Home Archives - Page 2 of 24 - Centerville Noon Optimist

February 2, 2021 – Ricki Pepin – Your American Heritage – A Patriot’s Primer

Phather Phil’s Prayer from 2/2/2016, Read by Bob Burkman

Heavenly Father,

When we promise ourselves, make it come true. Help us in our contacts with others to always be Optimistic – positive and uplifting be they friend or stranger. Let us be the one that reignites their pilot light when their fire has gone out. In doing so we are living one of the purposes of our lives and honoring You. Optimism is your special gift to us – one that is blessed – only when we give it away. Amen!

Amen.

Announcements

Liz Fultz, chair of the Oratorical Contest, announced that the annual contest will be held during CNO Zoom meetings on February 9, 2021 and February 16, 2021. The committee needs judges. Please contact Liz Fultz or Ron Thompson if you would like to help.

Kristen Marks, chair of the Essay Contest, needs more judges to help with the essay contest. There is a judging rubric to follow to help you score the essays.

Committee Meetings

2/16/2021, 6 PM, Monthly Board of Directors Meeting, Zoom hosted by President Debe Dockins
2/17/2021, 6 PM, Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf 2021, Zoom hosted by Mike Bevis. Meetings in 2021 will be on Wednesdays on 1/13, 2/17, 3/17, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.

Community Events

Greg Griffin announced that the Easter Egg Drive through will be held on April 3^rd, 2021. If you would like to help stuff cinch sacks with candy let Greg know. Evelyn Griffin will deliver and pick up the bags and candy.

Beth Duncan, chair of Centerville’s Got Talent, said she needs more volunteers to help with this committee. The contest will be for kids ages 4-19 that live or go to school in Centerville or Washington Township.

Social Events

2/19/2021 at 6:30 PM, Sue Jesse and Sara Umbreit said the “Name that Baby” social event contest will be held that evening. Send in your baby pictures and three self-facts to Sue Jessee no later than February 12, 2021.

Ricki Pepin, U.S. Constitution Teacher

Carolyn Taylor introduced Ricki Pepin, a U.S. Constitution teacher. Ricki Pepin is a former employee of the FBI, published author, columnist and international lecturer who has been teaching Constitution classes for over 20 years.

You can view the slide deck here.

Your American Heritage – A Patriot’s Primer

Her presentation focused on using primary source documents – the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution – to help listeners discover for themselves the heritage our founders gave us when they wrote and established American law and government. Amazing, eye-opening quotations and definitions from America’s first dictionary, written by Founding Father Noah Webster and published in 1828, will provide new insights and understanding of our American heritage of hope and freedom.

Knowing Your history and heritage is important. History education gives youth their identity. James Madison (founding father and author of the constitution) said, “Conscience is our most sacred property.” Sacred meaning holy or pertaining to God.

Pepin said our American heritage is that our government is based on Christian values. She said the American View of the American Government’s Foundation and Purpose is that there is a God, our rights come from Him, and the purpose of government is to secure these rights.

Pepin said that American Exceptionalism comes from the fact that, “America is the only nation in the world whose government was established for the purpose of advancing the Christian faith. This means the principles for American government were born and built upon the principles within the Bible – inextricably linking God and government.”

The Mayflower Compact written by the Pilgrims was America’s first self-government document. It contained, “In the name of god, Amen…Having undertaken this voyage to America for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith…”

The Declaration of Independence contains, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal [and] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [and that] to secure these rights Governments are instituted among men…”. It also contains, “When it becomes necessary to dissolve the political bands which have connected them to another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…”

Please view the slide deck or watch the video for many more details.

Resources to learn more about American Heritage

Institute on the Constitution. Theamericanview.com
The Woodson Center, 1776unites.com
Freedom Project Academy, fpeusa.org

Thank you, Ricki Pepin, for your presentation today.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Julie Rado	Beth Duncan	2nd Reading

Welcome Guests!

Guest Name	Guest of
Joanne Fuchs	Carolyn Taylor
Gene Hartman	Carolyn Taylor
Julie Rado	Beth Duncan

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Bob Glavin	New granddaughter was born
Tom Novak	CNO member Kristen Marks is the new Executive Director of the Centerville-Washington Park District
Tom Novak	New members in readings
Tom Novak	Mike Brubaker sent emails for flag renewals and received 200 responses in 6 hours
Greg Griffin	$16 happy bucks for the 16 volunteers that have already signed up to prepare cinch candy sacks for the Easter Egg Hunt Drive through
Steve and Joan Rau	New granddaughter was born
Carolyn Taylor	$2 for her two guests today

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Renee Glenn	February	5	2/5/2014	7
Ellie Parker	February	8	2/8/2011	10

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Wasfi Samaan	February 4
Greg Crabtree	February 5
Shelby DiPasquale	February 6
Don Kelley	February 8
Mariah Vogelgesang	February 8

CNO Donations – 2013 through December 2020

Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013

Thank You Notes Received

Click here to see the Thank You Notes we received this week

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants 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.

