August 2022 Optimizer
The Optimizer | August 2022 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
— In this issue —
Weekly Meeting Schedule
President’s Message
Marketing Committee Interest
Upcoming Activities and Events
Calendar
Installation Banquet
Packer Raffle
Football Crazr Raffle
Club Picnic
OA5 Update
“Mini” Bags Tournament & Meat Raffle
Crockpot Recipe Request
Next OA5 Meeting
Past Events
July 3rd Parade
Distinguished Women of Wisconsin
Optimist Meetings
Patio Players Kids Summer Camp
Baseball
Respect for Law
The Hair Hut by MJ
Getting to Know Stacie Estrada
Executive Board Meeting Minutes
This Month in Club History
How to Publish Optimist News
— Weekly Meeting Schedule —
Meetings are held at 7:15 a.m. at the Community Center unless otherwise noted.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3
2023 Distinguished Young Women Winner Shannon Doherty will be our guest. Shannon will have competed in the State Program the previous weekend and will share her many experiences.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10
Better late than never. We’ll be presenting a plaque and recognizing the ‘first time in MFHS history’ Boy’s State Tennis Team and their Head Coach Matt Andreshak. They’ll recap their outstanding season and we’ll have an opportunity to congratulate Matt for being named Division 1 WIAA Coach of the Year by the Wisconsin High School Tennis Coaches Association!
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 17
To be determined—waiting for a confirmation at press time.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24
Our annual visit straight from the gridiron. The MFHS Football Team and Head Coach Dan Lutz will ‘kickoff’ the 2022/23 school year!
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31
An Optimist Club first! The newly formed Next Right Thing Adventures by Ross Sharkey will be our guests. Ross’s NTRA is a non-profit that offers those in recovery from substance abuse disorders the opportunity for a true wilderness experience. Should be an uplifting and informative meeting.
** Do you have ideas for future guest speakers?
Contact the Speakers Committee –
Jerry Mislang, Jeanine Dederich, Beth Saunders, Larry Barbera. **
~ Jerry Mislang
— President’s Message —
Well July has been a warm weather month and busy at the Popcorn Wagon as well.
July was with some great events for the club.
July 3rd was a great day for the club as we had the parade for the first time in 2 years. Although the parade committee had some challenges, they put together a great event. Thanks to everyone on the committee for a job well done and to all of our club members that volunteered their time to fill key roles in the event. Without you the parade does not happen. Thank you!!
As I mentioned the Popcorn Wagon is in full mode of popping and we have had some great nights at the wagon. Thanks to all our members again for working a night at the wagon especially on the nights when we have had some big events. Thank you!!
Events on the horizon are:
Packer Raffle
Club Picnic
Installation Banquet
Welcome Clara Scheckel to the club. Clara will be sworn in as a new member at an upcoming meeting yet to be determined. Welcome Clara.
As all the longtime members know and to the new members that have recently joined, we have kicked off one of our long standing fund raisers for our club. Our Packer Raffle is off and running and we are out to sell 360 tickets this year. I’m sure Ed will have a say in the newsletter this month, put please check with your team captain to get some tickets to sell or buy. The money raised goes towards many of the programs and organizations we support. Let’s sell, sell, sell…….
July was also a very sad month for our club. In July we lost one of our longtime members JJ Selland. For those of you that have been in the club a long time you know JJ well and I’m sure he had touched your life in one way or another. We prayer for Karen and Patrick in this time of sorrow.
There will be a service and celebration of JJ on Friday August 19th at the Golden Mast from 1:30 – 4. Please check the Schmidt & Bartelt website for more details.
Until next month, enjoy the sunshine, warm weather and summer!!!
~President Dan
— Marketing Committee Interest —
~Shannon Dederich
— Upcoming Activities and Events —
Calendar
TUESDAY AUGUST 9th
OA5 meeting at Alumni Club. 5:45 social with a 6:00 meeting start time.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31st
Deadline to return Packer Raffle tickets
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 7th
Club Picnic
Crockpot recipes due to Shannon Dederich (see OA5 article)
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 12th
Packer Raffle Tailgate at Village Bowl
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17th
Bags Tournament and Meat Raffle (see OA5 article)
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 28th
Installation Banquet
Installation Banquet
The installation banquet for the 2022-23 year will be held on the evening of September 28th at the American Legion Hall, catered by Aliotos. More details to come in the weekly emails and next edition of the newsletter. Mark your calendars!
