Summer is in full swing and promises to be a busy month in Fennimore. July is filled with a variety of activities taking place in Fennimore. The month starts off with the Good Samaritan Society’s Chapel Run July 9 followed by the Chamber’s Chicken BBQ and Community Awards July 12. July 18 a Taco Supper & Silent Auction will be hosted by the Stitzer Go-Getters 4H Club starting at 4:30 p.m. The Annual Southwest WI Tractor Ride and Equipment show will be July 23, this year they travel to Mt. Hope with proceeds benefiting the Mt. Hope Fire Department. The last week of the month the Woodard Baseball camp activities take place between July 25-28. July 30 multiple activities take place including a new chamber sponsored event “Flea Market” at 8th Street and Lincoln Avenue. The 81st Annual Fennimore Jr Fair will be held at the High School July 30 (new date for 2016) and Derek Lendosky ball tournament at the ball diamonds July 29 & 30.
Chapel Run Sponsored by Good Samaritan Society
The Good Samaritan Society – Fennimore will sponsor a Chapel Run Fundraiser on Saturday, July 9. Your choice of transportation ATV, UTV, Motorcycle, Car (you get the picture). Start time and place is your choice from the following locations. End time is 4 p.m. sharp at Motor Boatin’ in Glen Haven.
Cost to participate $10. Pick up a card and map at the first location and get a stamp at each stop. All proceeds benefit the New Chapel project for the Fennimore center. For more information 608-822-6100. Participating locations include: Home-a-Gins in Mt Hope; LuLu’s in Patch Grove; Bagley Hotel, River Roadhouse and Timmer’s Sportsman’s Tap all in Bagley; Dew Drop Inn at Wyalusing; MC’s Sports Bar and Grill in North Andover, and Motor Boatin’ at Glen Haven. All forms must be turned in at Motor Boatin’ by 4 p.m.
Again, cost is $10.00 per person. All proceeds go towards the building of a new chapel at the nursing home for residents and their families.
Chamber Chicken BBQ Celebrates 51st Year!
The Chamber’s Annual Chicken BBQ is July 12 in the Fennimore Memorial building with serving from 4:30 to 7 p.m. or until all tickets are sold. Carry out meals are available. The delicious meal includes 1/2 BBQ Chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, dinner roll/butter and water. Advance tickets are $10 or $10.50 at the door. Soda is also available for purchase. Tickets are available at all local banks, The Second Shot and the Fennimore Memorial building until noon on Tuesday or at the door until all tickets are sold. Advance tickets are recommended.
The Chamber’s Annual Chicken BBQ has been held for many decades. It is believed the original BBQ was held at a cabin in rural Fennimore in 1951. Several Fennimore business owners organized the BBQ as a business networking and appreciation meal for business owners and their employees. Today that same tradition continues and has also been opened up to the entire community to network with business owners and community members. The 35th Annual Chamber’s Annual Community Awards recognition will be held at 6:30 p.m. at which time they announce the 2016 Citizen of the Year, Family of the Year and Business of the Year.
Chancellor Shields Interested in Meeting Fennimore Businesses
Fennimore area business owners and community leaders are encouraged to stop by the Fennimore Memorial building on Monday, July 18 to visit with Dennis J. Shields, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The stop is part of the chancellor’s corporate and community engagement program. The program’s focus allows Chancellor Shields to meet face-to-face with business and community leaders in Southwest Wisconsin and in the region.
The focal points of the visits are to gauge workforce development needs in each city and to gather additional opportunities for collaboration. The chancellor plans to meet with business leaders at their place of operations. He will also participate in a community roundtable hosted by the Fennimore Area Chamber of Commerce at the Memorial building, 860 Lincoln Avenue, the meeting will be held in the council room from 11:15 to noon.
Fennimore Welcomes Former Brewer Players to Coach Baseball Camp
The 2016 Steve Woodard Baseball Camp (formerly Rob Deer Camp) will be held in Fennimore on July 25-28. There is still space available for youth to participate in the camp, however space is limited so early registration is encouraged.
This is the third year for the baseball camp in Fennimore. All activities will take place at the Derek Lendosky Community Field located in the Industrial Park on Fennimore’s east side. Eight former Brewer players and 8 coaches will be in charge of the camp. The list of former Brewer players at the time this went to press include Steve Woodard, Jim Gantner, Cecil Cooper, Mike Caldwell, Greg Vaughn, Pete Ladd, Jon Lieber, Paul Wagner and Willie Mueller. The camp is an amazing opportunity for children and young adults to participate in 2 or 4 days of quality baseball education.
