Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General Meeting
Minutes
July 8th, 2026
Past President Roger Willeford presided, and called the meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 9:30AM.
34 members were in attendance today.
Roger Willeford led with the singing of America, the National Anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Invocation: Dave Calverley, mentioning guiding us to do good, and the children.
Raffle: Ray Szczepaniak oversaw the ticket sales and drawing this week.
The weekly pot was $15 and the big (Joker) pot was $204.
Lariena drew a ticket from the bucket, ticket number 407. Congratulations to the winner, Luci Cramer.
The deck of cards has 39/53 cards remaining. Luci Cramer drew the 8♦.
Roger Willeford thanks greeters Bob Knudson and Dave Peterson, invocator Dave Calverley, rafflemaster Ray Szczepaniak, and server Bob Knudson.
Jokes: Joker Steve Skelly had a good joke about 24 hours in a day, and coincidences.
Joker Ryan Lewis had a good joke about a husband and wife speaking about a spouse’s passing, and golf clubs.
Committee Reports: John Janes announced the Truck on Ice parade float was a success(!), as were the Blood Drives! The daily amounts were 41 and 27 unit respectively, average for the summer.
John Janes announced the Pistons and Props air show is looking for volunteers. Us? John Sarnow asked, “should we bring the Truck on Ice?” Greg Turco asked, “Will we receive reimbursement similar to the Renaissance Faire?”
Ray Szczepaniak announced the Bookmobile yesterday was launched yesterday. Jim Farrell was there, and Tom Neumann gave a speech. It was a success! The Kiwanis logos are on both doors, and the back.
Ray Szczepaniak reminded people the mid-year appeal is going well. A raffle was completed for the members that turned in their surveys.
Ryan Lewis introduced the day’s speakers, Connie Holmes and Amanda Torres. Connie is the owner of BU2BFULL (pronounced be you to be full) hypnosis and coaching where she helps individuals to stop reacting to life and begin owning their life. She does this as a life coach, hypnotherapist, and neuro-linguistic programming specialist. She is also the owner of Confidence with Connie where she teaches professional excellence through intentional self-leadership as a professional speaker and corporate workshop facilitator. Amanda is the voice behind Becoming Amanda and the founder of the Amanda Torres Collective, a space where ideas turn into action and voices turn into platforms. She is a motivational speaker, podcaster, coach, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner. Together, they are the co-hosts of the first annual Midwest Podcast Conference that will be held here in Janesville on August 8th.
Connie began by asking some questions:
“Who helped you the most when you were down? Who passed that you miss greatly? Who has done you the biggest service?”
Kiwanis member John Janes was first to respond, “In 1982, there was a bad accident and resultant injury. Many people helped me heal.”
Amanda Torres spoke, “My father passed, and is missed. He always said, “I love you.””
Amanda’s granddaughter was assisting. She offered, “My horse passed away, at 34 years old, in March. It was three days after my birthday, in March.”
Kiwanian April Wright spoke to a difficult part of her life, and a good friend that lifted her up.
Kiwanis member Steve Skelly spoke about a father that said “I love you” to him, after an entire lifetime.
Connie then talked about a woman she helped, with a family member being lost to dementia. Working together, they used a tool, a 9-square grid, to identify ways she could keep her life and herself separate, and stay strong.
Connie offered multiple ways she assists others with their lives and ways they can overcome or prevail.
Amanda Torres then began to speak about podcasts. A Kiwanis member asked how podcasts are located. Amanda offered, “YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts are just some of the platforms to that are great new ways to get new information.
Amanda spoke about her life. She was a grandmother at 39 years old, the grandchild born at 24 weeks. Amanda’s podcast, “Becoming Amanda” is about her life.
Amanda wishes she had her grandmother’s voice to better know her, and understand the wisdom she instilled.
Kiwanian Ray Szczepaniak asked of Amanda’s podcast, “Do you interview others?” Amanda replied, “Yes. There are many different guests, including her own granddaughter.”
Steve Skelly volunteered, “It is great you are here. Someone just asked of me to do some podcasts!”
Kiwanis member Ryan Lewis asked, “How many podcasts have you done?” Amanda answered, “They have been going for years, with a break for a short while. They are now up to 3,000 downloads.”
Amanda then spoke upon the upcoming Midwest Podcast Conference. The strategy for the event is the three “S’s,” Solidify, Scale and Stand out from the crowd. They lead to the three “I’s,” Income, Impact and Influence.
The event will be at Janesville Performing Arts Center. Breakfast items will be available. A WCLO DJ will be there.
Connie spoke to Amanda’s talents, saying, “Amanda helped start my podcast, ‘The Authority Activator.’”
John Janes inquired, “How would I find (e. g.) a World War II podcast?” Amanda answered, “Apple Podcasts is a good start.”