Links to Recorded Meeting and PowerPoint

This week’s Zoom Meeting recording is here

This week’s Zoom meeting podcast is here

A Copy of this Week’s Meeting PowerPoint Slide Deck is here

January 26, 2021 – Chuck Gabringer – Dayton Hockey History

Phather Phil’s Prayer, Read by Bob Burkman

Heavenly Father,

Heavenly Father, sometimes we know what we want to say to you, but have trouble putting all the thoughts in a way that makes sense. We need not worry, You don’t just hear our words. You listen to our hearts. We need to realize that when we try to extol the virtues of Optimism to others, others are not as impressed with our words as they are by what we do and why we do it. We pray that You keep us strong in Your spirit and in Optimism for our sake and our kids.

It’s also good to know we can always add a P.S. Thank you Lord.

Amen!

Announcements

Kristen Marks, chair of the Essay Contest, needs more judges to help with the essay contest. There is a judging rubric to follow to help you score the essays.

Committee Meetings

2/17/2021, 6 PM, Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf 2021, Zoom hosted by Mike Bevis. Meetings in 2021 will be on Wednesdays on 1/13, 2/17, 3/17, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.

Community Events

Beth Duncan announced a new community event will be held soon. It is the Washington Township Centerville’s Got Talent. Kids ages 4-19 that live or go to school in Centerville or Washington Township will be participating in the event via videos they create of their talent. Beth is looking for people to join the new committee to help organize this event.

Social Events

2/19/2021 at 7 PM, Sue Jesse and Sara Umbreit said to save the date for a fun virtual event that evening.

Chuck Gabringer, History of Hockey in Dayton

Mike Bevis introduced Chuck Gabringer, the author of the 2015 book Hockey in Dayton. Gabringer earned a Master’s Degree in Behavioral Sciences and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Media-Journalism-Communications from Wright State University. He is currently the Retail Lending Project Manager at PNC Bank.

His book, Hockey in Dayton is a pictorial history of professional hockey in Dayton beginning with the 1950’s Troy Bruins, continuing through the Dayton Gems of the 1960’s and 1970’s and the Dayton Bombers of the 1990s and 2000’s. Also included are histories of other hockey teams that have called Dayton home.

Gabringer stepped us through dozens of pictures associated with hockey played in Dayton.

The first picture was a recent photo of the abandoned Hara Arena that was destroyed by the Dayton Area Memorial Day 2019 tornado disaster. He said he wanted to start at the end.

Hara Arena was a basic building built in 1953 by the Wampler brothers. It started hosting the original Dayton Gems in 1964. Gabringer’s brother won the contest to name the team. To break the tie of the 39 people who submitted “Dayton Gems”, there was a drawing. Gabringer’s brother’s name was drawn. This happened before Gabringer was born. His family loved hockey and Gabringer also grew up loving the sport.

Hara Arena’s name is a combination of the two brothers who built the facility. It is the combination of the first 2 letters of each of their names of Harold and Ralph Wampler.

Gabringer said that opposing teams hated going to Hara Arena because the boards were made from concrete instead of wooden boards that would give a little. A body check was particularly brutal at Hara.

Hobart Arena was built in Troy, Ohio in 1950 when Troy only had 10,000 residents. It was designed for ice skating and conventions. A Michigan hockey promoter heard about the building and was able to get an independent hockey team started in Troy. Eventually, the team joined the International Hockey League (IHL). The IHL existed 55 years. The team was named the Miami Valley Bruins from 1951-1959 and then they became the Troy Bruins.

The Wampler brothers were asked if they would be willing to install cooling pipes into Hara Arena. The IHL announced that a franchise would be added to Dayton, Ohio. After raising $40,000 to start the franchise, their first season was 1964-1965. Pat Ruff played for the team from 1964-1968 and he was a member of the US Olympic Hockey team in 1964 and 1968. During this time, Grismer Tire was a sponsor for Dayton Hockey. Grismer awarded players with a set of 4 tires if they earned a “Hat Trick”, for scoring 3 goals in a game.

The 1976 Dayton Gems team was very successful and won the IHL. Ten players from that team went on to the NHL.

The EHCL Dayton Bombers Hockey team played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. During 1996 the team moved to the Ervin J. Nutter Center and played there until 2009.

Thank you, Chuck Gabringer, for joining us today and sharing Dayton’s very interesting history with various hockey teams.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Julie Rado	Beth Duncan	1st Reading
Doug Flanders	Joe Madden	Induction

Welcome Guests!

No Guests this week – WHO can YOU Invite for a lift every Tuesday?

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Debe Dockins	$5 for “Phather” Phil Robinson and Lynn Reilly attending the meeting today
Myron Rheaume	$5 for being home after recovering from COVID-19

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Chris McAlpine	January	27	1/27/2009	5
Todd Kelchner	January	30	1/30/1992	6
Mike Bevis	January	31	1/31/2002	7
Rachel Goetz	January	31	1/31/2013	7

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Dr. Dan Passidomo	January 26
Gary Hansen	January 28
Scott Langer	January 29
Clint Freese	January 29
Karen Sirmans	January 31
David Ladd	February 1
Donna Huss	February 1

CNO Donations – 2013 through December 2020

Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013

Thank You Notes Received

No Thank You Notes received this week.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants 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.

