The Optimizer | June 2022 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
— In this issue —
Weekly Meeting Schedule
President’s Message
Upcoming Activities and Events
Calendar
Volunteer Opportunities
Popcorn Season Opens
SWIS District Junior Golf Outing
Tri-Star Baseball
July 3rd Parade
Football Crazr Raffle
Village Park – Phase II
Getting to Know You
Carol Burg Schulteis
New Members!
Past Events
Fishing Derby
Scholarship Golf Outing
Optimist Meetings
Do The Right Thing
May Students of the Month
Post Prom Thank You
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.
NOTE: We believe this will be the first month in club history that each meeting will have an Optimist Club member as a speaker!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 1
Cathy Hazzard welcomed and introduced our MFHS Scholarship Winners.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 8
Dr. Carolyn Anderson’s presentation will be “Your Mind Matters”. Did you know that there’s a connection between the Mind, Brain, Optimism and one’s wellbeing? Should be very interesting and informative!
WEDNESDAY JUNE 15
We have a commitment from MFHS Softball Head Coach and his Greater Metro Conference Championship team that reached the Sectional Finals this year. We’ve also extended invitations to both the Boy’s Tennis and Baseball Teams.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 22
Real Estate Agents Annie Jurczyk and Lisa Haynes will give a very candid conversation to equip, educate, and inspire you to make informed choices and empowered decisions concerning lifestyle goals. Annie will review the current real estate market for the Menomonee Falls area. Lisa will review strategies to right-size a household, such as how to pare down treasures, declutter possessions, set up timelines, tips on staying organized, donation sights for your treasures and packing tips.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 29
This meeting is annually dedicated to final July 3 Parade preparations. ‘’March’ right in and get on the ‘bandwagon’, no ‘clowning’ around or ‘float’ing in and out of the meeting as we get make another memorable holiday celebration for thousands of families.
** 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 the nice weather is here and hopefully for a great summer of Optimism.
May was the start to a busy time for our club. As we start to get out and enjoy the warm days and long nights.
May will be filled with some great events for the club.
May 14th was the Fishing Derby at Mill Pond. Dustin Koehler and his team have a great event planned. There were lots of kids that wanted to fish and many of our members there to help them with their catch of the day. In addition, the event had one of the best weather days of all times.
May 18th was our Scholarship golf outing. Although the Fishing Derby ended up with our golf weather we still had a great event for the day. It was a bit windy and cool we still had a great turnout to help raise funds for the kids. Thanks to all the members that help the outing go even though Todd was MIA.
Other events on the horizon are:
Tri-Star Baseball
July 3rd Parade
If you are interested in volunteering for either event, please contact Don Eisenhauer or Steve Fleming. As you know, Ann Freudenthal will be contacting you to help with the Parade.
Many of you may not know this but we now have the ability to accept Credit Cards as a form of payment at the Popcorn Wagon. Please see your captain or Dan to learn how to use the machine.
Speaking of the Popcorn Wagon, we are off to a popping good start. Our wagon was right in the heart of Memorial Fest in Downtown and we started the season off with $1960 for the day. Nice work to all those members that worked a shift at the wagon. I Know Rick was working and supervising. We also had a good night on Sunday at Village Park with the Eagle’s cover band there in the evening. The team that night pulled in another $400. Thanks to all for a good first week.
As I put out in my Monday message a few weeks ago, please keep Jon Cline and Ed Schlumpf in your prayers. Jon is on the mend and hopefully will be back at meetings soon.Ed is doing better and his prognosis from the Dr. was encouraging. Mary told me that he is on pace to have his surgery in July.
Heal quickly Jon and Ed.
Until next month, enjoy the sunshine and warm weather and keep the popcorn popping.
President Dan
— Upcoming Activities and Events —
Calendar
SATURDAY JUNE 11TH
SWIS District Junior Golf Outing
and Tri-Star Baseball
SUNDAY JULY 3RD
Parade
EVERY EVENING THROUGH SEPTEMBER 10TH
Popcorn Wagon
Volunteer Opportunities 
• 3rd of July Parade Sunday July 3
Make cotton candy, sell cotton candy and popcorn, be in the bucket Brigade, be a marshal, help with the land grab, help get the units lined up, and so much more! See article in newsletter.
Contact Ann Freudenthal
• Football Crazr throughout summer
The Club has taken 300 Football Crazr raffle tickets to sell for the Swiss District and our Club. We need club members to sell tickets.
