What about Apollo's Creed?

" The biggest reason our group folded was the thankless attitude we got from the majority of our community"-Milo

No, the biggest reason you folded was because of your poor (non-existant)recruiting techniques that ultimately lead to your demise.

Since we are into creeds here is the 4H pledge....


I Pledge...
My Head to clearer thinking,
My Heart to greater loyalty,
My Hands to larger service, and,
My Health for better living,
for My Club, my Community, my Country, and my World

ok I am long winded sorry
Part 2
Having said that I also know first hand how hard the 4th event is to plan and run. Our biggest problem was weather usually and other events popping up all over. The event did get to big but we were trying to have something for everyone due to the feedback we got in the past. This event was and is a very hard event to do for any group and I give anyone good luck to make it work. Since Joel put their creed on there I will put the Jaycees.

We Believe
That faith in God gives meaning and purpose to the human life;
That the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations;
That economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise;
That government should be of laws rather than men;
That earth's great treasure lies in human personality;
And that service to humanity is the best work of life.

The Jaycees is a leadership club through community service.

I see there has been a lot of negativity here and that isn't good for anybody. I am a former Jaycee and have been on the board of directors for many years. I believe that some of this hostility is coming from the relationship between the former Jaycees and the Aqua Jays. When I say "Aqua Jays" in this instance I am referring to their administration. I have met some of the kids and adults of the group and have issues with them. I'm not huge into water ski shows but I can see that they work very hard to be the best they can be. I see they are very passionate of their abilities and can respect that. As far as us getting along, that has never happened. That was a precedent set by them not the Jaycees. I never really understood what has caused this but I have experienced a few times that the Jaycees got a raw deal due to or in part to the Aqua jays. I believe that is the cause of a lot of this bitterness. We also have to consider the city administration and the citizens themselves. Leisure services and a few council members have stepped up to help out but it seemed that the majority felt that we wasting the city's time. Our event did have its share of problems but I never heard from the city or the Aqua Jays offering suggestions or support. I remember this negativity towards are show in the past from the public. I don't understand this. All of these groups, the Jaycees the Odd Fellows and the Aqua Jays are VOLUNTEER organizations. Why does there need to be all of this negativity and dirty politics. Whether the Aqua Jays like it or not the Jaycees have played a positive roll in their history. Our 4th event brought more then five times the spectators then a standard show. Not only that but I feel that their haunted house has gotten a lot better and I don't think would have if we hadn't put on a great house that inspired them to do better. I also would like to add that this paper has thrown the Jaycees under a bus many times. The biggest reason our group folded was the thankless attitude we got from the majority of our community. Again it had nothing to due with finances. Before you all think I'm whining here I would like to give you a list of just some of the thing the Jaycees did for this community. These are things that are not fundraisers and actually cost the club money to due. Punt, pass, and kick, pitch, hit and run, Easter egg hunt, toys for tots, thanksgiving basket drive, caroling/visiting with senior at rock haven, bowl for breath (cystic fibrosis), J.A.Y.S. (Jaycees against youth smoking), and we started and help maintain the Gershwin group home for many years. We also donated money to the youth sports complex, the electrical upgrade for Traxler park. and completely paid for the fireworks site that had to repaired due to water erosion of more than five thousand dollars. This event was and is a very hard event to do for any group and I give anyone good luck to make it work.

There were also places to donate cash easily if you wanted to.

Jenny57- "I was told that the Odd Fellows sent out over 300 letters to businesses last year AFTER the event asking for pledges for the 2010 event and only received ONE reply...and it was NO! "

I have done fundraising in the past. You cannot just send a letter and expect money to flow in. you need to CALL and talk to somebody or get off your butt and GO to the business. It is easy not to just mail money to somebody because they sent a letter. It is not as easy to say no if you are asked in person.

I would like to thank the Agua Jays on there hard work on this event. Please know most of Janesville hopes this event will always be part of our 4th, and was extremely happy with it! I hope this show will continue to grow and remain a family friendly community event!! Thank you again.