Packer Raffle
ATTENTION ALL NEW MEMBERS (AND OLD ONES, TOO!)
This year will mark the 26th year of our annual Packer Raffle, the club’s biggest fundraiser which nets $22,000 – $24,000 for the kids of our community each year. With our recent commitment of $50,000 for the Village Park playground, it is imperative that this event maintains the success that it has had in the past. With our membership standing at 158 (we were over 200 a few years back) it will take a concerted effort by all for that to be a reality.
All club members have been put on one of 17 teams that was part of the emailed newsletter. Tickets have been given to captains to distribute to team members. Check carefully because some people will be on different teams than last year. Phone your leader if you haven’t already been contacted by him/her to get tickets for yourself and hopefully some to sell. However, no one is required to either buy or sell any tickets! First prize is a trip for eight people to Lambeau Field to see the Packers play in your choice of eight regularseason games. Also included are a limo ride to and from the game, a tailgate party at Lambeau, Packer wearing apparel, food and beverage enroute to Green Bay and $1,000 cash to be used however the winners want. We will provide the limo ride from anywhere in Wisconsin. (Out-of-state winners would need to get to the Wisconsin border where we will arrange for the limo to pick them up.)
NEW THIS YEAR – Because of rising expenses, we will be selling 360 tickets this year rather than 350 as in recent years. However, we will be adding an additional $250 prize so that we can again offer a “One in 20 chance of doubling your money with a ticket purchase.”
- Tickets cost $100 each but remember it’s for eight people. So, four couples could pay $25 each, or eight buddies could chip in $12.50 apiece. However (per state auditor’s directive) only one person’s name can go on the ticket stub.
- Second Prize is $1,000, third prize is $600, fourth prize is $400. Fourteen more awards of $250 will be given and one person will win a free entry for 2023.
- Sales are limited to no more than 360 tickets. Therefore with 18 prizes, contestants have a better than 1 in 20 chance of more than doubling their money,
- Each ticket allows one person to come to the drawing and tailgate party held at Village Bowl on Monday, Sept. 12 starting at 5:15 p.m. Over $2,000 in door prizes will be given out to those in attendance that night. Others who have contributed to the purchase of a ticket can attend for $10. Free food, beer and soda make it a fun event.
- When you get your ticket(s) from your captain, please try and sell them. They’re really an easy sell. At least, consider buying one yourself or with a friend. Those you don’t sell should be returned to your captain not passed on to someone else.
- Stubs and money should be returned to your captain or can be turned in to Dan Schwind at Town Bank in the Falls. Deadline for returning stubs, money or unsold tickets is Wednesday, August 31.
- Please write your name on the back of each ticket you buy/sell as it will help us track down the winners.
- Flyers will be distributed at morning meetings starting Aug. 3 or can be obtained from your team captain.
Please do not exchange tickets with other members, even on your own team. Work through your captain if you have tickets that are unsold.
Understand that even if every club member (158) bought one ticket, that would leave us less than halfway to the 360 that we intend to sell. PLEASE MAKE AN EFFORT TO SELL AT LEAST ONE TO A FRIEND, RELATIVE, NEIGHBOR, ETC. They are an easy sell! The kids of Menomonee Falls are counting on you.
~ Ed Schlumpf, Packer Raffle Co-chair
Football Crazr Raffle
The Club has taken 300 Football Crazr raffle tickets to sell for the SWIS District and our Club. Anyone interested in purcha
sing tickets or helping to sell the 300 tickets for the club please contact Larry Hebbring. Last year we sold 300 tickets and raised over $1600.00 for the club and people who bought our tickets were awarded over $1000.00. It is a fun way to watch the 17-week football season and an easy sell at $20.00 per ticket.