Links to Recorded Meeting and PowerPoint

This week’s Zoom meeting video is here

This week’s Zoom meeting podcast is here

A Copy of this Week’s Meeting PowerPoint Slide Deck is here

January 19, 2021 – Charlotte McGuire – Ohio Board of Education

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”. Lord help us to educate ourselves and to use that knowledge to make the world a better place. Not according to our wants and needs, but according to your will.

Amen.

Announcements

Debe Dockins announced CHS Spirit Chain has started. It is an annual fundraiser and friendly fundraiser competition between Centerville and Fairmont High Schools. This year, CHS students have chosen three charities to benefit: Miami and Open Arms provide dental and health care to the uninsured and Food2Go provides meals for students in the district throughout the week. The student committee spent a lot of time researching organizations that are often overlooked in our community. You can donate by clicking here and be sure to add a note that your donation is for Spirit Chain.

Debe Dockins announced the Chuck Dickerson Memorial Scholarship is accepting applications for the 2021-2022 year. Long time CNO member Chuck Dickerson lived his life by the Optimist Creed and left us too soon. The scholarship is intended for high school seniors who have been accepted to a two or four-year college or university, have demonstrated a commitment of community service and be the child or grandchild of a past or current member of the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. Interested students can sign up on the Dayton Foundation Scholarship Connect Website.

Deb Saunders and Jane Fiehrer are chairing the new Visual Arts Contest committee in collaboration with Optimist International. They are in the process of contacting the schools about this contest which encourages kids age 11 and under who live or attend school in Centerville or Washington Township to enter either the painting or drawing category. There will be cash awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in both categories.

Winner of the Dress your Pet Contest

January 14, 2021 is national dress up your pet day. Several CNO members sent in pictures of themselves and their dressed up pets. The winner was Sarah Umbreit and her dog Mushu. She wins a $50 gift card for Optigear from Lizard Apparel and Promotions.

Committee Meetings

2/17/2021, 6 PM, Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf 2021, Zoom hosted by Mike Bevis. Meetings in 2021 will be on Wednesdays on 1/13, 2/17, 3/17, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.

Social Events

2/19/2021 at 7 PM, Sue Jesse and Sara Umbreit said to save the date for a fun virtual event that evening.

Charlotte McGuire, Ohio Board of Education

Carolyn Taylor introduced Charlotte McGuire, the representative of Ohio District 3 of the State Board of Education representing the counties of Butler, Darke, Miami, Montgomery and Preble Counties. McGuire brings more than 40 years of government and nonprofit leadership experience to the State Board of Education. You can read more of McGuire’s bio here.

McGuire said, “I am honored and humbled to be here today. Centerville City Schools are one of the best.”

Her campaign has always been about every child has the inherent ability to succeed regardless of zip code or circumstances.

Your V.O.I.C.E. for Our Children’s Success

V = Values Children First
O = Options unique to every child
I = Involves parents and supportive leaders
C = Community Vision and Partners
E = Excelling Teachers in schools

Ohio Strategic Plan for Education: 2019-2024

She came today to discuss the Ohio Strategic Plan for Education for 2019-2024.

This is a link to the slide she presented.

You can read the complete document here.

This is page that has more information about their plan.

Vision

In Ohio, each child is challenged to discover and learn, prepared to pursue a fulfilling post-high school path, and empowered to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society.

Their social media hash tag is #EachChildOurFuture.

One Goal

Ohio will increase annually the percentage of its high school graduates who, one year after graduation, are:

Enrolled and succeeding in a post-high school learning experience, including an adult career-technical education program, an apprenticeship and/or a two year or four-year college program
Serving in a military branch
Earning a living wage or
Engaged in a meaningful, self-sustaining vocation

Three Core Principles

Equity
Partnerships
Quality Schools

Four Learning Domains

Foundational Knowledge and Skills: literacy, numeracy, and technology
Well-Rounded Content: social studies, sciences, languages, health arts, physical education etc.
Leadership and Reasoning: problem solving, design thinking, creativity, information analytics
Social-Emotional Learning: self-awareness and management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making

10 Priority Strategies

Highly effective teachers and leaders
Principal support
Teacher and instructional support
Standards reflect all learning domains
Assessments gauge all learning domains
Accountability system honors all learning domains
Meet needs of whole child
Expand Quality early learning
Develop literacy skills
Transform high school/provide more paths to graduation

Unity

She said we need unity of purpose. Ohio is a local control state. That is why it is important to be engaged with your local school board. This is the level where you can best see what is happening in your district. She believes that the communication between educators and parents need to be improved.

Students are Different and Need a Portfolio

College is not for everyone. There are high-schools students starting new businesses right after high school.

She is big on mentoring. An extra caring adult in a child’s life makes a world of difference in achievement and lifetime goals for a student.

