August 2020 Optimizer
The Optimizer | August 2020 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
— In this issue —
Meeting Schedule
President’s Message
Upcoming Activities and Events
Calendar
Green and Gold Raffle
Wheeling and Heeling
Club News
Getting to Know You – Kim Wenzel
Past Events
Scholarship Golf Outing
Board Meeting Minutes
Optimist Meetings
Baseball
New Member
Scholarship Winners
Thank You Notes
This Month in Club History
How to Publish Optimist News
— Meeting Schedule —
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 5
Little kids go on field Trips, but big kids go on trips too! We’re going to meet BID Director Felicia Reichard on the Falls Plaza for a Site Visit (corner of Appleton and Main). She’ll introduce and cover her BID responsibilities. She’ll then take us on a short walking tour of the newly completed murals and others that are currently in progress. In the event of inclement weather, we’ll meet at the Community Center.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 12
As of August 1, we’re waiting for confirmation from one of three potential speakers. Please refer to Todd’s weekly email for any updates
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19
The Farmers Market has undergone a complete make-over; new location, sponsor, time slot and a variety of new vendors. We’re happy to welcome new coordinator Ann Wanke who will discuss her challenges, successes and her exciting plans for the future of the Market.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26
With everything that’s going on, this could be the most interesting “State of the Menomonee Falls School District” presentation in the long history of the Optimist Club. Please join us as we welcome MFSD Superintendent Corey Golla to our meeting.
— President’s Message August 2020 —
Well, it seems like some things are beginning to return to some normalcy. We are beginning to meet again on a weekly basis, and as of mid-July, we are back home at the Community Center. We are beginning to undertake events as well for our club. The Scholarship Golf Outing was held July 22 (see related story elsewhere in newsletter). The Green & Gold Cash raffle (formerly the Packer Raffle) is in full swing at this time. Captains have drafted their teams and the selling season has begun. Ed Schlumpf and his group are busy trying to get all 350 tickets sold. The NFL Fundcrazr is also underway. If you need tickets, please contact Larry Hebbring. We will have them at morning meetings in the coming weeks. Please stop by and pick up some tickets to try to sell. The OA5 group is busy planning the Badgers and Bags event for late September. And while this is all happening, the popcorn wagon continues to sell lots and lots of popcorn. As we head into August, we need to keep moving forward full steam ahead. Many events that are taking place are critical fundraisers for our club, so we need everyone’s help. Unfortunately, one event we had to cancel this Summer was our club picnic. It was tough trying to get a group together in one place given the current circumstances. The picnic will return next year. I hope everyone is able to stay safe and healthy.
~Todd Paulus
— Upcoming Activities and Events —
EVERY EVENING
Popcorn Wagon open 6:30 – 9:00 pm
SATURDAY AUGUST 8TH
Wheeling and Heeling
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 2ND
Green and Gold Raffle ticket sales end
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH
Green and Gold Raffle prize drawing on Falls Cable Access
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH
Badgers & Bags at KC Clubhouse, organized by OA5
Green and Gold Raffle to Offer Cash Prizes
As some of you already may have heard, the 24th Annual Packer Raffle has been replaced this year by an all-cash raffle due to the uncertainty of the upcoming NFL season and its rules. What has not changed is our club’s commitment to nearly $90,000 in yearly spending to support the youth of this community. The Packer Raffle and now this year’s cash raffle FUNDS MORE THAN A QUARTER of that commitment. It remains our biggest fundraiser of the year.
Before you dismiss getting involved (as some captains have reported team members already doing), please consider:
*We are down to 166 members from a recent high of 216, thus relying on fewer people to make this happen.
It should be noted that simply buying one yourself (which is not required) would only put us at 166 out of the 350 we’re hoping to sell again. Members need to try and sell at least just one ticket to a friend or relative.
Try e-mailing the flyer to former students from MFHS, friends who have moved away, former club members who have purchased tickets in the past, etc. You would be surprised at how easy they are to sell, once people hear who is benefiting from the sales, and how good the odds are of winning. (Better than 1 in 20 chance of doubling the ticket cost if all 350 are sold…even better if we sell fewer than that.)
Remember, people can join together for the cost of the $100 ticket. If four couples go in as a group, that’s only $25 per couple. HOWEVER, PER STATE STATUTES, ONLY ONE NAME CAN GO ON EACH TICKET.
Attached to this newsletter is a complete list of new team rosters including captains’ names and phone number. Also included is a flyer that can be copied to assist in sales. You should have heard from your captain by now. If not, contact him/her yourself.
Please do not exchange tickets with other members. Turn your unsold ones back to your team captain. The deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 2, with the drawing being held on Monday, Sept. 14 and viewable on YouTube thru Menomonee Falls Cable Access TV.
