Bob Burkman’s Prayer
Heavenly Father,
In this Easter season, we give thanks for the gift of renewal, thanks for hope rising like spring after winter and thanks for the promise of everlasting life. May those of us who celebrate the resurrection at the heart of this Sunday also remember our neighbors who believe in different paths. Bless those of different faiths and traditions who, in their own ways, seek truth, practice compassion and honor the sacred.
Bless all people who lift their hearts in search of peace and meaning in life. May we find common ground in kindness, in justice and in love for one another.
Unite us not in sameness, but in understanding. Help us to live out the spirit of Easter renewed with hopefulness and generosity toward all people.
Amen
Get to Know Jesse Gaither
President Sarah Umbreit interviewed Jesse Gaither for this week’s “Get to Know a Member.”
- What is your Favorite Optimist event? The Christmas Tree Lot is his favorite.
- What do you look forward to about the July 4th holiday? The Americana Festival has become a family tradition.
- Do you have a bucket list item? He hopes to retire early.
Jesse Gaither joined CNO on October 8, 2016, and was sponsored by Fred Polizzi.
Announcements
Regional Oratorical Contest
Debe Dockins reminded the club that the Regional Oratorical Contest will be held Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 6 PM at the Woodbourne Library. Two of the competitors are from Centerville Noon Optimist, with one each from Kettering Noon and the Greene Optimist Club. Two winners will advance to the District contest on May 16, 2026. Debe encouraged members to come out and support our participants as audience members. If you want to watch, please show up by 5:45 PM.
Easter Egg Hunt
Carrie Thomson announced that the Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Oak Grove Park. The event starts at 10 AM, with volunteers arriving at 8 AM. All 8,000 eggs have been stuffed, with 4,000 of them completed by volunteers last Saturday. Carrie encouraged members to come out and help, bring kids and grandkids, or just enjoy the event. Sign up using the Member Calendar.
Game Night
Kristin Passidomo announced a Game Night Social on April 11, 2026. The cost is $10, which includes pizza, snacks, tea, lemonade, and water. Bring any other food or beverage you’d like. The evening will include a variety of board and card games, with Left-Right-Center to close out the night, so bring your quarters. Sign up using the Member Calendar and pay at the door.
Avenue of Flags Phone Drive
Fran Sheehan and Carol Smerz encouraged members to help make approximately 10 reminder phone calls to Avenue of Flags subscribers who have not yet renewed. The calls take less than 20 minutes, and you simply read from a script and can leave a message. Most people are happy to get the reminder. Sign up using the Member Calendar. They request that you make your phone calls by April 14, 2026.
Fran also asked a trivia question: How many flags are on the moon? The answer is six in total, with five still standing.
Optimist 2.0 and Kits of Hope Service Project
Sarah Umbreit announced that the next Optimist 2.0 gathering will be April 16, 2026, at 5:30 PM at Bock Family Brewing. This meeting will be combined with a service project supporting Kits of Hope, a student-led organization started by a Centerville High School student. Kits of Hope provides hygiene items to underprivileged youth in the community. Members are asked to bring supplies including small hand sanitizers, travel tissues, antiseptic wipes, masks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and cute stickers. You may also bring these items to a lunch meeting if you cannot attend Optimist 2.0. The group will pack the items into hygiene kits at the event.
Thank You to Easter Egg Hunt Committee
Sarah Umbreit gave a special thank you to Deb Ulrich and Carrie Thomson for stepping up to lead the Easter Egg Hunt Committee this year. She said they have done a fantastic job.
Americana Festival and America 250
Sarah Umbreit introduced Jesse Gaither, Executive Director of the Americana Festival. Jesse and his team began working on the 2026 festival immediately after July 4, 2025, and he was here to talk about the festival’s history, where it stands today, and what’s planned for America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
How Jesse Got Involved
Jesse began by thanking Fred Polizzi. In 2016, Jesse purchased Minuteman Press of Centerville from Fred. He recalled that Fred brought him to a Centerville Noon Optimist meeting that first week and joked that the purchase contract’s fine print required him to join the club. As someone who was not a Centerville native, Jesse said the club was exactly the opportunity he was looking for to get connected to the community. His wife has been a vendor at the Americana Festival for 12 years.
