Officer Installation for 2024-2025 and Awards Program for 2023-2024
Tonight, we had a wonderful evening of feast and fellowship at the Presidential Banquet Center. This was a great night to celebrate the past year and to look forward to the next 2024-2025 Optimist year. This is the end of the Centerville Noon Optimist Presidential year for Joan Cordonnier.
We welcomed Paul Boeckman as the 57th President of CNO!
New board members and vice presidents were installed tonight.
Thank you to the Social Committee, with a special thanks to Sue Jessee for all her hard work on the event. We started with drinks and appetizers, followed by a buffet. Everything was great.Enclave Optimist Club
Just like a lunch meeting, we started with a prayer by Erin Dickerson and then proudly recited The Pledge of Allegiance.
Thanks to Gary Anderson, the host for the evening. He did a fantastic job and kept us entertained and on time.
For being president, Joan Cordonnier received from CNO her Past President pin, a Lifetime OI Membership and pin, and a plaque with a gavel recognizing her year as CNO President.
A/V and Pictures of the Event
Thank you, Greg Griffin, for assembling the slide deck, setting up the AV and running the slides for the evening.
Thank you, Evelyn Griffin, for taking all the great pictures from tonight’s event!
Links to the Slide Deck, Photographs and Program
Gary Anderson as Host Opened the Night’s Events
From Gary Anderson:
Good evening and welcome to the Noon Optimist Club of Centerville’s Installation Banquet.
After so much success quoting Mark Twain at our Respect for Law ceremony in May, I thought it appropriate to bring back a man the New York Times in his April 22, 1910, obituary praised as the “greatest humorist the United States has produced.”
So, I want to open tonight’s celebration with another Mark Twain quote. I know what some of you are thinking now, that I should own Twain’s comment, “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
But that is not the quote I will use. Rather, I was intrigued with Twain’s definition of an Optimist, “Optimist: day dreamer more elegantly spelled.”
Speaking of elegance, we are celebrating tonight the achievements, accomplishments, and successes of our very own, and elegant, Noon Optimist Club President Joan Cordonnier’s reign as our 56th President.
In addition to celebrating this Optimist Year, inducting new Officers for 2024-25, and honoring our Optimist and Rookie of the Year, I will endeavor to share with you several Centerville Noon Optimist “traditions” that I think are being lost or forgotten in the hope that perhaps incoming President Paul Boeckman can encourage us to revisit these traditions that began with our charter in 1968.
Erin Dickerson’s Invocation Prayer
Mark Twain wrote, “What is joy without sorrow? What is success without failure? What is a win without a loss? What is health without illness? You have to experience each if you are to appreciate the other. There is always going to be suffering. It’s how you look at your suffering, how you deal with it, that will define you.”
As we bring our optimist year to a close, we celebrate the addition of new members and friends, but we also mourn the loss of five of our brothers and sisters in optimism. As their names are read, we will pause for a moment of silence in their memory.
- Louise Hahn
- Julie Lafferty
- Kent Loose
- Joe Madden
- Pam Truitt
We are eternally grateful for their contributions to CNO, their desire to make the world a better place for our children and youth, and for the love and friendship shared between us.
Please join me in prayer.
Lord our God,
Tonight, we give thanks for and celebrate our leaders of this past season. We are grateful for their leadership and dedication to our club. You have blessed us with their varied gifts and talents, and we ask that you show them the same love and blessings they have shown us and those we serve.
We ask for your blessings upon this new season and its new leadership. Help to steer them and us as we continue in our mission to serve the children and youth in our community and strive to make the world a better place, one optimistic act at a time.
Amen.
Gary Anderson Announced Dinner Time
From Gary Anderson:
I know you are anxious to begin dinner, so I will be brief in quoting another Twain truism. Being a “Friend of Youth,” I was interested in finding out what Twain thought of children, “The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.”
It is now time for dinner.
Officer Installation and Oath
From Gary Anderson:
Mary Lou Retton, the first U. S. Olympic gymnast to win the individual all-around gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games described “Optimism as a happiness magnet.”