~ Ed Schlumpf, Raffle Co-Chair
Wheeling & Heeling
There is still time to join the Optimist Club Wheeling and Heeling team. As of July 27, we have the 4th largest team with 20 members. But there is always room for more. Come walk, run or bike with us on August 8 as we raise money for the Cancer Care Center at Froedtert – Menomonee Falls.
If you can’t join us, please make a donation for our team. Registration and donations can be completed at events.froedtert.com/menomoneefallsfoundation-wheeling
This will be a fun day for all the participants. Door prizes will be given out at DJ’s Goalpost after the event. Details will be included with the t-shirts that will be distributed on August 5th.
Thanks to all who have signed up so far and everyone who has made a donation.
Any questions please contact me: annfreudenthal@gmail.com or 414-881-6804.
Optimists held a practice from the popcorn wagon. Walkers include; co-chairs Dan and Kathy Schwind, Meg and Bill Latus, Ann Freudenthal, Fred Blanke, and Jeanine Dederich. Front row on bikes are Bill and Jane Hathaway, back row are Sharon and Jerry Ellis. (photo by Don Gorzek)
~ Ann Freudenthal
— Club News —
Getting to Know You: Kim Wenzel
Kim has been an Optimist member since 2015. Kim has just been elected to join the board in the upcoming year. I have helped out at many different events such as Tri-Star soccer and baseball, Chili dinner, Post-Prom (even attending when I was pregnant) and making cotton candy for the 3rd of July parade. Making cotton candy is a highlight of my year. Thank you to the Optimist Club for letting me be a representative in the Leadership Menomonee Falls Program class of 2018, I learned a lot and had a blast participating.
I moved to Menomonee Falls in 2008 from Milwaukee. Not having grown up in the Falls and not knowing a lot about it, I knew I needed to find a connection to the community. I had been working in the Falls for a few years when I started asking some questions about the Optimist club and it just so happened, I was talking to the membership chair. I knew that joining this club would give me a connection and purpose in the community.
I graduated from Pius XI High school and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, with a bunch of degrees I am not using. I am currently attending Lakeland University for a Masters degree in Business Administration, so I can take the CPA exam. I should be graduating in December. My husband and I were finally able to purchase our home in 2016 and were lucky enough to find a home in Menomonee Falls. We had our baby, Zachary, in August of 2019 and I am glad that he will be able to grow up in such a wonderful community. I continue to work for a small accounting and tax firm in the Falls and hope for this company to be my future. I have many big plans for the future and I hope to be able to continue giving back to the community through the Optimist Club.
— Past Events —
Scholarship Golf Outing
When we started planning for this event back in early June, we had no idea what to expect. We knew we had a date for the event and a course, which we fell into after originally cancelling our May event. Mike Lehman and Ironwood reached out to me when an outing was cancelled for mid-July. We immediately jumped on the date, hoping to hold our event. How many golfers would we get? How many holes sponsors would we get back? Who would do our food for the event given that many places were closed down for months? Well we now have answers and I am amazed by what transpired. First, let’s start with golfers. Last year we had 96 golfers. This year we ended up with 94. Not bad considering our current environment we are operating in. We only lost 2 hole sponsors from the previous year, but replaced those and added more in a tough economic year. The bars and restaurants we worried about came through for us again and supported our event. The food for our event was again provided by Sal Zizzo and Trysting Place Pub. When I reached out to Sal in the beginning, he was ecstatic that we would come back to him, given that many of his events had been cancelled. For years Sal has donated lunch for our event. With him being closed for a couple months, I did not know what he would do. He did not hesitate to say he would again donate lunch to our event. This donation equated to over $1000 if we would have had to pay for it. We are grateful for this donation
Our main goal when we started planning was to create a safe event for everyone involved. We decided to cancel the voice auction as we did not want a crowd that people would have to hang around if there were things they were interested in. Also, many of our auction items involve tickets for sporting events that had been cancelled. We also had to take action to ensure lunch and the hors d’oeuvres, which were normally a buffet style, could be served safely. Sal shifted lunch to a box lunch and had servers plate food for the hors d’oeuvres. The course also took steps to ensure safety by having dividers in each cart for the golfers. With that said, I think we accomplished this goal.
At the time of writing this article, I do not have the final figures for the event. We did have a golfer from previous years step up and issue a challenge to our event and our club. For any donations made to the event, he would match the donation up to a maximum of $2000.00. I do know we surpassed that amount, but do not have the exact figure. Thank you to everyone that supported this challenge. This helped offset the money lost from the voice auction.
