Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
March 18th, 2026
President Richard Johnson presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
Richard Johnson led with the singing of America, the National Anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Invocation: Bob Knudson, mentioning snow and the children.
Raffle: Jon Bennett oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $11 and the big (Joker) pot was $23.
Dave Figi drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 883. Congratulations to the winner, Ryan Lewis.
The deck of cards has 52/53 cards remaining. Ryan Lewis drew the Q♠.
Richard Johnson thanks greeters April Wright, invocator Bob Knudson, rafflemaster John Bennett, and server Glenn Disrude.
A collection was passed for the Rock University Key Club.
Happy Box: Ryan Lewis announced he is happy because he won the raffle, and is donating the proceeds to the club!
Jokes: Joker Carl Cramer had a good joke about being a bookkeeper for ten years. The library did not appreciate it, at all.
Member Health: Linda Bontly had a status update from Linda Hanneman on Don Hanneman, who is finally home, recovering, after their traffic accident.
Linda Bontly had a status update on Jerry Burhans, who is in the hospital.
Tom Neumann had a status update on Ron Shuler, who is home with his son, preparing it for sale because Ron is no longer able to negotiate stairs.
Other Announcements: Tom Neumann spoke upon the St. Patrick’s day party, which is tonight! Please pay this morning, if you haven’t already.
Committee Reports: Ray Szczepaniak announced Easter Lilies locations are set, including two in Milton. Please, sign up!
Ray Szczepaniak introduced the day’s speakers, students from the Rock University Key Club. Their advisor Stephanie Villarello accompanied the six students here today. The students gave a spirited presentation of their many accomplishments in the last year. Some of them are detailed below.
Kiwanis member Jenny Turco asked, “Where is the UW Madison class trip tomorrow?” A student responded, “It is a tour to encourage students to extend their education.”
Kiwanian John Sarnow inquired, “Why Rock University?” The students agreed, “You can graduate high school with a college degree.”
Stephanie spoke upon the school, “We accept any student with good attendance and willingness to learn. Many students double up on courses to graduate with having taken college courses their junior and senior years. Culinary, criminal justice, business and accounting programs are just some of the many options that are readily available. Some of our students will walk with Blackhawk Technical College graduates two weeks before they receive their high school diplomas.”
The school opened in 2014. It currently has less than 90 students. Of them, 16 are graduating in the 2026 class.
Rock University strives for academic excellence. Some facts about us:
On-campus college classes
100% of students are receiving college credit
14 of 17 students are receiving associates or certifications this year
R. U. is ranked the 19th best school in the state
Students have above average ACT scores
The faculty to student ratio is 1:16
Potlucks, and game nights(!)
Access to Blackhawk advisors and counselors.
Some projects we participated in include:
YWCA apartments rehabilitation
Speaking with incoming BTC students at orientation
BTC Fall Festival volunteers
BTC Trunk or Treat, thanks to the generous funding donation for candy to give out
Beloit Library Book Sale
Bags of Hope, a Project 16:49 initiative for students in need during winter and spring breaks, which created 200+ bags with 4 snacks per bag, and meals thanks to e. g. Dollar Tree’s distribution center. This was one of the first events we participated in
BTC Winter Festival, another community outreach event, where we created $5 build-a-bears, the proceeds being used for the BTC Food Pantry
GIFTS Men’s Shelter
Kids helping Kids
ECHO
and others.
Kiwanis member John Janes asked, “How many hours of school are there per day? Do you have jobs?” A student responded, “Eight hours, and another four if in college. Some of us have jobs.” One girl volunteered she nannies in Madison on off hours and weekends.
The Rock University students then thanked the Golden K for the shirts.
Many other conversations transpired, including about the Key Club, “We hope to help with Kiwanis Park cleanup in the future. We would like to be involved with the Humane Society of Southern Wisconsin.” Regarding the negatives of the Key Club, “The only downside is that we miss lunch on Tuesdays.” Added later, one Key Club member’s dream service project is something environment-oriented.
