Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Lord,
We all have demands on our time: work, family, faith communities, and volunteering to name a few. Help us to realize we are not indispensable. You call for us to take a sabbath and even You took time to rest on the 7th day. We cannot pour from empty cups. May we give ourselves the grace to take the time to care for ourselves so that we may serve you and those around us better.
Amen.
Announcements
- Erin Laurito announced that the annual CNO Officer Installation Dinner will be at Cox Arboretum on September 26, 2023, and will have a Western Theme. No lunch meeting will be held that Tuesday at Yankee Trace. Sign up online using the Member Calendar. The last day to register is September 15, 2023. The annual ceremony will thank president Beth Duncan and welcome president Joan Cordonnier.
- Beth Duncan announced that there will be a social trip to the Keeneland horse racing track on October 25, 2023. There will be a chartered bus to take participants down and back. There will be a maximum of 48 participants. Sign up online using the Member Calendar.
- Beth Duncan announced that a new Optimist Club has been sponsored by CNO in Springfield that has been chartered with 19 members. She thanked Bill Stone, Mike Bevis, Tom Kennedy, and Tom Kendo. She thanked Diane Arehart for sending out a Facebook post that helped find the last few members they needed before being able to charter the club.
- Greg Griffen announced that the Christmas Tree Lot opens in 87 days. The trees are delivered on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and sales begin on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
- Tom Novak announced that flags for Labor Day are being delivered on August 30, 2023. There are 190 helpers for every flag holiday. They need more volunteers to pick up flags. Many of the regular helpers will be out of town during this time. Let him know if you can help.
- Bill Stone announced that he and Beth Duncan have just 33 days left in their terms as governor and as CNO president.
4 Paws for Ability, KaLynn Clark
Kristen Marks introduced KaLynn Clark, the Director of Volunteer Engagement of 4 Paws for Ability.
From Kristen Marks Introduction:
The 4 Paws Mission is to enrich the lives of people with disabilities by placing life changing service dogs. Their vision is a world where people with disabilities can realize their full potential one service dog at a time. I know there are people in this room that have seen the impact of 4 Paws for Ability in the lives of their family and friends, and I’m excited for you to hear from KaLynn.
KaLynn joined 4 Paws to combine her three passions: working with dogs, helping children, and volunteering. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in counseling at Grace College, she began working in volunteer management at nonprofits such as the Appalachia Service Project, the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley.
In October 2022, KaLynn accepted the role of Development Director with 4 Paws and she is also a Volunteer Trainer and loves socializing service dogs in the 4 Paws training program. She joined the organization in 2016.
Slides
You can view the slide deck of the Kalynn’s presentation here.
Presentation
4 Paws for Ability places more than ten types of service dogs with children, adults and veterans with disabilities. They have no minimum age for those they help and, while being located in Xenia, Ohio, they help people nationwide. They breed, raise, and train service dogs to assist their partner with specific tasks and skills that mitigate the impacts of their partner’s disabilities.
Founder Karen Shirk struggled to obtain a service dog from other agencies. She was told she was too disabled to benefit from a service dog. In 1998 she founded 4 Paws for Ability to help others like her access the life-changing love, assistance, and support offered by a service dog. Children are typically too young to receive a service dog from most agencies but not from 4 Paws for Ability. These children can now thrive in their early years.
4 Paws has trained and placed over 1800 service dogs. They train 120 service dogs every year.
KaLynn Clark brought Shawn, the dog she is fostering while he is in training. Shawn was very well behaved during his entire visit today with us at lunch.
A service dog is very different than a therapy dog or a comfort dog. The Americans with Disability Act defines a service dog as, “A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.”
About 4 Paws for Ability
- Largest organization whose primary mission is to place service dogs with children
- One of the only organizations to have no minimum age requirements
- Has had a Veterans Service Dog Program since 2010
- Places 120 service dogs a year- over 1,800 since being founded in 1998
- As a non-profit they rely heavily on the help of volunteers and donations
- Annual budget is 4.85 million
How Service Dogs Help
4 Paws for Ability interviews clients and then customizes the training a service dog receives. Often the dog is trained to handle multiple methods of assistance.
Service dogs assist with:
- Autism Assistance
- Seizure Assistance
- Diabetic Alert
- Mobility Assistance
- Hearing Ear
- Multi-purpose
- Veterans Assistance
KaLynn said that 4 Paws is very well known in the Autism community. The dogs are trained to find their owner’s scent. This is very helpful as children with Autism tend to wander off and this helps parents find them quickly.
Dogs can smell what a seizure smells like before it happens. Families send in shirts a child is wearing during seizures to make this training possible.
Raising and Training
- At three days old the dogs are given a Biosensor
- At four weeks old they receive puppy enrichment training
- At eight weeks old they socialize the dog with lots of people and situations which builds the dog’s confidence
- After one year the dog receives advanced training
- When they are two years old, they are ready to help the client
- There are four hundred dogs in the training process at any given time
- During training the dogs live with volunteers
Placement Process
First, they take an application and if approved there is a two-year wait. It costs between $40,000 and $60,000 to train one dog. Donations cover about half of the cost of the service dog and the family pays the rest. The family is taught how to fundraise to help pay for the dog they receive.
