July 28, 2020 – Stevie Ann Kremer, Author of Miracle of Miracles, a Holocaust Survival Story PLUS Memorial Education Assistance Awards Presented – WOW!

Greg Griffin introduced Stevie Ann Kremer, the author of Miracle of Miracles: A Dayton, Ohio Man’s Story of Holocaust Survival.

Kremer is a long-time Centerville resident and a graduate of Wright State University and Indiana University. She served as a long-term substitute teacher at Centerville High School.

View Kremer’s slide deck here

Click on this article for more details about Kremer’s presentation.

In early 2018, Kremer began working with Samuel Heider to document his survival of the Holocaust. She was able to finish the book before he died in November 2019 at 95 years of age. Kremer said, “Heider is Dayton’s last death camp Holocaust survivor. Sam, ever the optimist, was both delighted and relieved that his story was finally in print.”

The book is based on stories told to Kremer by her subject, Samuel Heider. Kremer said, “Heider was adamant that there would be no embellishments in the book, only the truths of his life as a Jewish farmer in Poland who survived five different concentration camps, two of which were death camps.”

Sam was born in 1924 in the tiny town of Biejkow, Poland, the third of six children. At the age of 17, his entire family perished in the gas chambers of Treblinka.

The 5 concentration camps Samuel Heider survived

Radom
Auschwitz (where Heider faced Dr. Josef Mengele)
Vaihingen
Hessental
Dachau

On April 30, 1945, while weighing just 74 pounds, Samuel Heider was freed as American tanks arrived. In December 1949, the American Consulate told him as a displaced person he could go anywhere. He chose America, the “Land of Freedom.” He arrived in America on December 13, 1949, and made his way to Dayton where he spent the rest of his long life.

If you Google “Samuel Heider” you will find several articles and speeches he presented at Wright State University and the Air Force Museum as well as his surprise Bar Mitzvah at the age of 94 that was broadcast all over the world via ABC News!

Zachor!

Kremer promised Heider that she would continue to tell his story. She left us with one word, “Zachor,” a Hebrew word that means “remember,” especially pertaining to the Holocaust.

Ways to obtain the book

Email me writer@gmail.com
Purchase it on Amazon, search for ‘Sam Heider”
Buy it at any of Kremer’s book signings

2020 Educational Assistance Awards

The following are notes from Gary Smiga.

The qualifications for our Educational Assistance award are as follows:

Be a graduating high school senior that will be attending a college/university offering a two/four-year degree upon the completion of an accredited program.
Be a resident of Centerville/Washington Township.
Have a strong record of participation in community service activities.
Possess a financial need as affirmed by the FAFSA.

Before I introduce this year’s winners, I would like to recognize the committee who read the applications and made this year’s selections; Gail Aiken, Will Cale, Bob Duffy, and Roberta Taylor.

I would also like to thank the Board of Directors for budgeting funds to support this scholarship program, as well as our 314 Centerville Noon Optimist Club members for having worked in the various fund raising activities to allow for this program and many of the others that we do to be a reality.

This year we have 3 award winners. They are Elizabeth Sparks, Madison Earnest, and Kristen Bell.

At this time, I would like to tell you somethings about each one of them.

Elizabeth Sparks

Elizabeth attended Centerville High School and she is ranked 100th in a senior class of 680 students with a GPA of 4.18.

Elizabeth’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:

French Club
Poetry Club serving as Vice President for 2 years
Eclipse Art and Literary Magazine
Theatre/STAGE Club
Diversity Council
By His Hands Hot Meal Ministry

Elizabeth will be attending either Flagler College or Sinclair Community College.

Madison Earnest

Madison attended Centerville High School and she is ranked 70th in a senior class of 680 students with a GPA of 4.3667.

Madison’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:

National Honor Society
Cross Country where she earned a sportsmanship and most dedicated awards
Centerville Orchestra where she earned a most spirited award
Dayton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Student Council
The Student Rep to the Centerville Board of Education
Lunch Buddies
Spirit Chain

Madison also worked McDonalds, Kings NY Pizzeria and Outback Steakhouse.

Madison will be attending the Ohio State University. After college she would like to serve the United States in the State Department or the United Nations.

Kristen Bell

Kristen attended Centerville High School and she is ranked 26th in a senior class of 680 students with a GPA of 4.6177.

Kristen’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:

National Honor Society where she served as an officer
Swim Team where she earned most improved honors in 2020
Spanish Honor Society
SADD where she served as President
Elk Connectors
BOLD
Pie Club
Girl Scouts
Octagon Club
Study Buddies

Kristen also worked at the Goldfish Swim School and Black Oak Swim Club.

Kristen will be attending the Ohio State University and will major in Psychology.

Summary

Each of our recipients will be receiving a $1500 check that they can use towards the cost of attendance at the university they have chosen.

This award is renewable for a second year with a continued financial need, continued involvement in school, community or faith-based activities, and a freshman grade point average of at least a 3.0.

Elizabeth, Madison and Kristen, we are all very proud of you and we wish the best as you continue your studies.

About the CNO Educational Assistance Awards

The following are notes from Gary Smiga.

The award is given in the memory of the individuals that have passed away while active members of our club. The following individuals exemplified what it meant to give back to your community with their service and character.

Tom Frazier- 1994
Tom Craig- 1994
Denise Goeckel- 1998
Dick Lewin- 2002
Corwin Robinson- 2005
Steve Fisher- 2007
Dave Petree- 2007
Jim Hawley- 2010
Margaret Barclay- 2010
Tom Gravlin- 2013
Terry Blair-2014
Dave Milam- 2014
Ken Bluhm- 2015
John Hughes- 2015
Mike Hayes- 2015
Wes Hamdan- 2016
Tim Gibson- 2017
Linda Fisher- 2017
Brent Moore- 2018
Chuck Dickerson- 2018
Ed Case- 2019
Jeff Brown- 2020

Please join me in a moment of silence as we remember these fine individuals.

2020 Educational Assistance Awards Renewals

The following are notes from Gary Smiga.

I am pleased to be able to reintroduce to you 3 Memorial Educational Assistance Award recipients from last year.

To be eligible for a second award the students submitted a completed FAFSA to substantiate a continued financial need; an official transcript from their college or university that shows an end of freshman year GPA of 3.0 or higher; and a short outline of their continued participation and involvement in school, community or faith-based activities.

Our 3 students are:

Nicholas Reibly

Nicholas completed his freshman year at University of Findlay with a GPA of 3.62. Nicholas played on Findlay’s Football team; volunteered for Dayton Strong, organizing and collecting donations for the victims of the Oregon District Shooting; participated in a University of Findlay community service project moving boxes and equipment at a local YMCA; provided classroom readings to elementary school students; assisted with the University Helping Hands Food Drive; and assisted neighbors during the Covid-19 pandemic with their landscaping needs and grocery shopping. Nicholas is majoring in education.

Madeline Mills

Madeline completed her freshman year at Purdue University with a GPA of 3.78. Madeline joined A Cause for Paws, a service organization that assists local animal shelters; joined a Bible Study and maintained involvement in a local church; was involved in Purdue’s Women in Engineering; and the chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, where she serves as a member of their Outreach Committee where she led an effort to hold events at local elementary schools, conducting experiments and activities to teach kids what chemical engineering is all about.