John Janes inquired, “What can the Golden K do to help your Key Club?” Their advisor Stephanie answered, “Please, continue to support us.” A student volunteered, “More service project locations would be appreciated.”
John Janes detailed a few extra projects the Golden K might involve the Key Club in, and asked if signage would be to their benefit. “Yes, please!” John said, “We will assist.”
The presentation was well received and enjoyed. The Blackhawk Golden K are proud of everything these students accomplished.
Ray Szczepaniak thanked the Rock University Key Club for speaking and presented their advisor with a Kiwanis Parker Pen and a Kiwanis yellow tumbler.
Richard Johnson adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 11AM.
Reminders: There is an executive board meeting next week.
On this day:
1662 First public bus service begins, promoted by Blaise Pascal, operates in Paris as the “Carosses à Cinq Sous” until 1675
1781 French astronomer Charles Messier rediscovers global cluster M92, one of the oldest clusters in the Milky Way, at an estimated 14.2 billion years
1818 US Congress approves 1st pensions for government service
1834 1st railroad tunnel in US completed, in Pennsylvania (275 m long)
1850 Henry Wells & William Fargo form American Express in Buffalo
1870 Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, becomes the first US National Wildlife Refuge
1874 Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States, granting the US exclusive trading rights
1881 Barnum & Bailey Circus, traveling as “The Greatest Show on Earth,” debuts at Madison Square Garden in New York City after the merger of two existing circus groups
1891 Britain is linked to the continent by Telephone
1899 Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, is discovered by William Pickering
1909 Einar Dessau of Denmark makes 1st ham broadcast
1910 Frederick Converse’s opera “The Pipe of Desire” is the first American opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera, NYC
1931 1st electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick)
1937 The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante, flies 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) outside Milan.
1948 Philips begin experimental TV broadcasting
1952 1st plastic lens for cataract patients fitted (Philadelphia)
1959 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Hawaii statehood bill
1965 Poppin’ Fresh, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, is introduced
1965 Rolling Stones fined £5 each for public urination
1965 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov leaves his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes and becomes the first person to conduct a spacewalk
1966 Scott Paper begins selling paper dresses for $1
1967 the Beatles’ single “Penny Lane” single goes #1
1968 US Congress repeals requirement for a gold reserve
1974 Most Arab oil producing nations end embargo against US
1985 Capital Cities Communications Inc. acquires ABC for $3.5 billion in the first transfer of ownership of a TV network
1986 US Treasury Department announces plans to alter paper money
1989 27th NASA Space Shuttle Mission: Discovery 8 (STS-29), returns to Earth
1989 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt
1989 California Quake amusement ride opens at Universal Studios
1990 In the largest art heist in US history, 13 works of art worth over $500 million are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
1994 Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16), lands
1995 STS 67 (Endeavour 8) lands after 16½ days
1996 50,000 swimmers raise 15 million for charity during BT’s Swimathon ’96
1997 Ben & Jerry’s introduce the philanthropic flavor “Phish Food” in conjunction with American jam band Phish at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington, Vermont; some proceeds from the chocolate ice cream with marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge. are donated to the band’s charitable Water Wheel Foundation
Goddess of Fertility Day celebrates fertility, life, and rebirth, and takes place a few days before the spring equinox each year. Fertility is the capability to produce offspring, and besides sexual behavior, it is contingent on a number of factors such as nutrition, culture, and economics. There are many goddesses of fertility. Perhaps the best-known goddess is Aphrodite, who is associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Her Roman equivalent is Venus, and she is sometimes associated with the Egyptian goddess Isis. Before the spring equinox in ancient times, people prayed and made offerings to Aphrodite, in hopes of starting a family. Some people have called the day Ostara, which is the name of another fertility goddess. Ostara has her own separate day, though, which takes place in just a few days on the spring equinox.
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. This content may only be reproduced without alteration and with credit to the original author(s).