She suggests that students develop a portfolio of what they have done. The whole student is what is now important. College entrance exams (ACT and SAT) keep having lowered importance and have even been eliminated in some schools, including some Ivy League schools.

Thank You

Thank you, Charlotte McGuire, for joining us to educate CNO about your work on the Ohio Board of Education

New Member Readings and Inductions

No readings or inductions this week.

Welcome Guests!

Welcome Doug Flanders – now in new member readings – sponsored by Joe Madden.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Carolyn Taylor	$10 for today’s speaker, Charlotte McGuire
Jean Pummill	$10 because her eBay store has reached number one on Google

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Gary DeMarco	January	20	1/20/2016	5
Jeff Kujawa	January	22	1/22/2015	6
Mike Yoder	January	22	1/22/2014	7
Mike Yoder	January	22	1/22/2014	7
John Thompson	January	23	1/23/2018	3
Greg Wasmund	January	25	1/25/2007	14

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Myron Rheaume	January 20
Gary Smiga	January 21
Todd Kelchner	January 24
Ruthy Quinlan	January 24
Martha Jackson	January 25

CNO Donations – 2013 through December 2020

Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants 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.

Links to Recorded Meeting and PowerPoint

This week’s Zoom meeting video is here

This week’s Zoom meeting podcast is here

A Copy of this Week’s Meeting PowerPoint Slide Deck is here

January 12, 2021 – Terry Welker – Big Art

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,

We look at the world around us, shake our heads, and wonder what has become of us. You tell us to “love your neighbor as yourself” yet we judge and condemn our neighbors based on the bumper sticker on their car, the flag they fly, or the sign in their yard. We fail to look past these things and truly get to know one another. Help us Lord to be the example. Help us to bridge the gap that seems to just grow larger and larger. Help us to spread love, peace, and optimism for a better world wherever we go.

Amen.

Committee Meetings

2/17/2021, 6 PM, Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf 2021, Zoom hosted by Mike Bevis. Meetings in 2021 will be on Wednesdays on 2/17, 3/17, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.
1/19/2021, 6 PM, Monthly Board of Directors Meeting, Zoom hosted by President Debe Dockins.

Terry Welker, Architect/Sculptor from Dayton, Ohio

Carolyn Taylor introduced Terry Welker, FAIA. He is an architect/sculptor from Dayton, Ohio. He received his Master of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati. He makes large scale suspended public art and temporary installations across the United States. As an arts advocate and frequent Pecha Kucha presenter, he challenges audiences to ‘see’ the world in new ways.

In 2012, he led a group of 30 artists to create the temporary “YOU ARE HERE” project. In 2018, he installed his permanent largest work to date, “FRACTAL RAIN,” at the downtown Dayton Metro Library, and “CONSTELLATION’ at Dayton Children’s Hospital. A more complete list of his projects are on this page.

As an architect, Welker serves as the Chief Building Official for the cities of Kettering and Oakwood and represents the Ohio Valley Region on the AIA Strategic Councilor. He also volunteers his time serving on Kettering’s public art commission.

His website, welkerstudio.com, is titled “Kinetic, Animating Space with Sculpture”. The site has a lot of pictures and videos of his work.

His presentation was called, “Big Art and other musings of Terry Welker, FAIA.”

Welker’s art is massive. His work is influenced by Alexander Calder’s work with hanging and standing mobile art. An example of big art that he really likes is the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.

Welker said, “For art, size and scale matters a lot.” He likes to make art that you sense with your whole being, not just your eyes.

Welker said he learns by trial and error as there are no books on creating large art. Part of his approach to art is that it be engaging to the community. He likes to create art for a building that makes it difficult to imagine the building without it. His art takes a lot of research and experimentation. He creates to- scale models and full-scale sections before starting the final product.

Welker said he really likes the shape of the leaves of the Ginkgo tree and he has created multiple pieces using the leaf’s shape. The Ginkgo tree is interesting because when it loses it leaves, they all drop within a couple of days as if all the leaves agree to go at the same time.

Thank you, Terry Welker, for sharing your passion for art and showing us many of your creations.

New Member Readings and Inductions

No readings or inductions this week.

Welcome Guests!

Welcome Doug Flanders – now in new member readings – sponsored by Joe Madden.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Greg Griffin	Gave $10 as Evelyn is back after being gone for 10 days.
Myron Rheaume	Glad to be out of the hospital and on the Zoom meeting today.
Debe Dockins	Laurie Brenner was her guest today.
Jean Pummill	Youngest grandaughter just turned 2 years old.
Sue Brubaker	She and Mike just saw their son and wife for first time in a year.

Memership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Susan Thomsen	January	14	1/14/1997	24
Deb Ulrich	January	18	1/18/2017	4
Dick Lee	January	18	1/18/2017	4
Lynne Reilly	January	18	1/18/2017	4
Pam Miller	January	18	1/18/2017	4
Shawn Thacker	January	18	1/18/2017	4

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Rob Jones	January 13
Bob Duffy	January 15
Barbara Santo	January 17

CNO Donations – 2013 through December 2020

Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants 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.