To get the “happiness” started, allow me to introduce Tom Kendo, a member of the Kettering Dorwood Optimist Club, Past Distinguished Ohio Governor, Ohio District Parliamentarian, and the Optimist International President Elect for the 2025-26 Optimist Year.
Thank you, Tom Kendo, for performing the installation of CNO officers and Board of Directors for 2024-2025.
The Oath:
I hereby solemnly promise on my honor as an Optimist that I will carry out the duties of the office to which I have been elected to the best of my ability, in loyalty to my Club, and in harmony with the Bylaws of my Club and Optimist International. So help me God.
Officers of CNO 2024-2025
- President, Paul Boeckman
- Vice President, Mike Creech
- Vice President, Denise O’Neil
- Secretary, Jean Pummill
- Treasurer, Roland Rapp
- President-Elect, Sarah Umbreit
- Immediate Past President, Joan Cordonnier
- Past President’s Representative, Karl Frydryk
Newly Elected to the Board of Directors with a Two-Year Term, 2024-2026
- Andy Higgins
- Greg Hoffbauer
- Erin Laurito
- Bob Myers
- Paul Stull
Continuing Board of Directors with One Year Left, 2024-2025
- Karen Charnesky
- Dennis Dockins
- Jim Mogan
- Steve Rau
- Deb Saunders
Gary Anderson Continues
From Gary Anderson:
A CNO tradition that we have had for many years is the “ONE CLAP.” Members see it used sporadically during our noon meetings. Defined simply as the audience giving just ONE CLAP after a noon member has been introduced to the group. It is reserved only for members as we do, and should, applaud enthusiastically when welcoming guests.
Before I introduce Paul Boeckman allow me to share a Mark Twain quote about life, happiness, and aging, “Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.”
So, ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to introduce to you for the first time as CNO President, Paul Boeckman!
President Paul Boeckman Spoke
The following is from Paul Boeckman:
What a great evening! A big thank you goes out to OI President-elect Tom Kendo for leading tonight’s Installation ceremony. Thank you as well to Sue Jessee, Beth Duncan and the Social Committee for putting on such a great event. Thanks too, to one of my tennis players from Alter High School, Moses Mabarak, for sharing his musical talents with us tonight. And a huge thank you to emcee and Mark Twain look-a-like Gary Anderson for hosting tonight’s dinner. I believe it was Mark Twain that once said…
Now on a more serious note, I would like to thank you for this wonderful honor and for the opportunity to lead such a great organization. As I look at the many Past Presidents that are in this room tonight, I am humbled with your accomplishments and the excellent leadership that you provided during your tenure. I am most thankful too, that each and every one of you are more than willing to help out this newbie. As Joan has told me, the club pretty much runs itself, so it’ll be hard to screw it up…I hope she’s right!
I’d like to thank my family for their support over the years as I participated in many of the club’s activities. Ginny has always told me to follow my passion for the Optimist organization and for that I’m most appreciative. My daughters Megan and Katie learned early on how to make up scores for the kids who completed the obstacle course at the Bike Rodeo and to sound convincing as they did. Megan and her husband Brad and oftentimes Katie were also TOP Soccer coaches with me. While only Brad really likes soccer the rest of us loved the kids and thoroughly enjoyed teaching them how to play knockout the coach or soccer hokey pokey.
I’d also like to thank many of you in this room for your confidence in me and the support you have shared as I take on this daunting challenge. If only you all had listened to the words of wisdom that Joe Madden shared with the club as we went through the nominating process and Jean presented my name as the nominee for President-Elect. She asked the club if there were any other nominees. Joe, with his quick wit waited for total silence then belted out “anybody else.” I was mortified until everyone lost it…that was Joe.
As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and that’s definitely the case with the theme that both Beth and Joan used during their years. “Making an Impact” has such significance to our club as that is what we truly do for the community. So, we’re going for the trifecta and will continue to use that theme. Given the fact that we still have a lot of “Making an Impact” collateral materials in inventory and Roland won’t give me more budget that seemed to be my best option.
