December 2021 Optimizer

The Optimizer | December 2021 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club

 

— In this issue —

Weekly Meeting Schedule

President’s Message

New Members

Upcoming Activities and Events

Calendar

Volunteer Opportunities

Holiday Drop ‘N Shop

Christmas Party

Chili Supper

Trivia Contest

Optimist Meetings

Tri-Star Soccer winners

Students of the Month

Past Events

Packer Raffle Nets +$21,000

Wobble Gobble

Membership and Executive Board Info

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 DECEMBER 1
Director of Community Development Matt Carran will give his annual update on the current and planned development in the Village.  Always a very informative meeting!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8
No meeting, the Annual Christmas Party is at North Hills Country Club that evening.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 15
The Students of the Month will be recognized along with their teachers and administrators.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 22
Menomonee Falls Officer Jay Weber will update us on the Neighborhood Watch Program.  An FYI, many of you Fall’s graduates might not be aware that Officer Weber is the son of longtime Menomonee Falls teacher Tom Weber.

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 29
No meeting, the Community Center is closed for the holidays.

~Jerry Mislang

— President’s Message —

Hello Optimists,

I first want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had the opportunity to share the time with your families and loved ones.

I also want to take a moment to remember those who passed and the many injured in the tragic incident in Waukesha!! We keep all the families that were impacted in our thoughts and prayers.

We had another busy month for the club and we are starting to ramp up on getting back to the events we have done for so many years.

The month of November we had our Leaf Raking for seniors and it seemed that even though the leaves did not all fall from the trees we managed to get the job done. Thank you to John and Jason for organizing a great event.

We also so had our Gobble Wobble that was held on November 20^th and it seems that we had a successful event. Thanks to Marcia and her band of helpers for having a great event.

The Packer Crazr is in full swing and I still have yet to win this year. Oh well!!

Coming up in December we have the return of our Christmas Party. The event will be held at NHCC on December 8^th. We hope to see you there.

Also, our Drop N Shop will be December 4^th and we are looking forward to having the kids coming back to the Community Center to have a day of fun and help those parents to get out and shop!!!

The club has brought back our meetings virtually. We have started to use Google Meets and it seems to be working well. Thanks to those members that have joined in to the meetings.

Lastly, we have approved four new members to the club.

Kris Stone
Mary Brunner
Vickie Dederich
Kathy Umhoefer

We look to have them all installed as members soon. Thanks to their sponsors Shannon Dederich and Chris O’Reilly.

Thanks everyone and look to have a great December.

Thanks,

President Dan

 

— New Members —

Please welcome our new club members:

Mary Brunner sponsored by Shannon Dederich
Vickie Dederich sponsored by Shannon Dederich
Kristen Stone sponsored by Chris O’Reilly
Kathy Umhoefer sponsored by Shannon Dederich

~ Cathy Sharkey

 

— Upcoming Activities and Events —

Calendar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 4TH
Holiday Drop ‘N Shop

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 8TH
Optimist Christmas Party

THURSDAY JANUARY 27TH
Chili Dinner cooking/prep day

FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH
Chili Dinner

SATURDAY MARCH 26TH
Trivia Contest

 

Volunteer Opportunities

• Holiday Drop ‘N Shop Saturday, December 4
If you are interested in spending some time with other Optimist Club members than WE WANT YOU!  (see article below)
Contact Dawn Mariscal 262-442-4952

• Chili Supper Friday, January 28
(see article below)
Contact Kirsten Sperl 262-844-7984

• Distinguished Young Women Saturday, April 9
Judges Chairperson: Secure 5 judges for the program on Saturday, April 9, 2022; conduct participant interviews, and lead the final deliberation to select the next DYW of Menomonee Falls
Contact Cathy Sharkey  262-844-1538

 

Holiday Drop ‘N Shop

As we turn the calendar to November that signifies, we are only weeks away from the 11^th Annual Parent Holiday Drop & Shop.  If you are new to the club here’s a little summary.  On Saturday, December 4^th from 10 am until 2 pm we will be face to face with approximately 125 – 150 children between the ages of 3 – 10 years old.  Parents are given a little break to take care of holiday tasks whether it be shopping, baking, wrapping presents or just need a little “ME” time away from the kiddos.  We entertain the children with making crafts, visiting with Santa, watching holiday movies, challenge their little minds in the I Spy Room, show off their creative talents with the Young Rembrandts Drawing Program and hands on demonstrations provided by the Art Guild of Menomonee Falls, burning off some energy running the obstacle course in the gym and have lunch.