Links to Recorded Meeting and PowerPoint

This week’s Zoom meeting video is here

This week’s Zoom meeting podcast is here

January 5, 2021 – Amy Moeder – Community Tissue Services

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

Gracious and Holy Lord,

The new year brings with it 365 new possibilities, a hope for the future, inspiration for what may be and anticipation for what You have in store for us. As we look forward to this year ahead of us, we give You thanks for what we have learned and for how we have grown over the past year. Help us to move forward into 2021 with a sense of joy and optimism for this life and these opportunities you have granted us.

Amen.

Announcements

Gary Hansen, chair of the Will Cale Scholarship, announced the committee is reviewing the 3 students CHS gave them in December, 2020. He will be reaching out to CHS for more students. If you are interested in being a mentor, let Gary Hansen know as they are looking for more mentors.

Committee Meetings

1/13/2021, 6 PM, Tom Frazier Tee Off for Youth Golf 2021, Zoom hosted by golf committee chair Mike Bevis. Meetings in 2021 will be on Wednesdays on 1/13, 2/17, 3/17, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, and 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.
1/19/2021, 6 PM, Monthly Board of Directors Meeting, Zoom hosted by President Debe Dockins

Social Events

Debe Dockins announced that January 14, 2021 is national dress up your pet day. The Social Committee is holding a dress up your pet photo contest. Dress up your pets and send photos to Debe Dockins or Greg Griffin. The winner will win some opti-gear. The winner will be chosen by a vote of CNO members. On a personal note, the author of this blog (Patrick Arehart) voting preference will be for participants that dress up their goldfish or other pets that live in water.

Amy Moeder, Community Tissue Services

Debe Dockins introduced Amy Moeder, the marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Community Tissue Services where she has worked for 17 years.

Amy Moeder grew up in the Miami Valley region and is a graduate of the University of Dayton where she majored in marketing and worked at a local manufacturing company in marketing. Moeder has previously served on the Ohio Department of Health’s Second Chance Trust Fund Committee and is currently serving as secretary of Donate Life Ohio and serves on the Communications Committee of the American Association of Tissue Banks.

Amy Moeder came today to share what Community Tissue Services is and what they do for the world.

There are details in her slide deck, not in this article, which you can view here.

About Community Tissue Services

Non-profit, community-focused provider of a wide variety of human tissue grafts for transplant
Full-service tissue bank, providing authorization, donor eligibility, recovery, processing, storage, labeling, and distribution services
Began operations in Dayton, Ohio in 1986 with the recovery of tissue from four donors at the request of area surgeons
They distribute to 23 countries worldwide
They operate 3 shifts a day, plus a weekend shift

Mission

Extraordinary people transforming “the gift” to save and enhance lives.

Vision

The leading ethical and innovative partner of choice for quality and customer-focused biologic solutions.

Why is the website 125Lives.org?

From their website 125lives.org.

We each carry within us gifts enough to give life and hope to as many as 125 other people. Through tissue donation and Community Tissue Services, one life given makes renewed life possible for dozens nationwide and internationally. In the restored lives of these grateful recipients, the life and memory of donors lives on.

Injured athletes run again.
Bodies and lives ravaged by fire are mended and given hope.
Men and women bent with pain stand straight again and return to their lives.

Facilities

They have 10 tissue centers in the U.S. and 5 of these locations are tissue recovery locations. Additionally, they have 20+ partners across the U.S.

The current Kettering, Ohio facility is 94,000 square feet with 14 class 100 clean rooms with laminar air flow. It includes a 5,000 square foot engineering and development wing.

Their network keeps a strategic level of skin grafts on hand for disasters.

All locations are registered with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks. The Center for Tissue, Innovation and Research is certified to ISO 13485.

In Kettering, Ohio, Community Tissue Services are in the final phases of an expansion project. Over 200 new jobs will be created. They will more than double the current area footprint and add another 16 class 100 clean rooms. This will further their mission of providing lifesaving and life enhancing tissue grafts across the country and around the world. They expect to be in the new building in March of 2021.

They normally offer facility tours, but not during COVID. High Schools bring groups of students through. These tours often lead to future employees for Community Tissue Services.

Tissue Donations

The donation process begins when a death or imminent death is reported to a call center. They determine if organs could be donated and contact Life Connection of Ohio. Next, if tissues can be used, they check the Ohio Donor Registry and contact the next of kin and offer the opportunity to donate.

Approved donors are transported to the Dayton Facility. Tissue recovery takes 4-6 hours. After recovery they reconstruct the body and suture the incision sites. Next, the donor is transported to a funeral home. The process does not prevent families from having an open casket funeral.

The tissue is quarantined until all testing is complete. After testing, a medical director evaluates all donor medical records and test results to determine eligibility.

Types of Processing Sessions

Traditional
CNC
Cellular
Specialty including Dental and Birth Tissue

Bubba the Bear Program

Provides comfort for children with severe burns
Available in English and Spanish
The kit given to kids include:
Interactive reading and coloring book
Plush bear
Cinch bag
Set of crayons

Tissue Examples

Heart Valves can be lifesaving to children born with absent or damaged heart valves and to adults with life-threatening cardiac defects

Veins are used for vascular disease surgeries such as heart by-pass. For those who have lost circulation in their legs, donated veins can help avoid leg amputation.