Contact Larry Hebbring 414-899-5807
• Distinguished Young Women April
Cathy is retiring from chairing DYW. Looking for one or more to take over. See article in newsletter.
Contact Cathy Sharkey
After 15 years, 3 Dohertys, 2 Punathils, Dwyers, Pauleys, and Beckers, and so many wonderful young women, I will be retiring as the chairperson for Distinguished Young Women. This program has been my heart and soul since I took it over in 2007. The friendships I have formed with the many members who have worked alongside me over the years mean so much to me. It has been my greatest joy to work with junior high school girls preparing them for their showcase each year. They mean more to me than they will ever know. My work and family situations have changed in the past few years leaving me less time to dedicate to the program. I am looking for someone or group of people who would like to take the over the program. Please contact me if you are even a little bit interested. I would love to stay involved and am happy to train the new chairperson.
~ Cathy Sharkey
Popcorn Season Opens
The 2022 popcorn season got underway the Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday, Memorial Fest was again a huge success as the 5 teams of sellers sold $1,960 of popcorn during the 10-hour day. That was the largest one-day sale ever, beating the 2021 Memorial Fest which was $1,650. A price increase provided most of the added income. Then on the following night things got started in the park with a concert by an Eagles cover band which provided great music. Sales were brisk, but not counted as of this writing. The wagon will be open every night hereafter until Sept 10th. After that we will again be open for beer garden nights as well as any special events, but otherwise closed.
A few reminders about working the wagon. The hours are 6:00 – 9:00, so workers need to arrive at about 5:45 so the first bag is ready at about 6:00. As in the recent past we will also have kettle corn for sale each night as well. Kettle corn is prepared by a 3rd party and ready for sale. Other processes are the same as previous years. For newer members, the club is divided into 15 teams that each work a Sunday to Saturday week. Each team has a captain who will have scheduled you to work. They will be present at 5:45 to help you get started and take you through the opening and closing process. Veteran poppers may just open on their own. There are written instructions about what needs to be done and are located on the front cover of a 3-ring binder which usually is found on the back counter in plain sight. If you don’t see it, look on the shelf below. This is very important since everyone is expected to close up on their own. It is easy enough, but the instructions insure you don’t miss critical functions like locking windows and the door and turning off the propane. It is best that even seasoned workers review the checklist.
There is a tally sheet on the back counter. So everyone knows, it is not necessary to mark down your sales, nor is it necessary to track tips separately. Each morning the Kernel (Larry) visits the wagon, counts the money and resets the box to $100, the starting amount. He writes in the total from the previous night. If you wish to mark your sales, that’s fine, but only for your purposes. Larry will often let you know what sales were, but not always. If you want to know, email him.
If you are new to the club, it would be a good idea to stop in at the wagon before you are scheduled to work and let the people working that night show you the ropes. It isn’t complicated at all, but like anything, needs to be done correctly. Like never forget to turn on the stirrer when restarting the popper, or you will quickly have very burned popcorn.
There are nights when special events occur in the park, like the concert last night. It began at 5:00, so hours had to be expanded to 4:00 – 9:00. Your captain will advise you when such things occur. Most concerts don’t begin before 6:00, but they still require some adjustment to hours.
If you are unable to work the week you are assigned, please let your captain know and you will get moved to another team. We need all members involved. We can work with your schedule.
The chairman of the popcorn wagon is Larry Podolske. If you have questions, want to work extra nights, or didn’t see the list of all the teams sent by Dan Schwind last week, contact him at either email podolske@yahoo.com or phone 262-255-6259. Or see me at the wagon as I’m often there.
2022 is off and running. Lenny & Debbie Kimmel are the captains for the first week. Stop up and say hello to whoever they having working. It also is a great chance to see what is happening as far as the building of the new children’s play area to the west of the stage arena. Things are really moving in the park.
~ Larry Podolske
SWIS District Junior Golf outing
The SWIS Junior Golf Outing, which is a qualifier for the Optimist international event in Florida, will take place June 11 at Brown Deer Golf Course. Although numbers are low, we are going forward with the event with only 2 foursomes. Each will compete in their age groups to try to shoot a qualifying score in order to qualify for a spot in Florida. Due to low numbers, we will not need any other volunteers other than myself and my co-chair Tom Carls. We are hoping numbers next year will increase.
