Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Lord our God,
As we grow closer to Thanksgiving, help us to look upon the changes in our seasons with gratitude. When we look out in the evening and see the dark, help us to be grateful for time to rest. When we walk outside and hear the crunching of the leaves under our feet, help us to be grateful for our time here on earth no matter the length. When we see our breath in the cold air, help us to be grateful for the life you have breathed into us. You made each of us in your image. May we be grateful for our uniqueness and rejoice in the amazing things we can accomplish when we witness life through a lens of gratitude.
Amen.
Announcements
- Craig Dring announced that the TOP Optimist Club is still selling Poinsettias. They have red blooms in 6.5” pots, with a green decorative pot cover. All proceeds benefit the community programs and projects conducted by our TOP Optimist Club. The TOP Optimist Club is sponsored by the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. Order using the Member Calendar. They will be delivered to Yankee Trace at lunch on 12/5/2023.
- Greg Griffin announced that Jim Mogan will be the traffic cop at the Christmas Tree Lot. Remember that you cannot park in the Centerville License Bureau parking lot. You can park behind the Centerville City offices or at the Famous. The Centerville License Bureau graciously donates part of the parking tree lot itself each year, so we don’t want to take up even more of their spots when their customers need them.
- Gary Hansen announced that he needs help from a few people with pickup trucks at 3:30 PM on Monday 11/20/2023 to pick up wreaths from our supplier in Huber Heights.
- Kelly Stone gave an update about the new Enclave Optimist Club in Springboro, where her mother lives. The director said that residents are looking for ways to be active and to help the community and the new Optimist club enables this. They meet the first Wednesday of every month at 2 PM and welcome visitors. They have written thank you notes and dressed Build-a-Bears. Check the slides from today’s meeting at the bottom of this article for photos.
- Donna Huss gave an update about the St Leonard Optimist Club. They support the South Dayton Mental Health Association by providing hats, scarves, gloves, non-perishable food products for their pantry, school supplies, and personal hygiene products. They make bows for the CNO Tree Lot, they stuff Easter eggs and make felt blankets. They are participating in the CNO Adopt-A-Family Christmas gift program. They meet at 2 PM on the third Thursday of each month and they like visitors.
Treebate Skit
To explain how volunteering for the CNO Christmas Tree Lot fundraiser works, a skit called Treebate was performed. It was both informative and funny! The skit is loosely based on the recent presidential candidates’ debates.
The chairs of the Christmas Tree Lot Fundraiser are Karl Frydryk and Greg Griffin.
Check the photos in the slides at the bottom of this article for additional information.
The Cast
- Announcer, Wolf Doner N Blitzener of WCNO-TV, (Bob Burkman)
- Candidate, Ron TreeSantis, (Larry England)
- Candidate, St. Nik E. Holly, (Beth Duncan)
- Candidate, Chris Christmastrie, (Larry Lynde)
- Moderator, Britt HumAdore from WAKY-TV, (Karl Frydryk)
- Written and directed by Karl Frydryk
- Produced by Karl Frydryk and Greg Griffin
- PowerPoint slide deck by Greg Griffin
- “This is CNO” voiceover by Patrick Arehart
Treebate Script
You can use this link to read the script of the Treebate skit.
Information Learned from the Treebate Skit
- The tree lot is located behind the Centerville License Bureau, 104 W Spring Valley Pike, Centerville, OH 45458.
- Do NOT park in the License Bureau’s parking lot when it is open.
- We will sell 900 trees.
- The tree lot’s first day for sales is always the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 24, 2023.
- The trees are harvested a few weeks before Thanksgiving. There is no reason for customers to wait until closer to Christmas to buy them.
- Tree types sold are Fraser Firs, Balsam Firs, Douglas Firs and Scotch Pines.
- Trees vary in height from three feet to ten feet.
- Trees vary in cost from $29 to $255.
- The North Carolina supplier for 2023 will be providing the Green Christmas tree for the Blue Room in the White House.
- Trees are sourced from two suppliers, one from Michigan and one from North Carolina.
- Prices increased by 15% for 2023, which matches the increase in costs.
- Other items sold include wreaths, roping, door sprays, tree stands and boughs.
- The delivery fee is $20 and the maximum delivery distance is seven miles. Voss
Auto supplies the delivery truck. Before you drive the truck, you must fill out a form and copy your driver’s license, which you can do inside the sales trailer. - If a member works three shifts on the tree lot they can get 50% off the purchase of one item with a maximum of $75 in savings.
- By now the captain of the team you are assigned to should have reached out to you about when your team is scheduled to be on the lot. Let them know the shifts you can work. Please show up for your shifts to help share the work with your fellow club members.
Thank You Volunteers
Karl closed by telling us, “You, the members, are the reason the tree lot is successful. Thanks for participating.”
The money raised will help CNO provide the youth of your community with scholarships, contests, programs and other youth related donations! Thank you, Karl and your crew, for performing this skit – it was awesome and informative!
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Andrew Crosby | TOP Optimist Club Member |
| Elyse Higgins | TOP Optimist Club Member |
| Jeff Mogg | Mike Bevis |
| Laurent Muvunyi | Katie Calloway |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Tia Papp | MIke Bevis | 2nd Reading |
| Laurent Muvunyi | Katie Calloway | 3rd Reading |
Happy Bucks
No time for Happy Bucks this week
Sergeants at Arms
No time for Sergeants this week
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Tim Clemmer | November 16, 2001 | 22 |
| Art Hung | November 16, 2001 | 22 |
| Larry England | November 17, 1994 | 29 |
| Nancy Lehren | November 17, 1994 | 29 |
| Carol Mays | November 18, 2022 | 1 |
| Julie Cochran | November 19, 2009 | 14 |
| Marilyn Becht | November 20, 2016 | 7 |
| Beth Duncan | November 20, 2016 | 7 |
| Jon Fox | November 20, 2000 | 23 |
| John Kalaman | November 20, 2016 | 7 |
| Paula Kalaman | November 20, 2016 | 7 |
Birthdays
| Tim Mach | November 14 |
| Jenna Robbins | November 19 |
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