Ligaments and tendons are most often used to repair athletic related injuries, such as knee and joint surgery.

Bone grafts are used to repair or replace bone after serious injury, bone cancer or crippling disease. Other uses are for spine surgery, joint reconstruction and trauma.

Skin grafts are typically used to treat patients with severe burns. It is a temporary cover which decreases pain, lowers the risk of infection and controls fluid loss while a patient’s own skin heals.

Q and A

Q. Hos is Community Tissue Services funded?

A. They are a non-profit. They charge a processing fee based on their actual costs.

Q. Are skin grafts typed and matched for blood type like organ transplants?

A. Blood type matching is not necessary. Tissues go through lots of sterilization. The length or size of the graft is important.

Thank You

Thank you, Amy Moeder, for joining us to educate CNO about Community Tissue Services.

Welcome Guests!

Welcome Doug Flanders – now in new member readings – sponsored by Joe Madden.

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Debe Dockins	Happy Myron Rheaume was on the Zoom meeting today.
Gary Hansen	He and Nancy are celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary.
Roberta Taylor	On 12/12/2020 her granddaughter graduated in electrical engineering from Wright State.
Roberta Taylor	Today is the second day on the job for her granddaughter who just received her electrical engineering degree.
Carolyn Taylor	Her mother will be receiving a COVID vaccine on 1/19/2020.
Beth Duncan	Happy it is now 2021.

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Greg McAfee	January	7	1/7/2008	13
John Speers	January	7	1/7/2008	13

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Ted Humphrey	January 7
Wilma Quarin	January 8
Laura Caschera	January 8
Don Massie	January 10
Bill Williams	January 11
Jordan Feldkamp	January 11
Jesse Gaither	January 11
Candace Rinke	January 11

CNO Donations – 2013 through December 2020

Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants 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.

Links to Recorded Meeting and PowerPoint

This week’s Zoom meeting video is here

This week’s Zoom meeting podcast is here

December 22, 2020 – Erik Oberg – USO – Wright Patterson AFB

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

In honor of the Christmas Star and Christmas, I chose to share adapted prayers from Mary Had a Baby by Cheryl Kirk-Duggan and Marilyn E. Thornton.

Dear God,

Lead us and guide us with the bright light of your teachings. Give us the wisdom of the three kings and the faith of the shepherds and let us rise from our complacency and follow you. Give us the ears to hear, the insight to understand, the desire to share, and the obedience to go. Instill in us the desire to spread your message wherever you may lead us.

Amen.

Special Announcement

There is no Zoom meeting on 12/29/2020.

Announcements

Debe Dockins appreciated seeing members that were able to pick up their handbooks at Yankee Trace last week. If you did not pick yours up, it will be mailed to you.

Happy Birthday President Debe Dockins!

Today was Debe Dockin’s birthday. I wonder if a sitting CNO president has been serenaded by her constituents in the past!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Debe was hoping that the singing today would be horrible! We did not disappoint. Tom Novak led our “choir” in the singing of Happy Birthday.

She had a huge smile on her face that kept getting bigger as the song went on. The singing was so bad that after today’s meeting I quickly put on some 80’s music to recalibrate my ears!

Happy Birthday, Debe, and thanks for your excellent work as CNO president 2020-2021!

Erik Oberg, USO

Debe Dockins introduced Erik Oberg, the Center Operations and Programs Manager of Wright-Patterson United Service Organization (USO) of Central and Southern Ohio.

He began his employment with the USO in September, 2019. As Programs Manager, he oversees the operation of the facility and the delivery of programs which seek to boost the morale of service members and their families stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB and around the Miami Valley. In this role, he also engages dozens of USO volunteers and maintains the USO relationship with the base and community leaders. He helps raise funds to support USO activities.

Erik is an Air Force veteran. He grew up in an Air Force family, served five years in the Air Force and spent an additional nineteen years as an Air Force spouse until his wife retired in August, 2019. He is enjoying his job supporting our next generation of service members very much.

The USO is celebrating 80 years and the WPAFB USO is celebrating 5 years.

Erik thanked CNO for its donation for the USO annual Christmas party. Stations included Candy Cane Lane, Hot Chocolate and Crafts! He said the Candy Cane Lane was a huge success. Cars were circling around the building to get their goodies on their way to see Santa and Mrs. Claus. There were over 20 volunteers in costumes of snowmen, elves and reindeers.

The weather was not cooperative the day of the party, so they consolidated the stations into one station under the shelter at the front of the building. The bags they handed out included hot chocolate and a craft kit, which included kits to make a scarf and reindeer antlers.

The USO had 180 families sign up for the event on 12/12/2020. They had to limit it to 100 families. On 12/22/2020, they will hold it again for the rest of the families.

