Platteville Optimist Club

L-R: Optimist Member Beth Frieders; Tera Montgomery, Pioneer Sweets; and Optimist President Terri Ellis Tera Montgomery is originally from the Fond du Lac area and earned her undergrad from UW-River Falls in Equine Science. She went to Maryland to earn her graduate degree and earned her PhD from the University of Illinois. In 2009, she came to the UW-Platteville School of Agriculture where she was initially assigned to teach a dairy products class. At the time, she had li

Far Right L-R: Optimist Member Beth Frieders, Juli McGuire from Blue Roof Orchard, and Optimist President Terri Ellis The Optimist Club was delighted to have Juli McGuire speak this morning about her passion for sustainable farming and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's). Juli is a native Hungarian. After she graduated from college in Hungary, she had the opportunity to come to New York state for a year. It was there that she met her husband, Chris, who worked in a col

Middle: "Doodlebot"; Far Right L-R: Optimist President Terri Ellis, Cathy Corbett, and Optimist Member Beth Frieders As a child, Cathy Corbett's dream job was to "do stuff, learn things, and never go to meetings." She thought she would like to be a veterinarian or work as a scientist at 3M. Today, Cathy is a Professor in the biology department at University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Outside of work, she and her husband, Chuck, work with the "Dairyland Diamonds" 4H group

Our first Joker Draw winner of 2026 is Wayne Wodarz! Wayne draw netted himself $285 just in time for Valentine's Day. Congratulations Wayne!

Wayne Wodarz, representing the Platteville Fireworks Committee, accepted a check for $1,000.00 from the Platteville Optimist Club for the 2026 fireworks show. Wayne stated that the fireworks show alone costs $12,000 - $14,000 and additional items like tents, music, sound equipment and inflatables for the kids are additional costs. Donations such as this are greatly appreciated.

L-R: Optimist President Terri Ellis and Sara Voigts, Platteville Food Pantry Representative Sara Voigts accepted a $350 check on behalf of the Platteville Food Pantry. The pantry holds two distributions each month. Sara shared that this donation will be used to purchase the ground beef needed for one month. They are averaging 53 households a month at the pantry, which includes 90 adults and 35 students. The Platteville Optimist Club is happy to support this need in our c

L-R: Beth Flesch, Platteville Special Olympics and Optimist President Terri Ellis Beth Flesch, Platteville Special Olympics Financial Manager, accepted a $500 check from the Platteville Optimist Club for the Platteville and surrounding area Special Olympicians. Beth has been involved with the Special Olympics for 22 years and she shared that their athletes are "loving and thriving." Special Olympics offers sports seasons year-round which the athletes train weekly for. The

Platteville Optimist Club members sport their Optimist attire in celebration of Optimist Day, February 5, 2026 Optimism isn't just a feeling - it's a way of life. On Optimist Day, we celebrate the power of positive thinking and the small actions that can make a big difference. Join us in celebrating Optimist Day as we promote our year-round efforts in bringing out the best in youth, our communities, and ourselves.

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

Platteville Optimist President Terri Ellis, front row far right, and Charlie Clark, back row far right, present Matt Heer, back row second from right, Platteville High School HUNCH Advisor, a $200 check. HUNCH stands for H igh School U nited with N ASA to C reate H ardware and is a nationally recognized workforce development program with a 23-year legacy of preparing the next generation of innovators and leaders.

Platteville Optimist Club President Terri Ellis, front row left, and Optimist Member Charlie Clark, front row right, presented a $100 check to members of the Platteville High School Educators Rising Chapter and Brad Brogley, far right, Advisor of the Chapter and fellow Optimist Member Educators Rising strives to inspire young people to pursue a career in teaching.

L-R: Meghan Skemp, Platteville School District, and Optimist President Terri Ellis Meghan Skemp, Platteville School District Social Worker / Homeless Liasion, accepts a check from the Platteville Optimist Club to purchase supplies to insert in food packs for students with food insecurities. The district provided over 4000 packs (bags) during the 2024-25 school year. Each pack includes two non-perishable, kid friendly, meals. Tuna, chicken, mac & cheese, beef sticks, banan

L-R: Terry and Patti Cullen, BENS Hope, accept a $400 donation from Optimist President Terri Ellis. BENS Hope is a non-profit organization that honors lives lost to suicide by raising awareness, breaking stigmas, and supporting those in need. They rely on donations to share their story so they can help others. Their work saves lives through impactful presentations in schools, showcasing support services, organizing support groups and events, and hosting retreats to a

Thank you to Country Kitchen and staff who graciously serve us breakfast each Friday morning. We appreciate your friendly smiles and all that you do. Pictured on the left, Vice President Barb Stockhausen presents our server, Taylor with a Christmas card from our Club members. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

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

Pictured above L-R: Platteville Community Arboretum President Joe Jacquinot and Platteville Optimist Club President Terri Ellis Platteville Community Arboretum (PCA) President, Joe Jacquinot accepted a $500 check from the Optimist Club in support of the "Valley-to-Eastside Expansion Project". PCA is working with five landowners to acquire ~15 acres of land for the City of Platteville to expand the trails in Platteville. PCA and the City were awarded a 50/50 grant from the