~ Todd Paulus
Tri-Star Baseball
The annual Tri-Star Baseball event will be taking place on Saturday, June 11 from 12:00-4:00 at the Little League Baseball Complex on Mill Road. This event will be taking place during Little League’s Mid-Season Celebration, so there will be lots of activity in addition to baseball. They also plan on showing movies that evening, so they have requested our Optimist Popcorn Wagon for the affair. What a great marketing opportunity in addition to providing a venue for all kids ages 7-12 to compete at speed throwing, running the bases and hitting. Please come and help if you are available for a few hours.
~ Don Eisenhauer
July 3rd Parade
The July 3rd parade is less than a month away. This is by far the biggest event that the club sponsors. Thousands of people will line the mile long parade route on Appleton to see the parade.
We need many members to volunteer on July 2 and 3rd. Feel free to bring your friends and family to join the fun. Thanks to everyone who has already offered to help.
Here is a list of areas that need volunteers:
Making cotton candy. We have openings on 3 of the 4 shifts. We need help on July 2 from 8 – 10 and on July 3 from 8 -10 and 10 – noon. We have 2 cotton candy machines so we like to have 6 volunteers per shift. We make cotton candy at the Community Center.
Land Grab – We need volunteers to help on July 2 from roughly 6:30 – 7:30. The police are present along the route as people run to claim their viewing area for the parade. Club members will have vests on and just keep an eye on the people. Law enforcement will handle any problems.
Line – Up – Club members are assigned one of 6 streets in the staging area and help get the units in the right position for the parade. There are stakes with numbers for each unit. The time frame on this is roughly 5:30 – 7:30.
Bucket Brigade – Volunteers start canvassing the crowd as the parade starts collecting donations in buckets. The spectators are appreciative and generous.
Selling cotton candy and popcorn – We have teams of 2 -3 that are given a certain area on the parade route. You will have a pole of cotton candy and a wheeled cart full of boxed popcorn. There will be golf carts that will come to you to replenish your supply or you can go to your zone captain for supplies. This is a fun family activity. Time frame is roughly 5:45 until 7:30 to 8:00 or when everything is sold.
Marshals – We need members to be present on the street to keep the units moving and watch for spectators who sometimes move into the street. This time frame is roughly 6:00 until parade passes your area.
Once you sign up, you will be given detailed information.
As you can see, it takes many people to make the parade happen. But what a fun event to be a part of. Let me know if you can help us.
Please contact Ann Freudenthal at annfreudenthal@gmail.com or 414-881-6804.
~ Ann Freudenthal
Football Crazr Raffle
The Club has taken 300 Football Crazr raffle tickets to sell for the SWIS District and our Club. We should have the tickets by mid-May. Anyone interested in 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
~ Larry Hebbring
— Village Park – Phase II —
Optimist Members – your hard work, generosity, service to others and incredible support for the families of our community is paying off yet again. We are now in the home stretch of Phase II of the Village Park Project. The best is yet to come! It won’t be long until you begin seeing playground equipment appear out of nowhere. Everything should be done by this fall.
This is so EXCITING! 50 years of optimism, $50K of our club’s $ and 50,000 kids (my estimate) who have benefited from the Optimist Club of MF over the last 50 years. We are only 4-5 months away from many, many more families benefitting for years to come. This park will always stand tall as a reminder of our service to community. It will certainly propel the next generation of Optimists to continue carrying the torch. You should all be super proud of this accomplishment.
With that said, we need all of you to help push this financial campaign into and through the endzone. We are now over $500K in donations and pledges. We still need another $500K-plus. We have some great leads with local businesses, but we need anyone who is interested in helping our club to step up and donate. We plan to have a staffed Campaign Booth set up at as many of the upcoming Village Park events as we can. Donating will be simple. If you or anyone you know is interested in personally donating (with or without naming recognition) to this project, which is sure to be the “talk of the town” for years to come, please direct them to our website, our campaign donation QR Code or to anyone on the campaign committee.
Let’s get it done!
Thanks,
~ Don Eisenhauer
— Getting to Know You —
Carol Burg Schulteis
Hard to believe, but I’m actually going on 20 years as an Optimist member! Most of you probably know me as Kristy’s cohort on the drink cart for our golf outings and cochairing our Christmas parties with her too. I also spent the previous 2 years on the board. And now John Yusko and I are running a popcorn week together! I have volunteered on numerous other things too over the past 20 years.