In the evening after the event, they had 63 families log in to Zoom with Santa for 25 minutes. There was a soldier playing a saxophone and the participants sang Christmas carols. They read letters to Santa that the kids had sent in. One of the mothers sent a video of her very excited child hearing his letter read aloud on the Zoom meeting.

Testimonials about Candy Cane Lane

Thanks USO! We really appreciate our meal and bag of goodies! Can’t wait for zoom with Santa!
My children had an amazing time at Candy Cane Lane. Thank you.
Thank you for the amazing gifts and story with Santa!
We had such a great time and dinner, really appreciate you and the team!!! Merry Christmas.

Operating During COVID

WPAFB USO center suspended normal operations March 15, 2020 but they never stopped serving. One of the first changes they made was to allow puzzles to be reserved and borrowed for use at home. Since the base and the members of the service didn’t shut down, the Wright-Patt USO didn’t want to shut down.

They have received generous (multiple pallets) donations of Girl Scout Cookies and Monster Energy Drink.

They re-opened the building on 10/19/2020 after changing the floor plan to comply with COVID safety protocols. The furniture was moved to the auditorium and spread out.

Donors have been helping as much as in previous years. No employees of the Wright-Patt USO have had to be laid off.

2020 Accomplishments

Despite COVID they made a lot of repairs and upgrades to their building:

New air conditioning system was installed
New flooring was installed in the auditorium
New signage was installed
The food buffet had new sneeze guards installed
They added more computers and better WiFi
Numerous walls were painted
New drains were installed
Flowers were planted

WPAFB USO Center programming

Care Packages are assembled and sent. They are trying to push some USO joy out of the building since they can’t have too many people in. They send care packages to the hospital and to those quarantined.

Before going overseas, 200 soldiers at a time are spending 2-3 weeks in isolation at WPAFB. The USO has been working to keep their morale up.

They are impacting more families during COVID than before. The building can handle 35 families at a time for an event. Now they can have 100 families sign up for drive through events. They have had 8 drive through events so far.

The USO building houses the airmen’s attic, which is a thrift store that does not charge its customers. During the closure, they re-organized the space. They accept donations of clothing, uniforms, small housewares and toys. Service families can take anything they need for free and they have 50-80 airmen visiting per week. It is available for service families getting started, so usually age 35 and under. They can pick up to 10 items per week. Erik believes WPAFB USO is the only USO Center in the world that has an airmen’s attic service.

Odds and ends

Operation Birthday Cake is in place, which means they deliver birthday cakes.

The USO had their normal Holiday Cookie drive, but his year it was a candy drive instead. Each visitor received a bag of candy.

For Thanksgiving, volunteers assembled over 100 meals that were picked up or delivered.

Global USO COVID effects

COVID has caused the largest National Guard Deployment Since WWII
167 centers are open and 70 still closed
Programs worldwide have adapted for COVID
The organization is strong going into 2021

Virtual Entertainment Programming has taken off during COVID

Entertainers and sports celebrities have been meeting virtually in small groups with service personnel. Entertainers have included Bill Nye, Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. There have been NASCAR drivers and pro WWE wrestlers as well as other sports celebrities.

Closing

Erik said thank you again to the Centerville Noon Optimist Club for our continued support!

Thank you, Erik Oberg, for joining us today. It was great to see the happy faces of kids at the parties. Thanks for all the work WPAFB USO does.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Casey Dixon	Jeff Umbreit	Induction
Doug Flanders	Joe Madden	2nd Reading

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Bob Burkman	His 58th wedding anniversary with Carol Burkman will be 12/29/2020.
Debe Dockins	Thanks to CNO for singing Happy Birthday to her today.
Debe Dockins	Thanks to Erik Oberg of Wright-Patt USO for presenting today.
Jesse Lightle	Thank you to CNO for installing several flags in front of the rec center for the funeral processional for firefighter Lt. Jeff Guernsey who died Dec 3. 2020 at age 52 due to complications of COVID.

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Scott Langer	December	30	12/30/1997	23
Bill Stone	January	1	1/1/1977	44
Bob Duffy	January	1	1/1/1988	33
Jim Rumford	January	1	1/1/1990	31
Paul Stull	January	1	1/1/1970	31
Will Cale	January	1	1/1/1976	45
John Carroll	January	3	1/3/2012	9

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Paul Boeckman	December 22
Debe Dockins	December 22
Steve Mock	December 25
Jeff Papanek	December 26
Dave Kay	December 27
Molly Petsch	December 28
Christine Balsan	December 28
Kelly Stone	December 29
Sonny Singhvi	January 1
Rafael Santillan	January 1
Joe Madden	January 3

CNO Donations 2013 through October 2020

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

Over the past 53 years, we donated over $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $712,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

Doug Flanders – Guest of Joe Madden – WELCOME Doug!

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

The Meeting Pod cast is here
Due to WPAFB USO Security Policies – we are not providing a copy of the PowerPoint nor Zoom Video on the website this week since men and women serving in the military are pictured in many of the images included in the presentation

December 11, 2020 – Holiday Party and Christian D. Larson Awards

2020 Christian D. Larson Awards and Holiday Party

Tonight, we celebrated the holiday season on Zoom. Social committee co-chairs Sarah Umbreit and Sue Jessee organized a great evening.

