The Optimizer | May 2019 | Menomonee Falls Optimist Club
— In this issue —
Meeting Schedule
President’s Thoughts
Letter
Board Candidates – Election May 8
Leadership Menomonee Falls
Up-coming Activities and Events
Calendar
Post Prom – Volunteers Needed
Kids Fishing Derby
Scholarship Golf Outing
Meat Raffle
OI Junior Golf Qualifier
Optimists After Five (OA5)
Junior Optimists
Board Briefings
Getting to Know You – Dustin Koehler
Past Events
Tri-Star Basketball
Students of the Month
Do the Right Thing
Optimist Meeting Photos
MFHS Quest Program
MFHS Robotics Team
This Month in Club History
How to Publish Optimist News
Additional OA5 Bags Tournament Photos
—- Meeting Schedule —-
All meetings are at 7:15 am at the Community Center except as noted.
Wed. May 1: It’s a Spring double header! First, get prepared to be amazed by our Oratorical Contest Winners. Following that, Meg Hanley, Felicia Perkins-Peterson and several MFHS students will be there to thank us and report on their experiences for our Impact 4 Life Program donation.
Wed. May 8: It’s a two-fer! Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA) will bring in members associated with their group to talk about their recent double National Championships they won in Illinois in March in Wheelchair basketball. They’ll recap the season and the tournament as well as talk about their record setting performance in one of the Championship games. We will also be joined by one of the MFHS Spring Sport’s teams. Several of the teams are having very solid seasons and they’ll give us an update right before their WIAA playoffs start.
Wed. May 15: Due to our Scholarship Golf Outing, there won’t be a meeting that morning. We hope to see many of you and your guests at Ironwood Golf Course later that day!
Wed. May 22: Unfortunately, it’s the last SOM meeting for this school year, but the program will start with a special presentation you won’t want to miss, trust us!!! Please join us as we recognize Students of the Month from NMS, MFHS and hopefully St. Mary’s. The respective Principals will introducing the presenters and their outstanding students.
Wed. May 29: We wrap up the school year by recognizing the Class of 2019 Scholarship Award Winners. Cathy Hazzard will facilitate this meeting as we get to a chance to meet these outstanding young men and women.
—- President’s Thoughts —-
When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves. – William Arthur Ward
May – it’s my birthday month so my favorite time of year! Looking forward to a busy month with Fishing Derby (May 11), Post Prom (May 11), SWIS District conference (May 10/11), Golf Outing (May 15 – no meeting), meat raffle fundraiser for July 3rd parade (May 19), MFHS Scholarship night (May 22), Memorial Day program at North Middle School (May 23), SWIS District Brewer game (May 24), Memorial Fest (May 25). And the JOI Club fundraiser at Panera on May 6. Our Club will once again proudly be noticed in the community at a variety of events. Plus all of our great speakers and guests every week. Be sure to read my weekly emails for updates. Thank you to all chairs and committee volunteers of these outstanding events!
Welcome to Jenn Dedrick who was recently installed as a new member!
As announced at our April 24 meeting, we will be voting in our next term of officers and Board members at the May 8 meeting. Review the information in this newsletter to see who is on the ballot. These terms will begin October 1, 2019. Please plan to join us on May 8 so you can cast your vote.
Many thanks to all and enjoy the month of May!
– President Jeanine
Board Candidate Announcement – election May 8, 2019
2019-2020 Officers Ballot
- President – Todd Paulus
- First Vice-President – Rick Kohl
- Second Vice-President – Ann Freudenthal (officer for this term only)
- Treasurer – Marcia Hebbring
- Board of Directors (two year term: 2019-2021) – Shannon Dederich, Greg Mattson, Carol Schulteis
- Board of Directors (one year term: 2019-2020) – Lenny Kimmel (to fulfill Ann’s term as Board member)
- (Remaining Board members: Steve Fleming, Joanne Wanner)
Congratulations to Shannon Dederich who graduated from the Leadership Menomonee Falls (LMF) program on May 1. Shannon was sponsored by our Optimist Club. And kudos out to Lynette Shepherd who has completed her term as chair of the LMF committee.