The family goes through a nine-day Training class followed by a graduation celebration. The client and the family come and stay in Xenia, Ohio for this training.
There are monthly follow-ups during the first year and then annually afterwards for the life of the dog.
How You Can Help
The help and support of hundreds of onsite volunteers and community volunteer trainers allows 4 Paws for Ability to thrive.
You can foster a dog for months or you can even pick up a dog on a Friday and return them after the weekend. Foster volunteers receive all the supplies and food needed to take care of a dog. You will be given specific tasks for socializing the dog while they are with you.
Donations from individuals, businesses, and corporate partnerships are essential to provide food, veterinary care, and other essentials to prepare each service dog.
You can help by sharing what you have learned about 4 Paws with your friends.
Questions and Answers with KaLynn
Q. You are always smiling, why is that?
A. I have fostered eleven dogs so far. I love helping the dogs help clients. The social bridge the dogs provide for autism clients is amazing. For example, a child will be at Sam’s Club and talk to strangers and say, “Would you like to meet and pet my dog?” This is something they would never do before receiving the service dog.
Q. How are families helped with paying for the dogs?
A. Families go through fundraising training on how to get funds for their situation.
Q. What qualifications are there for volunteering to train and other needs?
A. To be a foster volunteer it is OK to have other pets at home. You get some training on how to help the dog. You will need to take a training course and then take the dog out for socializing for situations the dog needs help with.
Q. Where do you get your dogs?
A. We have 125 dogs in a breeding program. Selected dogs are chosen for having good vision and other physical attributes that make great service dogs. The people who take care of these dogs are called guardians.
Q. What happens to the dogs who don’t make it through training?
A. They are called “Fabulous Flunkies.” Some of the dogs can’t stop being suspicious. They bark when a person walks outside a room in a hallway for example. If they don’t make it to the end of training, they live their normal life as a pet. Some “Fabulous Flunkies” are the second service animal for a child who is older and may not need a perfectly trained dog.
Q. Is there a wait list?
A. Yes, there is a wait list. It takes about two years to receive a service dog. They are working to get this down to eighteen months.
Q. Can service dogs be trained to ignore squirrels?
A. Yes, they are professionals.
Thank You
Thank you, KaLynn Clark, for educating us about the services of 4 Paws for Ability and letting us know how we can help.
Welcome Guests
| First Name | Last Name | Guest of |
| KaLynn | Clark | Speaker |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Karen Collins | Bob Collins | 1st Reading |
| Steve Rudisill | Mike Bevis | 2nd Reading |
| Rebekah Buck | Emily Duke | 2nd Reading |
| Joan Schiml | Mike Bevis | 3rd Reading |
| Tyler Clark | Cameron Langer | 3rd Reading |
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Joan Cordonnier | Just 33 days until her term as CNO President begins. |
| Joan Cordonnier | Daughter is getting married in just under 2 weeks. |
| Bill Stone | Springfield Club is finally charted. |
| Bill Stone | Passed his pilot physical and cleared to be a pilot for the next two years. |
| Julie Noethe | UD Optimist Club is going strong. |
| Bob Collins | He plans to ride his bike at least his age in metric kilometers to raise money to fight cancer. You can sponsor him on his ride. |
| Don Kelley | Grandaughter just started her senior year at Miami University. |
| Jerry Stahley | He has retired. |
| Andrea Bublitz | Her son was in kindergarten during COVID, fell behind, but he has caught up and is now reading and doing math at an advanced stage entering the 4th grade. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Patrick Arehart and Greg Griffin | Did not return name badge to the box at the end of the meeting last week. |
| Bob Lawson | He wore the same green shirt today as he was in photo in the Centerville Lifetyle Magazine. |
| Dave Kay | Your shirt is so bright it must use batteries. |
| Todd Muckerhide | Late to today’s meeting. |
| Fred Polizzi | He showed up today because he was the member spotlight. Sergeant Tim was just trying to provide some more light to his spotlight. |
| Several Board Members | Did not wear board member pin to today’s meeting. They were warned last week. |
| Megan Dalton and Erin Dickerson | Sergeant Tim Clemmer is having such a great time at TOP soccer as a coach that he thinks you should have recruited him earlier for this opportunity. |
| Cameron Langer | Shirt had a logo that was a Shameless self promotion for Far Hills Development. |
| Beth Duncan | $2, Lost the bell and the gavel. |
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Anne Kessler | August 29, 2002 | 21 |
| Jeff Busch | August 31, 2001 | 22 |
| Ken Peacock | August 31, 2001 | 22 |
| Gary Anderson | September 1, 1979 | 44 |
| Frank DePalma | September 1, 1979 | 44 |
| Larry Lynde | September 1, 1988 | 35 |
| Drew Mckenzie | September 1, 1987 | 36 |
| Jerry Stahley | September 1, 1986 | 37 |
Birthdays
| Julie Cochran | August 31 |
| Doug Flanders | August 31 |
| Jesse Lightle | August 31 |
| Chris McAlpine | August 31 |
| Jim Mogan | August 31 |
| CeAnn Chalker | September 3 |
| Bob Collins | September 4 |
CNO Donations – 2013 through July 2023
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
No Thank You Notes received this week.