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The Whitewater Unified School District recognized five District employees at a retirement dinner on Tuesday, June 4, at the Willow Creek Golf Course in Whitewater. Congratulations to the following retirees for their service and dedication to the Whitewater Unified School District.
Shirley Cutshall
School Counselor, Lincoln Elementary
25 years
Tony Tautges
Science Teacher, High School
22 years
Mary Kay Nelson
3rd Grade Teacher, Lincoln Elementary
31 years
Mary Rogers
Accounts Payable Administrative Assistant
29 years
Irene Bembenek
Duplicating
12 years

Summer is the most beautiful time of year on the UW-Whitewater campus, and we invite the community to explore during our free, guided tours! UW-Whitewater Continuing Education is pleased to offer tours of the prairie and nature preserve and campus landscapes and gardens throughout the season. Wes Enterline, UW-Whitewater’s sustainability coordinator and Master Gardener volunteer, will lead the tours.

Titles, dates and times of tours are:

Prairie and Nature Preserve

Over 100 acres on the campus’ northwestern border have been restored and actively managed as a native prairie and nature preserve. Join us for tours to see the diverse array of native plant species and variety of ecosystems and to watch how they change and thrive throughout the season. Meet at Lot 19 for prairie and nature preserve tours.

Thursday, June 20, 6-7 p.m.

Saturday, July 13, 9-10 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 1, 6-7 p.m.

Campus Core Gardens

New in 2019! We have added new spaces to explore on our garden tours while including past favorites to visit once again. In addition to the annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees in our landscapes around campus and the sustainability practices we use, we will dig into some campus history this year too! Meet at the Visitor Center Lot 7 for campus core garden tours.

Thursday, Aug. 8, 6-7:30 p.m.

West Campus Gardens (Chopp Arboretum, Campus Memory Garden, Hyer Hall, Normal School grounds)

Thursday, Aug. 15, 6-7:30 p.m.

Southeast Campus Gardens (Heide Hall, South Wyman Mall, Hyer Hall, Salisbury Arboretum, Minneiska Springs)

Thursday, Aug. 22, 6-7:30 p.m.

Northeast Campus Gardens (Campus Garden, Minnieska Springs, Micro Prairie, White Hall)

All tours are free with registration and open to the public. These are walking tours with low activity levels and are held rain or shine, unless severe weather warnings are issued. If you need accommodations or have questions about physical access, please contact Kari Borne at bornek@uww.edu or 262-472-1003. Register for any or all tours here: http://www.uww.edu/ce/garden. Campus maps can be found here: http://www.uww.edu/campus/.

Alyn Jones of Whitewater was recognized and honored as the WMCA Driver of the month at the Safety Awards Banquet held at Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, in March 2019, along with the honorees from the other 11 months.

Jones has been driving since 1976 and has over 4.8 million accident-free and ticket-free miles.  He drove for Hawthorn Melody until it closed in 1993, drove over the road for a few years and then began working for the then company of Perlman Roque, (now Martin Brower) delivering for  McDonald’s exclusively, in WI, and northern IL.

He recently was chosen by Martin Brower to travel to VA  and train as Driver Safety Trainer Manager. This is part of a national training and awareness initiative through the National Safety Council in Washington DC. He will be part of a team of drivers to train and teach Defensive Semi Driving within the Company and specifically in Whitewater.

Alyn is a Whitewater native and has been a part of the community since 1962. He is married to Debra (Weiss) and they have five children and three grandchildren.

Overture Center for the Arts announced that two Jerry Award ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ recipients performed and were selected to advance to The Jimmy Awards®, also known as the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (NHSMTA), held in New York City. They will also be part of the Jerry Awards showcase at Overture Center on Sunday, June 9. Tickets are available now at overture.org/events/2019-jerry-awards.

Lauren Harkness | Junior at Whitewater High School in Whitewater, Wis.

• Received one ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ Jerry Award this year:
  • Olive Ostrovsky in The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Christian Spaay | Senior at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wis.

• Received one ‘Outstanding Leading Performance’ Jerry Award this year:
  • Marius in Divine Savior Holy Angel’s production of Les Misérables 

Featuring dynamic ensemble and solo performances, the competition will feature 86 high school students from 43 regional programs across America. Nominees will be vying for the Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress. This year, over 1,700 high schools and 100,000 students are participating in the events leading to the Jimmys Awards ceremony.

Tony Award®-Winner BEN PLATT will host the eleventh annual JIMMY AWARDS® ceremony on Monday, June 24^th at 7:30 p.m. at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. This marks his second time in the role. He first hosted the ceremony in 2017, the same year that he won the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance in Dear Evan Hansen.

