Janesville Blackhawk Golden Kiwanis

Jim Farrell introduced the day’s speaker, Melissa Wilbanks.  Melissa is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Madison.  Originally from Kentucky, she earned her BBA in Marketing before moving to Waunakee in 2018 – a place she and her family now proudly call home.  She joined RMHC-Madison…

April Wright introduced the day’s speaker, Scott Skelly.  Over 35 years selling produce with wife Laura and children, Scott’s family has a history in agriculture spanning well over a century.  He has an agricultural business major, and spent part of his life moving around the country assisting other farmers in…

Jim Farrell introduced the day’s speaker, Michelle Laube.  Michelle is the Janesville City Assessor.  She presented upon many budgetary concepts, including how the value of homes is determined.  The process is complicated, and mandated.

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

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…

Blackhawk Golden ‘K’ General MeetingMinutesOctober 15th, 2025 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: Ron Shuler, mentioning members away, and the children. Raffle: John…

Jenny Turco introduced the day’s speaker, Sherry Derr-Wille.  Sherry is an accomplished author, with 90 or more published titles to her credit.  She was previously a travel agent.  Sherry proceeded to communicate to Kiwanians the intricacies of being a published author, from her first novel on to her soon-to-be-published 89th…

Jenny Turco introduced the day’s speaker, Ben Reese.  Ben is the Sales and Marketing Manager at Cedar Crest.

Kiwanis District Governor Kathy Durner is here!

Ryan Lewis introduced the day’s speaker, Sarah Hagenow.  As Wisconsin’s 78th agriculture ambassador, Sarah Hagenow’s goal is to educate audiences about the importance of Wisconsin’s diverse agriculture industry, how it impacts our daily lives, and the $116.3 billion economic impact it has on the state’s economy. Hagenow is a recent…