December 2019 Optimizer
The Optimizer | December 2019 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
— In this issue —
Meeting Schedule
President’s Thoughts
Upcoming Activities and Events
Calendar
Holiday Drop and Shop
Christmas Caroling
Optimist Christmas Party
Trivia Night
Chili Dinner
Optimist International Foundation Charitable Contribution
Past Event – Packer Raffle
Optimist Meetings
New Member
Falls Neighbors Magazine
MF Director of Community Development
Falls Patio Players
Students of the Month
Board Briefings
This Month in History
Thank You Notes
How to Publish Optimist News
—- Meeting Schedule —-
All meetings are at 7:15 am at the Community Center.
DECEMBER 4th
A visit from the North Middle School Boys’ Basketball Team and Head Coach Scott Park is on the docket. Their season is currently underway and we’ll get an opportunity to gain some insights on a valuable MFHS “feeder” program
DECEMBER 11TH
NO MEETING Replaced by the Annual Christmas Party.
DECEMBER 18TH
NMS, MFHS and St. Mary’s will once again send their December Students of the Month recipients, aka, “Best Meeting of the Month.”
DECEMBER 25TH
NO MEETING Merry Christmas everyone!!!
~Submitted by Jerry Mislang
—- Presidents’ Thoughts December 2019—-
As I said, we have many upcoming events. Please look further into the newsletter to get more information on these events. We start out with the Drop & Shop event this Saturday, December 7, followed by the Christmas party on December 11. If you have not signed up, there is still time, but the deadline is December 5th. There will not be a morning meeting on December 11th. With that said, we only have 2 formal meetings in December with the way the holidays fall. I hope to see you there or at the Christmas party. Keep informed to all of our upcoming events with this newsletter or the weekly updates I send out.
~President Todd
—- Upcoming Activities and Events—-
SATURDAY DECEMBER 7TH
Holiday Drop N Shop
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 11TH
Optimist Christmas Party
TUESDAY DECEMBER 17TH
OA5 Annual Service Project. Location TBD.
SATURDAY JANUARY 25TH
Trivia Contest – mark your calendars. More info soon!
FRIDAY JANUARY 31ST
Chili Dinner
Holiday Drop N Shop
The 9th Annual Parent Holiday Drop & Shop will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2019. This event is FREE to families with children between the ages of 3 to 10. Parents drop their children off for a day of activities including making a craft, visiting with Santa Claus, relaxing to holiday movies, take on the I Spy Challenge, create a masterpiece in the Young Rembrandts Drawing Program, experience hands on demonstrations by the Art Guild of Menomonee Falls, burn off some energy with the obstacle course and enjoy lunch.
This event wouldn’t be possible without the help of many volunteers. Any club members interested in helping out, please contact Dawn Mariscal at dmariscal@wi.rr.com. or by phone/text to (262)442-4952. All are welcome to attend!
~Dawn Mariscal
Christmas Caroling at Linden Grove
We will be caroling at Linden Grove on Wednesday, December 11 from 5:15 until 5:45. This is a fun activity to bring some holiday cheer to the people there. We will have song sheets, so you don’t need to know all of the words. Great singing voices are not required. All are welcome, including people who may not be going to the Christmas party.
Optimist Christmas Party
Are You Ready for The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, presents under the tree, Ebeneezer and Tiny Tim… and the Optimist Club Christmas Party!
Please plan to join us at this year’s party on Wednesday, December 11th at North Hills Country Club. Price will be the same as last year: $37.50/person includes a buffet dinner with choices of chicken or fish along with entertainment.
In order to offset the cost to the club, we are looking for donations for dinner wine. Any amount is helpful. Just add the amount to your check or put cash in the envelope being passed around at meetings. It does not allow you to pay this amount online.
Payment options:
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- See Carol at our weekly meetings.
- Register and pay online by accessing https://fallsoptimistclub.org/?event=christmas-party
- Email Carol at carolschulteis@twc.com to register and mail your check made out to MF Optimist club to Carol Schulteis, W140 N10870 Country Aire Dr, Germantown, WI 53022
We hope to see you there!
~Carol Schulteis and Kristy Gruenwald
Menomonee Falls Optimist Club Trivia Night
JANUARY 25, 2020
St. Agnes School
12800 Fairmont Ave., Butler, WI
BYO Adult Drinks/Soda/Snacks
Doors Open – 6:00 PM
Contest – 7:00 Sharp
Tables of 10 people-$150.00
Per Person- $15.00
Form a team and pick a team name
Be creative, wear costumes and have table decorations
Remember- This is not designed for “Trivia Buffs”. It is only for fun!
