June 2018 Optimizer
The Optimizer
June 2018
Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
In this issue
- June Meeting Schedule
- President’s Thoughts
- Up-coming Activities and Events
- Calendar
- Popcorn Wagon
- Football Crazr Raffle
- OI Junior Golf Qualifier
- Independence Day Parade
- Optimist Club Picnic
- Executive Board
- Board Briefings
- Leadership Menomonee Falls Scholarship
- Past Events
- Post Prom
- Scholarship Golf outing
- Tri-Star Baseball
- Fishing Derby
- Highway Clean-up
- Falls Memorial Fest
- Students of the Month
- Optimist Meeting Photos
- JOI Club
- Optimists After Five
- This Month in Club History
- How to Publish Optimist News
- Broadway Shows at Marcus Center
—- June Meeting schedule —-
All meetings are at 7:15 am at the Community Center except as noted.
- June 6 MF Public Library at 6:15pm. This is the evening meeting you won’t want to miss! Thanks to the 2017 scholarship golf outing, we awarded nine scholarships to graduates from Menomonee Falls High School. The recipients will be introduced at this meeting. We also have the privilege to honor Diane Gariepy as she retires from the Quest program she worked so hard to build. Please join us for what is always a fun presentation! Cathy Hazzard and the Scholarship Committee
- June 13 Lynette asked to schedule a Business Meeting, something that should be of interest to everyone in the Club.
- June 20 An Optimist International staple, Respect for Law, will feature a talk and demonstrations from some MFPD Evidence Technicians of the Crime Scene Investigation Unit. Chief of Police Anna Ruzinski will handle the introductions for what has all the earmarks of a very interesting program.
- June 27 This meeting is annually dedicated to the July 3 Parade Committee regarding assignments, concerns, questions, etc. However, to celebrate Optimist Night at Trenary Field later that day, the MFHS Baseball Team Captains and Head Coach Pat Hansen will give us a brief update on their season as they get ready for the playoffs.
—- President’s Thoughts —-
Happy June Optimists!!
The Popcorn Wagon is OPEN, which marks the beginning of summer for so many in the Falls!!! Thanks Larry for all your hard working keeping this going!!
May was a busy month for us!! Many successful events and fundraisers which just wouldn’t be possible without all of you and the people that Chair the events!! The Fishing Derby, Post Prom, Scholarship golf Outing & Tri Star Baseball!! And without all of you, we wouldn’t be able to provide the $15,000 scholarships we award to the deserving students at the high school. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! The Scholarship Awards Ceremony was wonderful and once again I am reminded what a unique and special community we live in and serve!!
Please share what we have with the people you know!! The ability to serve a wonderful community, have a blast doing it and really KNOWING we are making a difference not just in the youth but Menomonee Falls!! They will thank you for it!!
“We can talk about making a difference or we can make a difference.” Anonymous
Lastly, I’d like to give a shout out to my VP extraordinaire, Jeanine Dedericih, for filling in for me when I was out of town and doing so again a couple times in June!! What would I do without you?
Happy Summer everyone!!
Your OPTIMISTIC President, Lynette
—- Upcoming Activities and Events—-
See articles below for details and volunteer opportunities.
- All summer: Popcorn Wagon
- Now until early August: Football Crazr Raffle
- Friday June 15: Junior Golf Qualifier at Brown Deer Golf Course. Volunteers needed.
- Tuesday July 3: Independence Day Parade. Many volunteers needed.
- Wednesday August 1: Club Picnic – Mark your calendar for a fun time.
Popcorn Wagon
The ever-popular popcorn wagon is open every evening from 6:30 to 9:00, located in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot. Stop in for some tasty popcorn. Tell your friends. It’s a great fund-raiser for the club. Thank you to the team captains, all of the members who pop, and Larry Podolske for his continuous attention to keep it running and stocked with all of the supplies.
Football Crazr Raffle
Club members, it is time to help with one of the easiest fund raisers of the year. This is the Football Crazr Raffle sponsored by the Swis District. We have 1000 tickets for our club to sell and we will make approximately $15,000 for the youth in our area.
The $20.00 ticket follows the 17 weeks of the NFL football season and each ticket holder has a chance to win as much as $500.00 each week. Last year we had over 30 winners totaling over $3500.00 for club sold tickets. It is a great way to follow the season and all you have to do is buy/sell a $20.00 ticket.