One reason it means so much to me to be a part of the Optimist club and the Menomonee Falls community, is because my grandchildren are now the 5th generation of the original Burg family to live in the Falls. My grandparents migrated to the Falls from Germany in the 1800’s and settled into a house on Water St, right on the river. They had the house with the cute little cottage behind it that is down close to the river. My father, Lavern Burg, was a lifelong resident of the Falls. I graduated from MFHS and so did my grandchildren (well, the youngest graduates in a couple weeks!). I have 3 children and 3 grandchildren. My daughter, Janell, is a doctor at the Aurora clinic on Menomonee Ave, my daughter, Rachel, is a pharmacy specialist for Froedtert in the Falls and my son Tom lives in the Falls. So my family and I have a big connection to the Falls.
What I’ve spent a lot of my time doing over the years (besides working) is watching my grandchildren’s sports activities for the Falls. My granddaughter Kiersten played soccer, my grandson Cross played basketball, and my grandson Caden is currently playing Varsity baseball for the Falls. I tried hard to make all of their games, especially after I retired. I love it and they always thank me so much for being there!
I got John Yusko into the club after starting to date him almost 8 years ago (another way to get new members, Mislang!) But boy, I knew right away I had some work to do with John, who is originally from Ohio, when he didn’t know what I was talking about when I mentioned the four corners! Besides what we do together for the club, we love sports so we go to quite a few Brewers games. We play corn hole year-round and now since John is back to playing softball, I guess I will be watching those games after my grandson is done with baseball! Somehow. I don’t think the over 60 league will be quite as exciting though! Sorry John!
Just this year I started organizing get togethers for my MFHS classmates every couple of months. I had always worked on our class reunions every 5 years but decided as we’re getting older and mostly all retired, it would be great to get together more often, and it is! Any other spare time I have is mostly spent helping my kids with various things and spending lots of time with my dogs, of course!
— Welcome New Members!—
— Past Events —
2022 Fishing Derby
Well the 2022 Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls Kids Catch and Release Fishing Derby is in the books, and WOW, what a fantastic event it was! This year’s fishing derby took place the morning of Saturday, May 14th at the Mill Pond. The weather could not have been more perfect! Hundreds of people enjoyed the derby, including the 162 kids who registered to fish, many parents, grandparents, and other family and friends who joined! The fish were certainly biting! Between 10:00 AM and noon, 73 kids caught fish, for a total of 233 fish caught. In addition, we saw snails, frogs, and even a snapping turtle, bringing the total to 74 kids who had water creatures measured.
Some of the highlights of the fish caught were four large mouth bass ranging between 12 inches and 17 inches long! There was also a 21 inch carp caught! Finally, one 15 year old caught 24 total fish, and a 12 year old caught 19 different creatures, including fish, snails, and a frog.
photos by Don Gorzek
During registration, each child received a t-shirt and a grab bag with several different give-a-aways, including items from the DNR, candy, coupons, fishing tackle, etc. In addition, representatives from the Germantown Fleet Farm store joined us and handed out items for the kids and adults. Thank you Fleet Farm! The Neighborhood Watch did a great job keeping any hunger away. They sold coffee, donuts, hotdogs, and other treats from concession stand. Jerry Mislang did an excellent job emceeing the event using the sound equipment Danny Shepherd set-up and ran throughout the event. Don Gorzek took photos throughout the derby! Door prizes were given throughout the morning to all kids who registered, and there was a trophy presentation at the end. And maybe most importantly, the fishing derby allowed for quality time for families in our community to bond with one another and create very special memories. The morning was an absolute success filled with so many smiles!
Sue Carny and I would like to thank each and everyone who helped make this event possible. A huge thank you goes out to Jerry Mislang, Danny Shepherd, Tom Walkner, Tim Newman, Shannon Dederich, Larry and Marcia Hebbring, Kathie Jensen, Kathy Matthiessen, Kirsten Sperl, Joanne Wanner, Lance Newman, Laura Ciletti, Greg Mattson, Annie Jurczyk, Steve Miller, Adam Lynch, Larry Podolske, Bob Wenzel, Audrey and John Makowski, and Stuart Reichl.
We would also like to thank our sponsors and others who contributed to the derby, including The Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls, members of The Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls who made donations, The Village of Menomonee Falls, The Menomonee Falls Police Department, the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch, Menomonee Falls CE & Rec, RB Enterprises of Menomonee Falls, Krueger’s Entertainment Center, Kwik Trip on Main Street and Pilgrim in Menomonee Falls, Fleet Farm in Germantown, Cops and Kids Foundation, Sandy Spring Farm, the DNR, and Tru Turn.
We sure hope we did not miss anyone, as there are so many who made this 2022 Kids Fishing Derby possible! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2023 Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls Kids Fishing Derby next May!
