Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
June 11th, 2025
Roger Willeford presiding, called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
28 members were in attendance today.
The meeting was led with the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of America, the National Anthem.
Invocation: Bob Knudson, mentioning food and drink, and the children.
Raffle: Ray Szczepaniak oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $11 and the big (Joker) pot was $248.
Gregg Dickinson drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 6241. Congratulations to the winner, the Maury Frey/Glenn Disrude duo.
The deck of cards has 33/53 cards remaining. Glenn Disrude drew the 4♣.
Roger Willeford thanks greeters Bob Knudson and Bruce Jorenby, invocator Bob Knudson, rafflemaster Ray Szczepaniak, and server Glenn Disrude.
Happy Box: Roger Willeford announced he is happy because it was his 57th wedding anniversary.
Maury Frey/Glenn Disrude announced they are happy because they won the raffle, and are donating the winnings to the mid-year appeal.
Jokes: Jenny Turco had a good joke about singing in the shower, fun until you get soap in your mouth and it becomes a soap opera.
Steve Skelly had a good joke.
Dave Caverley had a good joke about a crab who kept everything. It turned out he was shellfish.
Other Announcements: Roger Willeford spoke upon a thank-you letter that arrived from the Girl Scouts of America.
Gregg Dickinson spoke upon Rotary’s big fundraiser, something equivalent to the Truck on Ice, is selling raffle tickets. The prize pool includes $4,200.
Dick Fay spoke upon some rhubarb he grew, up for grabs. There were takers.
Dave Thill spoke upon the mid-year appeal has now received its first four five supporters.
Committee Reports: John Janes announced the car accident Saturday involved his family members. A photo of a child was displayed. John’s great granddaughter, a three-year-old girl named Vivian, was med-flighted. After two days, the family were gathered to remove her from life support.
Tom Neumann announced the Farmer’s Market signup is being passed around. The booth is on June 21st.
Steve Skelly announced the Buddy Benches’ assembly progressed nicely, four separate days. A few final bolts are the last things needed for a completed first round of products.
Jim Farrell introduced the day’s speaker, Aimee Scrima. Aimee is the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport’s, otherwise known as the Rock County Airport, director. She started with a photo of the area in 1939, then a farmer’s field. Aimee presented upon the history of the airport, its capabilities, staffing, events, funding and related operational structure.
Some facts were provided in the presentation and as a result of Kiwanians’ questions:
An FAA regulation exists on the height of grasses, not too high or too low.
Plowing is important for runways! A new $1.1M plow/sweeper/blow combination was purchased, subsidized to $61,000 via state and federal subsidies.
The airport takes in around $550K in revenue, in large part due to an 8c/gallon income on fuel. Another $500K comes from the tax levy. Other sources include the Glen Erin golf course, which is on leased land, and ‘T-Hangars,’ county-owned hangars which currently have a wait list nine deep.
The airport hosts numerous events. One such is ‘Safecon.’ In 2024, children to adults participated and learned principles such as landing on a spot, fixing a plane’s problem and others. The pizza tab alone was $4,000.
Kiwanian Tom Neumann asks, “What is the largest plane the airport can accept?” Aimee estimated a 737, and noted that Trump’s recent visit was a 757, and previously Bush a 747. The capability is dependent on a craft’s fuel weight. One time waivers can be attained from the federal government.
Kiwanian Jim Farrell asks, “Flying lessons?” Aime explained it generally takes two years. The classes are bonified, including a syllabus. Students do leave with a pilot’s license. She estimated the cost at around $45,000. Aimee mentioned she received her pilot’s license in around four months and $7,500, in her own time.
Jim Farrell thanked Aimee Scrima for speaking and presented her with a Kiwanis Parker pen.
Roger Willeford adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:55AM.
Minutes by Ryan Lewis.
Credit: Dave Figi, and Ryan Lewis, photographs.
Note: Kiwanis and its members are not responsible for errors or omissions. We are open to discussion if you would like to request an alteration.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.