Tonja Kaissieh

Tonja completed her freshman year at Ohio State University with a GPA of 4.0. Tonja has participated in the Honors Program; joined the Buckeye Student Nurses Association; joined Circle K which provided leadership training for campus and community members; joined College Mentors for Kids; and joined Sigma Epsilon Phi, a Greek Orthodox Christian based organization that supports various church events and local communities that includes sandwich making nights for soup kitchens.

Tonja is majoring in Nursing with the goal of becoming a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner.

Each of the students have received a $1500 check made out to their universities for them to submit toward tuition, fees, or book expenses that they will have this coming academic year.

Please join me in a warm round of applause for the outstanding students.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Jack Quinlan	July 28
Sandy Stevens	July 28
Dan Beck	July 29
Steve Linder	July 30
James Schumacher	July 30
John Powell	July 30

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Donna Robinson	July	28	7/28/1997	23
Kathy McAlpine	July	31	7/31/2018	2
Myron Rheaume	August	1	8/1/1987	33

Happy Bucks

No Happy Bucks this week.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes received this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through June 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No Readings or Inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Meeting Links

July 21, 2020 – Our Special Guest – Optimist International President Adrian Elcock!

Announcements

Tom Novak thanked Tom McBride of State Farm Insurance in Kettering for choosing the Centerville Noon Optimist Club’s Avenue of Flags program to receive a $500 grant from State Farm.

Happy Birthday Sue Brubaker

Sue Brubaker’s 70^th birthday was on 7/16/2020. We all celebrated her seven-decade milestone by singing “Happy Birthday” to her. If I told you that we sang beautifully would you believe me? It would be a lie, but I just wondered! Even with the low quality of singing Sue still seemed to enjoy it. Thank you, Sue Brubaker, for everything you have done for the youth in our community and our club.

Adrian Elcock, 2019-2020 President of Optimist International

Greg Griffin introduced Adrian Elcock, the 2019-2020 President of Optimist International. He spoke to us today from his home in Barbados.

Adrian has met many CNO members before. He attended the Great Ohio District convention in August, 2019, which was right after the Oregon District shootings. He was impressed how well Daytonian’s were doing and helping each after the tragedy. He really enjoyed the trip where he was treated and fed very well. He said his trip to Dayton was one of the best trips he has taken on Optimist business.

None of us expected what 2020 has brought to the world. He is impressed how well CNO has adapted. He is impressed with the legacy of the Centerville Noon Optimist. He mentioned he is impressed with the CNO 2.0 club within a club that CNO created.

He said we have done well, but there is always room for improvement. He asked that we set benchmarks of achievement as a club.

Questions clubs should ask themselves

How many people can we serve?
How can we improve the community?
How many members can we add and retain?

Adrian’s theme for the Optimist 2019-2020 year is “iMagine”. He and his team have been re-imagining all aspects of Optimist International and its local clubs. They are working on improvements and innovations, including digital, financial (including money raised and money given), and marketing. They are working to create a stronger, more resilient organization that is responsive to its members and the work we do. Up until recently, 98% of the revenue for OI is dues received from local clubs and this is not sustainable. OI recently was able to raise a million dollars that they will invest to help the long-term financial health of OI.

He is continuing to work with initiatives from previous presidents (RUSO) that is looking at the organizational structure of OI. They have started a pilot program to create a federation structure, allowing major geographical areas to be more autonomous. This will facilitate an expansion into Europe. Currently worldwide, out of 49 districts, only 19 districts have a strong or moderate chance of continuing successfully. Not every district has done as well as the Great Ohio District. At some level, the current district structure is failing. The OI board is trying to solve how to improve failing districts

Optimist International Initiatives and Programs

OI has hired a full-time social media strategist. Social media engagements have doubled, and they have a written social media strategy.
Member retention is a focus. Retention has been improved from the typical 84% to 90% in the last year. How can you attract new members if you do not make current members happy?
On the website a learning management system is accessible worldwide.
Ongoing digital transformation projects are happening. Projects include a new website, mobile apps, video conferencing and learning management webinar modules. They are trying to use technology to be more accessible and to improve efficiency.
A new method of joining an Optimist club has been created called “Members at Large.” Social media is reaching those that do not have a local club nearby. Anyone can now become an Optimist by signing up directly with Optimist International.

Optimist clubs do great work. We raise 78 million per year through 2500 clubs and 65,000 members.

He said that without imagination, we are incapable of dreaming. We are people that can overcome obstacles. If humans create a problem, then humans can overcome it. We must continue to make a difference to the children in our community. Millions of children live better because of the work of Optimist Clubs.

Adrian concluded his speech with a quote from Edward Everett Hale, “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Comments from CNO Members after the presentation

Beth Duncan told Adrian that she thought the recent international virtual meeting went really well. If it had not been virtual, she would not have been able to attend.

Judy DeMarco said that some of her and Gary’s best friends have come through their CNO membership. Adrian said he too has built lifetime friendships through being an Optimist. He said his local Barbados club has not been gathering as much as we have. He will try and use our social distancing committee model to improve connections between members.

Cherie Gentry said that recordings of training classes are great. The bonus is they can be used over and over. Adrian said technology is important to the future of Optimist International and its local clubs.

Myron Rheaume said thanks to Adrian for his “iMagine” theme. He appreciates that “iMagine” is embodied into Myron’s them of “iMagine the Power of You.” Adrian said he knows of CNO’s work with adding clubs with members with disabilities. Optimist international has been given a grant to be used in its efforts to help those with autism.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Steve Rau	July 23
Mike Yoder	July 24
Phil Robinson	July 26
Kathy Klein	July 26
Jerry Stahley	July 27
David Duncombe	July 27
Katie Calloway	July 27

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
John Sherman	July	24	7/24/2009	11
David Brookman	July	27	7/27/2011	9
Jim Long	July	27	7/27/2015	5
Donna Robinson	July	28	7/28/1997	23
Kathy McAlpine	July	31	7/31/2018	2
Myron Rheaume	August	1	8/1/1987	33
Sue Jessee	July	18	7/18/2018	2
Steve Mock	July	19	7/19/1996	24
Tom Lakes	July	19	7/19/2017	3
Marge Back	July	20	7/20/2016	4

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Bob Bargmeyer	$6 for his 6th anniversary of being a member of the Centerville Noon Optimist club.
Greg Griffin	Thanks to current Optimist International President, Adrian Elcock, for speaking to us today.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes received this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through June 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No Readings or Inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Meeting Links

July 14, 2020 – All About Our Skilled Trades Scholarships Program

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

The Meeting PowerPoint Slide Deck is Here

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No Readings or Inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Announcements

Mike Brubaker, Avenue of Flags, announced that 30 subscriptions have been added since Independence Day 2020. Over 500 subscriptions have been added since Memorial Day 2020.

Gary Smiga reported that the Terry Blair scholarship was awarded last night at the Washington Township meeting to a CHS student. Judy Blair funds this scholarship and CNO gets to give it away.

Evelyn Griffin and Fred Polizzi, Skilled Trades Scholarships

Greg Griffin introduced Evelyn Griffin and Fred Polizzi, the chairs of the Skilled Trades Scholarship committee. This is the third year of the CNO Skilled Trades Scholarship.