Jesse was asked last year to become festival director and committed to a three-year term. What he didn’t realize at the time was that one of those three years would land on America’s semiquincentennial, the nation’s 250th anniversary.
History of the Americana Festival
The Americana Festival was founded in 1972 by the Centerville Washington Chamber of Commerce as a sidewalk sale for local businesses and has evolved into what the community knows today. It was incorporated as a standalone organization around 1979. While the original chamber no longer exists, the festival has endured through the efforts of the City of Centerville, Washington Township, the local business community, and thousands of volunteer hours over the decades. Jesse invited members to visit the Asahel Wright House Museum, home of the Center for Centerville-Washington History, where Curator Susan Melville has displays for America 250 including old Americana programs and flyers. A 1978 flyer shows the festival started as an antiques flea market.
Jesse noted that the Heart of Centerville Washington Township, which serves as the area’s informal chamber of commerce, became involved with Americana starting in 2021, bringing local businesses back into the fold.
The Festival Today
Today the festival includes fireworks on July 3rd, the parade, the Optimist-led 5K run/walk, live performances, a car show, food trucks, children’s activities, local craft beer, and the Heart of Centerville Vendor Village for local retail, boutique, and service businesses.
The festival has had notable Grand Marshals over the years, including astronaut John Glenn, two-time shuttle astronaut Cady Coleman, who retired from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and one of the stars of WKRP in Cincinnati, Gordon Jump. The 2026 Grand Marshal is Ed Ross, President of the board of Centerville-Washington History.
Jesse shared some numbers on where the festival stands today: 13 volunteer board members, 50 volunteers on the planning committee, over 60 sponsors, more than 1,000 registrants in the 5K last year with a target of 1,250 this year, over 130 parade entries, more than 250 arts and crafts vendors, 60-plus food vendors, 45 to 60 Heart of Centerville businesses in the Vendor Village, and over 130 car show entries.
At one point the street fair had as many as 320 vendors, but Jesse told the board they likely won’t return to that number. Local brick-and-mortar businesses within the festival footprint won’t be blocked by outside vendors or food trucks, because those businesses also support the community the other 364 days of the year. His focus as director is ongoing deeper and better rather than bigger, getting back to the roots of what made the festival great, including living history, primitive arts, and more activities for kids.
Jesse explained that putting on a free festival for tens of thousands of people requires substantial sponsorship. He encouraged business owners in the room to get involved as sponsors, noting that the Americana Festival is a 501(c)(3) and contributions are tax-deductible.
America 250 Plans
For America 250, the festival has several special plans. A commemorative tree planting will take place at Benham’s Grove during the Grand Marshal’s dinner on July 3rd. The fireworks celebration on July 3rd will feature the Centerville Community Band and a rock concert at the stadium with Simply Queen performing. On July 4th, a colonial and revolutionary encampment will be set up at Benham’s Grove in partnership with Centerville-Washington History, Miamisburg History, and Springboro History. Jesse asked members to connect him with any reenactors who might want to participate.
A commemorative souvenir coin will also be available for purchase. Jesse said he is hoping several local pilots and flying clubs will do flyovers, and the Wright B Flyer has given a tentative commitment to participate after recently rebuilding their engine and transmission.
An America 250 Committee has been formed that includes Centerville-Washington History, the Washington-enterville Public Library, the Centerville-Washington Parks District, the City of Centerville, Washington Township, and the Americana Festival committee. The full calendar of events can be found at AmericanaFestival.org.