We’re hoping each club member takes tickets and sells them to family, friends, relatives, neighbors, associates and anyone they pass on the street. Really, it is an easy sell, but we need our members to help. We have until the first week in August to sell them, but would like to get going now and finish this as soon as possible.
You can get your tickets and all specifics at any of our meeting, from a Ticket Captain or by contacting; Larry Hebbring; ljhebbring@gmail.com or Jan Barbera; jbarbera@wi.rr.com.
OI Junior Golf Qualifier
The OI Junior Golf Qualifier for boys and girls ages 10-18 will take place Friday June 15, 2018 at Brown Deer Golf Course. This year’s event will be an afternoon event with tee times beginning at 11:00 am. Golfers will play against their own gender in age specific categories. If a golfer shoots a qualifying score and we have a spot available for them, they can advance to the OI Qualifier held in July in Florida. Last year, 30 different countries were represented at that event so it truly does have an International flavor to it. As of writing this article, we have already surpassed the number of golfers that participated in last year’s event, so we are hoping to double the size of it. If you know of any kids that would like to participate in this event, please let me know and I can get you a flyer or they can go online at Optimist International to get a flyer as well. They can then register and pay online this year. I will need volunteers that day for registration, marshals, and scorers for the younger age groups. You do not need to know the rules of golf as the golf pro will be available that day to make any rulings necessary. Look for a signup sheet in late May.
Todd Paulus
Independence Day Parade
Uncle Sam needs You!
It is parade volunteer sign up time. Be the first to register to get the area you enjoy the most. The parade is the evening of July 3. If you have volunteered in the past and want the same job in the same area, please let me know. Invite friends and family to join you. This is always a fun event for all. Here are the parade volunteer opportunities:
- Making cotton candy
- parade line up
- parade marshal
- selling cotton candy and popcorn
- Bucket Brigade
Many members have already volunteered to help this year and I really appreciate that. It takes over 100 people to make this parade the great event that it is.
Please contact me via email, annfreudenthal@gmail.com or phone 414-881-6804.
Thanks so much.
Ann Freudenthal
Optimist Club Picnic
Our Optimist Club Picnic is slated for Wednesday August 1st at Shepherds Waters (same place as last year) Dan and Lynette Shepherd have graciously opened up their beautiful piece of land for our gathering. Festivities will begin at 4:00pm. You need to bring nothing except your smiling faces along with your other half and any interested or potential newbies. It is our time to celebrate all that we’ve done during the year.
We will have lots of food and beverages for all. This is an absolutely beautiful place for all to enjoy. Directions and sign up will come later as we get closer to the event. Please just mark your calendars. If you have any questions, suggestions, or whatever, please feel free to contact me at mrchebbring@aol.com. Also this is an adult only event due to us serving alcohol….
Have a safe and wonderful summer
Marcia Hebbring
—– Executive Board —–
Board Briefings – May 15, 2018
President Lynette Shepherd led the Board meeting on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Meeting synopsis is as follows:
Donation requests:
- FBLA – $2000 donation request – Michelle Oliver and students Jordan Bonenberger and Dylan Widmer were in attendance to present their donation request. $2000 donation was approved
Treasurer’s report:
Larry Podolske provided update. March had the fewest checks issued in the last year and a half. April had routine disbursements. Larry, Jim Foster, and Rick Kohl will look into $1500 disbursement completed in December 2017.
Committee Reports and Budgets: None
Unfinished Business – Informational Items:
- Recognition to Diane Gariepy – QUEST – June 6 meeting
- Recognition to ladies at Rec Dept – June 13 meeting
New Business:
- PPC meeting – Don Eisenhauer will replace Dan Schwind
- Night Meetings – This will be discussed at next board meeting
The Board meets the third Tuesday of every month at 7:00 a.m. Members include:
- President Lynette Shepherd
- 1st Vice President Jeanine Dederich
- 2nd Vice President Dustin Koehler
- Treasurer Larry Podolske
- Past President Don Gorzek
- Past Presidents Council Dan Schwind
- Board Members: Sue Carney, Dave Curran, Tom Dueppen, Kathryn Hoff, Chris O’Reilly, Barb Schmit Dustin Koehler
Leadership Menomonee Falls Scholarship
Every year the Optimist Club offers a scholarship to one member for the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Menomonee Falls Program and that time of year is here. It’s a wonderful leadership program that MANY Optimists have been through and can tell you how impactful it is. It runs from Aug thru May, one day a month (with a couple exceptions) so there is a level of commitment. We will be talking about it at the upcoming meetings and will have an example of the program. Please consider taking advantage of this!!