~ Dustin Koehler
32nd Annual Scholarship Golf Outing
The 32nd Annual Scholarship Golf Outing is in the books and it is one to remember. First off, we had a record number of golfers and sold out for the first time ever. We initially had 39 foursomes playing 18 holes and 1 foursome playing 9 holes. I actually had to turn a group away. In the last few days, we lost 3 foursomes, so we still ended up with record number of golfers – 148.
The golfers make this event a success so thank you to all that golfed that day. Although the weather was not the greatest, the Optimist spirit won out. The rain ceased just as golfers hit the course and the weather improved as the day went on. Although not ideal, the golfers and volunteers did not let it hinder them. As with any event, it is only as good as the committee that plans it, & we really found that out this year. Between the committee members and the volunteers, we were able to pull off the event after I tested positive for Covid the day before. Although I wanted to be there, I realized it was best for me to stay away for the safety of all people involved. After realizing on Tuesday I had to reach out and pass things off to my committee members, when I made a call out to them, they all stepped forward.
A big thank you to John Yusko for taking the lead for me for the day. A shout out to Greg Mattson as well for helping John out at the event. From what I heard all committee members (Tom Ciskoski, Scott Drier, Joy Fricke, & Carol Schulteis making up the remaining committee members) all stepped up to help that day. A big thank you not only for that day but also for all the meetings and pre-work to the event to make it happen.
A big thank you to the volunteers that help us pull the day off. Without the volunteers, it would be tough to host the event as efficiently as we do. These volunteers include Marcia Hebbring, Shannon Dederich, Kathy Matthiesen, Larry Podolske, Laura Ciletti, Stevie Mistle–Wildt, Larry Hebbring, and Kristy Gruenwald. Another shout out to Jerry Mislang for being the voice of our voice auction. He stepped in this year for Ed Schlumpf, as Ed recovered at home from his knee surgery. And a final thanks to Matt Hakes and VFI for sponsoring and supplying the drink cart with many goodies to keep the golfers well lubricated during the day. I think the drivers, Carol Schulteis and Kristy Gruenwald enjoy this job a lot. I know the golfers look forward to their cart rolling up to them.
A thank you needs to be extended to Mike Lehman and the staff at Ironwood Golf Course for hosting the event. When I called Mike on Tuesday to tell him I would not be there, he assured me they would help take care of things on Wednesday, and from what I hear, they did. A final thank you goes out to Joe and Elllen Hennes for donating the boxed lunches and supplying the heavy hors d’oeurves after golf. If I overlooked anyone that helped that day, I apologize. At the time of this article, I do not have the final figures. Please see the newsletter next month for the final figure. The following page lists all those that donated in some way to help make the event a success. As you can see, it takes many to help us turn a big profit for scholarships. If you visit any of these local businesses, please thank them for their support not only for this event but for many other events our club host.
Mark your calendars for May 17, 2023 for the 33rd Annual Scholarship Golf Outing.
Hole Sponsor
- Town Bank
- Bank Five Nine
- Porters
- DJ’s Goal Post
- State Farm
- Pool Park
- Piggly Wiggly
- Knights of Columbus #4240 – Mike Vosen
- Rep. Dan Knodl
- Shorewest Realty – Terri & Tiffanie Newman
- Uptown Motors
- Players Pub
- Wisconsin Test Prep
- Schmidt & Bartelt
- Alumni Club
- Phoenix Soccer
- Stein’s Family
- Farrow & Assoc.
- Proactive Title
- Bobby’s
- Pollard General Counsel
- Cobblestone Builders
- Skygen
- Zuern Building Products
- Das Barrel Room
- Hot House
- Falls Chiropractic
- Rise N Shine Food Truck
- Players Pub
Golf Balls
- Kathy Mathiesen
- Fred Blanke
- John Yusko
- Sue Jeskewitz
- Karen Nelson
- Paul Matson
- Lenny Kimmel
- Joanne Wanner
- Dustin Koehler
Booze
- Kathy Mathiesen
- Fred Blanke
- Alumni Club
- Das Barrel Room
- Joy Fricke
- Three Cellars
- Jeanine Dederich
- Lenny Kimmel
- North Hillss CC
- Kathy Jensen
- Joanne Wanner
Opportunity Raffle/Silent auction/Voice Auction
- Delta Hotel
- Patio Players
- Paws R Us Basket
- Kristy’s Creative Floral Decoration
- Emery’s
- Otto’s
- MF Rec Dept.
