Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Lord,
We are gathered this evening in celebration of this holiday season. Whether we are preparing for Christmas and the birth of the baby Jesus, for Hanukkah the celebration in remembrance of the miracle in which a lantern, with only enough oil for one night, blazed for eight, or any of the other holidays observed during this time of year, we all chose to take time during this busy season to spend with our Optimist family and friends. Lord, help us to take time this season to give the gifts that truly matter:
- the gift of gratitude for the people in our lives and the blessings they provide us.
- the gift of our attention, to be present in the moment free of distraction.
- the gifts of grace, forgiveness, and non-judgment for we are all human and make mistakes.
- the gift of a compliment for we never know how much a kind word can mean to someone.
- the gift of time to be with and serve those with needs both big and small; and
- the gift of love, a true and unconditional love, for people as You created them, not as we wish for them to be.
Amen.
Thank You to the Social Committee
Special thanks to the Social Committee for their amazing efforts to put this night together at the Moraine Country Club. Thank you to the co-chairs of the Social Committee Debe Dockins and Sue Jessee. Thanks for their elf assistants for this event Erin Laurito, Sue Brubaker and Sarah Umbreit.
CNO 2022 Holiday Party
Tonight, we celebrated the holiday season. Gary Smiga did a wonderful job as emcee for the evening.
We had an hour of socialization with appetizers, followed by a plated dinner with more socializing getting us all into the holiday spirit. After the meal the Christian D. Larson award was given and then there was entertainment.
Christian D. Larson Awards
Craig Dring, Chris McAlpine and Don Wildenhaus were the recipients of the Christian D. Larson awards from last year. Craig Dring introduced Greg Wasmund as the first of three recipients for this year. The other two recipients were not revealed and will be presented later when they attend a lunch meeting.
Greg Wasmund, Christian D. Larson Award Recipient 2022
Greg Wasmund joined CNO on 1/25/2007.
Greg has participated in
- Avenue of Flags
- Golf Outing
- Americana 5k
- Tri-Star basketball
- Haunted Trail
Positions held
- Board of Directors and Board Vice President
- Optimist International Foundation Representative
- Director of TOP Soccer
- Partners Optimist Club
- Zone director
- Tri-Star soccer co-chair
Other Organizations
- Leukemia Lymphoma Society
- Sinclair Optimist Club
Greg Wasmund has a friendly smile, always willing to help, and brings light and happiness everywhere he goes. He is a true Optimist and a most deserving recipient of the Christian D Larson Award.
After receiving the award, a surprised Greg Wasmund gave a very heartfelt thank you for being recognized with this prestigious award.
The Alexandra Kiefaber Show
Gary Smiga introduced Alexandra Kiefaber, who is 8 years old and attends John Hole Elementary School in Centerville. This past spring Alexandra placed third in the Centerville’s Got Talent competition hosted by the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. Alexandra loves to perform and is thankful for the opportunity to share her music.
In addition to voice lessons and piano lessons, Alexandra is on the gymnastics team at Gymnastics Training Center of Ohio. Other activities she enjoys are ice skating, ballet, softball, soccer, competitive swim and dive team. She is also a great big sister to her brother and sister and is thankful for the support from her family.
Alexandra put on quite the show. She sang several songs. She played the piano including singing with most of the songs and she performed a spoken word reading. For her grand finale of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” she walked through the entire audience. She is exceptionally talented and entertaining.
Thank you, Alexandra Kiefaber, for entertaining us this evening.
Opti-Kids Performance
Beth Duncan, with hands provided by Kelly Davis, and Joan Cordonnier with hands provided by Kelly Stone, performed several funny lip-sync and dance acts to upbeat songs. It was hilarious. Beth and Joan had their hands disguised as feet. You must see it to believe it!
Watch the Opti-Kids video here.
About the Christian D. Larson Award
Craig Dring presented the following:
The Christian D. Larson award is Optimist International’s most prestigious award. This award is a lifetime achievement recognition given to a person who has exemplified outstanding service to both our community as a whole and The Centerville Noon Optimist Club in particular.
The award was named in honor of Mr. Larson because he was the author of the well-known Optimist Creed which was written in 1912 and is what we Optimists live by every day. In the one hundred years of Optimist International, with hundreds of thousands of members, less than eight hundred individuals worldwide have been accorded this honor, twenty-seven of whom are from our club.
Each year, our club donates half the proceeds of the tickets purchased for the 50/50 drawing along with all the money raised through the Sergeant at Arms fines and Happy Bucks during our Noon meetings. This money goes to the Optimist International Foundation for the purpose of supporting its charitable, literary, and educational activities. In return, for each one thousand dollars donated, the Optimist International Foundation grants our club the privilege of presenting a Christian D. Larson Award.
The qualifications to be considered for this prestigious award are as follows: Have a minimum of ten years in the club, have held leadership positions, contributed greatly to both the community and our club, exhibited a positive optimistic attitude and volunteered consistently over many years actively enhancing the club’s formula for success.
The past recipients of the award meet and nominate deserving candidates. These candidates are voted on by past recipients and the winners are chosen.
Previous Recipients of the Christian D. Larson Award
- Steve Fisher
- Margaret Barclay
- Phil Robinson
- Joe Madden
- Jerry Stahley
- Chuck Dickerson
- Jim Hawley
- Bill Stone
- Gary Aiken
- Judy DeMarco
- Dan Beck
- Gary Smiga
- Kelly Stone
- Mike Bevis
- Tom Novak
- Gary Anderson
- Will Cale
- Don Kelley
- Charlie Tapp
- Bob Burkman
- Nancy Lehren
- Pat Behn
- Mary Madden
- Myron Rheaume
- Tom Frazier
- Stan Fronzaglia
- Karl Frydryk
- Joan Cordonnier
- Gail Aiken
- Roy Barclay
- Barbara Santo
- Vida McDowell
- Larry Lynde
- Craig Dring
- Chris McAlpine
- Don Wildenhaus
- Greg Wasmund