Kiwanian Jim Farrell asked, “How do you know who uses a podcast?” Amanda, “’Pod Bean’ helps with listens, and downloads.”
John Janes inquired, “Do teenagers use it for bullying?” Amanda responded, “The platforms evaluate content and pull offenders.”
Connie added, “To me, they are a great modern-day news source.”
Kiwanis member Greg Turco asked, “What is the schedule for the conference speakers? Will there be breakouts?” Amanda and Connie replied, “The schedule is on the website. This year there will not be breakouts.”
Ray Szczepaniak inquired, “A friend and I have been going to movies regularly. Could that be a podcast?” Amanda answered, “Sure! Maybe give reviews, which might later involve sponsorships. Free movie tickets! 😊”
Steve Skelly stated, “A cousin is doing a podcast with our grandmother. It is a great thing for our family! We should all think about it.” Amanda and Connie responded, “We should all do! Share your wisdom, give your advice.”
John Janes offered, “There were ten children in my family, and three older brothers have passed. It would be good to tell them, “Let’s make a podcast.” How?” Amanda replied, “You could record it one by one. Create some structure with me. Maybe, build to a group episode, some amount of planning later. Fishing at the creek on Sundays – Family dinners – Good nostalgia has universal interest.”
Kiwanian Glenn Disrude asked, “How does this all work, financially?” Amanda replied, “It starts with ‘hosting,’ which is around $18 monthly. When you begin to grow your library, sponsorships, commercials and other opportunities will follow.”
Connie and Amanda’s presentations were well received and appreciated.
Ryan Lewis thanked Amanda Torres and Connie Holmes for speaking and presented them with Kiwanis Parker pens.
Roger Willeford adjourned the meeting with a ring of the bell at 11AM.
On this day:
292 Earliest known date on a Maya inscription, possibly depicting the enthronement of King Siyaj Chan K’awiil I of Tikal (Stela 29 Tikal)
1693 New York City authorizes the first police uniforms in the American colonies
1776 Colonel John Nixon gives the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to an assemblage of citizens in Philadelphia
1796 US State Department issues first US passport
1800 Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox
1836 Charles Darwin reaches Saint Helena in HMS Beagle and takes up lodgings near the tomb of Napoleon
1870 US Congress authorizes registration of trademarks
1892 American Psychological Association organized in Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
1913 Alfred Carlton Gilbert’s patent for the Erector Set is issued, one of the most popular toys of all time
1928 Phillies set record of errorless 25 inning doubleheader
1933 US Public Works Administration becomes effective
1947 Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico
1969 IBM CICS is made generally available for the 360 mainframe computer
1970 Fantasy records releases “Cosmo’s Factory”, the fifth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival; it is critically acclaimed and becomes their biggest seller, spawning six singles that reach the top 5 of the Billboard charts
1971 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977 Sabra Starr finishes longest recorded belly dance (100 hrs)
1979 Voyager 2 discovers Jupiter’s moon Adrastea, also known as Jupiter XV, the first natural satellite discovered from spacecraft images
1994 Space Shuttle STS-65 (Columbia 17) launches
“Be a Kid Again Day” This is a day dedicated to looking at the world as though you were still a child. It is a day to let your guard down and be a little silly, and remember the simple things in life from your childhood. As adults, we worry so much about how others perceive us, and we many times don’t slow down to enjoy the moment. It’s a day to not worry as much and to just go with the flow.
Math 2.0 Day celebrates math and technology, specifically the intersection between the two. On the day, mathematicians, educators, innovators, and policymakers come together to celebrate and also to raise awareness about math literacy and education. Mathematics and technology are part of everyday life—the symbiosis between them benefits our lives in areas such as transportation, construction, and entertainment. Because of its great importance to our lives, we celebrate this relationship today.
The holiday appears to have been created in 2009. It was on today’s date that year that the Math 2.0 Interest Group was founded. This group was part of the Math Future Group, which was “a network of researchers, teachers, technology innovators, community leaders, and families who are interested in the future of math and math education.” The group collaborated on research and development projects and conversed about social media and its relationship to mathematics and mathematics education.
Ice cream sundaes—which are ice cream desserts with one or more scoops of ice cream with sauces or syrups, often with other toppings such as fruits, maraschino cherries, nuts, sprinkles, and whipped cream—are enjoyed on National Ice Cream Sundae Day. The “classic” ice cream sundae has vanilla ice cream topped with a flavored sauce or syrup, such as chocolate or strawberry, as well as whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. Some variations of the sundae include the banana split, knickerbocker glory, turtle sundae, and tin roof sundae. Sundaes are also often topped with heated sauces or syrups such as hot fudge, butterscotch, and caramel.
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).
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