Fred Polizzi informed us that this year 3 students have applied and been awarded the scholarship. All three will be attending the Hobart School of Welding in Troy, Ohio. The courses last 6-12 months depending on the program chosen. The programs are expensive. The school was started in 1930 and there have been over 100,000 graduates. It is a nationally recognized program.

There is a huge need for workers in the skilled trades. Welders can make over $!00,000/year.

Businesses are having a really difficult time finding skilled trades workers to fill open positions. This is a link to a YouTube video of a TEDx presentation discussing the issue and how women are being encouraged through grants (not loans) to get skilled trades education to fill some of the 1 million open jobs. In the U.S. compensation is rising for skilled trades jobs.

Evelyn Griffin updated us on Gabriel, a previous recipient of the CNO Skilled Trades Scholarship. He is still attending Sinclair in their Construction Management program. Despite the challenges of the school moving online, he is progressing. He and his mother are very appreciative of the financial help CNO has given him.

Partners Club, CNO Club Within a Club

Greg Griffin updated us on the “Partners” Optimist Club that was started a year ago. It is an Optimist club of special needs adults. At a recent Optimist International training meeting Greg attended he said that CNO was spotlighted for both the “Partners” club and CNO 2.0.

Our “Partners” club is not the first special needs club in Ohio, but Ohio had the first special needs Optimist Club in the world.

Special needs clubs are active in the community. They work together and plan how to serve the community. They focus on their abilities, not disabilities. Special needs clubs have made presentations to police departments on how to handle encounters with those who have special needs. The CNO “Partners” club during the 2019 holidays had a Poinsettia fundraiser. The funds were used to purchase Teddy Bears for Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Scott Rheaume, an adult with special needs and the son of a long time CNO member and current Governor of the Great Ohio District of OI, is both a CNO member and a member of the “Partners” club. He really enjoys being part of both clubs.

There are plans to start special needs Optimist clubs in schools.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes Received this Week

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Denise Green	July 15
Sue Brubaker	July 16
Mark Petre	July 18
Bob Burkman	July 19

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Bob Bargmeyer	July	17	7/17/2014	6
Jeff Papanek	July	17	7/17/2014	6
Tom Beery	July	17	7/17/2014	6
Mike Brem	July	18	7/18/2018	2
Sue Jessee	July	18	7/18/2018	2
Steve Mock	July	19	7/19/1996	24
Tom Lakes	July	19	7/19/2017	3
Marge Back	July	20	7/20/2016	4

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Carolyn Taylor	Her 101 year old mother has finally agreed to move into an assisted living facility.
Fred Polizzi	Thanks to CNO members for supporting the Skilled Trades Scholarship.
Tom Novak	Thanks to all the Avenue of Flags helpers, including CNO members, VFW, Blue Star Mothers, CHS Wrestling team and Subscriber helpers.
Greg Griffin	Thanks to the Social Media Committee members for the great job they are doing. (Katie Calloway, Diane Arehart, Greg Fay, Emily Duke and Ashley Simeone)
Beth Duncan	During the COVID-19 Crisis, thanks to Greg Griffin for doing so well leading us as President of the great Centerville Noon Optimist Club.
Renee Glenn	Very happy to be a member of CNO and thinks Greg Griffin is doing a great job with running our meetings on Zoom. She missed working at the Americana booth this year.
Myron Rheaume	Granddaughter Kira is starting her Junior year at UC’s film school and has just obtained a job as assistant director for Pureflix. This will also count as her internship credit.

July 7, 2020 – Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No Readings or Inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Save the Date for a Special Speaker on 7/21/2020

Optimist International President Adrian Elcock will join our Zoom meeting on 7/21/2020 from Barbados.

Social Events

Beth Duncan, Social Distancing Committee, announced there will a Zoom event on 7/16/2020 at 6:30 PM. It will be Bingo with a twist. All members are invited to attend.

Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton Ohio

Greg Griffin introduced Nan Whaley, the Mayor of Dayton, Ohio. She was sworn into office on January 4, 2014. She came today to discuss her experience as the Mayor of Dayton and how Dayton has been since the Memorial Day tornados in 2019.

2019 Dayton Disasters

There have been many times in 2019 when it was difficult to be optimistic. She thought 2019 was going to be her most difficult year as mayor. Now, even though 2020 has also been very difficult, she is more optimistic than ever.

Daytonians help each other. After the 2019 Memorial Day tornados, churches and non-profits were overwhelmed with donations. Dozens of non-profits and other groups stepped up to offer shelter to those in need. Daytonians without direction just knew to help each other and how to do it.

She said, “Oregon District is our place.” The shooting was particularly cruel. When she took the stage downtown after the shootings, she saw terrible sorrow. In the days after the shooting homemade memorials went up in the area and musicians were playing all over the area. Neighbors hugged neighbors.

The community is still helping those in need.

COVID-19

The Dayton Foundation has raised millions of dollars to help with the regional effects of COVID-19.

Since schools were shut down, a lot of children lost a major source of food. Non-profits have stepped up to provide them food.

Black Lives Matter

The City of Dayton population is split evenly between white and non-white, but it is very segregated. Mayor Whaley is optimistic that the Black Lives Matters protests will lead to action to improve equality.

Summary

In the last 18 months if there is one thing, she has learned, it is that Daytonians are capable of handling any challenge that comes our way.

Questions and Answers

Q. Has construction been impacted by COVID-19?

A. Construction is still happening and not affected that much at this time. There is going to be an issue in August, 2020 if the federal government does not step up. By August, 2020 there will be 10% across the board budget cuts because of COVID-19.

Q. Are there plans to expand I-675 and eventually have it loop around Dayton?

A. No, there are no plans to expand I-675. Dayton traffic is in great shape. Dayton has the fourth least congestive traffic in the nation. There is interest in taking care of existing infrastructure.

Q. What is the status of the Dayton Convention Center?

A. The convention center remains closed since the COVID-19 lockdown. The city is looking for funding that comes from outside the city as well as within. Convention centers do not cover their own costs. It helps the economy around them and they believe the greater community should provide support. The city has planned a tax on lodging fees in the Dayton area. The hotels and motels have agreed with this idea. The city plans to hand control of the convention center to a convention “authority”.

Q. What is the status of the Dayton International Airport?

A. Nationally, mid-sized airports were already suffering before COVID-19. The federal government needs to make airlines fly into mid-sized airports. The federal government has been bailing out airlines and it is only right that there be regulations to have them fly into airports like Dayton International.

Airlines are going to be in a pickle after COVID-19. Companies are finding out that technology removes the need to travel as much.

Before COVID-19, 80% of all airline travel was for business. It will take at least 3 years after the end of COVID-19 before flight traffic returns to the level before COVID-19.