I have no relationship to anyone involved in the event, although I have known some of the people over the years that have put it on and have heard what they have gone through and how they have been treated. Anyone that knows me, says I should have either been an investigative reporter or worked for CSI. Besides, these days with the Internet and social networking sites, it's really not that hard to find out anything you want to know rather quickly and easily. So it's not so much a matter of "digging", it's more like just scratching a little at the right place and seeing what surfaces...

Jenny57, I am sensing you have an ax to grind that goes deeper than the comments you have made. Do you have a relationship to the fireworks company that was blocked out of the bidding? I wouldn't, nor I bet many others would have thought to dig in to who the fireworks contractor was. Makes me wonder what made you think of doing that? I'm not saying it isn't interesting that you found that out, It's just not something I would have been wondering about.

I just made a few phone cals and found out that the Wisconsin-based fireworks company that had done the fireworks for the last 21 years here in Janesville was shut out of the bidding process due to the event needing to be "refreshed" with new suppliers, vendors and entertainment. Their lead technician and entire crew live here in Janesville. If people seemed to be happy with their displays, why shut them out for the sake of "refreshing" the event? At least give them a chance to bid since they are local.

The Rock Aqua Jays...

Mission

Our mission is to perform entertaining water ski shows and use them as a platform for teaching safe boating and water skiing techniques to members and the general public. In doing so, we provide our members with physical fitness, personal growth, leadership opportunities, and lifelong friendships.

Vision

We aspire to be the leading entertainment and tourist attraction in our community.

We also aim to be the most successful water ski show team, measured not only by tournament victories, but also by the extent of contributions to our community and the sport of water skiing.

Core Values & Guiding Principles

• We exist solely for the purpose of performing water ski shows.
• We use our shows as a platform for educating members and the general public.
• We are a nonprofit organization.
• Member involvement and outside financial support is crucial for our success.
• We show compassion for others.
• We value respect, honesty, and integrity.
• We are ethical in everything we do.
• We are goodwill ambassadors of our community.
• We are good stewards of the water.
• We exhibit leadership at all levels of our sport and in our community.
• We have fun while forging lifelong friendships.

As a Odd Fellow of Wisconsin Lodge #14 the only thing that i feel we failed on was donations to pay for a portion of the fireworks. Other than that everything else work well. I am happy that the Rock Aqua Jays did a good job and hope them the best in the future. I am a Odd Fellow.

I think for it being the first time that the aqua jays took on this much responsibility that they did a good job. The Jaycees had done this for several years and they were able to do things differently. I have taken over several non profit events in the past and they are A LOT to plan. Trying to pull money out of the air and have enough people to help takes a lot of effort.

Events develop and change as different people take over and to have it be perfect it takes time. Great job by the volunteers and thanks to all who supported. If you did not attempt to contribute to the event you do not get to complain. I do not believe that anyone was forced to go to the fireworks- if you did not like it then you should not go. Don't take the fun away from others- next year no matter who hosts it or where it is held please stay home and watch tv.

Than those of you that donated that are still not happy, simply stop donating. Pretty simple. Regardless of how much you or I donated, they can still only do so much with what is there. You can't buy a Lamborghini with a Malibu budget.

Just want to clear up a couple of things...
The City did not waive any fees. We still paid all of the necessary special event, equipment rental, fireworks display, and temporary structure (tent) permit fees. We do not have extra money leftover from the flood year. We still had to practice and had plenty of expenses without shows - our primary source of revenue in the summer. The in-state fireworks company that provided a bid was twice the bid we accepted. The rep was local and so was the lead technician. I have no problem with constructive criticism and agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions. If you have ideas on how to make it better, rest assured we are listening and reading.
Joel Shapiro - RAJ President

Amen to Jenny57!!! You tell 'em!

Thank you to the Aqua Jays for taking on such a large event. I'm certain your members donated many, many hours to make it happen. While the fireworks show was small, it was nice to have it back at Traxler Park. Hopefully next year will be bigger and better.

