Janesville Blackhawk Golden Kiwanis

Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
October 22^nd, 2025

Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
32 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: Maury Frey oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $8 and the big (Joker) pot was $40.
Dave Figi drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 842.  Congratulations to the winner, Jim Hay.
The deck of cards has 50/53 cards remaining.  Jim Hay drew the Q♠.

Richard Johnson thanks greeters Dave Caverley and Tom Neumann, invocator Bob Knudson, rafflemaster Maury Frey, and server Bob Knudson.

Happy Box: Nikki Bennett announced she is happy because she is teaching an art class Friday nights at Kidtopia.
Jim Hay announced he is happy because he won the raffle.  He is donating the proceeds to the Truck on Ice!
Jim Farrell announced he is happy because the county board voted ‘Yea’ on a referendum for youth government.
Bob Wilcox announced he is happy because his wife is recovering from shoulder surgery.

Richard Johnson announced that guests are present for the last time today, John and Nikki Bennett, soon to be members.

Jokes: Joker Steve Skelly had a good joke about lawyers, priests, engineers and a broken guillotine.

Member Health: Linda Bontly had a status update on long time Golden Kiwanis member Dick Hay.  He has passed away.
Tom Neumann had a status update on Bruce Jorenby, who is slowly improving, in the hospital in Edgerton.

Announcements: John Janes spoke upon upcoming blood drives, that are lacking reservations.  Please assist!
John Janes spoke upon the Truck on Ice.  Another sponsor has committed.  The Elks are a Silver Sponsor!
John Janes spoke upon the Golden ‘K’ business cards, in members’ wallets.  Use them!  We need new members!
Steve Skelly spoke upon the students from Rock University’s Key Club.  They gave away over 1,700 pieces of candy at the Trunk or Treat, and one won best costume!

April Wright introduced the day’s speaker, Holly Shrum.  Holly is part of the leadership team at the GIFTS Men’s Shelter’s Thrift Store.  The store’s motto is ‘turning second hand into second chances.’  Among Holly’s many initiatives for the store, a big one is the ‘Private Parties,’ private thrift events for your group or organization to raise funds.  She recently assisted with a 75 member bible study group that raised $1,500!
Holly gave an informative presentation about the store, their programs and offerings.  Many members had questions.
Kiwanis member Tom Neumann asked, “What do you take?  Golf clubs?”  Holly responded, “Everything!  No medical equipment that is specialized.  Sometimes items are overstocked and temporarily rejected (with a waitlist).  We are selective about furniture.”  Other members asked, “Housewares?” “Yes please!”  “Christmas decorations, now?”  “Yes.”
During conversation Holly explained, the store works with other groups for excess items, including Project 16:49, the Beloit shelter, and others.
Kiwanian John Janes asked, “Are you competitive with other resale shops?”  Holly, “We use ‘community standard of pricing.’  Our motto is “best of the best.”  For example, when dishes come in, the high quality items go on the shelves, the lower quality are given to a community group.”
Kiwanian Steve Skelly comments, “My shirts all come from there, twice yearly!  They have a selection at times of brand new, and cheap!”  Holly added, “and, we have numerous sales!”

John Janes, “Hours?”  Holly, “Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5”
Kiwanian Dave Figi contributed he participates in the ECHO homeless count.  Some 47 was the recent count.  Those that won’t speak aren’t counted.
Tom Neumann asks, “Where are donations brought?”  “There is a side door.”
Kiwanis member Linda Bontly asked, “Congratulations on being recently married!”  Holly replied, “Everything for the wedding was thrifted from the store!  Check out our Facebook page to see photos.”
Kiwanian Jim Farrell asks, “Are the clothes laundered?”  Holly said, “No.  It is far too much time.  Soiled items are disposed of.  High quality items are taken home by employees to be cared for.”
Kiwanis member Maury Frey contributed, “Recently, they had brand new shoes!”  Holly replied, “Yes, many big stores donate items.  TJ Maxx has been a big one.”
Kiwanian Ron Shuler, “My son and I are now thrifting and eBaying.”  Holly, “Yes!  We have eBayers come in frequently.”
Holly commented students receive 10% off on Fridays.
John Janes surveyed “How many members have been?”  Nearly everyone raised a hand.  “It is clean, moreso than Goodwill.  Call the GIFTS Thrift store with items you can hold on to, and they will reach out when they have room.”
Holly concluded with, “April Wright is a great organizer.  Things in the store are well organized.”