We always need extra hands-on deck to help make this event a yearly success.  If you are interested in spending some time with other Optimist Club members than WE WANT YOU!  Please contact Dawn Mariscal directly by phone/text to (262)442-4952 or by sending an email to dmariscal@wi.rr.com.

~ Dawn Mariscal

 

Optimist Christmas Party

Are you ready for The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year?

ATTENTION: WE NEED YOUR PAYMENT BY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1!!

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 8th at North Hills Country Club. Price will be the same as last year:  $37.50/person includes a buffet dinner of bacon-wrapped meatloaf, roasted pork loin & chicken a la king, along with entertainment.

Payment options:

• 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

Registration deadline: November 30.

We hope to see you there!

~ Carol Schulteis

 

Chili Dinner

The Optimist Club chili dinner is back!  It will be held at the MFHS cafeteria on January 28, 2022. The boys basketball team will be playing against Brookfield Central after the dinner.

We encountered some challenges with preparing the chili for 2022 but believe that we have come up with a good plan to proceed.

This event will be a little different from years past. We will need volunteers for Thursday January 27th and Friday January 28th.  Thursday’s volunteers will be needed in the morning from about 10 am until about 2 pm.  We will be assembling the chili at St. Paul’s UCC church and then transporting it to the high school.  We will need to cook half the chili on Thursday and the other half on Friday.  The school has gotten rid of one of the steam kettles that we used to use for cooking.  Friday we will need volunteers after 2pm until 9 pm.

Volunteers are needed for

Chili preparation
Frying hamburger
Stirring chili
Preparing take out containers
Serving
Kitchen duties (making sure things are filled)
Helping customers and cleaning tables
General clean up

We are again asking for every member to try and sell 8 tickets for the chili dinner.

We’re very excited to have the chili dinner back and hope everyone will help in some way. It takes many people to make this event a success.

 

~ Kirsten Sperl, Chili Dinner Chair

 

Trivia Contest

7:00 p.m., March 26, 2022

St. Agnes School, 12800 Fairmont Ave., Butler

Tables of 10: $150

Put together a team and pick a team name—be creative! Wear costumes and bring table decorations. REMEMBER! This is NOT designed for trivia buffs. Bring your own adult drinks, soda, and snacks.

Register by March 19, 2022
Send your $150 entry fee, team name, captain and captain’s phone number to Sue Jeskewitz at N80W17429 Robin Circle, Menomonee Falls WI 53051.

For more information, contact Sue Jeskewitz (414) 659-3037.

~ Todd Paulus, Karen Nelson & Sue Jeskewitz, Trivia Contest Chairs

 

 

— Optimist Meetings —

Tri-Star Soccer Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Students of the Month

 

 

— Past Events —

 

Packer Raffle Nets $21,000+ again

Despite a significant drop off in attendance at the Village Bowl drawing, the 25^th Annual Packer Raffle once again topped the $21,000 mark in earnings, netting a profit of $21,549.71 according to finalized figures. (The number turning out for the drawing is important as it impacts the take from the in-house raffle, the on-site sale of two Packer tickets, and the money collected at the door for extra people attending)

The final figure fell somewhat short of the projected profit of $22,418.29, but still marked the tenth straight year the event netted more than $20,000.

Appreciation needs to go out to the other captains who undertook the lion’s share of the work to make this event a great success again.  They include Tim Newman, Jerry Mislang, Donna Bosch, Dan Schwind, Terry Fitzsimmons, Larry Hebbring, Chad DeLuka, Del Kreuser, Herb Gross, Marcia Hebbring, Carl Trapp Sr., Shannon Dederich, Mary Schlumpf, Debbie Kimmel, Lenny Kimmel, Meg Latus and Tom Ciskoski.  Once again Debbie Kimmel was the clearinghouse who kept track of the tickets during the 6-week sale period and Dan Schwind at Town Bank was the depository for all money collected and stubs turned in.

Helping out the night of the drawing were Herb Gross and Mary Schlumpf at the front table; Diane Matuszak, Greg Mattson, Tim Newman, Shannon Dederich, Larry Hebbring, Tex Reiter, Tom Ciskoski and Dan Schwind at the in-house raffle; Kohl’s volunteers Sara Goesse, Andy Leonard and Keiri Mathias at the ticket table and the prize distribution gang headed up by Del Kreuser and Tony Bawiec.

A word of thanks to members Rog Rogers’ State Farm Insurance, Terry Marcou of Schmidt & Bartelt, Dan Schwind of Town Bank, Matt Hakes of VFI and Barry Landowski of Minuteman Press for their monetary donations.