To all the complainers: If you think you can do a better job with volunteers and contributions, by all means, offer to take over the event and show us what you can do. I can't stand people who complain about a free or low-cost event put on by VOLUNTEERS for all to enjoy. Go watch TV.

deltafox5674 -I have donated every year and my family has attended and spent even more at the event. My donations and money spent at the event over the years is considerable and if you would have taken the time to actually READ the previous comments, corvettefrank also said he has donated and taken his family of eight. I'm sure they bought food,drinks, etc. (we did), which are NOT free. So your assumption that those of us who express our true feelings that you don't agree with are freeloaders and not contributing is totally FALSE and naive of you!

Well I have heard through a grapevine that the city gave them a lot more support than we know of. They did not have to pay any fees like other clubs did in the past to hold the festival. I also heard that they used an out of state fireworks company. I thought that there was a local company or at least in state that could have done it. They should have plenty of extra money since the summer the park was flooded the city did not charge them any leasing fees because they were flooded. How nice of them. Let's not forget all of the free advertising too. I would not call it a success when 600 and 6,000 of 60,000 people showed up to support them. Myself and my family donated to the fireworks because we enjoy them. I do think it was a rather small show but it was enjoyable. I guess when you have connections the bigger and better groups get the support and the freebies. Thank You to everyone who has helped and supported in the past so we could see fireworks.

deltafox5674 - Amen.

Haters gotta hate!
Everyone of you who are complaining, please inform the rest of us how much you donated? Either in purchasing food and drink, or outright cash donation. I am curious and willing to bet that you spent nothing. I cannot wait to attend the event that you complainers will be putting on next year. The Aqua Jay's did it for FREE. It cost the city NOTHING! You get what you pay for. You payed nothing, but still got something. It takes class to complain about a gift.

Justintimberlakerules...The isssues here do go a lot deeper than fireworks, but are not unrelated. If you are against expanding conversation on a topic that some feel is controversial and noteworthy, then simply don't contribute...that would be truly awesome of you!

You guys are awesome. You do realize you are arguing about fireworks, right?

corvettefrank - Oh, one more thing. My comment about Jim Halbach was to explain to someone why the fireworks were so good in 2007 compared to now. Because someone donated a lot of money towards it. This event takes money to put it on.

Wow! What is with all the hatred toward the Aqua Jays? Sounds like disgruntled ex-Jaycees who don't want to admit that they ran their bloated event into the ground. I liked that it was only one day as I wouldn't have been down at Traxler anymore than that any ways. I certainly didn't miss the rust carnival and it's carnies living in the park. I wouldn't let my kids ride on those rides if my life depended on it. As for the fireworks, I did not perceive any difference between this years and years past. I thought they were good and it was great to have them shot off over the Rock River once again. Was the Aqua Jays event like the Jaycee/Odd Fellows event? Of course not, the old event was broken. You don't keep making the same mistakes over and over again hoping for a better outcome. You change. Hats off to the Aqua Jays for stepping up to the plate and helping to celebrate our Nation's birth and for giving the city of Janesville it's only free family entertainment twice a week during the summer!!!

corvettefrank - Where did I say the Odd Fellows did nothing? Can you read because YOUR true colors are coming out? What I said was the Odd Fellows took it over and everyone complained they did a poor job. I was not one of them that complained. Now people are complaining about the Agua Jays performance. I am again not one that is complaining this time either. I am happy that someone is able to put fourth the effort. What I am sick of is all the people that complain about the job rather then just being thankful we at least have something. NOW DO YOU GET IT?

You're showing your true colors there spark! To label what the Odd Felows did as "nothing" and what the Aqua Jays did is as "something" shows the very bias that you are trying to defend. Both groups are non-profit organizations donating their time soliciting donations and planning and executing the event. So why the contrasting "something and nothing" labels then? Could it be you have somethnig out for Jim Halbach? I bet he donated far more money to the event than you did. In fact, if you are so against that, why didn't you become involved in the fundraising so they wouldn' have needed to take his money? I have donated money every year to the event and patronized it (again spending my dollars), so I reseserve the right to say what I want about it. I was not pleased with what I got for my money this year. I would love to see how much you donated each year, or was this the first year you contributed because it is the Aqua Jays doing it and it's guaranteed to be a "something" in your mind? I think calling the hard work of an organization to pull off an event for the first time that changed venue at the last minute and still owes a lot of money for doing it "nothing" is truly "PATHETIC!!!"