Tickets for The Jimmy Awards are now on sale and can be purchased by visiting JimmyAwards.com  or Ticketmaster.com. Prices range from $49 to $110. Premium seats are $350.

Details about the live stream of the event will be announced soon.

“Ben Platt is a tremendously talented performer who perfectly represents what Broadway is all about. He did an outstanding job when he first hosted the ceremony in 2017 and we are thrilled to have him return to the stage this year,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “Seeing these young artists step onto a Broadway stage for the first time after a week of intense training is unforgettable. It’s an evening that stays with you long after the lights have dimmed, not only for the 86 nominees competing but for everyone who will be watching and cheering them on.”

“I am thrilled to be back hosting the Jimmy Awards again this year. It is one of my favorite times of the year where everyone comes together to celebrate young talent with a passion for theatre,” said Ben Platt. “I look forward to seeing all of this year’s amazing performances.”

Student performers qualify to compete in the national program by winning top honors at regional high school musical theatre awards competitions presented by Broadway League member performing arts centers. Since its inception in 2009, the National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) has enabled over $2,000,000 in university and conservatory scholarships to be awarded to talented students at the national and local level—several of whom have already been cast in Broadway, Touring and West End productions.

NHSMTA nominees will prepare for their debut on a Broadway stage during a ten-day professional training intensive with NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ New Studio on Broadway faculty members plus other theatre professionals. Winners will be selected by a panel of industry experts.

Founded in 2009 by Nederlander Alliances LLC, Pittsburgh CLO, and Broadway Educational Alliance (BEA), the NHSMTA’s mission is to raise the profile of musical theatre in schools, recognize dedicated teachers and inspire the next generation of performers and enthusiasts. Also known as The Jimmy Awards, in honor of legendary Broadway producer/theatre owner James M. Nederlander, the NHSMTA is supported by many leading theatre industry organizations. More information about the National High School Musical Theatre Awards can be found at JimmyAwards.com.

The Broadway League administers the program through The Broadway League Foundation, which acts as its philanthropic arm. Part of the Foundation’s mission is to enlighten and increase the public’s knowledge, appreciation and awareness of the theatrical arts, and since its founding in 1993 has supported a number of projects to help preserve Broadway’s heritage and introduce new audiences to Broadway theatre. The Foundation is a corporation organized under the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law of the State of New York, the purposes of which are exclusively charitable as defined in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Donations to support the program can be made at JimmyAwards.com.

At this year’s 2019 Jimmy Awards event, the INSPIRING TEACHER AWARD presented by WELLS FARGO will be bestowed to two teachers for the encouragement and inspiration that led their students to win the 2018 coveted Jimmy for Best Performance by an Actress and Best Performance by an Actor.

The Whitewater 4th of July Festival Committee and the Whitewater Lions Club welcome you to the 2019 Whitewater Area 4th of July Parade honoring our brave veterans and military service personnel.

Master Sergeant Jason Dean joined the Marine Corps in July of 1997 as a Ground Communications Technician. He deployed to Iraq in January of 2003 and again in January of 2006. He was wounded in action while serving with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in Al Karmah, Iraq in 2006 and received the Purple Heart Medal.

In 2014, MSgt Dean was selected to represent the Marine Corps on the highly competitive Wounded Warrior Congressional Fellowship Program where he served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans affairs under Senator Bernie Sanders. He also served in the Pentagon as the Special Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, advising senior Pentagon officials on issues pertaining to wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. He retired in November of 2017.

Master Sergeant Dean is the Commander of the Whitewater Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Junior Vice Commander for the Wisconsin 1st District VFW, and Junior Vice Commander of the Walworth County Marine Corps League.

The Whitewater Community Foundation is pleased to welcome Elvia Meza Klosinski to the Foundation’s Board of Directors.  Elvia was born in Matamoros, Mexico, a small town sharing a border with Brownsville, Texas. Elvia received her Industrial Engineering Degree and moved from Mexico to Stevens Point in 2008 where she worked until 2013 when she accepted a position as Senior Industrial Engineer at Generac Power Systems.  Elvia, her husband Seth, and her three children live in Whitewater. Her daughter Marijose is a freshman at UW-Milwaukee, her son Juan is a junior at WHS, and her son Sebastian is in seventh grade. In addition to supporting her boys in soccer, track and wrestling, Elvia serves on the WHS Booster Club Board of Directors.