—- Past Events —-
Post Prom 2018 Is History!
According to the Junior Class Advisors, this was the second largest turnout for Prom that they can remember. And Post Prom was no different! Boarding seven busses at 11:15 pm for Action Territory in Kenosha and getting back at 4:15 am, 339 out of 342 students made the trip and had a fun, memorable and safe experience.
The kids were chaperoned by the usual crew of Rick Kohl, Larry Hebbring, Cathy Sharkey, John Seymour, Kirsten Sperl and myself along with newcomers Sue Carney, Kim Wenzel and her husband Chris Dietz. Thanks for your time and efforts supporting these kids in the Post Prom program.
That night our Club also gave away approximately $600 in gift cards. We matched donated gift cards from Village Bowl, DeMarinis, Cousins Subs, Wittlins Service Station, Culver’s and Shelley’s Hallmark. Our $8.00 pledge per student was supplemented with cash donations from Hanson Soft Water Inc. (Tina Polk), Malkin’s Carpets (Marty Schallock), Schmidt and Bartelt Funeral Home (Terry Marcou) and the North Middle School PTO. Please patronize and thank these sponsors whenever possible, they’re all great partners for many of our events.
Thanks again to everyone involved who has made this event something that our club can be proud of year after year.
Sincerely,
Jerry Mislang
Scholarship Golf Outing
Photos by Jon Cline
Another outing is in the books, but this one ranks as a record year. With everyone’s help in pulling off this event, we raised a record $14796.28. We were greeted by Sunny, 80 degree weather as we took on the course. 101 golfers enjoyed the actual outing while a number of others came out to enjoy the post golf festivities, and to take in the raffles and auction. Flight #1 was won by Del Kreuser, Matt Schellinger, Jim Christian, and Tom Walkner with a tremendous score of -17. Flight #2 was won by Terry Marcou, Don Barranco, Jim Foster, and Ed Schlumpf with a respectable score of -8. The ladies division was won by the self-proclaimed “Wonder Wackers”, Tina Polk, Mich McCalligan, Lin Lin Emmer, and Lisa Majkrzak with a score of -3. The putting contest, which consists of 3 putts towards ten holes laid out in bowling pin fashion with points assigned like the pin number, was won by Jim Christian with a score of 22. Thirty is the top score you could achieve in that contest.
Many thanks go out to all those that help make this event a success. It truly takes a great team to pull this off. Thanks to our wonderful committee of Greg Mattson, Tom Ciskoski, John Yusko, Carol Schulteis, Joy Fricke, Terry Frisk, and Larry Barbera, and Matt Hakes. A special shout out to Matt and his company VFI for supplying goodies for our famous beverage cart driven by Carol Schulteis and Kristy Gruenwald. Thanks to both of them for making sure they saw each group at least once with their goodies on board. Thanks also to the other volunteers that helped make the day a huge success: Larry and Marcia Hebbring, Kathy Matthiessen, Laura Ciletti, Joy Fricke, Larry Podolske, and John Yusko. Their work helps put me at ease as I am going in many different directions to make sure all the details of the event are covered. Two more thank yous go out to Mike Lehman and Ironwood Golf course and Sal Zizzo, and Trysting Place Pub. Mike’s group does a fantastic job as a host for our event. With the weather cooperating, we were able to take advantage of the party barn that helped cap off a great day. Sal and Trysting Place Pub donated lunch to our event and served up some delicious hors d’ oeuvres for the evening.
