Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Sid Hielema wrote, “Each of our faith journeys is a ‘jagged line’ of ups and downs, but just as God patiently walks with us […], we patiently and hopefully walk with others, keeping our eyes fixed on the goal.”
Lord,
Our lives are filled with highs and lows, good times and bad, times of struggle and times of ease. Help us to remember you are with us through them all. Give us compassion and grace not only for ourselves but also for others, no matter where we may be on the jagged line.
Amen.
CHS Spirit Chain
Brandon Barrett introduced four Centerville High School students, Tanvi Bole, Hunter Busch, Maggie Fleisher, and Saanvi Kamineni, who came to lunch to explain the school’s annual Spirit Chain fundraiser. Some are members of Student Council and some belong to the school’s Spirit Royalty groups, the teams of four students who lead the fundraising.
The Spirit Chain began in 1985 as a friendly competition between Centerville and Kettering Fairmont High School to see which school could raise the most money for charity. Since then the two schools have combined to raise more than $3 million. The all-time record for a single year belongs to Centerville, which raised $131,000 in 2024, and last year the two schools combined for $205,000. This year’s proceeds will go to five charities: JoyRide, Pink Ribbon Good, Artemis Center, the Brad Bucher EPND Memorial Fund, and the Open Arms Clinic.
Fundraising has been under way since the end of last school year, including a summer Spirit Fest with flag football, a paper ball tournament, and dunk tanks. There is still time to help. On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, the students are hosting a $10 taco dinner at the CHS West Unit from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, Whit’s Frozen Custard will donate 10% of every purchase to the Spirit Chain; Fairmont has its Whit’s day on September 8, and the school that sells the most earns an extra $250. Fundraising wraps up with Spirit Day at CHS on Friday, September 11, 2026, and the totals will be announced that evening at the Centerville versus Fairmont football game.
The students passed baskets around the room and counted the results before they left: CNO members gave $1,244 at lunch, and the Board of Directors had already approved a $2,000 donation from the Centerville Noon Optimist club to the Spirit Chain.
Live Auction for the Kids
Debe Dockins brought her friend Doug Sorrell, an internationally known auctioneer, to auction off aVoss Auto Network vehicle detailing package left over from the silent auction at the Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf Classic.
Doug warned that he would not read the value off the page, because “the most you are willing to spend is the least I am willing to take.” Each package covers a complete interior and exterior detailing. Bidding topped out at $350, and Doug then offered an extra package to the previous bidder for $300. In the end, three packages at $300 apiece were sold to Patrick Arehart, Tom Young, and Rex Caswell, raising $900 for the kids. Thank you, Debe, for another fun way to raise money, and thank you, Doug, for a very entertaining few minutes.
Announcements
Euchre Social
President Sarah Umbreit announced, on behalf of Connie Risch, that the next club social is Euchre on Friday, September 11, 2026, at Contemporoast Coffee and Roastery. The cost is $5 per person, paid at the door. Bring your dollar bills for going alone, a dessert or appetizer to share, and your own drinks. Please sign up using the Member Calendar so the hosts know how many to plan for.
Tri-Star Soccer Volunteers
Mike Creech, co-chair of Tri-Star Soccer, reported that the competition is Friday, October 2, 2026, on the soccer field behind Magsig Middle School. About 20 volunteers are needed and only five have signed up so far. You do not need to know anything about soccer; just do what Sam Pfabe tells you. Please sign up using the Member Calendar.
Avenue of Flags Labor Day Display
Tom Novak announced that the Avenue of Flags crew puts out the flags on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, for the Labor Day display. Thank you to all the volunteers who make it happen. You can always sign up to help with Avenue of Flags by using the Member Calendar.
Build-a-Bear at Dayton Children’s
Carol Smerz announced a Build-a-Bear on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at a new Dayton Children’s facility, and volunteers are needed. If you are interested, please call Carol ahead of time; her number is in the directory.
Installation Dinner
The Installation Dinner for incoming President Greg Wasmund will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM at Benham’s Grove. There will be no noon meeting that day. Signups and payment are online now. Please sign up using the Member Calendar.
Alter High School Coach Chris Hart
Paul Boeckman introduced Chris Hart, who recently retired after 32 years at Alter High School as Athletic Director and Girls Basketball Coach. Paul, Ginny Boeckman, and Jim Long all coached alongside her at Alter. Her résumé includes 20 years as Athletic Director, 39 years as a head basketball coach (32 at Alter and seven at The College of Wooster), five state championships in eight title game appearances, ten regional titles, 17 district titles, 11 GCL championships, more than 500 wins, and the 2024-25 NFHS National Girls Basketball Coach of the Year award. In retirement, she volunteers with 4 Paws for Ability, Dayton Children’s animal-assisted therapy, SICSA, Wounded Warriors, and more.
How Did I Get Here?
Chris admitted up front that she does not enjoy public speaking, and that the only thing she likes less is talking about herself. As a recently retired educator, coach, and administrator, she said she shares the club’s core value: caring deeply about children and finding ways to pay it forward. Preparing her talk gave her a rare chance to ask how she got here. Every journey is shaped by obstacles, successes, and, most of all, the people who touch our lives along the way, and she came to see each of them as gifts from God.
Her story began with her biological mother, who was young, unmarried, and Catholic in 1962, a time when that was not viewed as it is today. She was sent to a home in Columbus, where Chris was born, and made the selfless decision to place her for adoption. Her adoptive parents made the equally loving decision to welcome her, and three years later her brother, into their family and gave them every opportunity to grow. Long before she understood it, important people were making choices that gave her opportunities she would not have had otherwise.
