Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
God of emotions,
You are with us in times of sorrow, in times of joy, and all the times between. You sent your son, Jesus, to walk the earth with us. May we remember that you understand what it is like to be human and all the complex emotions that come with it.
Amen.
Announcements
Fishing Derby Recap
Andy Dickerson gave a recap of the Fishing Derby held last Saturday, which had 170 registered participants. The heaviest fish caught weighed 4 pounds, 2 ounces, and the grand champion had a total catch weight of 19 pounds, 15 ounces. He thanked Diane and Patrick Arehart for their help with the new scoring database and expressed appreciation to all the volunteers who made the event a success.
Volunteers Needed for Americana 5K
Sarah Umbreit announced volunteers are still needed for the upcoming Americana 5K. Shifts are available for packet pickup on July 2 and 3, and on the morning of July 4 at Centerville High School Stadium. There are also jobs available on race day. Please sign up using the Member Calendar.
Castle Fishing Day Appreciation Recap
Erin Dickerson said the Castle Fishing Day was a great success thanks to the enthusiastic participation and she thanked all the volunteers who helped out.
33rd Annual Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf Classic
Steve Rau asked for your help finding additional sponsors for the golf fundraiser. All the golfing positions are filled. Additionally, he is coordinating volunteers for the day of the event, July 14, 2025. Val and Vida are collecting items for the silent auction gift baskets. Gift cards and creative donations are welcome. They also need a person with a truck with a full-sized bed to pick up the large grill at the rental company and you would not have to lift it. Please sign up using the Member Calendar.
Volunteers Needed for the Americana Booth
Joan Cordonnier, on behalf of Karen Charnesky, announced that more volunteers are needed for the Americana Festival booth in the afternoon. The booth’s theme will focus on mental health. Volunteers will share information about the club and sign-up new subscribers for the Avenue of Flags. Please sign up using the Member Calendar.
Congratulations Tia Papp
Paul Boeckman congratulated CNO member Tia Papp and her husband Michael on their new baby!
Donation Requests Approved at the June 2025 Board Meeting
Paul Boeckman announced that $8200 in grants were approved during the June 9, 2025, CNO Board meeting.
- $2500 to the CE3 Community Enrichment, Encouragement and Empowerment organization that serves children at Chevy Chase
- $200 for an Eagle Scout project to build a traffic light for Safetyville Square
- $5000 to the Centerville Washington Park District to help fund a motorized adult changing table at Oak Grove Park – this is where the Top Soccer program is held for a few weeks each year
- $500 for the Ohio District convention in August which makes CNO the Appetizers Sponsor
Happy Birthday and Congratulations, Erin Giffin!
Happy Birthday, Erin Giffin! Today’s rendition of Happy Birthday was enthusiastically led by Bob Duffy. Afterward, Paul Boeckman joked that he had just returned from the ear doctor and now realizes that sometimes hearing loss is a blessing!
Erin brought her husband David as a guest today. David took the microphone and shared some wonderful news: they’re expecting their first baby in October!
Hal McCoy Reds Sports Reporter
Larry Lynde introduced Hal McCoy, one of the most respected sports journalists in the country. He has spent more than five decades covering the Cincinnati Reds for the Dayton Daily News and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s writers’ wing, having received the prestigious J.G. Taylor Spink Award. Over the years, he has written thousands of columns, covered multiple World Series, and earned a reputation for insight, integrity, and wit. Even after losing most of his eyesight in 2001, Hal continued to report and write with the same passion and precision that defined his career.
How It All Began
Hal McCoy opened his talk by thanking the club for the warm welcome. With his signature wit, he recounted how he stumbled into the field of journalism. Back in high school at Akron East, Hal was the only boy in his typing class. His teacher, Mrs. Rose Picciotti, also advised the school newspaper. One day, noticing that he played on the basketball team, she suggested he write a story about it. “You write it, we’ll fix it up,” she told him. She let Hal know that his writing was so good they didn’t have to change anything. That simple assignment sparked a lifelong career.
Hal went on to Kent State University with a baseball scholarship, but after discovering he couldn’t hit a curveball, he pivoted to writing about the game instead. In 1973, while covering University of Dayton basketball for the Dayton Daily News, his editor gave him a choice between covering the Bengals or the Reds. His father had been a professional baseball player and Hal himself was a Cleveland Browns fan, so he chose the Reds and never looked back.