Thank you also goes out to our club member Jon Cline, who came out and took many, many pictures of the outing. Looking forward to seeing the shots he captured on his facebook page once done. Jon, not only stayed close to the clubhouse for these pictures. Every once in a while out on the course, I would turn around and there was Jon with his camera to his face trying to capture another shot. The final thank you goes out to all the members who golfed, volunteered, showed up for the post golf event, or promoted the event and got the golfers there. Obviously, this event would not be successful without people showing up and participating. We appreciate all those that showed up and supported our event. We looked forward to seeing everyone again on the 3rd Wednesday in May, 2019.
Todd Paulus
Tri-Star Baseball Wrap-up
Photos by Don Gorzek and Jon Cline
The rescheduled was the proverbial “win some, lose some”.
First the lose some. Because of the earlier weather in April (Tristar Snowball Contest), we tried a two hour time frame on a week night. It didn’t work out. As usual, a downturn in temperature the last hour (surprise surprise) didn’t bring in the MLL players we had hoped to draw after their games that night. Unfortunately, we were able to get only 31 participants. That’s the lose some.
Now the win some! The kids that came had a great time, lots of smiles and what appeared to be ton of stored up energy. Many of the many parents thanked us and said they look forward to this each year. And with the trophies left over from last year’s cancellation, many of them will be getting their first trophy ever, and it’s from our Club!
One more win some. It was very apparent that more than a few kids aren’t on Select Teams, the MFLL program or play organized baseball. What our Club offers them is an OPPORTUNITY; an opportunity to compete, to try something new and to have some fun with the possibility of earning a trophy. Isn’t that what we’re all about; giving as many kids as possible an opportunity and a chance to succeed?
That change was made possible by Club volunteers, Jeff Saunders, Todd Paulus, Kim Wenzel, Ed Schlumpf, Ann Freudenthal, Larry Podolske, Tom Ciskoski, Bob Wenzel, Don Eisenhauer, Rick Kohl and Marcia and Larry Hebbring. Special thanks to past member Rob Robinson and non-members Fred Blanke and 3rd grade BF student Daniel Messina, MFHS Head Coach and Club member Lou Sanicola for use of the radar gun and member Ed Jessen, who still dressed in his umpiring uniform, came right from a high school game to see if we needed help.
We’re always looking for new ways to improve this event, especially the number of participants. I asked the multiple parents and our volunteers for feedback and got several good suggestions. The Box Score will show it was a good experience for the kids and parents who attended, and in the end, they’re the ones that really count.
Thanks again to all involved,
Chair Jerry Mislang and Co-Chair Shannon Dederich
Fishing Derby
Photos by Don Gorzek and Jon Cline
Special Thanks to Larry Hebbring, Fred Rambert, Kirsten Sperl, Lance Newman, Ann Freudenthal and Fred Blanke, Kathie Jensen, Bob Wenzel, Jim Lowe, Larry Podolske, Carl Trapp, Donna Bosch, Jon Cline, Don Gorzek, Moira Paulus and Kathy Walkner for donating their time, talent and enthusiasm to the 2018 Optimist Clubs Kids’ Fishing Derby. This was the 21st year the Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls has sponsored the event.
Despite the lack of parking, the week-long threat of rain and fish reluctant to bite, the derby was a tremendous success!! The final totals showed 104 kids ages two to 16 participated in the event. 10 trophies, 80+ containers of bait supplied by R.B. Enterprises, 104 games of bowling from Krueger’s Entertainment Center, 104 tee-shirts, 104 sample packs of fishing hooks, 104 DNR packs of fish identification cards and 95 door prizes were given away. The crowd was estimated at 200-250 to include the participants, parents, grandparents, friends, etc. The Falls Neighborhood Watch ran the concession stand during the event.
Twenty-three (23) of the participants caught a total of 52 fish that included bluegills, trout, largemouth bass, and suckers. The largest fish caught was an 18″ sucker caught by ten year old Christian Wardinski and 13 year old Jessica Fellows caught the most fish, seven bluegills.
This year we were fortunate to have several major sponsors; Kwik Trip of Menomonee Falls (donated $75 in gift cards), Mills Fleet Farm ($25 gift card), TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group (150 sample packs of fishing hooks) and Cops for Kids Foundation ($250 in door prizes).
Next year’s derby will be Saturday, May 11, 2019!