Are you interested in being part of the Leadership Menomonee Falls program beginning in August? Our Club will sponsor a participant. If interested, complete the 2019-2020-Leadership-Application and return to me. For more information, go to the Chamber website fallschamber.com
Here are a few testimonials from this year’s graduates on why you should participate in this program:
“LMF provides you with a wealth of tools and resources to be the best leader and person that you can be.”
“LMF is a great way to network in the community as well as get to learn more about the Menomonee Falls area while growing your leadership talents.”
“The networking and learning is a great way to become more involved with Menomonee Falls. The relationships and learning is a great way to become more involved with personal growth.”
“This program is for everybody; it will help you grow as a leader and person overall.”
There are a number of past participants that are members of our club – Rick Kohl, Don Eisenhauer, Lynette Shepherd, Dan Schwind, Kim Wenzel, Steve Fleming, me (I hope I didn’t miss anyone). Reach out to any and they can tell you more. Participate in the LMF program – you’ll be glad you did!
– Jeanine Dederich
—- Upcoming Activities and Events—-
Mon. May 6: JOI fundraiser at Panera Bread. See attached flyer.
Sat. May 11: Kids’ Fishing Derby & Post Prom
Tue May 14: OA5 meeting at Water Street Pub and Grill. Social meeting at 5:45, Business meeting beginning at 6:00
Wed May 15: Scholarship Golf Outing
Sun. May 19: Meat Raffle
Fri. June 14: OI Junior Golf Qualifier
Wed. July 3: PARADE Many volunteers will be needed!
Wed Aug 28: Club Picnic
Post Prom – Volunteers Needed
Post Prom is Saturday, May 11. MFHS Junior Class Advisors expect at least 310 kids to attend this year; we had 349 last year. They plan on taking six or seven busses to Action Territory in Kenosha, and we could use a few more volunteers than the usual group of who volunteer year after year. If you’ve thought about helping out in the past, make this the year!
We meet in the MFHS tennis court parking lot at 10:30 pm and take the school van out to Silver Spring Country Club. After loading the busses at 11:15 pm, we head down to chaperone the students. They board the busses again at 3:00 am and we get back to MFHS at about 4:00 am. Please volunteer by emailing me at jerry.mislang@prodigy.net, calling 262-352-2571 or the signup sheet routed at the April 24, May 1 and 8 meetings.
If you would like to or know someone that would donate a gift or cash for door prizes, please contact me. We have had incredible participation for this program, with the yearly goal of providing a safe environment for all the kids once their dance is over…and we have fun too! Thanks for considering this opportunity.
– Jerry Mislang
Kids Fishing Derby
The Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls will host the 2019 Kids Catch and Release Fishing Derby on Saturday May 11th, 2019 at the Mill Pond in downtown Menomonee Falls. The contest is free and is open to all boys and girls age three through 16 that reside or attend school in the Menomonee Falls area. All participants will receive a t-shirt and a chance to win a door prize. Trophies will be awarded to boys and girls in five age divisions for the longest fish and most fish caught during the contest.
Registration for the event will be from 9:00 am to 10:00 am at the Mill Pond Shelter. The fishing contest will be from 10:00 am to Noon followed immediately by the presentation of trophies and door prizes. Bring your own fishing equipment. A limited supply of bait will be provided. Children under eleven years old must be accompanied by an adult. 16 year olds must have a fishing license. Food and non-alcoholic beverages will be sold during the event by the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch.
Sponsors/Supporters include the Menomonee Falls Police Department, the Menomonee Falls Neighborhood Watch, the Village of Menomonee Falls, RB Enterprises, Krueger’s Recreation Center, Sandy Spring Farm, Kwik Trip, Mills Fleet Farm and the Optimist Club of Menomonee Falls.
Note: Because of a recent major construction project in the area parking may be restricted or limited. Please plan accordingly.