Covering Pete Rose
Among the many athletes Hal covered, none presented a greater challenge, or greater material, than Pete Rose. Hal described Pete as someone who would “fill your notebook,” but that relationship was put to the test during the gambling investigation. For 15 years, Pete refused to speak to him because Hal had to ask tough questions during the scandal.
Years later, Hal and his wife were in Las Vegas and spotted Pete at a memorabilia shop. His wife nudged him to say hello, and despite Hal’s hesitation, he did. Pete stood up, pulled Hal behind the table, and posed for a photo. Later he signed it, “To a great Hall of Famer, from the Hit King, Pete Rose.” The ice was broken. Later, Pete even called a mutual friend to say, “I thought Hal McCoy hated my guts.” That reconciliation gave Hal yet another memorable story, one of redemption and baseball’s power to reconnect.
The Marge Schott Chronicles
No one provided Hal with more outrageous copy than former Reds owner Marge Schott. Hal explained that she never called him by name. Instead, she simply referred to him as “that guy from Dayton,” especially when banning him from the media dining room for something unflattering he had written.
He recounted how Schott once sent used funeral flowers to the umpire’s room after a death in the officiating family, and he wrote about it. After a meeting, she offered leftover boxes of donuts to employees, only after charging them a quarter per donut. Hal wrote about that, too.
Then there was Schottzie, her St. Bernard, who roamed the field during batting practice. One day, the dog relieved herself at shortstop. When Barry Larkin was asked about diving for balls near that brown spot, he replied, “If they think I’m going to dive out there, they’re crazy.” During the game Larkin had to dive for a catch and his shirt came up brown. Once again, Hal had all the makings of a great column.
Even with their rocky history, things softened between them over time. At a wedding, Hal’s wife introduced herself to Marge. The next morning, as Hal entered the hotel elevator, Schott greeted him warmly with, “Hello, Mr. McCoy.” Another great twist in the ongoing saga.
Manager Mayhem and Clubhouse Chaos
Hal had a front-row seat to some of the most colorful clubhouse incidents in Reds’ history, and each one turned into another gem for his column.
One of Hal’s favorite stories involving Lou Piniella came from a fiery clubhouse moment with pitcher Rob Dibble. After a game, Lou explained to Hal that he hadn’t used Dibble because the reliever had a sore elbow. Hal included the explanation in his next column, thinking little of it at the time.
The following day, Dibble stormed into the clubhouse, upset. “My elbow’s not sore,” he said. “I could have pitched.” Lou happened to walk in moments later, and without hesitation, Dibble jumped him. The two rolled around on the clubhouse floor in a full-on scuffle. Hal stood there, notebook ready. “It was a great story for me,” he said with a grin.
Piniella was also known for his dramatic temper. In one game, he ripped first base out of the ground and hurled it into right field to protest a call. Dissatisfied with how far it went, he retrieved it and threw it even farther. Piniella’s wife wouldn’t talk to him for a week after his actions. When Hal asked about the incident, Lou said that if he had known the stunt would result in his wife giving him the silent treatment for a week, he would have done it sooner.
Then there was Jack McKeon, another character in Reds’ history. Jack once left a freshly lit $15 cigar on a windowsill before walking into a church for Mass. When he came out, a homeless man sitting on a nearby bench was puffing on it. The man looked up and asked, “Hey, man, got a light?” Jack just chuckled and lit the cigar for him.
Hal also told of a minor league trick Jack once pulled. Facing a team with a particularly fast leadoff man, Jack had the grounds crew move first base back by a foot to slow the player down. It worked, and no one noticed. Another column, served up by life on the baseball road.
And who could forget the Jim Bowden era? Hal said Jack smoked cigars in his office constantly, not just because he liked them, but to keep then–general manager Bowden, who hated cigar smoke, from coming in to micromanage.
Going Blind, But Not Quitting
In 2001, Hal began losing vision in one eye while covering a road game in St. Louis. Doctors told him he had suffered a stroke in his right eye, and that the odds of it happening in the other eye were slim. A year later, Hal became part of that unlucky 15%, he lost the vision in his left eye as well.
