Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
October 29th, 2025
Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
An Executive Board meeting occurred today.
Richard Johnson led the meeting with the singing of America, the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Invocation: Ron Shuler, mentioning our country, and the children.
Raffle: Maury Frey oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $10 and the big (Joker) pot was $50.
Luci Cramer drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 798. Congratulations to the winner, Don Kellogg.
The deck of cards has 49/53 cards remaining. Don Kellogg drew the 4♣.
Richard Johnson thanks greeters Bob Knudson and Ron Shuler, invocator Ron Shuler, rafflemaster Maury Frey, and server Bob Knudson.
Happy Box: Dave Figi and Don Kellogg announced they are happy because they won the raffle. They are donating the proceeds to the Salvation Army!
Luci Cramer announced she is happy because they are back from Seattle. The Cramers’ daughter recently had a benign cancerous growth removed, and is now healing.
Richard Johnson announced he is happy because it is Darlene’s birthday today!
Linda Bontly announced she is happy today because the Meals on Wheels sheet is filling. We need more!
Jokes: Joker Steve Skelly had a good joke about a state trooper following a trucker who keeps stopping. He finally pulls the vehicle over, and asks what the problem is. The trucker explains, he doesn’t want to exceed the weight limit, and the load of parakeets keep landing on their perches.
Member Health: Tom Neumann had a status update on Bruce Jorenby, who was released from the hospital this week, is on the mend receiving home health.
Other Announcements: Nikki Bennett spoke upon SNAP being unfunded. The Bennetts heard a pizzeria in Beloit, Juanita’s, providing free 10” pizzas to children and the elderly who have a SNAP card. Other businesses exist.
Richard Johnson spoke upon Jim Hay’s funeral, which is Saturday at 11am. Please wear gold.
John Janes spoke upon two new sponsors for the Truck on Ice! 24/7 Comfort is a gold sponsor! JP Cullen is a silver sponsor.
Tom Neumann spoke upon a handout on all tables, a list of all local food pantries compliments of St. John’s Lutheran.
John Janes inducted two new members! John and Nikki Bennett were introduced. They were given their binders and pins. A plaque was presented.
Roger Willeford inducted the previously absent new officers, President Elect Tom Neumann, and Vice President Jim Farrell. Tom and Jim were provided their pins.
Roger Willeford then awarded to the (previously absent) Dave Figi a George F. Hixson Award, for his outstanding work on the monthly newsletters.
Committee Reports: John Janes announced results of the two recent blood drives. The first day, 51 units were collected, and ten people were deferred. The following day, 68 units were collected, and only two deferrals.
John Janes announced details of an upcoming youth homelessness event. It will be at Craig High School.
Jenny Turco introduced the day’s speaker, Cullen Slapak. Cullen was previously the Janesville Ice Arena director. He holds a Bachelor’s of the Sciences, and later attained a Master’s degree. He is the director of the Janesville Parks Division.
Cullen presented upon various elements of the city’s parks department:
This winter, Traxler Park will have a weekly warming spot, every Saturday.
Part of the city’s parks division’s responsibilities include forestry. An example was Ash trees’ replacement. In total, 150 trees were planted this year alone.
Cullen spoke of the city’s responsibility, by law, to overseeing insolvent cemeteries. The city was asked by the caretakers to take possession of the Oak Hill Cemetery, and required by state statute about their financials.
Trivia time! “Who developed the first park system and public spaces plan for Janesville? Answer: John Nolen, the same of the named street in Madison, who developed them for several cities.
Recently, the city added digital lights at the pickleball courts at Riverside Park, along with digital usage information about the lights. Cullen noted they are used frequently.
Slides were shown about the Palmer Pool renovation, completed in 2025.
The new year will bring a renovation of the Peace Park playground. Originally created in 2001, the equipment including large teepees was created with wood for around $200,000. The project will include new teepees and more modern materials, and may cost North of $800,000.
Kiwanian Tom Neumann asked about the Blackhawk and Riverside golf club houses. Cullen stated that they are planned, in the future.