For more info, contact Sue Jeskewitz at 251-9595 or 414-659-3037
Send Check to Sue, N80W17429 Robin Circle, Menomonee Falls, 53051
RSVP by JANUARY 18
Chili Dinner
It’s that time again, time to start thinking about our annual chili dinner. This event will be held Friday January 31, 2020 at the MFHS cafeteria. We will serve chili from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. before the MFHS takes on Sussex in basketball. It’s also the night of the Hall of Recognition presentation at the HS. You can eat there or take home to enjoy. If volunteering we work in shifts so you don’t need to be available for the whole event.
We will be cooking the chili the night before. We cook at St. Paul’s UCC church in Menomonee Falls from about 2 – 6 pm. We have shifts so you don’t need to be available for the whole time. Afterward, if interested, we go to AJ O’Brady’s for dinner.
Each year we ask every club member to try and sell 8 tickets. The tickets are numbered for accounting purposes. Tickets are $6.50 with children under 4 eating free. Get creative with selling your tickets. Some suggestions are:
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- Use as stocking stuffers
- Sell to coworkers and bring them in take-out containers
- Donate to the food pantry or high school
- Buy containers for a winter’s worth of chili
- Organize an outing with friends and neighbors
- Date night
- Take chili to those who can’t get out.
Whatever you choose it’s a great event. There’s no obligation to buy or sell tickets. It’s a fun way to support the kids and get a good meal, it’s a win/win for all.
We will have chili, hot dogs, chili dogs, chips and a beverage. The Jr Optimist club will have a bake sale at the same time. Stop by and get a little sweet.
During the event we will be selling tickets for a 50/50 raffle and gift baskets to be raffled off during the game.
This year’s chili dinner tickets can be picked up at a Wednesday morning meeting or watch for them in your mail box.
Please return money and any unsold tickets to:
Kirsten Sperl, N88W15021 Cleveland Ave., Apt 2, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
Any questions email or text/call kirstensperl@gmail.com / 262-844-7984
We’ll be getting a volunteer sign-up sheet closer to the date. If you know you want to help either day please let me know.
Thanks for supporting this event.
Chili dinner committee: Kirsten Sperl, Tom Wagner, Kathy Matthiessen, Suzanne Carney, Rose Schwartz
~Kirsten Sperl
— OIF Charitable Contribution —
Still Time to Make Your 2019 Charitable Contribution to The Optimist International Foundation
Optimist International Foundation (OIF) was established in 1971 exclusively for the charitable, literary and educational purposes of Optimist International (OI). The Foundation has grown steadily since 1971 and is recognized as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
The Foundations supports OI by providing:
• Scholarships to all Districts for Oratorical, Essay and CCDHH
• Scholarships to Regional Winners for U.S. and International Contestants
• Fundraising from outside organizations for the World Oratorical Championship and JOI
The Foundation supports OI Clubs by providing:
• Club Grant – $500 grant for new projects.
• CCC Matching Grant – $1000 grant for Childhood Cancer projects
• Disaster Relief Grant – $1000 grant for clubs to work in their communities after a natural disaster.
An easy way for individual members to support the foundation is through the Dime-A-Day program. With just one dime a day, you can become part of the movement of “Helping Optimists Help Kids” and become part of a large group of Foundation supporters who realize what a difference they make every day in the lives of children. A donation form is included at the end of the newsletter.
Jerry Mislang and Cathy Sharkey are the club OIF representatives. Please feel free to contact them if you have questions about the Foundation.
~Cathy Sharkey
— Past Events —
Packer Raffle Eeks Out Another Record
Marcia Hebrring and new member Burton Brody stepped up to the plate at the last minute to put the Packer Raffle into record territory for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in the past 11 years. Burton, who owns Players Pub, and Marica who works there, held a meat raffle on Sept. 29 that netted $2,350 to allow the 2019 Packer Raffle to bring in a profit of $23,869.23, a scant $27.62 better than last year’s net of $23,803.71.
At the 23rd Annual Raffle on Sept. 9 at Village Bowl, Packer Great Bob Long, of Super Bowl and Ice Bowl fame, spun yarns about his career to the delight of a crowd of 250. He then helped draw the names of 18 prize winners which included club member Lance Newman’s winning entry for the Grand Prize. Lance and his group chose to attend the Oakland-Packer game on Oct.20.