Coming up in April, the Peanuts Movie will be shown at Town Hall Theatre with local director Steve Martino doing a Q&A, an Arbor Day celebration will be held at Stubbs Park on April 21st, and the Wright Air Arts Celebrates Ohio art exhibit opens at Woodbourne Library on April 30th.
Get Involved
Jesse closed by recognizing the Board of Trustees and the dozens of committee members who make the festival possible, noting that several Optimist Club members serve on the committee. He encouraged anyone interested to get involved through volunteer sign-ups, sponsorships, or event registration, all available at AmericanaFestival.org.
Slides
Jesse’s slide deck contains additional photos and details beyond what is covered in this article. You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
Thank You
Thank you, Jesse, for an engaging look at the Americana Festival’s rich history and the exciting plans for America 250. The community’s tradition of celebrating Independence Day in the heart of Centerville is in great hands.
New Member Readings and Inductions
- Tim Walker, Third Reading, Sponsored by Mike Bevis
- Rex Caswell, Induction, Sponsored by Greg Hoffbauer
Happy Bucks
- Tom Novak thanked Deb Saunders for designing a poster for St. Bernadine Hall. Rita Walsh, who is 98 years old, organized residents to gather donations and presented an envelope with $965 for Avenue of Flags.
- Tom Novak reminded the club that Avenue of Flags only asks for help once a year to make phone calls to remind subscribers who have not renewed. He encouraged members to sign up.
- Beth Duncan announced that her business, Lizard Apparel, was born on April Fool’s Day 13 years ago. She also committed to being an Americana Festival sponsor to Jesse Gaither.
- Greg Hoffbauer had a happy buck for newest member Rex Caswell.
- Charlie Goodwin spent last week at Great Wolf Lodge with his two little granddaughters. He went down the big slide with them and figured he was probably the oldest person they’ve ever had go down it.
- Charlie Goodwin attended a baseball tournament on Sunday where his wife’s great nephew played on a 13-and-under team. They won all three games and took the championship.
- Don Kelley had his daughter, son-in-law, and a granddaughter in town this weekend, and they all came Saturday morning to help stuff Easter eggs.
- Art Hung was happy to see his friend Susan Melville was a guest for lunch today.
- Fred Polizzi thanked Jesse Gaither for buying Minuteman Press. Fred said his golf game has improved since then, and it meant a lot to hand off his customers to someone like Jesse who would take great care of them.
- Jesse Gaither was happy to be a member of the club and wishes he could come more often, but Tuesdays have become his bookkeeping day.
- Jesse Gaither gave a shout-out to his favorite banker, Amanda Dabell at Day Air, where he is in three times a week. They always take care of his dog Sushi. Amanda was a guest of Mike Bevis today.
Sergeants-at-Arms Fines – Tony Danial and Fred Polizzi
No time for fines this week.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Amanda Dabell | Mike Bevis |
| Frank Weikel | Jayne Weikel |
| Rex Caswell | Greg Hoffbauer |
| Susan Melville | Jesse Gaither |
Club Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Dav Bremer | March 31, 2001 | 25 |
| Rob Jones | March 31, 2001 | 25 |
| Don Kelley | April 1, 1983 | 43 |
| Cindy Harris | April 2, 2018 | 8 |
| Greg Fay | April 3, 2014 | 12 |
| Greg Griffin | April 3, 2014 | 12 |
| Sam Routsong | April 4, 2023 | 3 |
| Mike Thonnerieux | April 4, 2023 | 3 |
| Vince Reidy | April 5, 2016 | 10 |
| Ira Thomsen | April 5, 1991 | 35 |
Birthdays
| Maha Kashani | March 31 |
| Ira Thomsen | April 5 |
| Roland Rapp | April 5 |
| Andy Harmon | April 6 |
| Mike Thonnerieux | April 6 |
Thank You Notes Received this Week
No Thank You Notes we received this week
Links to PowerPoint and Pictures
CLICK HERE to see the PowerPoint Slide Deck from this week’s meeting