Never the Last One Picked
The summer before her senior year at Alter, her teammates headed to an overnight camp at Denison University. Her parents could not afford it, so they sent her to the City of Kettering basketball camp run by Jim Ehler, a longtime assistant under Don Donoher at the University of Dayton. Jim invited her into the boys’ camp for three weeks, and his counselors, Jack and Mike Zimmerman, made sure that whenever the campers played five-on-five, she was never the last one picked. Fifty years later, that still sticks with her. Those three weeks taught her to play at a faster pace and to see plays before they happened, and they became a cornerstone of her coaching: her Alter teams practiced against boys almost every day.
Refusing to Let an Injury End the Story
At Xavier University she tore her ACL in preseason of her freshman year, when an ACL tear was considered career-ending even with surgery; one doctor told her she would be lucky to walk correctly again. Athletic trainer Jincy Mertin, who had been through knee trouble herself, refused to let that be the end. Chris rehabilitated nearly an hour before and after every practice and learned to start and stop on her other leg, and she played at a high level for another three and a half years, graduating as Xavier’s all-time career and single-season assists leader and her senior year’s Most Improved Player. “She believed in me maybe more than I believed in myself.”
Pay It Forward
Her Alter coach, Theresa Check, taught lessons that went far beyond basketball at a time when women’s sports were in their infancy: hard work, goal setting, perseverance, and teamwork. Years later, when Chris was her graduate assistant at Western Illinois University living on $200 a month, Theresa kept bringing her food and picking up lunch tabs, and every time Chris thanked her, the answer was the same: just remember to pay it forward.
At The College of Wooster, Athletic Director Al Van Wie eased the fears of a 23-year-old first-year head coach whose seniors were her own age and became the sounding board down the hall who always had her back. Men’s coach Steve Moore, who came from Larry Hunter’s Wittenberg powerhouse, let her watch his practices and sit down for chalk talks whenever she liked. And for 28 straight Julys she worked Larry Hunter’s overnight camp at Wittenberg, where she learned more about fundamentals, teaching, and leadership in one week each year than at any coaches’ clinic, alongside many of the best high school coaches in Ohio.
Coming Home to Alter
After seven years at Wooster, she came home to Alter and spent the next 32 years living out Theresa’s lesson by mentoring, encouraging, and advocating for athletes, coaches, and faculty across the state of Ohio. Asked about her leadership style, she said she never felt that any of her coaches worked for her. They worked together, and that is how she coached, too.
Service in Retirement
The spirit of service continues through animal-assisted therapy. Chris has four dogs, and two of them, Dash and Kato, are certified therapy teams with her. They visit Dayton Children’s regularly, along with Wounded Warrior events, Honor Flight, and extended care facilities. Just the day before the meeting, Dash walked up to a tiny, screaming child in the Dayton Children’s South Campus lobby, and the child simply stopped and stared at the dog while his mother checked in. On their Monday visits they make a point of seeing the staff, too, because the staff rarely get that moment for themselves.
“When it’s all said and done, we rise by lifting others up,” she said. “We may not always remember every person who helped us along our journey, but we can always choose to be the person who helps someone else along theirs.”
Thank You
Thank you, Chris Hart, for sharing the people and lessons behind a remarkable career, and for reminding us why we pay it forward.
New Member Readings and Inductions
- TR Amrine, Second Reading, sponsored by Art Hung
- Lee Anne Speelman, Second Reading, sponsored by Phil Speelman
- Joellen Ulliman, Third Reading, sponsored by Christy Gariety
Happy Bucks
- Brandon Barrett gave a happy buck to thank Patrick Arehart for the CNOtes article on his August 11, 2026, presentation, The Heart Behind the Heart of Centerville & Washington Township, which made it sound like Brandon knew what he was talking about. Brandon paid up with a bottle of Pinot Noir. Patrick appreciated the kind words and the wine.
Sergeants-at-Arms Fines: Mike Creech and Bob Myers
Mike Creech ruled that everyone had donated enough for one day, so there were no fines this week.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Tanvi Bole | CHS Spirit Chain |
| Hunter Busch | CHS Spirit Chain |
| Maggie Fleisher | CHS Spirit Chain |
| Saanvi Kamineni | CHS Spirit Chain |
| Lee Anne Speelman | Phil Speelman |
| Christina Hart | Speaker |
| Colton Dickerson | Erin Dickerson |
| Dale Berry | Debe Dockins |
| Doug Sorrell | Debe Dockins |
| Ginny Boeckman | Paul Boeckman |
| Jen Riegel | Carol Smerz |
| Rebekah Moody | Tim Watkins |
| TR Amrine | In Readings |
| Wren Bailey | Mike Bevis |
Club Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Gary Anderson | September 1, 1979 | 47 |
| Frank DePalma | September 1, 1979 | 47 |
| Larry Lynde | September 1, 1988 | 38 |
| Drew Mckenzie | September 1, 1987 | 39 |
| Jerry Stahley | September 1, 1986 | 40 |
Birthdays
| CeAnn Chalker | September 3 |
| Bob Collins | September 4 |
| Paula Harrison | September 7 |
| Roberta Taylor | September 7 |
Thank You Notes Received this Week
CLICK HERE to see the 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