– Dustin Koehler and Sue Carney
Scholarship Golf Outing
Time is getting near. The 29th annual Scholarship Golf Outing is scheduled for May 15, 2019 at Ironwood Golf Course in Sussex, WI. The event is an 18 hole scramble with a noon shotgun start. Entry fee for the event is $140.00 per person. The entry fee includes golf, cart, use of the driving range and putting green, as well as lunch before and heavy hors d’oeuvres afterwards. The evening will also include a voice auction, raffle baskets, a major raffle prize, and a 50/50 raffle. If you would like to donate an item to our event, please feel free to contact Todd Paulus or bring it to a morning meeting. Donated items is what helps us raise funds for the scholarships. We have earmarked $16,000 in scholarships for this coming year, so this event is critical to raising those dollars. Along with items for the event, we need golfers. You do not have to be a member to participate. Anyone can join in the fun, so feel free to ask family, friends or neighbors to join us. We do hope to attract new golfers so we can continue to make this event grow. We will also be holding two golf ball Wednesdays – May 1 and May 8. We are also assembling a booze basket for our voice auction, so if you have any bottles of liquor or wine that is sitting around and collecting dust, please consider donating it to our event. These baskets always bring in a decent bid. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
– Todd Paulus, Event Chair
Meat Raffle
First ever “MEAT RAFFLE” for the Menomonee Falls Optimist Club!!! Larry Hebbring and Marcia Hebbring are co-chairs of this new fund raiser with proceeds going to offset our July 3rd parade. And, yes, we’ll need all of you help.
Date: Sunday, May 19th
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Place: Players Pub in Menomonee Falls
Many of you may not know what a meat raffle is, but right now it is a very popular fund raiser. We will have 15-18 meat raffles the day of the event. You must be present to participate in these raffles. We will have 2-3 50/50 raffles along with some prize raffles that you do not have to be present for. We will be selling the 50/50 raffle entries soon. Look for weekly info. This is where we need your help….. Selling the raffle tickets, donation baskets of goodies to raffle, and of course your smiling faces at the event. We will have a sign-up sheet if you are interested in working that day in the near future.
Thank you.
– Larry and Marcia Hebbring
OI Junior Golf Qualifier
The SWIS District OI Junior Golf qualifier is scheduled for Friday, June 14, 2019 at Brown Deer Golf course in Milwaukee, WI. This event is open to boys and girls ages 10-18. Entry fee is $75 per person. If a golfer shoots a qualifying score and we have a spot available in the OI Golf event, they can advance on to play in the Optimist International tournament in July in Florida. Many kids from our previous events have traveled down to Florida to participate in this event. Please pass this information on to any people you know who may be interested in it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
– Todd Paulus, Event Co-Chair
—- Optimists After 5 (OA5) —–
OA5 hosted their 2nd annual Bags Tournament on Sunday, April 28. The event had 64 participants in the tournament, with an additional 30 or so people as observers. While final numbers are being understood, the preliminary results are well above the expectations and have surpassed the $1000 raised for the general Optimist Club fund in 2018.
The event was sponsored by 5 local businesses, AJ O’Brady’s, DJ’s Goalpost, Krueger’s, Player’s Pub and Water Street Pub and Grill.
The next meeting for OA5 will be May 14, at Water Street Pub and Grill. Social meeting at 5:45, Business meeting beginning at 6. The main topics will include review of the bags event and the summer schedule.
Thank you to all of the volunteers that came out and helped, played and supported the Bags event!
– Shannon Dederich
—– Junior Optimists —-
The Junior Optimist Club is excited to be holding a fundraiser at Panera Bread on Appleton Avenue on Monday, May 6th from 4:00-8:00. Twenty per cent of the evening’s proceeds (from patrons who mention our club) will be donated back to the Junior Optimist Club, and we will use those funds to continue giving back to the community next year. Please see the attached flyer for the Panera fundraiser details.
We will also be holding elections for next year’s board that same day, Monday, May 6th. We will hold our annual installation banquet to swear in our new board members in late May. As always, we thank the Optimist Club for their support of our junior branch. We couldn’t do it without you!
– Ali Leon
—– Board Briefings – April 16, 2019 —–
Present, Joanne Wanner, Ann Freudenthal, Don Eisenhauer, Todd Paulus, Kathryn Hoff, Marcia Hebbring, Steve Fleming and Jeanine Dederich.
