Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Mardi Gras, the day of year where we don’t hide the crazy, we parade it down the street.
Lord,
As we celebrate this day, may we remember that not all bad decisions lead to good stories, there are cameras everywhere, and You see how we earn our beads. But most importantly, may we never forget that while we make mistakes, and a lot of them, your love and grace for us is never-ending.
Amen.
Announcements
Winning Artwork from Visual Arts Contest on Display at Woodbourne Library
Rachal Goetz (co-chair) announced that the artwork of the winners of this year’s and last year’s Visual Arts Contest will be displayed at Woodbourne Library starting this Friday. This year’s winners will also be at next Tuesday’s meeting.
2025 Essay Contest
Kristen Marks is the chair of the Essay Contest. The following are her remarks:
Today, I’m delighted to present the essay contest that helps our youth shine and demonstrate their writing talents. This contest serves as a crucial platform for young individuals to express their ideas and perspectives based on the theme through the art of writing. This year’s theme was How Optimism Has Paved My Road to Success. I am so happy that our top three writers could attend today’s event. You may see some familiar faces today!
Before introducing our first speaker, I would like to thank those who helped with the contest this year. This year we teamed up with the South Metro Optimist Club to offer the contest. I have a big thank you to Judi Aiken for working with me to divvy up the tasks and coordinate each piece of the contest together. Additional thanks to the South Metro members Mary Stahley and Joellen Jenkins for judging the essay submissions. We had six essays that were judged and additional essays that were written by students with learning differences. We were very happy for those additional submissions and the ability to be inclusive. I appreciate Judi and her team for hand delivering acknowledgment letters to each of those students. Lastly, thanks to Roland for helping with the administration piece of the contest.
I would like to mention some other reasons that this contest is such a great learning opportunity for our youth.
The essay contest encourages young minds to explore their unique viewpoints and experiences related to the given topic. Through this process, participants learn to craft narratives that have the potential to captivate and inspire.
In today’s world, critical thinking is crucial for shaping the world we all live in. The essay contest prompts participants to present well-reasoned and researched points tied to the theme. By engaging in this exercise, young writers enhance their ability to communicate their thoughts effectively—a skill set that will undoubtedly serve them well in both academic and real-world settings.
Effective communication is a cornerstone of success in any field. Through the essay contest, participants refine their writing skills, learning to articulate their ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively within the allotted word limit. They practice the art of storytelling, structuring their narratives in a compelling manner that resonates with the reader and listener.
The three winners today were presented with a check, a medal, and a certificate.
Third Place Winner: Chenuli Attanayake
Chenuli is a freshman at Alter High School. She has been playing violin since the age of six and is fortunate to perform with several orchestras. She is a member of Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Miami Valley Orchestra, Fairborn Regional Orchestra, and Starling Preparatory String Project at the University of Cincinnati.
Beyond music, she is a committed cadet Girl Scout currently working on her gold award. She volunteers at the Centerville Park District, the Centerville Library, the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, and Hannah’s Treasure Chest.
Chenuli’s essay described her journey as a violinist and how optimism helped her overcome setbacks, particularly when she wasn’t selected for an orchestra after an online audition in 2020. Rather than giving up, she embraced optimism, worked harder on her technique, and was accepted in 2021. She was later appointed as a sectional leader for the violin section. She now plays in four different orchestras and is preparing to perform at Carnegie Hall. Her essay emphasized that success comes not just from talent or practice, but from an unwavering belief in oneself, refusing to let setbacks define the future, and maintaining a positive, proactive attitude.
Second Place Winner: Joanna Xavier
Joanna Xavier is a 6th grader at Magsig Middle School. She enjoys playing the piano and clarinet and is a member of the Magsig Junior Optimists. Joanna helps on the Teen Advisory Board at the library, volunteers at RecPlex, her church, and enjoys doing origami and art.
Joanna’s essay described how her parents encourage her and her sister to learn something new every summer. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she learned origami while her sister started calligraphy. This taught her that trying times don’t last forever and that it’s important to keep moving forward optimistically. In subsequent years, she mastered solving the Rubik’s Cube, learned magic tricks, and even performed magic tricks at a school talent show. She eventually began teaching these skills to friends during recess. This led to her mother suggesting they teach these skills more formally. Her mother was hired as a part-time youth specialist at a nearby organization, and Joanna helped teach evening classes in Rubik’s Cube, origami, slime-making, and beginner chess. She earned about $640 last year, which she put in her savings account. Joanna concluded with a Chinese proverb: “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”
First Place Winner: Nissi Xavier
Nissi is in 9th grade at Centerville High School. She plays volleyball for the school, participates in speech and debate, orchestra, student council, and Hope Squad.