My focus over the next 12 months is to make sure we continue to deliver great results for all of our programs and to ensure we continue to have great talent leading these efforts. AOF, the Tree Lot and the Tom Frazier Golf Outing all set new records this past year and have allowed the club to invest in many, many activities and scholarships for the youth in our area. We will continue to work hard to raise the needed funding to make an impact.
Our Youth Mental Health Initiative will receive a lot of focus this year as we build out this program. Our involvement with the Hope Squads at Centerville and Alter High Schools are just a couple of examples of how we are positively impacting the kids. There are many other new initiatives in this area that we will continue to explore and rollout this coming year.
One other new initiative that we are going to roll out is a Youth Volunteer Appreciation event. This is the brainchild of Past President Charlie Tapp.
He and I are going to work together to develop a plan to thank all of those kids that help out with the Tree Lot, Haunted Trail, Fishing Derby, AOF, and so on. They give of their time and talent to help CNO deliver back to the community. We want to thank them for their help. Now we just need to figure out how. Larry and Don, I believe Charlie will be drafting you to help too.
Finally, I just want to once again tell you how special this club really is. I attended the International Convention this past summer and spent a lot of time biting my lip as I listened to many of the challenges that most other Optimist Clubs were having. Membership, fundraising and participation were a common theme for why many clubs were struggling. When asked by members of other clubs how we were able to accomplish all that we do I was almost embarrassed to share since we are truly best in class in just about every category. CNO has a lot to be proud of. The funds we raise, the programs we sponsor, the scholarships we award, the recognition that we share with award winners is truly unique. I have been a member of CNO for almost 30 years and have seen the club grow and make a huge impact. I am truly honored to be a member and more importantly happy that I can help make an impact.
Once again, we all owe Joan a huge round of applause for all that she accomplished this past year. Her leadership, passion, attention to detail and warm, caring personality certainly made not just for “Terrific Tuesday’s” but for an outstanding 2023-24 Optimist Year.
And lastly, I have two quotes by Mark Twain, the first of which Mr. Anderson just texted me: “Never miss an opportunity to shut up.”
And the second is: “You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can’t forget. Those are your ‘friends.” And you folks, are my friends.
Thank you!
President Joan Cordonnier Announces Awards
From Gary Anderson:
We have quite a year with now Past President Joan Cordonnier. Joining CNO in 2008 Joan has served on the Board of Directors; been a Vice-President twice; is a former Optimist of the Year (2013-14); and a Christian D. Larsen Award recipient in 2019.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Past President Joan Cordonnier!
Joan Cordonnier’s Remarks
The following is from Joan Cordonnier:
Wow – what a year!! It’s been a whirlwind and I really just can’t believe it’s over. I feel like I am just getting the hang of things! I know I have said this over and over, but it is the honest truth: It takes a village.
We have the biggest and best club in the world. We are making an impact!
Examples of why our members are great:
- We have members whose plate may already be full, when they see a last-minute call for volunteers for an event, they show up and bring family and friends!
- We have members who may be a little strapped around the holidays, but still “Adopt-A-Family.”
- We have members who may be busy with work or kids, but sign up to help deliver flags and build bears.
- We have members who send articles to the President and other members about opportunities that may work for our club.
- We have members who add fun to our meetings by “tattling” on their friends.
- We have members who engage new members and get them involved at whatever level they can handle.
- We have members who continuously invite guests and are trying to help grow the club.
- We have members who come to meetings with suggestions of how to meet new needs in the club or in the community.
- We have members who let the club know when a member is ill or needs a little sunshine in their life.
- And the list goes on and on…
I am so Grateful for all of those people in our club – ALL OF YOU! You made this year great, and I can’t thank you enough.
According to the book ‘Feeling Grateful’ by Kobi Yamada – “The best things in life are not things at all. They are experiences lived, emotions felt, and connections made. These are the things that sparkle in your memory.” What a wonderfully, sparkly year it has been for me!
To help expedite this portion of the evening– I have already given many of my Thank Yous out – If I haven’t gotten to you yet, don’t worry, I’ll track you down! To the Board Members – best ever! Committee Chairs – Thank you for all of the time you put into your events!