Contact Larry at 414-899-5807 or larryh@starpromo.net
Please return all ticket stubs and money to Larry by the second week in August!
~ Larry Hebbring
Club Picnic
Our club picnic is right around the corner. Wednesday, September 7th is the date. Shepherd’s Landing (Dan and Lynette Shepherd) is the spot. Starting time is 4:30 with appetizers and fellowship; dinner being served between 5:30 and 6:00pm. Many of you have been there in the past and it is a WONDERFUL venue for a picnic, about 7 minutes outside of Menomonee Falls.
We have many new people with many different sponsors, and I’d like to encourage all of the sponsors to bring these new members. It’s a great place to meet and socialize with everyone, along with celebrating our past year and all of our accomplishments as a club. All members, along with their significant others are invited. We also encourage you to bring a friend or family member that may be interested in joining the club. Please no children as alcohol will be provided. Of course, we also provide a vast array of picnic food, dessert, and cold beverages. So, bring nothing but your smiling faces. To help with the planning, we would like an approximate count on the number of people attending.
Please email Marcia Hebbring at mrchebbring@aol.com with the number of people attending with you. Watch for updates and directions in Dan’s weekly emails. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Enjoy the rest of your summer.
~ Marcia Hebbring
— OA5 Update —
The OA5 team had a busy week at the popcorn wagon with a few ups and downs in weather and events but were excited to get together and represent the club.
“Mini” Bags Tournament & Meat Raffle
Coming up, the team will be hosting a “mini” bags tournament and meat raffle on September 17th at Players Pub. The tournament will be a 16-team, random partner draw match up starting at 1 pm. Registration can be done either at Players or through Shannon Dederich. Entry is $20 per person with a 50% payout and the other half going to the club. The meat raffle will be themed with Crockpot Baskets for fall.
Crockpot Recipe Request
If you have a favorite recipe for your Crockpot, please send to shannon.dederich@gmail.com, or print it out and bring to a meeting by September 7th. We will be compiling a cookbook if we have enough submissions and using those recipes to compile the baskets!
Next OA5 Meeting
Our next meeting is August 9th at Alumni Club. 5:45 social with a 6:00 meeting start time. Please join us to learn more about how you can help with the event on the 17th, or if you’d like to learn more about the social service project being planned for December.
— Past Events —
July 3rd Parade photos
photos by Jon Cline
Distinguished Young Women of Wisconsin
Shannon Doherty, Distinguished Young Woman of Menomonee Falls, was named 1st Runner-Up at the Distinguished Young Women of WI 2023 at the Saber Center in Franklin on Saturday, July 30. She also won preliminary awards in Self-Expression, Interview, and Scholastics and was awarded $2750 in scholarships. Shannon is the daughter of Linda and Bryan Doherty and sister to Ashley (DYW of MF 2015) and Kailee (DYW of MF 2019).
Shannon spent five days with 10 other girls from around the state in Franklin rehearsing for the showcase, presenting the Distinguished Young Women “Be Your Best Self” program to Girl Scouts, visiting sponsors, and participating in many personal development sessions. The girls were treated to delicious meals and bowling donated by many gracious sponsors.
Shannon will be a senior at Menomonee Falls High School in the fall. She plans to attend either Vanderbilt University or UW-Madison with the goal of becoming an attorney.
~ Cathy Sharkey
— Optimist Meetings —
Patio Players Kids’ Summer Camp
Baseball
Respect for Law
MJ’s Hair Hut
— Getting to Know You —
Stacie Estrada
I am a mother of four: two are MFHS graduates, two are at the High School this year, Freshman and Senior. Our daughter is a MIAD graduate and artist and is our gallery manager and our oldest son is a machinist working in Menomonee Falls.
I grew up in Sussex and my husband in California and now live in Menomonee Falls for over 25 years.
I own our small family business Art Lounge. We currently have 5 wonderful employees. We came here to rebuild and recreate our business in Downtown Menomonee Falls, Art Lounge in August 2020. We have now expanded to the 2nd floor of the Klondike building to add art studio rooms, more lounge and gallery spaces. I am a professional artist and muralist and my husband a chef/baker. Our two talents have brought you the Art Lounge! You will also see us at the Farmers Market and other community events in Menomonee Falls.