Of course, gratitude goes to Pete Riopelle and his staff at Village Bowl, who once again put on an excellent display of hospitality at their venue.

Suggestions to improve next year’s event can be made to any of the captains listed above or to me directly.

~ Ed Schlumpf, Packer Raffle Chair

 

Gobble Wobble Meat Raffle

Our Gobble Wobble Meat Raffle at Players Pub on Saturday November 20th was a huge success with a whole lot of fun mixed in. The Advent Calendar raffles added to the excitement along with the bottles of wine that many of you donated as secondary prizes.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all who worked that day and to those that couldn’t make it but donated a bottle of wine or purchased a raffle ticket.  A 50/50 raffle, 11 meat raffles, chef Greg Mattson and his brisket dinners, and the Beer and Wine Advent calendars donated by Burton Brody kept us all hopping.  A great crowd enjoyed every minute of it.  The net result in 3 hours was over $2,000.00 to our club.  Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls rocks

Merry Christmas to all.  We’ll be back next year.

~ Marcia Hebbring

 

 

— Membership and Executive Board Info —

November 16, 2021 Board Minutes

Unapproved: to be approved at the next board meeting.

ATTENDANCE
Board members: Jerry Mislang, Rick Kohl, Scott Dreier, Kim Wenzel, Dan Schwind, John Yusko, Fred Blanke, Tom Ciskoski, Mike Russell
Absent: Shannon Dederich, Jen Dedrick
Other attendees: Sue Carney

Purpose: Regular monthly meeting

1. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:00 am.
2.  The meeting agenda and October meeting minutes were approved.
3. Donation Requests—No donation requests this month.
4. Budget Approvals

a. Tri-Star Soccer—Jerry Mislang

i. Expenses exceeded budget by $16 due to $100 donation to help pay for field lights charge

ii. Rick moved to approve; Tom seconded; actual expenses/budget was approved

• • b. Post Prom 2022–Jerry Mislang

i. Jerry plans to change format by basically soliciting gift card donations from local businesses as well as purchasing gift cards.

ii. Proposed budget is approximately $3,200, which is a 20-25% increase over previous years.

1. 1. 1. iii. We agreed that the format makes sense and agreed that a budget approval would take place in 2022.

c. Drop N Shop–Dawn Mariscal

i. Budget request is $2,000, which is in line with previous actual expenses

ii. Mike moved to approve; Jerry seconded; budget was approved.

d. Adopt A Highway–Dan Schwind

i. Terry Fitzsimmons provided Dan with a permit application for signature.

ii. Terry reported that actual expenses for the event are minimal (less than $25); no budget request was submitted.

5. 501(c) (3) update–Dan Schwind and Sue Carney

a. We have an options to park funds received with the Greater Menomonee Falls Foundation (GMFF) if necessary before our Optimist Club Foundation IRS 501c3 approval

b. Sue reported that Edward Jones offers a Charitable Gift Fund to turn securities donations into cash

i. Used by GMFF

ii. We could piggy-back on the GMFF Fund arrangement

iii. Associated fees average +/- 1%

c. John shared that Don Eisenhauer plans to visit with Sue to discuss options for the Optimist Club Foundation. We will update the board when we have more information.

6. Treasurer’s Report

a. Unavailable at the time of the meeting.

b. Jerry will provide the report within the next few days and Dan will publish to Board members.

c. Jerry reported that membership dues in and donations out resulted in approximately $5,000 decrease in our account balances.

7. Anything else for the good of the club

a. New member Kathy Umhoefer application; Tom moved to approve; Mike seconded. Kathy was approved as a new member.

b. Google meeting process was tested on 11/10 and seemed to work pretty well. The meeting on 11/17 will be the first meeting available to the general membership.  John and Dan both have documentation to get the meeting going; it would be helpful to have at least 1-2 others familiar with the process.

c. John provided a brief update on the Foundation Board’s first meeting held on 11/12. There were no significant issues discussed.

d. Mike reported that he and Annie Jurczyk are looking into reviving the Essay Contest. More information to come.

e. We discussed the by-law requirement for an annual audit. Kim will look into options for such an audit and provide options at the next meeting.

8. The next meeting is scheduled for December 21, 2021.

9. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:00 a.m.

~ John Yusko

 

 

— This Month in Club History —

December 31, 1999 –

Casting Y2K fears aside, a huge turnout attends the Millennium Ball at Davian’s. Ken Frakes, Del Kreuser and Hal Rosene chair a spectacular event.

~ 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