Tom Walkner (assisted by Kathy) and Tim Newman Event Co-Chairs
Highway Clean-up
Photos by Don Gorzek
The highway clean-up was done under clear blue skies on Saturday, May 26. We started at 8am and were done by 10 am. The crew included 25 children and parents from the under 10 Falls baseball team, an Optimist sponsored team. They were led by optimist Terry Fitzimmons and Carl Trapp.
Carl Trapp
Falls Memorial Fest
Our Popcorn wagon provided fresh bags of buttered popcorn durning the Falls Memorial Fest held along Main Street on May 26, 2018. Working the one of the afternoon shifts were Ann Freudenthal and Fred Blanke.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Students of the Month
The Optimist Club Students for the Month of May include from the left, Henry Pomroy from St.Mary Parish School, Sadie Soley and Evelyn Thompson, both sixth graders from North Middle School, and Seniors Chloe Jimene and Patience Rau of MFHS.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Optimist Meeting Photos
At our May 9, 2018 Club meeting Sydney Beilfuss, an eighth grader, teacher Scott Park, and Devyn Orr, an eighth grader told members about the Memorial Day Program planned for the School and Community. The Program was presented May 24, 2018. Our club made a generous donation cover the costs of the Program.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Sheila Frafjord, a Business Education Teacher at North Middle School talked about the School’s FBLA Program and two of her student members Kaleb Trice and Siya Manajan, both eight graders. Frafjord spoke at our May 9, 2018 meeting.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Menomonee Falls High School Junior Class Officer Lucas Gordy, Kenzie Lolfe, and Dayne Fuite were introduced at our May 23, 2018 meeting by Jerry Mislang.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Mary Zentgraf was presented a plaque in appreciation for years of dedicated support for the Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls Student of the Month Program.
Photo by Don Gorzek
The DYW participants were recognized at the May 30 meeting.
Photo by Don Gorzek
Tri-Star Baseball participants received trophies at the May 30 meeting.
Photos by Don Gorzek
—-Junior Optimist International at MFHS—–
The Junior Optimist Club held their annual elections this week! We will miss our graduating senior board members who have done so much to help grow our club and contribute to our community: Melanie Lipscomb, Olivia Eisenhauer, and Grace Hurst. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors. We are, however, excited to announce our 2018-2019 board! Kelly Maloney and Hannah Klug will serve as next year’s co-presidents. Other board members include Monica Repinski (Secretary), Ally Diestelhorst (Treasurer), and Kaylee Ebner (Communications). These board members were sworn in at our instillation banquet on May 24th where we also celebrated another successful year as a group. We are looking forward to having some meetings over the summer to prepare for another school year!
Alison Leon
—- Optimists After Five —-
Optimists After Five are preparing for their first crack at Popcorn Wagon duty! Their next meeting will be at 6:00pm on Tuesday, June 19 at the American Legion hall; Larry Podalske will be there to give the group more information on how the Popcorn Wagon is organized and scheduled. Also on June 19, a specialist will come teach attendees some daily meditation practices to reduce stress (and make us all better Optimists!).
Join the Optimists After Five for summer-themed meetings! In July, they will take a cooking class to learn how to make a healthy dish, and in August they are looking forward to a paint night taught by new Optimist member Montana Mariscal! The outlook for September and October includes an outdoor activity and laying the groundwork for a potential Haunted House event.
Erin Dederich
—- This Month in Club History —
June 2004 (14 years ago) – Looking for members to man (and woman) the Bucket Brigade for the July 3 Parade, board members Charlie Keller and JJ Selland note volunteers ‘must be vociferous, pushy and good-looking, but not necessarily in that order.”
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 no later than the 25th of each month – jerry.mislang@prodigy.net
- NEWSPAPERS Kim Wenzel three or more weeks prior to your event, as quickly as possible after an event – kfwenzel87@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
—Broadway Show at Marcus Center for Performing Arts—
An American in Paris, with the great Gershwin songs, classic dance numbers, wonderful story! Here are links to the national tour sneak peek—what to expect!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpPif87RQZs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=6ZINK5iiEJc
This show runs from June 26 – July 1. Optimist Night is June 28th but feel free to attend the performance that best fits our schedule. Order your tickets now to get the best seats.
Marcus Center contacts:
- Keri-Ayn Hough – khough@marcuscenter.org (414-273-7121 ext 213)
- John Barnes – jbarnes@marcuscenter.org