What better way to teach your kids the game of baseball than learning from the pros? Youth ages 6 – 18 are welcome to participate. 2016’s camp will be broken up into 2 2-day camps. The first will run from 9-1 on Monday July 25th and Tuesday July 26th, The second camp will run from 9-1 on Wednesday July 27th and Thursday July 28th.
Kids will have the opportunity to one or both of the two day camps. The first camp will cost $100 and adding a second camp is an additional $50 or $150 inclusive. Steve and the other MLB players, will provide your kids with 8 hours of quality instruction on the arts of: Hitting, throwing, running, fielding, and pitching. Learn from the best.
The Fennimore Grid Iron organization will have an on-site concession stand going on during the four day tournament. In addition to the 4 day camp for kids, nightly events for families will be held. Plan to participate or just come and watch the fun and activities.
The registration form is available online. The completed registration form and payment should be mailed or dropped off at Brechler Insurance, 950 Lincoln Avenue in Fennimore, WI 53809. At this time the only form of payment is check or cash. If you have any questions in regards to the camp, please do not hesitate to give Steve Lendosky a call at 608-988-6222.
Additional activities include:
Monday, July 25th: Double Header Celebrity Softball Game and Homerun Derby at the Derek Lendosky Community Field. 1st game is at 6:30. Upon it’s conclusion we will start the HR Derby (reigning champ Tim Satterthwaite). Directly following at approximately 8:15 p.m. a second softball game will be held. The Pros jerseys will be auctioned off right off their backs! A fireworks show courtesy of Kastner Pyrotechnics. There is no fee to attend Monday evenings activities, concessions will be available near the ball field.
Tuesday, July 26th: Question and Answer event with the Pros at The Silent Woman in Fennimore. The cost of this event is $40. Tickets are currently on sale on a first come first serve basis. The meal will be ready at 5:45 p.m. Social time and a chance to mingle with pros and a view and bid on silent auction items is from 6 to 6:30 p.m. At 6:30 we will start the Q&A and that will last until possibly 8:15p.m. When this concludes we will have autograph stations for each of the players and you will be allowed one autograph per player (pictures, cards and balls). Tickets for additional items to be signed (larger items) will be available for purchase at check-in. After the autograph session, Pete Ladd has generously agreed to play a small concert for those that remain. Don’t miss that!
Wednesday, July 27th: An 8-Pin Tap with the Pros will be held at Tower Junction in Montfort. The 8-pin tap will start at approximately 6:30 p.m. There will only be 8 teams in this tournament and registration is very limited. Call 608-822-6111 for availability. There will be raffles and prizes at this event.
Thursday, July 28th: An 18-hole Celebrity Golf Scramble will be held at Hickory Grove Golf Course 3 miles North of Fennimore on Hwy 61. Auction for the players and their services on the course begins at 2:00 p.m. Shotgun start is at 2:30. Food will be served in between rounds. Even if you are not playing, come on out and sit on a hole and watch. Many silent auction items will be available and some fun prizes on the course as well.
Please note all of the proceeds (100% of them) from this event will go towards the Derek Lendosky Memorial Fund, which is directly responsible for local ballpark upgrades, multiple annual scholarships in local communities, and many other local projects. Check out the DoitforDerek.com for more details about the foundation.
Organizers encourage friends and family to come participate or be a spectator at any or all of the weeklong activities. Please contact Steve Lendosky at steve@brechlerinsurance.com if you have any additional questions.
Fennimore Runs for Fun
The popular Fennimore Runs for Fun are held at the Dean Ashmore farm located south of Southwest Tech at the junction of Bronson Blvd and McGahn Road. Youth 14 and under and those who wish to walk begin at 7 p.m. with all other participants starting at 7:30 p.m.
Run for Fun dates include July 14, July 28 and August 11.
Annual Stitzer Kickball Tournament
Stitzer’s annual kickball tournament will be held Friday evening July 8 and Saturday evening July 9. Spectators welcome, food and beverage available on grounds. All proceeds will benefit the Stitzer Park project for upgrades to the park. For more details call 608-943-6310.
Taco Supper and Silent Auction Benefits Shaw Family
The members of the Stitzer Go-Getters 4-H club are hosting a taco supper and silent auction on Monday, July 18th from 4:30-7:00 pm in the gym of the Fennimore Memorial Building.
The fee for the meal is just $5 per person; youth 4 and under eat at no charge.
The menu includes soft shell tacos or nacho chips with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and taco sauce, along with corn, dessert and a beverage.
All proceeds raised will be donated to the Brian Shaw family of Fennimore. Brian was hospitalized last September with Q fever, a very rare disease. He spent 3 months in the hospital in Madison and since has made multiple trips and stays back there. During this time, Brian’s place of employment closed down, leaving them with no insurance and no job to return to once able.