Joan Cordonnier Announces Her Thank Yous
From Joan Cordonnier:
I want to give some extra thanks to a few members.
Debe Dockins, Erin Dickerson, Jean Pummill and Roland Rapp, please join me up on stage.
Debe and Erin, you both spend more time than most committees require – with weekly responsibilities for the whole year. The speakers have been spot on, and Erin, I love how you tie the message of the meeting or whatever is happening in our club to your prayer. Thank you both.
Jean and Roland, you two are invaluable to the success of the club. Talking about dotting your “I’s” and crossing your “T’s”! Your attention to detail is phenomenal, and you keep us all in line and on track. The time you both spend on club business is huge, and hugely appreciated. Thank you both.
Curiously, my next “Thank yous” go to two couples. This seems strange, I know, but these four people helped me in so many ways.
Greg Griffin, Evelyn Griffin, Diane Arehart and Patrick Arehart, please join me up on stage.
Greg, there are no words. You are my rock, the “Master of Ceremonies” every week. You are so calm and patient. You put up with a lot, smile and go on. I felt so lucky and grateful to have you up there with me each week. I don’t care what the question was, you always had an answer or suggestion! Thank you for all you do for this club!
Patrick, thank you for the CNOtes each week. That is no easy task, and you do a great job with them! You have also streamlined so many processes throughout the whole club. You were so awesome to send suggestions to me about better ways to do things, and didn’t even seem upset when I would forget, and you’d have to tell me again. Thank you for all you do for our club.
Diane and Evelyn, you both do so much for our club. It never surprises me at all if I ask “who does this or that” it is often one of you behind the work! Avenue of Flags, 2.0, Marketing, Board of Directors, TOP Optimist, Social Media and the list goes on, but that is not why you are up here. You both have offered so much support to me over the year. I don’t know if you even know that. I loved getting your opinions on things. Your perspective. Your ideas and suggestions. I am grateful to you both for your help.
Beth Duncan and Nancy Lehren please join me up on stage.
Beth and Nancy – My Past President’s Rep and Immediate Past President. I felt so lucky to have the two of you to check in with to handle this or that. Working in the same office with Beth. I consider you two the Dream Team of support. Thank you both!
Mike Cordonnier, please join me up on stage.
Thanks to my husband Mike. This year has been busy. Way busier than we usually like. So many meetings in the evenings and events on the weekends. And Sundays, oh Sundays, my gift for you is to give you Sundays back! Hikes, bikes, new adventures, or just projects around the house that have been neglected. You can put down your red pen, no proofreading any more President’s notes, or any of the other crazy things you supported me with this year! Just time! It’s the best thank you I could give!
Joan Cordonnier Announces Her Awards
From Joan Cordonnier:
Dave Kay, Stan Fronzaglia, Phil Speelman, Debby Moore, Fran Sheehan and Karen Charnesky please join me on stage.
I would like to present you all with a “Spark” award. What is a “Spark” award you ask? According to the New York Times best seller “Spark – how you lead yourself and others to great success,” Sparks are doers, innovators, and influencers. They are defined by actions, commitment and will!
Dave, you were the person who brought me into the club about 23 years ago. I am grateful for you inviting me to lunch all of those years ago. You sparked an already optimistic person all the way to Presidency!
Stan, your spark was so strong and bright this year with our newly formed Youth Mental Health Initiative Committee. You were just full of ideas and suggestions. You took a hold of a couple of the projects that we were investigating and ran with them. You were the reluctant committee chair, even though you refused the title. Thank you for the passion, organization, suggestions and relentlessness!
Phil, Debby, Fran and Karen, you all are newer members who are DOERS: Golf Committee, Childhood Health and Wellness, Americana and YMHI, Avenue of Flage and so many other things! You didn’t just come to meetings…you COMMITTED. You not only “sparked” you stepped up and LIT IT UP! Thank you and I can’t wait to see what is next for our club with the energy you all bring!
Thank you all!
Carol Smerz and Mike Bevis please join me on stage.
I honestly cannot list all of the things I am grateful for when it comes to the two of you.