You will see our hand painted murals at Old Falls Village, Ninos building, Containers at Village Park, Kruegers building and the Big chair at Centennial Plaza. Joe and I also both have paintings for sale in our gallery at the Art Lounge.
I’m on the board of the Menomonee Falls Business Improvement District as well as the Menomonee Falls Art Guild. I chair the Menomonee Falls Art Walk event and am part of the Downtown marketing and events committee.
As a family we love to camp, hike, fish and walk our two dogs.
— Membership and Executive Board Info —
July 19, 2022 Board Minutes
ATTENDANCE
Board members: Jerry Mislang, Mike Russell, Scott Dreier, Dan Schwind, John Yusko, Fred Blanke, Tom Ciskoski , Shannon Dederich, Jenn Dedrick
Absent: Kim Wenzel, Rick Kohl, Don Eisenhauer
Purpose: Regular monthly meeting
- The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 am.
- The meeting agenda and last month’s minutes were approved; motion by Tom, second by Scott; motion carried.
- Last month’s minutes were approved with a change to indicate that Jenn Dedrick was not in attendance; motion by Tom, second by Scott; motion carried.
a. Information—Colonial Classic Golf, Dan MacLeod and Jack Larsen
i. No request for funds
ii. Golf outing that funnels proceeds to local person/organization in need
iii. Want to partner in the future for use of 501c3 with partial proceeds going to Optimist Club
iv. Recommendation is to contact the Foundation Board for any future projects involving our 501c3 - Donation Requests
a. Menomonee Falls Library—Peggy Haas
i. Request for $350 to buy bubbles for expected 400-ish kids at August 8th concert at Village Park
ii. Bubbles are about $1/bottle
iii. Tom moved to approve $400 for the purchase of 400 bottles; Mike seconded
iv. We approved a donation of $400
b. Wheeling & Healing—Dan Schwind
i. Looking for sponsorship donation of $500 plus Optimist volunteers to handle a table at the August 13th event
ii. Shannon moved to approve the sponsorship, John seconded
iii. Approved the donation of $500
iv. Dan will get details about the table requirements, then talk to the club about getting volunteers as necessary
v. Jerry made the point that people asking for money should complete our standard form and be present at the meeting to answer questions
c. Parade Committee—Dan Schwind
i. Request is for $2,000 donation to the Parade Committee
ii. Funds come back to us for various parades
iii. Scott moved to approve the request, seconded by Jenn; motion carried
5. Foundation Update—John Yusko, Fred Blanke
a. As of last week, we had pledges of around $870,000; Dan reported that as of this week we are now over $1 million
b. The Optimist Club donation ($50,000 spread over 3 years) will be paid when requested by the Village
c. Any requests to use the Foundation as a depository for non-Optimist Club events must be submitted to the Foundation Board; our general policy is to limit our participation to events that directly benefit the Club or Club-sponsored activities
d. The Foundation will not be asking the Optimist Club for payment for ongoing expenses
6. Treasurer’s Report—Jerry Mislang
a. We have around $92,000 on deposit as of the end of May
b. However, Jerry reported that we have around $20,000 of outstanding checks
c. Jenn moved to accept the report, Shannon seconded; the Treasurer’s Report was accepted
7. Anything else for the good of the club
a. We approved the membership application of Clara Scheckel; motion by Mike, seconded by Tom
b. Packer raffle kickoff is scheduled for July 20
c. The 2022-2023 Board is set after the July 13th membership vote
8. The next meeting is scheduled for August 16, 2022.
9. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:50 a.m.
~ John Yusko
— This Month in Club History —
August 19, 1977 –
An International All-Star Circus is sponsored in the East H.S. gym by the Falls Optimists. The one-ring circus features trained pigs, a trapeze act, clowns and “acts of human and animal skill.” Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for children.
~ 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 or Dawn Mariscal – csharkey224@yahoo.com, dmariscal@wi.rr.com
WEBSITE Beth Saunders – bethjsaunders@gmail.com
