April 2016 | Volume 43, No. 7
From the President…
The Optimist Club is ready for this great weather with Fishing and Golf events. Please help promote these events throughout the community and support them by bringing friends and new members.
Your club, through your efforts has supported the following youth oriented programs in the community:
$3,000 for the HS Weight Room named and given in honor of Jim Jerkewitz. Sue was informed of the Optimist donation on Jess’s behalf and was most grateful.
$1,000 was approved for the AVIS class trip. AVIS is an effort by the teachers and staff to expose students, who may not be college bound, to secondary education and shepherd them into post HS education if they so choose. The board is very excited about this program and we hope to have one of the students give us an overview at a membership meeting.
At our last board meeting, we approved all past, present and future events in one lump sum. This was done to ensure insurance coverage for all club events for this club year.
Please let your Optimist Club Board of Directors know that you appreciate they are giving their time and efforts for a better club.
Cheers, Ted
Distinguished Young Woman…
Twenty-one Menomonee Falls area high school juniors participated in the 52nd annual Distinguished Young Women Program on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at the North Middle School Auditorium. Distinguished Young Women is a national scholarship program for high school girls. The Optimist Club has sponsored and organized the program since 1986.
Alyssa Benning was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Menomonee Falls for 2017. She will represent Menomonee Falls at the Wisconsin State Program to be held at Franklin, WI, during the first week of August 2016. Benning’s musical theater talent presentation was the vocal selection “Someday” from The Wedding Singer.
Ritika Punathil, the retiring Menomonee Falls DYW of the Year for 2016, presented a DYW Medallion to Benning. Alyssa was also awarded a $2000 scholarship from the Optimist Club, jewelry from Nordstrom Jewelers and a 90 Day membership to the Wisconsin Athletic Club.
Signe Mattson was named 1st Alternate. Signe will receive a $750 scholarship from the Optimist Club and $300 cash award from Community League of Menomonee Falls.
Lauren Baumhardt was named 2nd Alternate. Lauren lives in Menomonee Falls and attends Catholic Memorial High School. She will receive a $250 scholarship from the Optimist Club.
Other winners include the following preliminary awards: Fitness and Self- Expression -Sarah Shepherd, Talent – Winnie Moy, Interview and Scholastics – Bhakti Anbarasan, and Be Your Best Self Essay – Allison Schultz. Each category winner will receive a $100 cash award. Sammi Visintainer was voted the Spirit of Distinguished Young Women winner by her fellow contestants.
Also participating were Chelsea Bargone, Darby Browne, Miranda Fluegge, Bethany Freeman, Victoria Grooters, Kajal Khatri, Brooke Leitner, Kenady Minley, Madelyn Schwabe, Karissa Smaglick, Madi Vander Heyden, Mia Wargin and Jennifer Wesolowski.
Our program is so wonderfully successful because of the great team I have working with me. Ali Dwyer does choreography, is a co-host and is a contact at school for the girls. Becky Weber co-hosts and works with the girls on talent and interview skills. Dawn Mariscal puts together the beautiful program book. Susan Steliga coordinates the Little Miss (and Mister) program. Becky Maurice organizes the Good Luck Wishes. Jeanine Dederich helps with the Little Misses and the Be Your Best Self Essay. Steve Fleming is the tabulator and arranges for gifts for the contestants. Kay Weber is the Scholastic Judges Chairperson. Linda Zylka is the Program Judges Chairperson. Kathy Kiepert was new on the committee and helped in many ways. Meg Latus arranged a wonderful dinner from Ally’s Bistro.
Many members of the Optimist Club generously gave their time to help prepare make this program a success. Thanks to Kathy Kiepert, Jeanine Dederich, Alice Barbeln, Andy Schmelzer, Bob Wenzel, Heidi Then, Jim Foster, John Seymour, Kim Wenzel, Kathy Mattiessen, Diane Matuszak and Beth Saunders for acting as practice interview judges.
Larry Hebbring and Rose Schwartz were invaluable backstage. Dave Curran, Tom Walkner, Bill Hathaway, Cory Kleeba, Tex Reiter and Brad Bence assisted them. Bob Wenzel and Lynn Radnar ran spotlights. Carl Trapp, Diane Matuszk, Faith Vanderhorst, Alice Barbeln, Kathy Mattiessen and Kirsten Sperl sold tickets and programs. Students from the JOOI Club helped with little misses and ushering.
Marcia Hebbring assisted Steve with tabulating results. Cassie Kleeba was in the dressing room with the girls assisting with dresses, makeup, and hair. President Ted got the program back on track with his welcoming speech to open the show. And Kristy Gruenwald provided the contestants with beautiful floral arrangements.
Thanks to Harry Stoetzel and his team at Falls Cable Access for videotaping the program. You can watch on Channel 14 or online at https://fallscableaccess.viebit.com/# VFL8VCXjpZ5X.
And finally, our program is so blessed to have photographer Don Gorzek who put in endless hours to capture all the events, rehearsals and fun moments of the girls over the months of preparation. Thank you doesn’t seem adequate to express our gratitude.
We will be meeting with the sophomore girls who are interested in participating next year at the end of the school year. The Class of 2018 program is tentatively set for the second weekend in March, 2017.
Photos from the event appear below. Enjoy!
Cathy Sharkey
Welcome New Members…
Please make these new members feel welcome and eager to become involved…
Jaspal Arora, sponsored by Ted Klumb
Rema Kunnath, sponsored by Ted Klumb
2016 Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls Kids Fishing Contest…
The Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls will host the 2016 Kids Catch and Release Fishing Derby on Saturday May 14th, 2016 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 will be sold during the event by the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch. The event is sponsored/supported by the Menomonee Falls Police Department, the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch, the Village of Menomonee Falls, RB Enterprises, Pops Frozen Custard, Krueger’s Recreation Center, YoCool Frozen Yogurt, Sandy Spring Farm and the Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls. (See stand-alone flyer included in this e-mail.)
Friends of Optimist Awards…
We have selected 6 businesses who have been nominated and accepted as recipients of the Friends of Optimist award.
- Town Bank
- Sattell, Johnson, Appel & Co, C.
- William Nordstrom Jewelers
- First Bank Financial Center
- Malkins
- Piggly Wiggly—for the Popcorn Wagon Site
Recent Happenings…
A Good Thought…
This historical quotation comes to us from J.J. Selland:
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Otto Optimist…
Inner Peace
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment ,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
…Then You Are Probably The Family Dog!
And you thought I was going to give you spiritual lesson!