Absent, Dave Curran, Lynette Shepherd and Barb Schmit.
All approved minutes from 3-19-19 meeting.
Scott Park and Shane Cox talked about Memorial Day program at North Middle School. Motion by Ann seconded by Joanne to approve $750 for the event. All approved.
Knights of Columbus duck derby. Motion by Marcia seconded by Ann to approve $250. All approved.
Post prom budget presented. Motion by Kathryn seconded by Todd. All approved.
Treasurer’s report. Motion by Rick seconded by Ann. All approved Jennifer Dedrick was approved by all as a new member
Leadership Menomonee Falls. Scholarship of $950. Ann motioned seconded by Todd. All approved.
Next meeting 5-21-2019Meeting adjourned. Motion by Rick seconded by Todd. All approved.
2018-2019 Optimist Board: President Jeanine Dederich, 1st Vice President Todd Paulus, 2nd Vice President Rick Kohl, Treasurer Marcia Hebbring, Past President Lynette Shepherd, Past Presidents Council Don Eisenhauer. Board Members: Dave Curran, Kathryn Hoff, Barb Schmit, Ann Freudenthal, Steve Flemming, Joann Wanner
– Rick Kohl
Getting to Know You – Dustin Koehler
My name is Dustin Koehler, and I joined the Optimist Club in 2016. I grew up in the area, moved to Arizona in 2006, and relocated back to the area in 2015. My wife, Jess, and I live here in Menomonee Falls with our two boys, Peyton who is five years old, and Nash who recently turned three years old. We have two dogs, Reese and Dierks. I also work here in Menomonee Falls as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones. As a member of the Optimist Club, I have participated in the Menomonee Falls Chamber of Commerce Leadership Menomonee Falls program, served as 2nd Vice President, have been a popcorn wagon team captain, and currently co-chair the kids fishing derby. Some of my interests include watching the Brewers, Bucks, and Packers, attending country music concerts, being outdoors, trying new restaurants, traveling, and spending time with the family. I enjoy watching my boys grow and capturing as many special moments with them as possible.
—- Past Events —-
Tri-Star Basketball
This year’s Tri Star Basketball contest was a success. Thanks to everyone that helped me make it another great Optimist event. We had over 40 students participate from many schools in area. Congratulations to all the girls and boys that came and participated. A special congratulations to Griffin Winkelmann, Luke Bleimehl, Eden Raymond, Elaina Raymond, and Elise Raymond who all won medals at the district level.
– Bob Wenzel
Students of the Month
(Photos by Jon Cline)
Dayne Fuiten and Isabelle Thomann from Menomonee Falls High School
Kaelyn Bilello from North Middle School
Do the Right Thing
I would like to thank the schools that participated, Karen Nelson, our school representatives and Marcia Hebbring for without her this would not have gone on.
– Rick Kohl
Phillip Rinzel 3rd grade St. Mary Parish School
Addison Bruns 5th grade Valley View
Emyln Schuster 5th grade Riverside
Claire Heinen 5th grade Valley View
Shannon Doherty 8th grade NMS
Additional Do the Right Thing winners, not pictured: Zoey Toth 6th grade NMS, Olivia Sonnenburg 7th grade NMS
Optimist Meetings
On April 3, we met Erin Brodzeller, the new coordinator and teacher for the MFHS Quest program. Joining Erin were senior students Kier Jenkins and Vincent Zimmermann with Eric Wood a second teacher in the Quest Program. (Photo by Don Gorzek)
Bret Warner with the assistance of three of his student told our group about the 2019 Robotics Competition. Kierstin Prom, Jared Schwartz, and Josh Grant were part of the team that built and competed with the MFHS Robot. The Club meeting took place on April 10, 2019 in the High School Robotics Lab. (Photo by Don Gorzek)
—- This Month in Club History —
May 1988 (31 years ago) – The first Post-Prom Party is held at North Hills Athletic Club. With the help of the MFHS Booster Club, everything is successful, Chairman Ed Schlumpf reports.
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 Mislangno 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