- Green Bay Packers
- Alumni Club
- Better Me Spa
- Kwik Trip
- Social Haus
- Stix Golf
- Ross & Cathy Sharkey
- Das Barrel Room
- Rise & Shine Food Truck
- Wisconsin Test Prep
- Tap In Golf
- Mineshaft
- Art Lounge
- Milwaukee Admirals
- 4 Keeps
- Village Bowl
- Pepinos
- Delafield Brewhouse
- River Falls Car Wash
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Fairways of Woodside
- Broadlands Golf Course
- Cornerstone Bank
- Knights of Columbus
- Ed Schlumpf
- Milwaukee Tool
- Chris Halaska
- Greg Borca
- Wisconsin Athletic Club
- Rite Hite Co. LLC
- Brent Morris & Fiskars
- Joe Eberhardy
- Kohner Mann & Kailas
— Optimist Meetings —
Do The Right Thing
Students of the Month
Post Prom Thank You
— Membership and Executive Board Info —
May 17, 2022 Board Minutes
Unapproved: to be approved at the next board meeting.
ATTENDANCE
Board members: : Jerry Mislang, Mike Russell, Shannon Dederich, Dan Schwind, John Yusko, Fred Blanke, Tom Ciskoski, Rick Kohl, Kim Wenzel, Jenn Dedrick
Absent: Don Eisenhauer, Scott Dreier
Other attendees: Carolyn Anderson, Todd Paulus (phone)
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 Shannon, second by Jerry; motion carried.
- Donation Requests
a. Senior Prom—Carolyn Anderson
i. Parents and The Life Transformation Center are sponsoring a senior prom
1. The school does not have a senior prom
2. Kids who are seniors now did not have a junior prom due to COVID restrictions
ii. Total cost is expected to be about $7,150; tickets are being sold at $50 per attendee
iii. Request is for $2,500, to be used to subsidize entertainment and to offset ticket prices
iv. Motion to approve spending $9 per attendee by Tom, second by Jenn, assuming we can obtain proof of insurance; the motion was not carried.
b. Village Park Beer Garden—Todd Paulus via phone
i. We have an opportunity to provide sponsorship at Village Park Beer Garden for $500
ii. The Board discussed whether or not this was a good use of funds to further our mission or whether we may be sending the wrong message with specific sponsorship of the beer garden
iii. There was no motion to approve; the proposal is not something we want to consider
4. Budget Requests
a. Quarterly new member socials—Mike Russell
i. Mike Russell presented a proposed budget for quarterly new member social outings to include new members, potential members and members of the Board
ii. The request is for $350 per event
iii. Motion to approve by Jerry; second by Rick; motion carried.
5. 501(c) (3) update—Dan Schwind
a. No update, but the Foundation has received the official IRS approval of our application for recognition as a charitable organization.
6. Treasurer’s Report—Jerry Mislang
a. Report for February was presented with no statement of earnings; Rick moved to approve; second by Fred; motion carried.
b. Jerry has been on vacation so he is still catching up on getting information to Jim Foster. Jim has some medical issues that are preventing him from providing reports as quickly as usual. March and April reports are in progress.
7. Anything else for the good of the club
a. We received a membership application for Koni White; Tom motioned to approve; second by Kim; motion carried.
b. Ed Schlumpf is experiencing medical issues and is expected to need additional help managing the Packer raffle. Tom Ciskoski is willing to step up to help co-lead the team. John reported that Ed has done a pretty good job of documenting his procedures and will forward information to Tom.
c. Website—Beth Saunders wants to move away from managing the website. Shannon is leading an effort to find replacements and expects to have a recommendation in the fall.
d. Payment processing—Dan obtained services from Elavon at $30/month with no contractual term-we can cancel at any time. The service will be used first at the golf outing and is expected to also be used for the popcorn wagon and other events.
e. We are looking for names of people who are interested and/or may be good candidates for the Board and executive positions (President, VP, Treasurer.) Please submit ideas to Dan.
f. Kim suggested that we could be using QuickBooks more efficiently than we currently do. We agreed it makes sense to make any administrative changes with the start of the new term of officers.
9. The next meeting is scheduled for June 21, 2022.
10. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:55 a.m. after a motion by Rick, second by Fred.
~ John Yusko
— This Month in Club History —
June 17, 1977 –
Winners in the 4th Annual Bike Rodeo are Todd Lasanske, Peter Eide, Eric Eide and Mike Martin.
~ 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