Janesville Blackhawk Golden Kiwanis

Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
October 1^st, 2025

Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.

Richard Johnson led the meeting with the singing of America, the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Invocation: Richard Johnson, mentioning the children.

Raffle: Linda Bontly oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $12 and the big (Joker) pot was $12.
Darlene Johnson drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 2010.  Congratulations to the winner, Don Kellogg.
The deck of cards has 53/53 cards remaining.  Don Kellogg drew the K♦.

Richard Johnson thanks greeters Mel Lemirande and John Sarnow, invocator Richard Johnson, rafflemaster Linda Bontly, and server Bob Knudson.

A collection was passed for the Salvation Army.

Happy Box: Roger Willeford announced he is happy because his wife’s shoulder surgery was a success.
Don Kellogg announced he is happy because he won the raffle.  He is donating his winnings to the Salvation Army!
Ron Shuler announced he is happy because he recently had stitches removed.

Jokes: Steve Skelly had a good joke about turning water to wine.
Steve Skelly had another good joke about a mother who hasn’t eaten.
Roger Willeford had a good joke about a Knight of the Round Table, Sir Cumference.

Member Health: Linda Bontly had a status update on Dave Kemp, whose wife is in the hospital.
Linda Bontly had a status update on Bruce Jorenby, who is in the hospital.  A card was passed.

Darlene Johnson and Steve Skelly have birthdays this month, and a song was sung.

Other Announcements: Steve Skelly spoke upon Rock University, who have 30 new Key Club members!

Committee Reports: John Janes announced fliers for the upcoming blood drive are on your tables.
John Janes announced Tuck on Ice T-Shirts, such as that worn by Steve Skelly, are available for sale.  Sponsors letters are printed and being sent.

Jenny Turco introduced the day’s speaker, Ben Reese.  Ben is the Sales and Marketing Manager at Cedar Crest.  He shared many facts about the facilities, including:

Cedar Crest was established in 1963.  It is a faith-based non-profit organization, an arm of the Health and Wellness ministry of the United Methodist Church.

Cedar Crest is the only facility with a 5/5 star rating by medicare.gov within a 23-mile area.
Cedar Crest has expanded recently, and is doing so again!

An expanding number of activities are available to residents.

Interested parties are encouraged to reach out.

Jenny Turco thanked Ben Reese for speaking and presented him with a Kiwanis coffee mug.

Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell.

On this day:
1661 Yachting begins in England as King Charles II defeats his brother James, Duke of York, in a yacht race from Greenwich to Gravesend
1800 Spain cedes Louisiana to France in a secret treaty
1867 Karl Marx publishes “Das Kapital” in Berlin, describing the capitalist system, its instability, and its tendency toward self-destruction
1868 “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott is published in America by Roberts Brothers of Boston
1888 National Geographic magazine is published for the first time
1890 US Congress creates Weather Bureau
1890 US Congress establishes Yosemite National Park (California)
1891 Stanford University, California, opens its doors after being founded by Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, with a $40 million donation in memory of their son. Among its first graduating class is future US President Herbert Hoover.  Chicago University opens one year later.
1907 A downturn in the stock market leads to a run on the dollar; US President Theodore Roosevelt calls on financier J. P. Morgan to help manage the financial crisis
1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T car, priced at $825
1922 Former Chicago Staleys play their first NFL game as the Chicago Bears and beat the Racine Legion 6-0 at Horlick Field in Racine, Wisconsin
1922 St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Rogers Hornsby goes 3-for-5 in a 7-1 regular season-ending win against the Chicago Cubs, improving his batting average to .401; he is the only MLB player to bat .400 and hit 40 home runs in the same season
1928 Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) opens in the Westchester section of Los Angeles, California
1933 Babe Ruth makes his final pitching appearance in MLB, pitching all 9 innings in a season-ending 6-5 win against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, and hits his 34th home run of the season in the 5th inning
1940 Pennsylvania Turnpike, pioneering toll thruway, opens
1942 Bell P-59 Airacomet fighter, first US jet, makes maiden flight
1952 First ultra high frequency (UHF) television station, Portland, OR
1957 First appearance of “In God We Trust” on US paper currency
1958 US space agency NASA begins operations, incorporating the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and other bodies
1961 US performs a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1964 Japan’s first bullet train (Tokaido Shinkansen) departs Tokyo for Osaka, reducing the 6.5-hour journey to 4 hours
1967 English psychedelic rock band Pink Floyd arrives in New York for their first US tour
1968 Cult zombie film “Night of the Living Dead,” directed by George A. Romero and starring Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea, premieres in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1969 Concorde 001 jet airplane test flight breaks the sound barrier
1971 Walt Disney World opens in Bay Lake, Florida
1974 Computer scientist Gary Kildall presents the prototype of his CP/M operating system in his backyard toolshed, the first commercially successful personal computer operating system
1977 US Department of Energy is established
1992 Cartoon Network premieres
Balloons Around the World Day highlights the act of giving, brings smiles to thousands of faces, and showcases the work of artists who sculpt, twist, and decorate balloons. Balloons shaped like animals, hats, and other objects are given out for free or are exchanged for donations to organizations and local causes. Public balloon sculptures are also created.
While there is an endless array of prepackaged cookies that can easily be purchased in stores, homemade cookies raise the bar in taste and class. Mixing up a batch of cookies from scratch with standby ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, and flour brings extra satisfaction, and today is the perfect day to do it because it’s Homemade Cookie Day!

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. rev. 08-05-2025