Jeff Sonnemann, Village Bowl bartender, took home second prize of $1,000 and Village Bowl owner Pete Riopelle copped third place money ($600). Scott Dreier of the Falls won fourth prize of $400, and shortly thereafter decided to join the club!
Those winning $250 included members Linda Podolske, Jim Newman, and Heidi Konrath as well as Falls residents Bill Latus, Bob Steliga, Tom Doornbos and Chris Johnson; Rick Schlidt and Dan Tranchita of Hartland; John Christiansen of Waukesha; Bill Solberg of Brookfield, Jim Munnagle of Germanton; and Craig Leiner of Wauwatosa. Earning a free entry to next year’s event was Brent Morris of the Falls.
Special thanks go to many people including:
Riopel and the Village Bowl staff for the facilities, meal and door prize donation.
Donors of In-House-Raffle prizes: Malkins Flooring, Terry Marcou/Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Services and Rog Rogers’ State Farm Insurance Agency.
In addition to the gift certificate from Village Bowl, other door prizes were donated by Dennis Steinle, Barb Schmit and Tom Dueppen. Matt Hakes VFI firm covered the cost again of the winners’ tailgate party at Lambeau Field; Dan Schwind and Town Bank donated funds to pay for the food and drinks on the winners’ limo trip to Green Bay. Barry Landowski’s Minute Man Press in Germantown printed flyers at no cost to the club. Rog Rogers State Farm Insurance and Terry Marcou/Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Services paid for the printing of the tickets.
Volunteering as auditors, ticket takers, raffle sellers and door prize coordinators at the Tailgate Drawing were Mary Schlumpf, Meg Latus, Tex Reiter, Diane Matuszak, Larry Hebbring, Dan Schwind, Tom Ciskoski, Greg Mattson, Tim Newman, Tom Walkner, Shannon Diedrich, Del Kreuser, and Herb Gross.
Helping Marcia Hebbring and Burton Brody earn the $2,350 at the Meat Raffle were Tony Bawiec, Tom Ciskoski, Lynette Shepherd, Chris O’Reilly, John Yusko, Carol Schulteis, Rick Kohl, Fred Blanke, Kathryn Hoff, Dawn Mariscal, Greg Mattson, Mary Schlumpf, Shannon Diedrich, Larry Hebbring, Steve Fleming and Joanne Wanner. I was there, too.
Team captains again this year were Tim Newman, Jerry Mislang, Donna Bosch, Dan Schwind, Terry Fitzsimmons, Larry Hebbring, Chad DeLuka, Meg Latus, Del Kreuser, Herb Gross, Carl Trapp, Marcia Hebbring, Diane Matuszak, Steve Fleming, Mary Schlumpf, Lenny and Deb Kimmel and yours truly.
Once again, a big “thank you” to Brenda Foote, a non-club member, who though she was ill and no longer owner of the Water Street Pub, still managed to see 16 tickets again, more than any Optimist member.
Finally, without the tireless efforts of co-chair Dan Schwind who coordinated advance ticket sales and handled the details of the winners’ trip to Lambeau, this huge undertaking would never have reached the record heights that it did again this year.
As always, suggestions for improving next year’s events (some have already come in and will be acted on at a captains’ meeting in January) can be voiced to me or any of the other captains listed above.
~Ed Schlumpf
— Optimist meetings —
Photos by Don Gorzek
New Member
Nancy Kane, a new member, was sworn in November 6, 2019 by Todd Paulus, while her sponsor, Cathy Hazzard observed.
Falls Neighbors Magazine
Debbie Land from “The Falls Neighbors” magazine told us about the magazine at our November 6, 2019 meeting. Many members had no idea this magazine existed.
Menomonee Falls Director of Community Development
Matt Carran, Director of Community Development in Menomonee Falls spoke at our November 13 Club meeting. Matt gives us a yearly update as to what is happening new in the Village and gives us a sneak peek of what may be coming to the Falls, including seven new restaurants, a new auto dealership, a new day hospital, plus a defense contractor that would bring about seven hundred jobs to the Village.
Patio Players
Part of the Falls Patio Players cast for “Christmas Carol” presented several musical selections at our November 27, 2019 meeting.