Finally, many thanks are needed for this event. First, a big thank you to all the golfers that came out that day. Without you, this event does not happen. Thank you to the volunteers that helped that day – Marcia Hebbring, Dawn Mariscal, Steve Fleming, Kathy Matthiesen, Joy Fricke, Stevie Mistle–Wildt, Larry Podolske, and Carol Schulteis. They helped register golfers, sell raffle tickets, feed and hydrate them, run the putting contest as well as driving infamous beverage cart around the course. A special shout out and thanks to Jon Cline for walking the course and getting some great pictures to capture the day. My last round of thanks goes out to our committee of Greg Mattson, Tom Ciskoski, Carol Schulteis, Joy Fricke, and John Yusko. In previous years, we would just do the same thing we did the previous year. That was not the case this year, and I appreciate everyone’s help in pulling this off. If you ever want to join our fun, we are always looking for new faces and new ideas. See you all in 2021 – May or July? We don’t know yet. Stay tuned.
Lastly, you are probably wondering who the winners are, besides the kids. The winner of the women’s division was the team of Kelly Wendtland, Bella Dory, Shelly Hawkinson, & Cindy Smith with a score -11. The men’s division was won by a team of Del Kreuser, Dave Schellinger, Matt Schellinger and Jeff Laitsch with a score of -17. We did not have any entries in the senior division..
~ Todd Paulus, Golf Outing Chair
Board Meeting Minutes from July 21, 2020
PRESENT
Todd Paulus, Ann Freudenthal, Marcia Hebbring, Greg Mattson, Carol Schulteis, Jeanine Dederich, Lenny Kimmel, and Steve Fleming
The Zoom meeting was called to order at 7:32 AM by President Todd Paulus. The approval of the agenda was motioned by Marcia, seconded by Jeanine and approved by all.
REVIEW OF JUNE BOARD MEETING MINUTES
A motion was made by Steve, seconded by Carol and approved by all to accept the minutes.
REVIEW OF TREASURER’S REPORT
A motion was made by Ann, seconded by Lenny and approved by all to accept the treasurer’s report.
DONATION REQUESTS
There were no requests this month.
Todd announced that the post prom event has been canceled for this year. Marcia said that the club picnic has been canceled for this year.
NEW MEMBER APPLICATION
Annie Jurczyk requested membership in our club. A motion was made by Steve, seconded by Marcia and approved by all to accept her application.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There is no new information on the Park Project.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
The newsletter articles are due by Wednesday, July 29th.
NEXT MEETING DATE
Tuesday August 18
A motion was made by Ann, seconded by Marcia and approved by all to adjourn the meeting at 7:47 AM.
~ Ann Freudenthal
— Optimist Meetings—
2016 MFHS graduate Ty Weber at DJ’s Goalpost for our July 1st meeting with Braeden Moele (left) and Blake Molle and Daniel Messian on his right.
MFHS Baseball head coach Tim Gotzler and Falls Angels President Lisa Stigler spoke at our July 8th meeting at Knights of Columbus.
Annie Jurczyk was welcomed as a new Optimist member at the July 29th meeting.
Congratulations to the graduating class of 2020! As our students rose to the challenge of finishing their year in shut down, so did the MF Scholarship Foundation in making sure the well-deserving students were awarded their scholarships. Although we were unable to host an award night in May, we did participate in a “drive by” in June to hand out the award letters. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU to all of the Optimist members who work SO hard throughout the year to fundraise. $20,000 was a huge ask this year, and once again, we gave out the most of any service club. We awarded nine, $2000 scholarships, and one $1000 scholarship to a Quest student. Amazing resumes with lots of volunteer hours gives us renewed faith that our future is safe in our youth. Thank you again, and keep on serving the children of our community!
~ Cathy Hazzard, Scholarship Committee Chair
2020 Scholarship Winners at our July 29th meeting
Hannah Xiong, Ashley Tarcin, Abigail Hughes, Ethan Pogorzelski, Jack Lynch, Colin Hall, Robyn George
Not able to join us: Moira Paulus, Grace Fox, Sarah Hatton
Lynn Zindl and Cathy Hazzard. Both are on the Menomonee Falls Scholarship & Education Foundation Board of Directors.
— August Thank Yous (excerpts) —
FAMILY OF KEN NEWMAN
“Thank you for your donation to the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Ken’s name.”
WISCONSIN SINGERS (Amy Weyers)
“…thank you for your generous donation of $800…for the music program. We appreciate all you have done for us and for the community.”
FALLS AREA FOOD PANTRY (Barb Riehle, Assistant Director)
“Thank you for your donation of $175…used to purchase food for families in our community who need help.”
~ Submitted by Jerry Mislang
— This Month in Club History —
August 15, 2000 – (20 years ago) – A $10,000 donation to the YMCA will be paid over a 5-year period according to a letter sent to the Y from the Optimist Board.
~ Submitted by Jerry Mislang from the 40 Year History Program, courtesy of Ed Schlumpf
— 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 or Barb Schmit no later than the 27th of each month – jerry.mislang@prodigy.net or schmitbarb@gmail.com
NEWSPAPERS Shannon Dederich three or more weeks prior to your event, as quickly as possible after an event shannon.dederich@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