April Wright thanked Holly Shrum for speaking and presented her with a Kiwanis coffee mug.

Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 10:51AM.

Reminders: There is an executive board meeting next week.

On this day:
1746 Princeton University (NJ) received its charter
1827 German chemist Friedrich Wöhler is the first to isolate pure aluminum
1861 1st telegraph line linking West & East coasts completed
1879 Thomas Edison perfects the carbonized cotton filament light bulb
1881 Boston Symphony Orchestra gives its first concert
1883 1st NY Horse Show held (Madison Sq Garden)
1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide and creates 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich Meridian
1906 Henry Ford becomes President of Ford Motor Company
1907 Ringling Brothers Greatest Show on Earth buys Barnum & Bailey circus
1924 Toastmasters International is founded
1926 Boxer J. Gordon Whitehead sucker punches magician Harry Houdini in the stomach in his dressing room at the Princess Theater in Montreal. The attack started or helped cause the appendicitis that would take Houdini’s life 9 days later.
1934 Notorious bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd is shot and killed by FBI agents in East Liverpool, Ohio
1938 Chester Carlson conducts the first successful experiment in electrophotography and later sells it to the Haloid Company, now known as Xerox Corporation, which names it xerography
1939 NBC becomes first network to televise a pro football game; Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field
1948 First Arab–Israeli War: Israeli Navy sinks Egyptian Navy flagship ‘King Farouk’ using explosive-laden motorboat in the Mediterranean Sea near Gaza
1951 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1954 West Germany joins North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1958 1st Japanese anime feature film in color “The Tale of the White Serpent” released, produced by Toei Doga Company
1962 US President John F. Kennedy makes a live television address about Soviet missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis
1964 EMI rejects an audition by “High Numbers;” they go on to become “The Who”
1964 French philosopher and author Jean-Paul Sartre refuses the Nobel Prize for Literature, saying he doesn’t want to be “institutionalized”
1964 US performs underground nuclear test at Hattiesburg, Mississippi
1968 Apollo 7 returns to Earth
1969 Paul McCartney denies greatly exaggerated rumors of his death
1977 International Sun-Earth Explorers 1 & 2 launched into Earth orbit
1979 Walt Disney World’s 100 millionth guest
1981 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved aspartame artificial sweetener for tabletop use following years of scrutiny
1981 US national debt tops $1 trillion
1988 US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor survives breast cancer surgery
1991 General Motors announces 9 month loss of $US2.2 billion
1992 Space Shuttle STS 52 (Columbia 13) launches into space
1997 Compaq testifies Microsoft threaten to break Windows 95 agreement if they showcased a Netscape icon
2008 Google Play is launched, the official app store for the Android operating system
2008 Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar space probe, was launched, and it later found water in the Moon’s atmosphere.
2009 Microsoft releases Windows 7
2012 “Red” 4th studio album by Taylor Swift is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2012/2013)
National Clean Up the Earth Day takes place exactly six months after Earth Day. It is a day to reflect on the progress that has been made to make a cleaner world since that holiday, and a day to redouble efforts to make the world a cleaner place in the future.
Part of Medical Assistants Recognition Week, which is held during the third full week of October, Medical Assistants Recognition Day honors and recognizes medical assistants and CMAs (AAMA), and acknowledges their contributions to the delivering of effective healthcare. Designated by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), the day is for employers to recognize their employees, but colleagues and patients also show appreciation and recognition for medical assistants on the day.

Minutes by Ryan Lewis.
Credit: Dave Figi, 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.