Let's see, last year when the Odd Fellows took it over, nobody donated and everyone complained. This year, the Aqua Jays took it over just so there could actually be something instead of nothing. That's right, without them stepping up to the plate, there would have been nothing. Now some of you still complain and you are the ones that probably donated not a dime. You are also the same ones that don't even realize some places cancelled fireworks due to a lack of funds. Pathetic you are.

I agree Velheim! I took my entire family (nine of us) to the event and was thoroughly disappointed. The fireworks were terrible! They were not even close to anything we are used to seeing in Traxler Park. I heard that they hired an out-of-state company to do them. Way to go Aqua Jays in NOT keeping things local. Next time I want to see water skiing, I'll find another state's team to go watch! Of course the Gazette thought it was a success, they are in the Aqua Jay's pocket. It would have been called "wonderful" if only five people showed up. And you're also right about the arrogance. There's a certain mentalilty about anything sports related that the people involved in them are somehow above all others. That's why we have an ice arena that has always been and always will be a financial black hole to us taxpayers! I will be taking my family and money elsewhere next year for the 4th of July and I encourage others to do the same to show that we won't tolerate bias and favoritism!

Velheim - Back in 2007, a very large amount of money was donated by a certain someone for all of that. If it was so horrible, why did you go three times, find it bad, leave, yet continued to come back?

The Gazette lies when they say this was a success. The fireworks this year at Traxler were HORRIBLE. Where were the carnival rides or the live bands? I remember back in 2007, we had live bands, a nice carnival a great display of fireworks and a good time!

I went to Traxler 3 times this year and left about as quick as I came! Quit beating around the bush Gazette!

If you didn't donate money, don't complain about the quality of the fireworks. If you did donate, spread the word. If everyone in town just donated a buck, can you image what the fireworks would be like? They aren't free and come with a cost. The New Lifes are the best fireworks? Well, no kidding. I wonder why. Do some of you have any idea how much the members of that place donate a year for those fireworks? It's a lot.

Thank you Aqua Jays. Well done.

I have to admit I have experienced various displays of arrogance by the Aqua Jays over the years. However, I choose to ignore this because I feel they are a Sports Team that represent Janesville in a positive way. If they can get free advertising out of the Gazette that results in a successful event, great! If they want to go before the Council and ask the city to fund $1500 of the cost, good! Why such hard feelings over a successful event that benefits everyone?

Knowing the two previous groups that have taking over this venue copetition from the church for the fire works /or the haunted house the jaycees ran for many years to off set the cost for the 4th till the aqua jayess lost thier property for there haunted hay ride by the air port and forced the jaycess to relocate thier haunted house after a lease had been signed due to whom the knew last 2 years the city forced both groups to a location that was guariteed to fail not were it should have been both previous groups are still paying for the event and were not offerd $ from the city yes the debanded group may not be here bills are

916WI It would only be reasonable if the playing field was level for all and it's not. The previous groups got lectured by the council for just asking to have their park fees waived. You're missing my point...my basic problem is the "you should give us this money because of what we do for the community" attitude. That puts the Jaycees & Odd Fellows and at a clear disadvantage, given they don't have the ability to play that card. Both those groups have done a lot for the community, but it can't be measured in dollars.

Jenny57--You're contradicting yourself. When you say "their water skiing is just that--it doesn't correlate to anything else" and then you basically take a shot at them for asking the city for help in sponsoring a fireworks display. They took on the responsibility when no one else stepped up--as you said, it has nothing to do with water skiing--is it so unreasonable for them to ask for help in offsetting an expense that they should in all reality have nothing to with?

Coolhandluke, you're dead on.
It's not as if I want to see anyone fail, I wish the Aqua Jays luck, as it is apparent they have the deep pockets & support from the city and the Gazette that they need to keep this event alive. From what I have heard the Gazette never offered to donate full page color ads for days on end complete with donation forms to the previous groups, they had to fight to even get discount in the past several years. The bias in the media and the community unfortunately has never been more evident.

