticket sales, and  $611 ticket sales at the door.  Our two raffle baskets brought in $262 dollars and our 50/50 raffle brought in $250. With our expenses at $1558 it brings our net income to $5776.  We still have an outstanding bill and a few outstanding ticket sales so a more accurate count will come later.

Our raffle basket winners were,  Night Out (worth $380) Carl Trapp,  Candy Tower (worth 5 cavities) John Spohnholtz. Our 50/50 raffle winner was Dave Glasgow,  Menomonee Falls village president. He has decided to donate his half back to the club, thanks Dave.

I couldn’t put this thing on without my committee Rose Schwartz,  Tom Wagner,  Sue Carney and Kathy Matthiessen.

If you still have tickets please get them or a donation back to me. If you have any suggestions for the future please let us know.  If you want to participate next year, we start in September of this year, just give us a call, all are welcome.

Kirsten Sperl

 

 

Optimist Meetings

Photos by Don Gorzek

North middle school Advisor Jeanne Trmelling, and Reese Tarantino, and Shannon Doherty, both eight graders told our members at our January 16, 2019 meeting about the “Your Choices” program out Club supports

Linda Kons and Luanne Rambert relived their adventure to a Lambeau Field Packers Game that was won at our 2018 Packer Raffle.

Tom Content of the Citizens Utility Board spoke at our January 9, 2019 meeting. The CUB website states that for decades, they’ve been an advocate for fair prices when it comes to our electric, natural gas and water utility services.

—- This Month in Club History —

February 9, 1987 (32 years ago) – Dick Woosencraft expresses an interest in adding a “dunk” contest to the Tri-star Basketball competition. An industrial arts teacher would build a backboard for this purpose. For safety reasons, the Board denies the request. Subsequent winners in the competition are Mari Aebel, Carrie Mantsch, Paul Schau, Stephanie Novak, Brian Dwyer and Brad Christianson. Dwyer and Christianson advance to Fon du Lac where Dwyer cops first place in the 11 year old division.

Submitted by Jerry Mislang from the 40 Year History Program – courtesy of Ed Schlumpf

 

 

 

Falls Patio Players presents “Leaving Iowa”

Falls Patio Players presents “Leaving Iowa”. It is the story of Don Browning, a middle-aged writer, who returns home and decides to finally take his father’s ashes to his childhood home, as requested. But when Don discovers Grandma’s house is now a grocery store, he begins traveling across Iowa searching for a proper resting place for his father. This father-and-son road trip shifts smoothly from the present to Don’s memories of the annual, torturous vacations of his childhood. Don’s existential journey leads him to reconcile his past and present at the center of the United States. Leaving Iowa is a postcard to anyone who has ever found himself or herself driving alone on a road, revisiting fond memories of his or her youth.

 

 

 

Brewer Reports from Spring Training

By Ed “Swami” Schlumpf

Once again this spring, I will be reporting from Arizona regarding the six or seven Brewer spring training games that Mary and I will be attending.  If you are interested in receiving these reports by e-mail, please email me at schlumpfed@yahoo.com and I will add you to the list.  If you have been receiving these in the past, and want to continue, there is no need to notify me unless your e-mail address has changed since last spring.

If you are a past recipient of these reports but no longer want to receive them, please let me know and I will remove you from the e-mail list. Go Brewers!

 

—- How to Publish Optimist News –—-

There are multiple venues for publishing Optimist news and events the community and to the Optimist members. It is important to get the word out so everyone is aware of the events we sponsor to benefit the youth of the community. Committee chairs are responsible for writing the articles and sending them via email to the people listed below:

• NEWSLETTER Jerry Mislang no later than the 25th of each month – jerry.mislang@prodigy.net
• NEWSPAPERS Kim Wenzel three or more weeks prior to your event, as quickly as possible after an event – kfwenzel87@gmail.com
• FACEBOOK Cathy Sharkey, Dawn Mariscal or Lynette Shepherd – csharkey224@yahoo.com, dmariscal@wi.rr.com, llshep4ma@gmail.com
• WEBSITE Beth Saunders –  bethjsaunders@gmail.com