Nissi also helps with the Teen Advisory Board at the library, CWPD volunteer, Centerville Washington History volunteer, and worship team at church.
Nissi’s essay described her transformation from being an overthinker and worrier to becoming optimistic. She shared three principles that guided this change:
- Hold onto the definition of success: “Success is where preparation meets opportunity.” Instead of worrying about outcomes, she shifted her focus to preparation.
- “The comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” She discussed learning to manage her time on her phone productively.
- “Do not worry about things outside of your control.” This principle helped her stop worrying excessively and trying to please everyone.
These principles helped her overcome pessimism and embrace optimism, transforming her into a more confident person. She likes the Optimist Creed line, “To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.”
Ohio District Level of the Optimist Essay Contest
As the winner of the CNO essay contest, Nissi’s essay will be entered into the Ohio District level for a chance to win a $3,500 scholarship.
Closing Remarks from Kristen Marks
The following are from Kristen Marks:
Today we heard messages about perseverance, generosity, authenticity, and preparation from these exceptional writers.
Participating in the Optimist International Essay Contest instills confidence and builds character in our youth. To compose an essay outside of the English or Composition classroom and have the work judged is a challenge and worthwhile learning experience for students who take advantage of the opportunity. It is wonderful that our two Optimist Clubs can offer this outlet to build a student’s skill set and add to their accomplishments.
Thank you Kristen Marks
Thank you, Kristen Marks, for all your efforts in this contest! Students are lucky to have community champions like yourself.
President Paul’s Quote of the Week
“It’s déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Chenuli Attanayake | Essay Contest Winner |
| Crystal Lovato | Patrick Arehart |
| Joanna Xavier | Essay Contest Winner |
| Joellen Jenkins | South Metro Club Member |
| Judi Aiken | South Metro Club Member |
| Judy Winfield | Tom Novak |
| Nissi Xavier | Essay Contest Winner |
| Wes Feldmeyer | New Member |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Theresa Curry | Art Hung | 3rd Reading |
| Wes Feldmeyer | Jane Fiehrer | 3rd Reading |
| Bob Bowman | Nancy Lehren | Induction |
| Nanea Llacuna | Stephanie Llacuna | Induction |
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Bob Collins | Celebrating 62nd wedding anniversary with Karen Collins. |
| Jeff Busch | His son Hunter has made the CHS baseball team again. This also means he needs to sell 300 bags of mulch. |
| Bill Wiliams | He and his wife,Cadance Lowell, are expecting a granddaughter in July. |
| Greg Hoffbauer | He is celebrating the second anniversary of opening ContempoRoast Coffee Shop with Mindy and their son. |
| Bob Myers | Happy his 38 radiation treatments for cancer are over. |
| Ellie Parker | Happy that Dick and Sandy Stevens picked her up to attend today’s meeting. |
| Patrick Arehart | Today is D. Ralph Young’s 100th birthday. Ralph is a WWII veteran and former member of CNO. He presented to CNO twice about the war in the Pacific during WWII. He left CNO when he could no longer hear well enough to understand the speakers. |
| Ton Conroy | His grandchildren really enjoyed watching Peter Pan at the Schuster. |
| Sarah Umbreit | $3 for Gary Smiga, Karl Frydryk, Roland Rapp agreeing to do the financial review for the Ohio Optimist District and turning it around in record time. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Barbara Santo | She lost her name badge and lost the birthday table placard (Greg made her a new one). |
| Don Stafford | He has not been wearing his Optimist pin to meetings. |
Club Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Barbara Santo | March 9, 1999 | 26 |
Birthdays
| Gareth Dickey | March 14 |
| Vida McDowell | March 15 |
| Bob Foster | March 16 |
| Jessie Kuhn | March 16 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
CLICK HERE to see the Thank You Notes received this week.
Links to PowerPoint and Pictures
CLICK HERE to see the PowerPoint Slides from this week’s meeting