Q. Will there be some recognition of Dayton Police heroes?

A. Dayton’s Chief of Police, Richard S. Biehl, said on the night of recent Black Lives Matter protests that Dayton Police do not deserve these protests. She and Biehl discussed that this is a national issue. The Dayton Police have a good relationship with the community. She is very proud of the Dayton Police. She said they can do better and they are working on reforms and transparency.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

CLICK HERE to read the Thank You Notes we Received this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Karin Gilstrap	July 1
John Speers	July 4
John Carroll	July 5
Mark Scarpino	July 6
Bob Lawson	July 6
Bob Glavin	July 9
Joe Kronenberger	July 9
Greg McAfee	July 12

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Gary Hansen	June	30	6/30/1999	21
Joe Kronenberger	July	1	7/1/2014	6
Roy Barclay	July	1	7/1/1986	34
Sara Hemmeter	July	1	7/1/2014	6
Andy Harmon	July	2	7/2/2018	2
David Duncombe	July	2	7/2/2018	2
Greg Crabtree	July	2	7/2/2008	12
Jeff Umbreit	July	2	7/2/2018	2
Mark Scarpino	July	2	7/2/2018	2
Robin Golden	July	4	7/4/2012	8
Diane Arehart	July	5	7/5/2016	4
Paul Webendorfer	July	5	7/5/2016	4
CeAnn Chalker	July	10	7/10/2000	20

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Scott Rheaume	Staying with his parents Myron and Charla for a few days. This is the first time he has been out of the group home since the lockdown. (Scott is a member of our club too!)
Jim Mogan	For all the great work on the Avenue of Flags committee done by Tom Novak, Bob Burkman, Mike Brubaker.

June 23, 2020 – Dr. M. Cameron Hay-Rollins – “Social Circle Disease”

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No Readings or Inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Special Announcement

There is no meeting on 6/30/2020. Our next meeting will be 7/7/2020 at noon on Zoom.

Save the Date for a Special Speaker on 7/21/2020

Optimist International President Adrian Elcock will join our Zoom meeting on 7/21/2020 from Barbados.

Announcements

Mike Bevis, chair of the Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf Event fundraiser, announced that the golf fundraiser for 2020 has been cancelled. This would have been the 29^th year of this fundraiser. They are looking forward to holding next year on July 12, 2021. The current situation does not make it possible to guarantee a perfectly healthy and safe event for our 140 golfers and 50 volunteers. It is with great sadness that the committee made the tough decision to cancel this year’s Tee Off for Youth Golf classic.

Tom Novak, flag committee, announced that since Memorial Day there has been an explosion of subscriptions. The flag committee has added 7 new routes to help handle the additional 424 flags. They can use more volunteers to help with delivery and pickup. Volunteer to help with our biggest fundraiser! Also, Mike Brubaker announced that there is a direct URL to the Avenue of Flags sign up page on our website. You can direct people to CentervilleFlags.com. This link will take them to https://centervillenoonoptimist.com/avenue-of-flags/.

Social Event

Beth Duncan announced that the Social distancing committee will have a Zoom event on Thursday, July 9^th at 6:30 PM. More details to come.

Happy Birthday Gary DeMarco and Carrie Million

Today was Gary DeMarco’s and Carrie Million’s birthday. The signing was terrible as usual. I thought we could at least rhyme Gary and Carrie, but I was wrong. We wish you two a very happy birthday and thank you for all you do for our club and community.

Dr. M. Cameron Hay-Rollins – Professor of Anthropology, Miami University

Mike Bevis introduced Dr. M. Cameron Hay-Rollins – Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Miami University. She is also the Director of the Global Health Research Innovation Center. Additionally, she is an Associate Research Anthropologist for the Center for Culture and Health, for the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA. She has expertise in both medical and psychological anthropology. She is committed to challenging students to question their own assumptions. Her students call her Dr. Hay. One of her studies had her living for 2 years at the base of a volcano.

View her slide deck here.

Her presentation was titled, “Can your Social Circle Kill You?”

Medical anthropology is the study of how people understand, experience and cope with disease. Disease doesn’t act alone, it is more complex.

Dr. Hay studies global health. She asks, “Through collaboration, how can we ameliorate health inquires?”

Anthropological data tells us

Humans are inherently social beings
We need others to learn, survive and reproduce
We value getting along with others

The Fore people of Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, there was a study from 1957-1968 of how the Fore people dealt with constant disease and death.

There was an epidemic of otherwise healthy women and children. There was clearly an epidemic of the disease Kuru. Studying just the reported facts can mislead scientists. They were trying to find out why the Fore were so much more likely to die of Kuru. The Fore people had only at 10% chance of survival while surrounding groups had an 84% chance of survival. Over a decade, there were many hypotheses that didn’t stand.

Shirley Lindenbaum, a medical anthropologist, and her team finally figured out that the disease was spreading through cannibalism. Cannibalism was outlawed, but the men of the Fore ate almost all the animal meat. Mothers knew while pregnant that they needed the added nutrition of meat for themselves and young children and they resorted to cannibalism.

Cultural Assumptions and Infant Mortality Rates

Anthropology uses empirical evidence to examine our cultural assumptions about the way the world works. Assumptions are important to humans as they enable us to quickly figure out how to act in the world.

Many might first assume that the genetics of race is why black babies are twice as likely to die as white babies. Ohio’s black infant mortality rate is among the highest in the U.S. In Ohio’s Butler county, the infant mortality rate of African American babies is consistently at least twice as high as other groups. Genetics and race have nothing to do with the difference. The difference is the amount of health care expectant mothers receive.

The main reason given by non-white women for not going to their health care providers is that they do not trust health care workers. When they do choose to get health care, they struggle just to make it to an appointment.

Cameron showed us a video produced by several mothers with struggles asking what people are assuming based on how they look. Nearly everyone has a struggle. There is often some unknown that explains why choices are made that are not ideal. A young high school student can have a 4.0 GPA but end up not going to college because they had to help their parents provide for the family. They worry that they will be judged poorly because their insurance provider is Medicaid. They do not choose to be in the situations. They want to be good mothers and they make good health choices.

Mothers want you to see them as mothers who want to do the right thing. They ask us not to make assumptions based on the color of their skin or the insurance type they have.

How Emerging Adults Interpret Sensations During an Epidemic

Salient Symptoms are often not understood by everyone, but especially young adults.

When deciding if they have a fever, young adults will make the wrong call either way. They will go to the health center because they think 99 is a fever because, “my normal temperature is low”. Or they will have a fever and say, “I haven’t had a fever or anything serious.”. Or they might say, “I didn’t have a fever, I like had a 99.8”.

Students will go to the health center when they, “felt like crap”. When they are run down and basically cannot function, they will do self-care. They may in fact be sick, but they cannot tell the difference. Students are used to not getting enough sleep to get projects done. They believe they are invincible. Their mothers tell them to get enough sleep and to drink plenty of liquids even when they feel fine, but many do not listen. Parenting experience tells us that telling someone to do something does not necessarily result in the desired behavior.

COVID-19 Death Rates

The demographics of an area affects the death rate for COVID-19. The rate varies by country and even counties in a U.S. state. The age and habits of people affect the outcome. Italy’s death rate is 14% of those that get the virus, while in the U.S. it is 5%. Italy’s population is much older, and there are a lot more smokers. Italy’s health care system is not as good as the U.S. system.

Knowledge does NOT always equal action. Humans are social. Many social aspects affect the spread of this disease. People will be weighing what they should do against what matters to them. This year people still gathered for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day even though it has been recommended to reduce gatherings. Some will wear masks and social distance. Dr. Hay asks, “How far will they social distance?”