Carol, I am giving you the “Human Sunshine” Award! You are an incredible person with a beautiful soul, who makes the world a better place every single day. You are someone who excels at everything they do and gives all of themselves, all of the time. Ask anyone who is on a committee with Carol and I’m sure they would agree.
Your encouragement and support have come along with hugs and smiles! Did you all know that Carol was the one that gave me the “Feeling Grateful” book at one of our first meetings? She was also behind many, many weeks of our “Did you know” Facts? It was actually Stan’s idea, and Carol helped bring it to fruition. Did I mention that this takes a village? Carol is another member who just jumps in and “does it,” no matter what “it” is!
Mike, how do you recognize a guy who does so many small things under the radar, which multiply and turn into great big things!? He spends his time cultivating relationships and people. He is a giver. He is a difference maker. He is a person that has a significant impact on the outcome of a situation on the lives of others. Someone who brings about positive change. A difference maker is not defined by title or position, but by the actions and ability to create a positive impact. Thank you for making a difference in so many ways in our club and our community.
CNO Rookie of the Year for 2023-2024, Don Stafford
The CNO president at the end of their term selects the Rookie of the Year.
The following is from Joan Cordonnier:
There are many deserving souls of this award. Did I mention how great our club is? I had a couple of people on my radar, but I decided to check in with some of the committee chairs from the bigger committees in the club. I guess it is no surprise that this person has been active on several of these committees!
This member just joined in March 2024, and has been a regular at our lunch meetings. He has been interested in many activities and seeks out the members in charge if he has questions. He quickly became very active on two of our biggest committees, the Avenue of Flags, and the Golf Committee. We’ll have to see if he has the same gusto for the other big committee, the Christmas Tree lot!
My understanding is that this member is a regular helper on a flag route that has 240 subscribers, and willing to do whatever it takes to get it done in a timely manner. That is a lot of flags!
He also jumped right into the Golf Committee and was a huge help throughout the planning process, with great suggestions for the future. He also was a key player on the day of the outing, helping to make the event a big success.
This Rookie is also a Will Cale Scholarship mentor, which requires meetings and other communication with the student at least monthly for a good part of the year. The goal is to help students navigate the challenges of college at Sinclair, when they likely don’t have much of a support system at home.
While all of this is impressive, what really finalized this decision in my mind, was when I went to the Golf Outing wrap up party. I was getting ready to leave and found this person in the kitchen doing dishes. That is the epitome of a person who jumps in to do whatever it takes. Let’s hear it for the 2023 – 2024 Rookie of the Year, Mr. Don Stafford!
Optimist of the Year
The Optimist of the Year Award is given once a year during the Installation dinner. The reasons for being Optimist of the Year include the nominee’s leadership, committee participation, attendance at club activities, new member recruitment, and any other traits that contribute to our club’s success during the current Optimist Year.
One or two members are chosen during an annual meeting of past and current Optimist of the Year recipients. Those in attendance may nominate someone for consideration and after all nominations are made, the nominators provide a list of reasons why their nominee should be the Optimist of the Year. After a couple of rounds of votes, the winner or winners emerge.
From Gary Anderson:
The Optimist of the Year Award was begun in 1969-70, following our charter in March 1968. I would like to introduce Sue Brubaker, the 68th recipient and our 2022-23 Optimist of the Year. It is the job of the previous year’s winner of the Optimist of the Year Award to introduce the recipient of the Centerville Noon Optimist Thomas P. Frazier Optimist of the Year Award.
Optimist of the Year 2023-2024, Mike Cordonnier
Sue Brubaker introduced the 2023-2024 Optimist of the Year, Mike Cordonnier.
From Sue Brubaker:
This year the nominating committee selected a person who truly defines our motto: “Friend of Youth.” Let me tell you about this person’s contributions to our club.
- Our new Optimist of the Year is known by all for a positive, can-do attitude.
- They participate in the Avenue of Flags by servicing a delivery route.
- They make a very significant contribution to the Christmas Tree lot.
- They are a Will Cale Scholarship mentor.
- They help with the Americana 5K.