The Whitewater Community Foundation, founded in 1995, strives to enhance the quality of life in the Whitewater area through collaboration with its civic partners to create opportunities for youth and adults to achieve their educational and economic dreams, to create a vibrant city for the arts, and to celebrate and preserve the qualities that make Whitewater exceptional.  “We are grateful that Elvia has generously agreed to donate her time and expertise to serving our community through the mission of the Foundation,” stated Danielle Frawley, President of the Whitewater Community Foundation.

The Whitewater Arts Alliance, in partnership with Fairhaven Senior Services, First Citizens State Bank, Fort Community Credit Union, Olm & Associates, PremierBank, and John and Sandra Heyer will kick off their 2019 concert series Savory Sounds at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on June 13, with the Mike Hackett Jazz Quartet. Attendees are invited to order food from Casual Joe’s at the event also.

Following is the Savory Sounds schedule, which runs 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on the following dates at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center near the Birge Fountain at 402 West Main Street:

Date	Artist	Food Vendor
June 13	Mike Hackett Jazz Quartet	Casual Joe’s
June 20	VooDooHoney Brass Band	Rocky Rococo
June 27	Tapestry	Subway
July 11	Amanecer Y Mas	La Preferida
July 18	The Brothers Quinn	SweetSpot

Whitewater Arts Alliance Board Member and Co-Chair of Savory Sounds Christine Hayes said, “”This is one of the most high quality and diverse series we have had for Savory Sounds.  From brass band to jazz to popular guitar, from Latino to blues, we have it all!  Come enjoy this music filled lunch time at the fountain in our own community!”

After enjoying the music and lunch, attendees are invited to explore the exhibits at the Cultural Arts Center. For June’s exhibit, the Wisconsin Regional Artists Association is sponsoring the WRAP exhibit that features the works of non-professional Wisconsin artists. July features photography by the community to honor the late Fran Achen with the Tenth Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition.

Thanks to the success of the “Making Magic with Mixed Media” exhibit in August of 2018, a second mixed media show, “Making Magic with Mixed Media” will be exhibited from Noon to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays, August 1-25 at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center on 402 West Main Street in Whitewater.

The WAA is seeking mixed media pieces for the show. The magic is in the inspired combination of more than one medium (i.e., acrylic, oil, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, pen, pencil, etc.) and/or more than one material (i.e., cut-up paper, wire, beads, found objects, etc.) in a piece of 2D or 3D art.

Artists submitting entry forms must fully complete, sign, and mail their forms with a $20 fee to the Whitewater Arts Alliance (P.O. Box 311, Whitewater, WI 53190), postmarked on or before Wednesday, July 17.  This entry fee includes four pieces of art for Whitewater Arts Alliance members, and three for non-members.  All artwork must be dropped off at the Cultural Arts Center on Monday, July 29, between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.  The Closing Reception, held from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, August 25^th will include an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at which time prizes will be awarded as follows:  1^st place (2D & 3D) $100 each; 2^nd Place (2D & 3D) $75 each; Viewer’s Choice $50; and certificates for Honorable Mentions.  Artwork that is entered must be original, completed within the last two years, and not previously exhibited at the Cultural Arts Center.  More information, including an entry form that can be printed off the website, is available at www.whitewaterarts.org/mixed-media-august-2019.  Entry forms may also be available for pickup at the CAC.

Speaking on behalf of the planning committee, Kathy Gibbs says, “We hope that this offering will be greeted with an equally enthusiastic response from area artists and from their friends, family members and the general public.  Through your attendance at exhibits like this, we will continue to keep the arts alive at the Cultural Arts Center in Whitewater. Please join us and be prepared to be amazed by the diversity of the artwork on display.  Artists, professional and non-professional alike, enjoy stretching the boundaries of their imagination as they immerse themselves in the process of creating their mixed media art pieces.” 

As an added bonus, three free mixed media demonstrations will be offered at the CAC from 1-3 p.m. on Fridays, August 2, 9, and 16, as follows:

August 2^nd, “Pour And More” by Nancy McKinnon

August 9^th, “Making Cards with Mixed Media Scraps” by Dawn Hunter

August 16^th, “Recycling to Create Art” by Louise Fuerstenberg

No reservations are required to attend the demonstrations; however, for planning purposes, attendees are asked to RSVP by emailing Dawn Hunter at hunterdawn@charter.net, or by stopping in at the CAC or calling 262-472-0204 during scheduled hours to express their interest.

Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center is located on 402 West Main Street in the historic White building near the Birge Fountain.  Parking is behind the building, with an elevator available from the parking lot entrance.