Dr. Hay’s Summary

Whether we are talking about Kuru disease, infant mortality or coronavirus, the ways we think and what we value and what we trust influences our outcomes.

The answer to, “Can your social circle kill you?”, is, “Yes.”

As social beings, our social circle also gives our lives meaning and thus saves us.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Carrie Million	June 23
Gary DeMarco	June 23
Dick Lee	June 23
Cherie Gentry	June 24
Jay McAlpine	June 24
Paulette Novak	June 25
Charlie Goodwin	June 26
Wayne Christie	June 26
Robby Johnson	June 27
Valorie Huff	June 28
Frank DePalma	June 29

Membership Anniversaries

No Membership Anniversaries this week.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

No Happy Bucks this week.

June 16, 2020 – Dr. Jonathan Thackeray – Dayton Children’s

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

NOTE: Technical Difficulties this week so now Zoom Meeting Replay is available.

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Laura Thimons	Debe Dockins	Induction

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Announcements

Greg Griffin, president of CNO, reminds members if you want to be more involved with various committees contact the committee chairs which you can find in the CNO handbook. Contact Greg if you need a PDF copy of the handbook.

Mike Brubaker, Avenue of Flags, announced that the AOF subscribers have paid for 2745 to be displayed at their homes or businesses. There were 415 new subscriptions since Memorial Day this year. Several routes have been added. The AOF can use several more volunteers for flag delivery and pickup. Contact Tom Novak if you can help. If you have a flag friendly vehicle such as Van, SUV or Truck that would be great. Do not worry if you do not have a flag friendly vehicle. they still want you; you will be paired with someone who does.

Mike Bevis, golf committee, announced the golf outing fundraiser is still scheduled for 9/28/2020. The golf committee is discussing how the golf outing will look this year recognizing it will not be as large as in past years.

Happy Birthday Charla Rheaume

Today was Charla Rheaume’s birthday. Tradition had us singing to her through our Zoom meeting. I am surprised that Zoom’s servers didn’t explode under the stress of processing the audio!

After we finished Charla exclaimed, “You all have NOT improved over the years!”

Adam Blanchard, Dayton Children’s Hospital

Greg Griffin introduced Adam Blanchard, the director of Donor Engagement at Dayton Children’s Hospital (DCH).

He thanked CNO for its continued support and for having donated $173,000 to Dayton Children’s over the years.

5 ways Dayton Children’s is keeping your family safe:

Screenings, masks, and hand sanitizer
Clean, clean, and clean again
The right tools for the right care in the right spaces
Social distancing made easy
Limiting people on site

DCH needs community support. The COVID-19 crisis is affecting revenue at DCH. The weekly average of kids needing care is down this year. The cause is social distancing. Kids are not around each other and are not participating in sports. Less disease is being spread and fewer injuries are occurring. This causes stress on the finances of the hospital. They are not hoping for more injuries or infections, but it is an indicator of the financial health of the region. They do not expect “normal” to come back until January 2021 at the earliest. Adam said DCH losses so far are $25 million.

Jonathan Thackeray, MD, Dayton Children’s Hospital

Adam Blanchard introduced Jonathan Thackeray, MD, FAAP, the chief medical community health officer at Dayton Children’s Hospital (DCH).

He thanked CNO for what it does for DCH and for the community at large. He truly appreciates it.

View his slide deck here.

His presentation was titled “Improving the Health of Our Community.”

The DCH Mission is, “The relentless pursuit of optimal health for every child within our reach.”

The DCH Vision is, “Reinventing the path to children’s health for families throughout our region and beyond.”

Over time Ohio is now spending more money on healthcare and getting less quality of care.

Health Value in Ohio as of 2019

Compared to other states Ohio is number:

43 in population health
28 in healthcare spending
46 in health value

Montgomery County is one of the worst counties in the state

81^st out of 88 Counties in health outcomes
26 percent of children live in poverty
50 percent of kids 0-11 are overweight or obese
Infant mortality rate is 6.8 per 10000, 43rd in the nation
Only 34 % of students are ready to start kindergarten
25,000 children, or 1 in 5 have food insecurity

Mental Health in Montgomery County

1 in 5 families need help for a mental and behavioral problem with a child
6 % of high schoolers have made a suicide plan
4% of high school students have attempted suicide

Disparities in Montgomery County

Of children aged 0-5 living in poverty
- 3% are White
- 9% are black
The infant mortality rate is
- 5 per 1000 white children
- 5 per 1000 black children

Improving Health Beyond Medical Treatments

The Child Health Pavilion of Dayton Children’s located at 1010 Valley St, Dayton OH, opened a year ago to provide health care differently for the community. They have done very well medically, but they want to help with health care outside of the hospital. They have launched a team of community workers.

Services of the Pavilion

Dayton Children’s Pediatrics, which has expanded clinical space
A comprehensive medical home for children in foster care or kinship care, with specially trained staff
Food “pharm” and teaching kitchen
Services for children with complex medical conditions
Dayton Children’s community engagement programs, including the Dayton Asthma Alliance, injury prevention, and healthy lifestyles programs
Families of patients can also be screened and referred to outside community resources through the Family Resource Connection on site

When a family visits the Pavilion, care workers ask, “Do you have enough food?” If the answer is no, they can send them down the hall where they will be given enough food for 72 hours. That gives enough time to connect the family to other food resources. So far, 587 families have been helped with 1000 boxes of food.

The Pavilion opened April 30, 2019. Just one week later, the Dayton tornado disaster occurred. The building was spared and only had minor roof damage. They were ready and available to help with issues caused by the disaster. The word got out that they were there to help, and they received huge amounts of donations. They received many items, especially items like water, diapers, and shoes were brought to the facility and they had the space to store the items.

The extra space was also useful for the federal disaster relief workers that were sent to the area to help with the tornado disaster. They set up their command center at the Pavilion.

Then, just a few months later, the Dayton Oregon district shootings occurred. They prepared editorials and blog statements about firearms safety. They have partnered with AAP to distribute lockboxes for firearms. They have also integrated a firearms safety question into the questions they ask caregivers of children using their services.

Jonathan said he will personally give any of us a tour of the Pavilion facility.

Responding to COVID-19

The Pavilion has been:

Addressing increased food insecurity needs of the neighborhood by delivering food
Providing health visits over video and phone
Informing local state and government officials on how COVID-19 effects children’s health, welfare, and the community as a whole
Finding ways to connect with our community

Looking Ahead

In the past year, their first year, they have mainly been reacting to the Dayton 2019 disasters and COVID-19. They have plans for the next year to continue to improve their strategy:

Integrated behavioral health services at the Pavilion
Taking health care out of the building and into homes and schools
Developing a research/data infrastructure to “tell our story”
Utilizing primary care / community collaboratives to identify outcomes-based strategies related to:
- Preventative care
- Behavioral health
- Violence reduction
- Healthier lifestyles
- Educational success

Thank you Adam Blanchard and Jonathan Thackeray for speaking to our members today.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Charla Rheaume	June 16
Ron Kuker	June 19
Kathy McAlpine	June 20
Deb Ulrich	June 22

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Cherie Gentry	June	17	6/17/2015	5
Sam Pfabe	June	17	6/17/2015	5
Denise Green	June	19	6/19/2013	7
Wes Cleaves	June	22	6/22/1993	27

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

No Happy Bucks this week.