Cullen spoke for a time about Lion’s Beach, Rotary Botanical Gardens and Kiwanis Pond, and a new issue with them. Aquatic Mare’s Tail, something the state botanists asked hadn’t known since the 1800s, is prevalent. Mitigation efforts are under way.
Kiwanis member Steve Skelly asked about the deer problem. Cullen replied that it was a DNR concern.
Kiwanian Jim Farrell asked about bathrooms for the farmer’s market. Cullen believed it to be a city manager question. Cullen’s idea was that it might be as much as a one to two million dollar project.
Kiwanis member John Janes asked, “Who cares for the Kiwanis Park and Pond?” Cullen, “the city does oversee them. If Kiwanis are willing to help, please do!”
John Janes asked, “runoff from the streets is destroying the water quality, and salinity, of the Traxler Lagoon.” Cullen responded, “A city engineer did look into it. It could not be improved, without millions invested in diverting storm water.”
Steve Skelly asked if the city had use for extra trees from the annual Kiwanis Tree Sale. Cullen responded that a need may exist for replacing or adding to the aging trees at the Kiwanis Park.
Jim Farrell asked, “The city ordinance about dogs in the parks and bike trails is harsh. Might it be adjusted?” Cullen responded that it has been discussed by the city council 3-4 times, and was repeatedly a contentious 50/50 split.
John Janes asked about the Monterey Dam removal. Was it a net negative or positive? Cullen believed it was to our advantage, and added, “fish are now being caught in new places, including under the train trestle, and more downtown.
Kiwanian Greg Turco asked, “How does Janesville’s per capita parks investment stack against other communities?” Cullen stated it is below other communities.
Kiwanis member Tom Neumann asked if the dog parks are currently well utilized. Cullen responded, “Yes!”
Cullen’s presentation was informative and well received.
Jenny Turco thanked Cullen Slapak for speaking and presented him with a Kiwanis Parker pen.
Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:50AM.
On this day:
1675 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz makes the first use of the long s, ∫, for integral, helping to develop integral and differential calculus
1682 William Penn lands at what is now Chester, Pennsylvania
1787 Opera “Don Giovanni,” with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, premieres at the Estates Theatre in Prague
1811 First Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans
1814 First steam-powered warship, “Demologos,” is launched in New York for the US Navy
1833 First US college fraternity to have a fraternity house is founded
1886 The first ticker-tape parade marking the dedication of the Statue of Liberty is held in New York City
1929 Stock market crash on Wall Street, known as “Black Tuesday,” triggers the Great Depression
1942 The Alaska highway is completed
1958 Dr. F. Mason Sones is the first doctor to perform a coronary angiogram
1964 The Star of India sapphire and other jewels are stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York
1965 The Who release their single “My Generation” in the UK
1966 NASA’s Lunar Orbiter 1 crashes on the Moon at 6.7°N 162°E
1967 Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado’s hippie musical “Hair” opens off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in New York City for a limited 6-week run
1969 US Supreme Court orders end to all school segregation “at once”
1974 Law bans discrimination based on sex or marital status in credit applications
1988 2,000 US anti-abortion protesters are arrested for blocking clinics
1993 Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches a record 3687.86
2015 It was announced that China was ending its one-child policy; beginning in 2016, couples could have two children.
The internet consists of interconnected computer networks that are accessible to the public around the globe, which use Internet Protocol and transmit data by packet switching. There is record of an International Internet Day being held in 1999, but by most accounts, this holiday began being observed in 2005. The observance marks an important date in the history of telecommunications and technology: the anniversary of the first “node-to-node” communication between two computers, which essentially was the first internet transmission.
National Cat Day is a time when people give their cats a little extra attention, and homeless cats are helped to find forever homes. Colleen Paige, founder of holidays such as National Dog Day, National Puppy Day, and National Pet Day, created the day to raise awareness about the number of homeless cats, and for those who live with cats to celebrate them.
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.