They keep bringing up the point that they bring millions of dollars of revenue into the community with their ski shows. Somehow they think that means that we "owe" them and need to support them in anything they do. Their water skiing is just that, it doesn't correlate to anything else. If they decided to have a lead balloon flying contest, do we owe it to them to support that too, just because of who they are? The city and the Gazette sure would. Luckily there were enough citizens and council member that saw that for what it was and questioned their coming to the city and asking for $1500 (which was quoted as "not unreasonable considering all we do for the city") Their withdrawal of the their request after hearing negative comments was done in a "how dare they, do they know who WE are?" manner and several people I have talked to about it agree.

Unfortunately a patriotic celebration commemorating the birth of our nation had to turn into a contest to see who can pull the most strings...I guess nothing is sacred in the world of politics.

I agree with you Jenny 110%!
I told everyone before this whole thing started this year, that the Aqua Jays would come out looking like their the greatest people in Janesville. For some reason, the people of our city are behind the Aqua Jays 100% because they can't do anything wrong.
I just can't see how they can turn around this party in one year while others failed so bad. They used the same people to generate revenue and somehow ended up ahead?

This is definitely a case of not missing what you have until it's gone. A quote in the gazette said that they would be giving us a fireworks show more appropriate to the community's size. If that's the case, our population suddenly shrunk to about 10,000 or less. I miss the days of a park full of activities and bands, a carnival for my kids and what used to be the biggest fireworks in this area short of Rhythm & Booms in Madison. The firworks used to be 45 minutes long with fireworks that filled the whole sky. The finale alone used to be over 2 minutes long (thanks Jim Halbach!)and was known by many to be the best around, far exceeding what the church has ever done. I had several friends from Illinois that used to come up to see it. The previous group that did it (the Jaycees) had done the festival since 1930 when it began in Riverside Park. Noone (including the Gazette) seems to want to acknowledge that they ran the event successfully and even made a profit up until recently.

The whammy for the previous groups came from two things; The 4th of July festival used to be the only thing going on, now there is competition from the church, Redneck Fest and Riverfest. The second was the souring economy. Donations went down and the pie was being sliced into more pieces competing for the same dollars, both from donors and patrons.

The Jaycee chapter folded soley due to lack of membership. When they fell under 10 members, they were forced to give up their charter by the state chapter. The group that did it last year (The Odd Fellows) came into it all trying to take over an event that had already been crippled by the previous reasons. Then they were FORCED to change the venue at back to the sports complex for a second year due to worries about the still soggy ground and newly planted grass seed after they had already made all the plans for Traxler Park. People seem to think the Jaycees and Odd Fellows voluntarily moved the event out there...that is FALSE...they were given no options!!! Get that through your heads all of you that keep asking why they wanted to move it out there.

I was told that the Odd Fellows sent out over 300 letters to businesses last year AFTER the event asking for pledges for the 2010 event and only received ONE reply...and it was NO! Last I heard, they still owed a considerable sum of money for putting on the event last year, so where are all these wonderful people stepping up to the plate to help them out when they tried their best??? All they got was public criticism. I don't blame them for deciding not to do it again.

Thanks for a nice evening.

Coolhand... do you think it's a case of you don't know what you've got until it's gone? Fireworks at the soccer complex were just not as much fun ...(we went year #1 due to the flooding, but we skipped last year)... plus, seeing the fireworks light up the river - priceless! So glad people stepped up and donated! Thanks, Aqua Jays & folks of Janesville!

The New Life Church are the best around Rock county.

Why didn't the community step up in the previous years?

The milton show was about 10min, but was a non-stop grand finale...mulitiple ground and air fireworks at the same time, never a break, for the whole show. i heard lots of WOWs and Applause after the show. I think they decided to hurry it up under threat of weather.

Great news that the Aqua Jays have succeeded where other groups have struggled. I was particularly worried that a failed event could impact the Jays' show or training budget.