Platteville Optimist Club

L-R: Optimist President Terri Ellis & Sean Wolfe Sean Wolfe, Hardware Asset Manager from the UW-Platteville Information Technology Services department delivered an informative presentation about artificial intelligence to the Platteville Optimists using his AI-generated PowerPoint. He shared that he's always been curious about the world around him and interested in technology thanks to hours of Star Trek, Star Wars, and Bill Nye, the Science Guy, so his career in Educati

L-R: Dr. Daniel Rowland, UW-P Music Department and Optimist President Terri Ellis Dr. Daniel Rowland from the UW-Platteville Music Department describes himself as "just a tuba guy that loves to travel." He shared his experiences on how he uses travel points and travel miles to allow him to travel at a minimal expense. Danny got hooked on collecting travel points and travel miles after reading "The Points Guy Book" and "10x Travel." The goal is to strategically earn and red

Left: Lindsay Hollingsworth, Professor of Education and UWP Associate Director of the School of Education Center: Les Hollingsworth, Professor of Marketing and Director of UWP School of Business Right: Les and Lindsay Hollingsworth with Optimist President Terri Ellis Dynamic husband and wife duo, Lindsay and Les Hollingsworth, spoke to the Platteville Optimist Club on January 16th, 2026, about their roles in two of UWP's pre-professional schools at the University of Wiscon

Amy Coffey and Barb Stockhausen Fellow Optimist Barb Stockhausen talked about the tax ramifications of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that was passed by Congress on July 3.  The bill includes some challenging changes and will require more thinking and work by the tax filer.   Whereas lots of the income data was included on the W-2, there is an expectation that the taxpayer will be more responsible for maintaining records to receive many of the credits.  The entire bill relies o

L-R: Optimist Member Bob Hundhausen, Ironman Competitor Mandi Jacquinot, Optimist President Terri Ellis Our speaker on December 12, 2025 was Mandi Jacquinot who spoke about her love for running and competing in marathons and Ironman competitions. Originally from Decorah, IA, Mandi played volleyball and softball in High School but never considered herself an "athlete". She started running during her college years at Loras College in Dubuque, IA. After she graduated, she si

Royal Palmer Doreen Hlavaty, Royal, President Terri Ellis Royal Palmer Royal Palmer, co-owner of the Driftless Market & Deli spoke to us about the challenges of being a small business owner in rural Wisconsin.  In late 2019, Royal left his job with Target Corporation in Minneapolis and moved to Platteville with his husband Tony.  Together with Royal’s sister Robin and her husband they purchased the Driftless Market in February of 2020. The timing of the purchase could no

L-R: Optimist Member Doreen Hlavaty; Monica Mueller, FASD Community Resident; Epiphany Garner, CNA; Angie Coffman, FASD Community Resident Epiphany Garner, CNA, spoke to our club about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which are lifelong physical, developmental, behavioral and intellectual disabilities caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs. It can impact as many as 1 in 20 children in the U.S., more than twice the rate of autism, according to the CDC. The

Bruce Richardson Clark Anderson, Bruce Richardson and Optimist President Terri Ellis On Friday October 31st, our speaker was Bruce Richardson, a hunter safety instructor and pheasant guide for Wounded Warriors.  Bruce became a safety instructor “by accident”.  He was turkey hunting in 1991 when he was shot by a companion.  After repeatedly being asked to speak at various safety courses and subsequently encouraged to become an instructor, he did.  Bruce said hunter safe

Coach Gard and Joey Fuhremann Joey Fuhremann, Optimist President Terri Ellis, Coach Gard and Optimist Charlie Clark Today we enjoyed our annual visit with UW-Platteville Men's Basketball Coach Jeff Gard. Coach Gard was accompanied by Team Member and Senior Joey Fuhremann. Coach talked about how the team's trip to Greece in April of 2025 was a valuable because it gave returning players an opportunity to bond and grow as a team. Fuhremann was unable to play in Greece due to a

L-R; Optimist Member Clark Anderson; Renee Clark, Kieler Farms; Optimist President Terri Ellis Renee Clark is a third generation owner of Kieler Farms with eight other family members who all have a great passion for, and commitment to, Wisconsin's dairy industry. Renee is also a mom to three daughters, a marathon runner, and a cross country coach at Platteville High School. Her grandfather, Lawrence Kieler, bought their original 250 acre farm in 1947 where he milked 13 cows

L-R: Charlie Clark, Dave Cook, Vice-President Barb Stockhausen Dave Cook Today’s speaker was Dave Cook of Cook’s Woods Christmas Tree...

Retired Fire Fighter and Optimist Member Paul Budden donned his fire helmet to update us on the construction progress at the new...

Today we took our meeting on the road for a tour of the Huff Family Innovation Center in Sesquicentennial Hall on the UW-P campus.  Mason...

Left: Optimist President Bob Hundhausen with Scoutmaster Jason Tyson Middle: Jason Tyson and Platteville High School Senior Glenn Mast...

Father Dave Flanagan and Optimist President Bob Hundhausen Father Dave knew from a young age that he enjoyed serving others. He chose...

Sports Editor Jason Nihles with Optimist President Bob Hundhausen Jason Nihles realized in 4th grade that the track in life he wanted to...

Molly Zuehlke, Nathan Manwiller and President Bob Hundhausen The pool at the Platteville Family Aquatic Center has built in 1996. ...

R: Optimist Secretary Jerry Schewe with President Bob Hundhausen sporting what he learned at the meeting Jerry Schewe's first...

Left: Jaqueline Varholik; Right: Bob Hundhausen, Jaqueline Varholik, Karen Essex, and Mark Essex "Christmas for Kids" was founded in...

Author Kevin Koch Mark Essex, President Bob Hundhausen, and Kevin Koch Kevin Koch spoke about his book Midwest Bedrock: The...