Students of the Month
Photo by Don Gorzek
The Optimist Club Students of the Month for November 2019 include (l to r) front row Evan Anderson, senior, and Mackenzie Landolt, junior, both of Menomonee Falls High School. Back row Kelci Wunschel, and Jade Jones, both eight graders of North Middle School, and Tyler Buettner, an eighth grader at St. Mary’s Parish School.
— Board Briefings – November 19, 2019 —
Present: Todd Paulus, Rick Kohl, Ann Freudenthal, Marcia Hebbring, Steve Fleming, Lenny Kimmel, Greg Mattson, Carol Schulteis, Shannon Dederich, Joanne Wanner, Don Eisenhauer, Jeanine Dederich. Also, in attendance were JOI Club members Jack Lynch and Charlie Pietz
The meeting was called to order at 7:02 AM by President Todd Paulus. Approval of agenda was motioned by Rick, seconded by Shannon and approved by all.
Review of October board meeting minutes. A motion was made by Jeanine, seconded by Ann and approved by all to accept the minutes.
Donation requests –
MFHS Robotics request presented by Bret Warner and several students. Motion was made by Steve, seconded by Jeanine, and approved by all to donate $2500.
MF Junior Indians request presented by Mark Plantier and several team members for their annual trip to Cooperstown. Motion was made by Marcia, seconded by Joanne and approved by all for $1000.
Brookfield Stars Hockey request presented by Mark Plantier and two players. Motion was made by Marcia, seconded by Joanne to donate $1000. This donation includes the cost of a quarter page ad in their program booklets handed out at all home games. Cost of ad is $75 of which one half or $37.50 plus $925.00 will go back to the MF kids playing.
Special Needs Activity Fund request presented by Donna Ruelle and Mary Beth Yeager to help fund their two events. A motion was made by Greg, seconded by Rick and approved by all to donate $2000.
Falls Patio Players request was presented by Ann Freudenthal. Motion was made by Steve, seconded by Greg and approved by all to give $3000. Ann abstained from voting.
John Yusko and Jason Husslein requested that funds be donated to the youth groups that normally help with the leaf raking even though it was cancelled this year due to weather. A motion was made by Jeanine, seconded by Greg to give $1000. That motion did not pass. Another motion was made by Steve, seconded by Greg and approved by all to give $1050.
Review of Treasurer’s Report – Motion was made by Rick, seconded by Steve and approved by all to accept the treasurer’s report.
Budget Approvals and Fund Raisers –
A motion was made by Jeanine, seconded by Shannon and approved by all to approve the budget for the Chili Dinner that was presented by Kirsten Sperl.
A motion was made by Ann, seconded by Shannon and approved by all to accept the Trivia Contest budget.
New Members – Chris Forston requested to join the club. He is sponsored by Karen Nelson. Motion was made by Marcia, seconded by Greg and approved by all to accept his membership.
New Business – Ed Schlumpf informed the club that there is a change at Linden Grove. It is strictly a rehabilitation facility now. The Christmas caroling will continue as in the past. Todd presented an opportunity for donating Christmas gifts to Children’s Hospital. He will get more details and present it to the club. Shannon is working on a special service project with Greg and Marcia for special need kids. She will get more information and give us more details at a future meeting. This project would be submitted for the project challenge from SWIS district.
Unfinished business – Todd updated the progress on the Park Project. They are working on a feasibility study at this time.
President’s Comments – The newsletter articles are due by Wednesday, November 27th.
Next Meeting Date – Tuesday, December 17, 2019
A motion was made by Rick, seconded by Lenny to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 AM.
~Submitted by Ann Freudenthal
— This Month in Club History —
December 19, 1995 (24 years ago) – The annual Friend of Education Award is presented to the Optimist Club by the School District of Menomonee Falls because of eight years of offering the post-Prom Party.
~Submitted by Jerry Mislang from the 40 Year History Program – courtesy of Ed Schlumpf
—- November Thank You’s (excerpts) —-
St Vincent de Paul Society– Deborah Duskey / Executive Director – “…thank you for your generous contribution…in memory of Alice Eisenhauer.”
Kailee Doherty – MFHS Scholarship Winner – “I was so honored and humbled to be chosen. …you have truly made a wonderful impact on my life and I will forever be grateful for your support in my educational pursuits.”
Vikki Schmidt – Old Falls Village – “Thank you gain for your support. For it is with organizations such as yours that makes our communities great and helps us preserve history.”
~Submitted by Jerry Mislang
— 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 26th 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