The Shaw’s and their 3 daughters, operate a goat farm outside of Fennimore. The 4-H Club is currently accepting donations of food or items for the silent auction. Please call Ruby Schauer (608) 391-0213, Amanda Jahnke (608) 988-7979 or Shawn Handfelt (608) 391-1178.
Members of the Stitzer Go Getter’s 4-H Club hope you can join them July 18th to help support the Stitzer Go-Getters and the Shaw family.
Southwest WI Tractor Ride July 23
The annual SW WI Tractor Ride will be held Saturday, July 23. Meet at Dean Vogel’s shop corner of 4th and Washington Streets. The ride begins at 9 a.m. sharp and will travel to Mt Hope this year. All proceeds this year will benefit the Mount Hope Fire Department. See the 2016 SW Wisc Tractor Ride poster and map.
81st Annual Fennimore Junior Fair
Fennimore’s 81st Annual Fennimore Jr Fair will be Saturday, July 30 and will be held at the Fennimore High School. Judging of exhibits begin at 9:45 a.m. and run to 3 p.m. There is no fee to attend, the public is encouraged to come view the projects of Fennimore youth, FFA and 4-H members as well as Open Class entries.
The Jr Fair book is available on the Fennimore High School website. Entries should be to 4-H leaders or postmarked by July 20. Entry night is July 25.
Public is reminded about entries in the pie contest and cake decorating contest. Everyone is invited to enter the decorated cake; there are two categories Open Class Adult and Open Class Youth. Pies are sold through the food stand.
Cake decorating theme for 2016 is “Blast from the Past” Information can be found on page Open Youth, Class or Department 28 Open adult Class 103, Entry 26 of the fair book. Three prizes will be awarded in both Adult and Youth classes. This entry is open to all community members, 4-H and FFA members. Following the recognition of the Fair person of the Year cakes will be cut up and served at 1:00 p.m. Saturday for all to enjoy.
Annual Back to School Business Showcase Aug 10
Fennimore Area Chamber of Commerce & Friends of Fennimore Elementary School will co-sponsor the 7th Annual Back to School Business Showcase at the Fennimore Memorial building on Wednesday, August 10. Activities during the day will be held on 8th Street between Lincoln and Madison Street where children activities and jump houses will be set up on the street. Nearby a petting zoo, face painting and balloon art will be held. Shawna Bedward and Angie Winkers will offer haircuts (for a $5 donation) at their Lengthz Salon, 510 Lincoln Avenue, between 11:30 and 1:30 p.m., first come basis, not appointments will be taken. All donations will benefit the Back to School fundraiser.
Food will be available onsite with a lunch stand on 8th Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. offering brats and hot dog lunch for dine in or carryout. A late afternoon meal will be held inside the Legion Annex from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. offering hot dog, cheeseburger and brat meals which include chips, cookie and beverage. Deep fried cheese curds will also be available to purchase during the evening meal.
The activities will include a few new events including a chance to dunk the teachers from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. This year Thunder Shower LLC will bring the Euro Jump and bounce house; purchase a wrist band for $10 for unlimited use of both or $5 wristband for jump house only. Another new activity is balloon art.
Inside the Memorial building as part of the Business Showcase activities, the Fennimore Police Department will give a brief presentation to the youth at 4:45 p.m. and Grant Regional Hospital will give a presentation on “How to Pack Your Backpack” from 5:15 to 5:30 p.m. Evening entertainment includes performances by TNT Gymnastics at 5, Shine Power Dance Studio at 5:30 and Academy of Martial Arts demonstration at 6 p.m.
Doors open for the vendor showcase taking place in the gym from 4:30 p.m. thru 7:00 p.m. The committee continues to invite businesses to participate in the business Showcase. A list of participating vendors and sponsors will be listed on the website by July 28 . A few vendor spots are still available by contacting the Chamber office , Stacy Leffler 988-6909 or stop by Children’s Clothesline or Shawna Bedward 778-6275 or Lengthz x 2 Salon.
There is no fee to attend the showcase, everyone who attends is encouraged to bring along school supplies. Receive one chance to win prizes with each school supply item or donation. Additional raffle tickets may also be purchased for cash. Each year the committee has been able to pack more than three dozen back packs with all the items needed for their specific class which are given to families in need. All other school supplies are donated to the school supply closet to meet future needs. Once the school supply needs are met the Friends of the Elementary School has used the funds for grants to instructors for items not covered in the school’s budget.
Additional community events are added to the Fennimore online calendar events on a regular basis. Check things out www.fennimore.com/events/