Hal brought an eye chart to his sports editor and said he might have to retire. Instead of accepting that, the editor told him, “You’re going to spring training. See how it goes.” Hal tried, but he couldn’t recognize people, even close friends and longtime players.
One day, Aaron Boone sat next to him in the dugout and said, “What’s going on with you?” Hal explained, and Boone replied, “I don’t ever want you to say the word ‘quit’ again.” With encouragement from the team and a bit of stubborn determination, Hal kept going, and 24 years later, he’s still covering the game he loves.
Ray Snedegar: More Than a Driver
With his vision loss came another challenge, Hal could no longer drive. At his wife’s urging, he put a request for a volunteer driver in his column. He received 475 offers. The one that stood out came from Ray Snedegar, a retired man who had recently lost his wife and didn’t know what came next.
The two went to lunch and instantly hit it off. Since then, Ray has become much more than Hal’s driver. “He’s my best friend,” Hal said as he asked Ray to stand. “We have so much in common, and I don’t know what I’d do without him.” For Hal, it was another story, not one about baseball, but about the power of human connection.
Q&A Highlights
During the Q&A, Hal shared several humorous reflections. At his Hall of Fame induction, broadcaster Bob Uecker quipped, “Unlike Hal McCoy, I’ve been asked to leave many places.” Hal said he insisted on being inducted before Uecker that day. “I had everyone crying; he had everyone laughing.”
When asked about his worst interview, Hal described a Reds pitcher with steely gray eyes who once punched a reporter. “I kept my distance after that.”
Someone asked about “Dave from Centerville, Miamisburg, and Beavercreek,” a frequent question-asker in the weekly “Ask Hal” column. Yes, Hal confirmed, Dave is real, and he just likes to keep people guessing.
As for players with Hall of Fame snubs, Hal mentioned Vada Pinson and Dave Concepción. He firmly believes Concepción was as good as Ozzie Smith, but he’s often overshadowed by the other stars of the Big Red Machine.
Thoughts on Today’s Game
Hal offered perspective on how baseball has changed. He believes the standard for Hall of Fame pitchers will eventually have to drop from 300 wins to 200, simply because starting pitchers rarely go more than five innings today. “They pitch with maximum effort every pitch,” he explained, “and that leads to more injuries.” He cited Reds great Jim Maloney, who believed pitchers today don’t throw enough to build arm strength.
As for the current Reds, Hal said that for the first time in a decade before the start of the season, he predicted they would make the playoffs. “After these last four games,” he added, “they might actually be contenders. But it’s going to be hard to beat the Cubs.”
Thank You
Thank you, Hal McCoy, for taking the time to share your experiences and stories from years covering the Reds. Your humor and perspective were appreciated.
President Paul’s Quote of the Week
“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than 50 preaching it.” -Knute Rockne
Volunteer and Social Event Signups Available Online with the Virtual Clipboard
Did you know you can now sign up to volunteer or participate in social events using a simple online registration form from your phone or PC? The Member Calendar has a complete list of upcoming volunteer opportunities and social events.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Chelsea Stinnett | Maha Kashani |
| David Giffin | Erin Giffin |
| Ed Meier | Mike Bevis |
| Hal McCoy | Speaker |
| Hunter Busch | Jeff Busch |
| Kendal Cooke | Barbara Santo |
| Luca Dice | Gail Aiken |
| Noah Beard | Don Massie |
| Roberta Cadieux | Carol Smerz |
| Ryan Schuessler | Maha Kashani |
| Susan Nelson | Bob Duffy |
| Tammy Rasey | Cris Peterson |
| Vivette Bowling | Patrick Arehart |
| Zane Keadle | Mike Bevis |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Vivette Bowling | Patrick Arehart | Induction |
| Michael Horton | Teresa NIchols | 3rd Reading |
Happy Bucks
No time this week.
Sergeants at Arms – Gary Anderson and Maha Kashani
No time this week.
Club Membership Anniversaries
No Club Anniversaries this week (this is unusual)
Birthdays
| Erin Giffin | June 10 |
| Mike Wall | June 12 |
| Wes Feldmeyer | June 14 |
| Deanna Nesbit | June 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 we received this week
Links to PowerPoint and Pictures
CLICK HERE to see the PowerPoint Slides from this week’s meeting