June 9, 2020 – Pastor Wayne Botkin – “Reflections on 2020”

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

NOTE: The actual meeting starts at 15:09 – if you enjoy watching the socializing and member banter, I left it in – some of it is pretty fumy!

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No reading or inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend weekly Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Announcements

Mike Brubaker, Avenue of Flags, announced that 322 new flag subscriptions have been added since Memorial Day. immediately after a local television news report about the Dor-Wood Optimist Club’s Avenue of Flags program, we received 59 new flag orders.

Myron Rheaume, Special Needs Committee, said they just had their first Special Needs Clubs Committee meeting. The committee will be reaching out to chairs of other committees to find ways special needs members can participate and be helpful with our club and its work for the youth of our community.

Committee Meetings

Mike Bevis, Golf Committee, announced that they will be allowed to have 2 golfers per cart at the golf outing. There will a Zoom meeting on the evening of 6/17/2020. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Social Events

Beth Duncan, Social “Distancing” Committee, said that Sue Jessee has a way to arrange an online Euchre party and that they plan for it to be scheduled soon.

Wayne Botkin, Pastor, The Mosaic Church

Mike Bevis introduced Wayne Botkin, the co-pastor at Mosaic Church in Beavercreek Ohio. Wayne was a former member of Centerville Noon Optimist Club and Springboro Optimist Club. He is a current member of the Green Optimist Club.

View his slide deck here.

Wayne Botkin and Rox Picardo are co-pastors of Mosaic Church that they started in the fall of 2017. Mosaic was started as a decidedly multi-ethnic church. Their mission statement is, “We exist to become a dynamic Mosaic of Jesus followers.” Their vision statement is, “We can’t experience God’s love to its fullness until we love others. We live this by being fully present, listening deeply, and helping each other grow to be more like Jesus each day.”

Mosaic Church produces a video of their services each week. The videos are available on their website, Facebook and their mobile app.

Wayne quoted the first line of the Optimist creed, “Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind”. He asked if any of us are having a harder time with the racial issues and COVID-19 happening in our society. He said he is having a difficult time.

Wayne showed pictures of the Dayton area tornado disaster and the Oregon District shootings from 2019. He thought this was as bad as it is going to get around here and the world. Then, on March 14, 2020 he thought he had COVID-19, but it was Flu A. He was relieved to find out that he just had Flu A. Again, he thought everything had gotten as bad as it can get, but then George Floyd was killed while in police custody.

In the last 5 years he has made many friends with people of color. He said the world is still stressful for people of color. His friends must give their kids “the talk” about how to behave when having an interaction with the police.

Wayne showed us videos of racial incidents. See the slide deck for his links.

One of the videos he presented was scenes of positive interactions between the police and protesters.

Wayne believes 99% of all the protesting is peaceful. He said, “There are riots, and riots may not be acceptable, but they are understandable.”

One of his slides was titled “What can we do?”

Cultural Humility…
Educate yourself – Develop a Stronger CQ, or Cultural Quotient (see slide deck for the CQ continuum)
Cultivate deep friendships with people from a different ethnic background

Movies Wayne Recommends

The Help
The Green Book
Hidden Figures
Just Mercy
American Son
The Hate You Give

Wayne closed by saying that he is still suffering and grieving.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank You Notes this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Brooks Compton	June 9
Mike Wall	June 12

Membership Anniversaries

No membership anniversaries this week – this is RARE!

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Debe Dockins	While wearing her mask to Yankee Street Market, an employee told her that she sees so many people wearing the mask with the CNO logo. That gave Debe the chance to invite her to one of our meetings.
Beth Duncan	Today is her parent’s 69th wedding anniversary.
Jim Mogan	Grandson graduated UD and has a job.
Myron Rheaume	His daughter, Shawna Hatton, a studio art instructor at DAI, recently was a top award winner at a regional art contest.

June 2, 2020 – Georgia Mergler – The “Virtual” Library

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

NOTE: The actual meeting starts at 21:45 – if you enjoy watching the socializing and member banter, I left it in – some of it is pretty fumy!

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspired to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No reading or inductions this week.

Zoom Meeting This Week

Yankee Trace is still closed. We had another meeting using Zoom. We will continue our weekly meetings via computer, cell phone or tablet for at least the next several weeks. Please join us and keep inviting guests.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend weekly Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Announcements

Greg Griffin showed a video of Adrian Elcock announcing that this year’s Optimist International convention will be a virtual experience. The sessions are on a weekend. 6/27/2020 from 10 AM to 1 PM and on 6/28/2020 from 3 PM to 6 PM. CNO will reimburse the registration fee for any of our members that want to attend. You must actually attend the sessions to be reimbursed.

Georgia Mergler Presents the Virtual Library

Mike Bevis introduced Georgia Mergler, the Community Relations Manager at the Washington Centerville Public Library (WCPL) since 1997.

Her topic today was “The Virtual Library”. View her slide deck here.

Librarians have been told for years that a good library should have a strong electronic library. Georgia has been given many reasons that support this statement in the past. However, she had never been told that a great reason would be in the case of a global pandemic where you must close the doors to the library.

The eCollection of WCPL is the largest growing collection at the library. Anyone with a library card to WCPL can access the eCollection for free.

The eCollection includes electronic versions of

Books (20% of circulated books are electronic)
Audiobooks from multiple sources
Music, including legal to download songs
Videos, including Acorn TV for British TV and Film
Magazines, from various sources

Online Learning Services Include

com (over 4500 courses to learn software and technology)
Treehouse (web, smartphone and computer programming)
Creative Bug (instructional videos on drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, baking and more)
The Great Courses (lifelong learning and personal enrichment lectures in Science, Health and Wellness and more)
See more at https://www.wclibrary.info/education/#online

Online Library Programming

Live Virtual Story Time
Permanent Marker Coaster
Booked for Lunch
Fun with Frosting Friday
Needle Felting Group
Community Video Nights
Digital Escape Room Game (this has gone viral)
See the calendar at view the calendar online

Pandemic Update

The “Ask the Librarian” feature of the library has been working during the pandemic. You can get help on the phone or online.

Library staff are now working at the library instead of home. They work at staggered times during the day to reduce the number of people exposed to each other.

The library has plenty of PPE supplies. All staff members are given a daily health screening which includes checking their temperature. All staff members wear masks. All visitors will be strongly encouraged to wear masks.

Physical materials can now be checked out. Select items online and then set an appointment to pick them up curbside. The Centerville location is having their parking redone, so this service is currently only available at the Woodbourne location.

There is no immediate need to return materials you have checked out. WCPL would be overwhelmed if everyone brought back everything at once. There are over 50,000 items out in circulation. All due dates have been extended and no fines are being assessed.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

You can read recent thank you notes here.