Here are more details about our winner:
- For the Haunted Trail, he makes the trail a little scarier, and a little more magical. He volunteers open to close each night and helps the youth actors with their roles.
- For Safetyville Square, he is instrumental in setup, teardown, and moving all the props.
- For the Tree Lot, he is always ready to contribute to setup and upgrades. He also works sales shifts. The amount of electrical work he does each year for the tree lot is crucial.
- For the Got Talent committee, he creates and help run the public performances at the high school each year.
Plaque for the Optimist of the Year
The Optimist of the Year received a beautiful plaque commemorating the recognition of their service to the community and CNO.
The plaque says:
THE THOMAS P. FRAZIER OPTIMIST OF THE YEAR AWARDED TO
MIKE CORDONNIER
FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY
CENTERVILLE NOON OPTIMIST CLUB 2023 – 2024
Passing of the Gavel
From Gary Anderson:
Before I invite the past presidents here tonight to join me up front, I want you to notice two things: first, how many are wearing their Optimist pins; I’m predicting 100%. And that brings me to a third lost CNO tradition. The wearing of your Optimist pin at CNO meetings and being fined for not wearing it. I know and understand the argument; life is different today and that clothing choices are more casual during a noon luncheon on a workday for most people. But come on! With Paul’s blessing, our Sergeant at Arms may be fining more of us each Tuesday for not wearing our Optimist pin. The second thing I want you to notice is the increasing incidence of gray hair as we go from presidents beginning in 1982-83 to 2024-25. Except for Paul, of course, he’s already gray before his year as President!
After the new board members were sworn in, there was the traditional passing of the gavel. All the previous presidents attending formed a line at the front of the room in the order they served as CNO President.
For a complete list of past presidents, refer to your Club Handbook.
Past CNO presidents at tonight’s celebration passing the gavel were:
- Gary Anderson, 1982-83
- Charlie Tapp, 1983-84
- Jeff Busch, 1984-85
- Don Kelley, 1987-88
- Gail Aiken (for Gary Aiken, 1990-91)
- Karl Frydryk, 1993-94
- Dave Kay, 1999-00
- Jerry Stahley, 2002-03
- Stan Fronzaglia, 2004-05
- Mike Wall, 2005-06
- Tom Novak, 2007-08
- Nancy Lehren, 2008-09
- Mike Bevis, 2009-10
- Bob Burkman, 2013-14
- Myron Rheaume, 2015-16
- Greg Griffin, 2019-20
- Debe Dockins, 2020-21
- Gary Hansen, 2021-22
- Beth Duncan, 2022-2023
- Joan Cordonnier, 2023-24
- Paul Boeckman, 2024-25
Closing Remarks from Host Gary Anderson
From Gary Anderson:
Another “lost tradition” is the practice of acknowledging CNO members by their first name only; with no titles like Mr., or Mrs., or Ms., or Dr., or Sir, or Ma’am; or even “Hey, You!” I hope we can return to that tradition as our upcoming Optimist year unfolds.
As we leave tonight, I would like us to return once again to Mark Twain as he talked about strategies to use when we may be feeling a bit discouraged. Mark Twain remarked, “The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”
Let’s get cheerful and finish tonight by focusing on gratitude for having Joan as our 2023-24 President. Let’s be thankful we have selected Paul and his team to lead us into 2025! I hope you have noticed the make-up of this year’s Board of Directors which is a wonderful balance of newer and more veteran members. We are indeed, in very good hands!
Before we conclude we must acknowledge our spouses and partners that journey with us in our many and varied Optimist activities, events, and fundraisers. Many have done so for decades. We are indebted to you for your unwavering support. As cliché as it seems, it does “take a village.”
With that, final congratulations to President Paul Boeckman, President-Elect Sarah Umbreit, Secretary Jean Pummill, Treasurer Roland Rapp, Vice-Presidents Denise O’Neil and Mike Creech, the new Board of Directors, Optimist of the Year Mike Cordonnier and Rookie of the Year Don Stafford. Congratulations to all!
Please stand and join me in the Optimist Creed!