CNO Donations 2013 through May 2020

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $753,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Kristen Marks	June 2
Larry Larrimer	June 4
Mike Cordonnier	June 4
Dick Stevens	June 5
Cindy Harris	June 5
Jean Pummill	June 6
Bob Vogt	June 7

Membership Anniversaries

No membership anniversaries this week.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Sue Jessee	Happy her library book is not overdue.
Bob Collins	Today’s presentation from Georgia Mergler was fantastic.
Dick Stevens	Larry Lynde’s newest grandson was born today.

May 19, 2020 – Scott Dust – Mindfulness at Work

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

NOTE: The actual meeting starts at 28:29 – if you enjoy watching the socializing and member banter, I left it in – some of it is pretty fumy!

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspire to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Laura Thimons	Debe Dockins	Third Reading

Zoom Meeting This Week

Special Announcement! No Zoom Meeting on 5/26/2020

There will be no meeting on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. We will be back for a Zoom meeting on 6/2/2020 at noon.

Who can Attend Zoom Meetings?

Any member of any type of Centerville Noon Optimist can attend weekly Zoom meetings. CNO 2.0, St Leonard’s and CNO full members or CNO monthly members can ALL attend.

Guests are also welcome. Please invite guests and introduce them if you like. Just share the Zoom link with them for that week.

Announcements

Tom Novak, Avenue of Flags, announced that the flag delivery volunteers are ready to deliver 2330 flags, starting Wednesday 5/20/2020 for Memorial Day. The flags will stay installed until after Independence Day.

Happy Birthday Mike Brubaker

Today was Mike Brubaker’s 70^th Birthday. On the Zoom meeting we all sang Happy Birthday to him. On Zoom it was not as loud and painful as usual. I’m not saying it was good, because it was not as we can’t sing. It was, however, delivered with love for a fellow Optimist! Kind of unbelievable that children born in the fifties are starting to turn 70. You are looking great Mike! Thanks for everything you do for the club.

Mindfulness at Work by Scott Dust

Mike Bevis introduced Scott Dust Ph.D., the Dr. John F. Mee Endowed Assistant Professor of Management in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. He is a professor, author and consultant of “Evidence-Based Perspectives on Leading Yourself and Others”.

Prior to his position at Miami University, Dr. Dust was an Assistant Professor of Management at Eastern Kentucky University (2013-2015). Prior to academia, Dr. Dust participated in a variety of entrepreneurial ventures in market research, brokerage, and actuarial consulting.

Scott’s topic today was “Mindfulness at Work”. View his slide deck here.

From Wikipedia:
Mindfulness is the psychological process of purposely bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment without judgment which one develops through the practice of meditation and through other training.

The science of Psychology was once only applied to those having mental issues. In today’s world psychology is being used to help everyone stay healthy. Psychology knows optimism has a lot do with keeping your mind and body healthy.

With respect to happiness the activity doesn’t matter…but presence does. You are happier if you focus on the task at hand. We are more likely to be mindless instead of mindful in almost all activities. It takes effort and meditation to overcome this.

Large companies are using mindfulness at work including Google, General Mills, Apple, P&G and the U.S. Army.

In his research, Scott found that using mindfulness while multitasking with presence helps your wellbeing.

Being highly mindfulness during the work week will increase your motivational control and stop the typical decline in productivity that occurs with low mindfulness workers as the week progresses from Monday to Friday.

Meditation increases your ability to use mindfulness. Mindfulness is focused attention. No one can stop their brains from wandering while concentrating on your breathing during meditation. While following your breath, after a distraction, the goal is to notice the distraction and reorient your attention to breathing and follow your breath again. It is a cycle.

Each time you can reorient your brain to go back to concentrating on your breath, it is like doing a bicep curl for your brain.

The brain continually reorganizes itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. This phenomenon is known as neuroplasticity. MRI’s of Buddhist monks who have been meditating for years proves this practice works to increase neuroplasticity.

When facing danger, human brains were designed for fight or flight, and this cannot be removed from our brains. Mindfulness can help you accept a danger (or work situation) you are facing and help you logically and calmly deal with it. In our modern society we rarely face the physical dangers our ancestors did. The more mindfulness you can apply, the better you can emotionally regulate.

Scientists are starting to realize just how much our brain and body is connected. Studies show that emotional states and body temperature are clearly connected. With mindfulness and proactive intention, you can choose your responses and help yourself mentally and physically.

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor wrote the book “Man’s Search for Meaning” in 9 days based on his experiences in various Nazi concentration camps. He was able to test many of his theories on reactions to negative stimulus during his incarceration. He said, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom”. He is the founder of logotherapy which means healing through meaning.

Mindfulness will help you go from the existential, “I am angry!” to the experiential, “I am experiencing anger in my body,” where you can then have a calmer response to a bad situation.

The cycle of meditation can be remembered with the acronym SBNRR. To remember those letters, remember, “Siberian North Rail Road”.

STOP
BREATH
NOTICE
REFLECT
RESPOND

From Wikipedia,
Equanimity, is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.

Mindfulness is starting to spread at work. At work (and life) you often have little control on what is happening around you. However, you can control your reactions to situations. Recognize that everyone has their own challenges and that can cause them to do something that angers you. When there are more people controlling their anger, it will lead to more productive debates.

Scott Dust was asked by a CNO member if mindfulness training helps with dementia. He said that once you have been diagnosed with dementia that it does not seem to help much because it is a physical condition. Some, however, believe that before a physical issue has started it can help maintain the health of the brain.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

View this week’s Thank You Notes here

CNO Donations 2013 through September 2019

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $700,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Amy Barker	May 19
Mike Brubaker	May 19
Jim Marker	May 23
Don Skelton	May 25
Cristlyn Johnston	May 26
Bill Fritz	May 30
Casey Wyckoff	May 30
Mike Witt	June 1
Shawna Hatton	June 1

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Jeff Rolf	May	20	5/20/2015	5
Kelly George	May	20	5/20/2015	5
James Schumacher	May	22	5/22/1991	29
Pete Rife	May	22	5/22/2013	7
Bob Clements	May	25	5/25/2005	15
Paulette Novak	May	25	5/25/2005	15
Amy Barker	May	26	5/26/2008	12
Cheryl Reichel	May	26	5/26/2008	12
Debe Dockins	May	26	5/26/2009	11
Bob Burkman	May	31	5/31/2003	17
Carol Burkman	May	31	5/31/2003	17
Gary Aiken	June	1	6/1/1982	38
Wayne Christie	June	1	6/1/1988	32

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Tom Novak	Tim and Christy Clemmer for always be willing to have their Avenue of Flags route expanded.
Tom Novak	Knocked on a door to tell the resident he was there to install the sleeve for their new flag subscription. The woman said she had not ordered a flag, but she would like to and she subscribed.
Greg Griffin	All the efforts of the Avenue of Flag co-chairs, Tom Novak, Mike Brubaker and Bob Burkman.

CNOtes – May 12, 2020 – Avenue of Flags 2020 Season Kickoff

A Replay of the ZOOM Meeting is Here

NOTE: The actual meeting starts at 23:44 – if you enjoy watching the socializing and member banter, I left it in – some of it is pretty fumy!

COVID-19 UPDATE

In keeping with social distancing requirements – our CNO Meetings have transitioned temporarily to a online format using ZOOM.

Club Member Joe Madden was inspire to rewrite The Optimist Creed – so we give you now – The Corona Creed -with apologies to Christian D. Larson, Author of The Optimist Creed.

Welcome Guests!

Guest	Guest of
Laura Thimons	Debe Dockins

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Laura Thimons	Debe Dockins	Second Reading
Margie Jones	Mike Bevis	Induction

Zoom Meeting This Week

2020-2021 Officers and Board of Directors Elections

The nomination committee of the Centerville Noon Optimist Club, comprised of past presidents, the current president and incoming president have nominated the following people for Optimist Year 2020-2021:

President Elect, Gary Hansen
Vice Presidents, Beth Duncan and Bill Williams
Board of Directors nominated for 2-year terms are Christine Balsan, Pat Behn, Bob Glavin, Jim Long, and Brian Nolan
Board Members with a year left to serve are Amy Barker, Denise O’Neil, Vince Reidy, Carolyn Taylor, and Greg Wasmund
Debe Dockins is the president for 2020-2021 and she has chosen Nancy Lehren as her past president representative. Greg Griffin will serve as the Immediate Past President.
The incoming president chooses the Treasurer and Secretary. Debe Dockins has selected Roland Rapp for Treasurer and Jean Pummill for Secretary. They are both currently serving in those positions.

CNO Secretary Jean Pummill asked everyone to raise their hand if they wanted to accept the nominations as recommended by the nomination board and they did with no one opposing the motion. Congratulations to all the new board members and officers. Their terms begin on 10/1/2020.

Committee Meetings

Mike Bevis, chair of the golf committee, announced that the golf committee will hold a relaunch meeting on Zoom on 5/13/2020 from 6 PM to 7 PM to start working out how the golf outing will work this year. The golf outing is scheduled for 9/28/2020.

Social Events

5/21/2020, 4:30 PM, Thursday, Trivia Contest via Zoom video conferencing.

Avenue of Flags Fundraiser

Greg Griffin introduced the three chairs of the CNO Avenue of Flags (AOF) Committee. They are Tom Novak, Mike Brubaker and Bob Burkman. Each spoke to us about our fundraiser.

You can view the slide deck here. The slide deck has some great charts, graphs, and maps.

Flags normally are delivered for these flag holidays

Memorial Day
Flag Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans Day

This year flags will be delivered starting the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend and will be picked up after Independence Day, which is approximately 6 weeks. This is being done to help with social distancing and at the request of the governor for everyone to display flags in support of our patriotism during the COVID crisis.

The flags will be redeployed for Labor Day and Veterans Day as in normal years.

After the flags go up for Memorial Day, many more subscription requests are expected as neighbors notice the flags. They plan to deliver to new subscribers during the 6 weeks.

Tom thanked the volunteers on the various Avenue of Flag teams

Subscriber renewal team; they follow up with subscribers that initially ignore the post cards and emails sent out reminding people to renew.
Flag site “check-up” teams; they have already gone out to make sure the inground sleeves can be found and are straight.
Flag delivery/retrieval teams.
Flag Facility Team at Sinclair College.

Tom gave special thanks to Paulette Novak, Sue Brubaker and Carol Burkman, who are the wives of the committee chairs, for their patience. At this time of year, the chairs spend a lot of time away from home helping with the Avenue of Flags.

Statistics and facts about the program from Mike Brubaker

2019 net profit was $92,874
2019 ended with 2410 flags delivered
At least 2286 flags will be delivered for Memorial Day
- This is a 94.9% renewal rate, typically at this time of year it is only 85%
More subscriptions will be added before each flag delivery day
AOF volunteers periodically build the flags from purchased parts and kits
- During the spring of 2020 they assembled 250 flags in just 2 hours
- High volume purchasing saves us and other local Optimist clubs that we sell our flag supplies to

Delivery Facts

There are 64 routes with 128 delivery and pickup volunteers
Most routes have 30-35 flags
Routes are designed to take 1-2 hours to deliver
About 3 routes are added each year
The largest route has 181 flags

Groups providing pickup and delivery volunteers include

CNO members
AOF Subscribers
Blue Star Mothers
Various VFWs
CHS Wrestling Program (7 Parent/Son Teams, new for 2020)

Additional volunteers are always welcome

Let Tom know if you can help with delivery or pickup of flags. Helpers go out as 2 person teams. They are very excited to get volunteers that have flag friendly vehicles like mini-vans, SUV’s and pickup trucks. Don’t worry if you don’t have such a vehicle, you will be paired with someone who does.

COVID Crisis considerations and the AOF delivery process

Delivery volunteers go out in pairs. They should consider taking two vehicles this year to help with social distancing.

Sinclair College is currently closed. Special arrangements must be made each time we need access to our storage facilities at their Centerville campus. Delivery volunteers should be very careful about making sure they have all the equipment and flags they need. You may not be able to get back into the facility if you forget something.

Sending Payments

If you receive a payment of cash or check from a new or current subscriber, send them directly to the home of Bob Burkman. It saves a step instead of people sending to the CNO P.O. box. This increases the chances of late subscribers receiving their flags for Memorial Day or Flag Day.

Note that subscribers can subscribe, renew and pay with a credit card on the CNO website, https://centervillenoonoptimist.com/avenue-of-flags-sign-up/

Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day History

Bob explained some history about Memorial Day. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day started on May 30, 1865, to honor the 620,000 people who died in the Civil War. May 30th was chosen because there were no battles on that day. Memorial Day got its current official name in 1967. Currently Memorial Day is on the last Monday of May each year because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Signed into law on June 28, 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect on January 1, 1971. Bob mentioned that Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May as a tribute to the men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces.

AOF Flags History

In 2003 to test the fundraiser, CNO put out 30 flags for free in Quail Run. If Chuck Dickerson had not put up the initial $3000 in funding, the program probably would never have started.

Back in 2005, the first year Avenue of Flags was a fundraiser, they did skits at CNO lunch to educate members about the concept. One of the skits was the Tom and Jerry show played by “Tom” Novak and “Jerry” Stahley. Others played American Historical characters. Charlie Tapp dressed up as Paul Revere. Benjamin Franklin was played by Chuck Dickerson. Ken Peacock played Johnny Appleseed which represented the need to “plant” the flags.

Subscribers Help Us Serve the Community

The Avenue of Flags is about the American Flag. The revenue helps support what CNO does for the youth of our community. Neighbors telling their neighbors about the Avenue of Flags is a large source of new subscribers. This was the only way it worked for the first few years. If you have neighbors that have not subscribed, let them know about the program and how it helps the community.

Thank You Notes sent to CNO

No Thank Notes received this week.

CNO Donations 2013 through September 2019

Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.

Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $700,000.

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Tim Bemis	May 15
Kristina Rainer	May 16
Carolyn Taylor	May 17
Jim Long	May 17
Jack Anderson	May 18

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Brendan Cunningham	May	15	5/15/2018	2
Jay Hoffman	May	15	5/15/2017	3
Wendy Hattan	May	15	5/15/2018	2

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Myron Rheaume	Able to drive a car for the first time in 3 months
Tom Novak	For the newest Avenue of Flag delivery team of Debe Dockins, Laura Thimons, and Maureen Ruff
Gary Hansen	Thanks to CNO for electing him as President for the 2021-2022 OI year