We started off with a half hour of socializing. Additionally, during this half hour was modelling for the ugly sweater contest. Sue Brubaker took first place in the ugly sweater contest and received gift cards to DLM ($20) and Arrow Wine ($20). Gary Hansen took second place in the ugly sweater contest and received gift cards to DLM ($10), Archers ($10) and Arrow Wine ($10).

Next, the 2020 Christian D. Larson awards were presented. Sarah Umbreit introduced the previous year’s Christian D. Larson award winners and they each introduced a winner from this year. Each award was delivered in person to the home of the new recipient by last year’s recipient. Each was caught on video and it was really great to see the surprise on the winner’s faces. Thank you to last year’s recipients for their great job presenting this year’s winners and the effort it took to pre-record the remarks and deliver the awards in person.

After the awards were presented, Sue Jessee presented a Holiday Trivia Contest. There were 10 holiday-based questions. 1^st and 2^nd place all received $20 gift cards. The winners were Will and Sylvia Cale. Tied for second were The DeMarcos, The Linders, The Aikens, Karl Frydryk, and Larry Lynde.

Congratulations to the three 2020-2021 Christian D. Larson Award recipients: Barbara Santo, Larry Lynde and Vida McDowell!

Barbara Santo Christian D. Larson Award Recipient 2020

(notes from Roy Barclay, last year’s winner)

And now I have the honor of presenting the first of this year’s honorees.

This award winner joined our club over twenty years ago.

Since then, she has been a consistent attendee at noon meetings.

She has faithfully served on the Tree Lot, as a worker, soup provider, and as a co-captain.

She has been highly involved with the Build-A-Bear, Adopt-A-Child, and Childhood Cancer projects.

She has both attended and hosted many CNO social events, and in fact, has served as the Adult Social Chairperson many years.

She has organized the Birthday Table many years with outstanding and clever arrangements.

She has served on the Board of Directors.

And the best of all (maybe before tonight’s award) she has been named Optimist of The Year.

Congratulations to Barbara Santo!

Barbara Santo has been a member of CNO since 3/9/1999.

Larry Lynde Christian D. Larson Award Recipient 2020

(notes from Gail Aiken, last year’s winner)

This person has been a longtime member of our club. I have known and worked with this person on many projects and events.

This person has helped with Avenue of flags, tree lot delivery day as well as captain of a tree lot team.

This person helped with the golf outing even though their golf skills are in question?

This person is Prather Phil’s best organizer for birthday celebrations.

This person helped with the Haunted Trail and did whatever was needed when asked. This person has an optimistic attitude not only when participating in our club activities but at meetings and beyond.

This person is a former President of our club and made everyone smile with his wit and crazy sense of humor.

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now who it is.

And the winner is Larry Lynde!

Larry Lynde has been a member of CNO since 9/1/1988.

Vida McDowell Christian D. Larson Award Recipient 2020

(notes from Joan Cordonnier, last year’s winner)

Our next recipient has been an active member with the club since she joined over 21 years ago.

She has consistently volunteered over the years in many of the club’s regular activities such as:

Americana Festival 5K Race

Americana Root Beer Float Stand

Christmas Tree Lot

Haunted Trail Guide

Social committee

Avenue of Flags – not only active with delivery and retrieval on the flag holidays but has helped since the very beginning of the program in her neighborhood, which was the first LARGE neighborhood for our club. She continues to contact new neighbors as they move in and helps every Spring in contacting neighbors to make sure they have re-enrolled.

But there are 2 specific committees that our club has been extremely lucky to have this person’s talents for: the Golf Outing raffle baskets and the Holiday Silent Auction. This person works tirelessly collecting items all year long for these events, then helps to group items and put together baskets that are beautiful and bring in thousands of dollars each year and she has done this for just about as long as she has been in the club!

On top of being active in the committees mentioned above, this person has also served in the leadership of this club as a member of the Board of Directors and the Long-Range Planning committee.

And in the tradition of saving the best for last: this person was awarded Optimist of the Year in 2007.

Congratulations to Vida McDowell!

Vida McDowell has been a member of CNO since 4/19/1999.

Details about the Christian D. Larson Award

In return for each $1000/year donated to the Optimist Foundation from each OI club, a club can select a recipient of the prestigious Christian D. Larson award.

The following was presented by Roy Barclay

Good evening.

I am Roy Barclay and tonight, along with Joan Cordonnier and Gail Aiken, we will be presenting this year’s Christian D. Larson Award winners.

The Christian D. Larson Award is Optimist International’s most prestigious. This award is a lifetime achievement recognition given to a person who has exemplified outstanding service to both our community as a whole and The Centerville Noon Optimist Club in particular.

The award was named in honor of Mr. Larson because he was the author of the well-known Optimist Creed, which was written in 1912 and is what we Optimists live by each day. In the over one hundred years of Optimist International, with hundreds of thousands of members, fewer than 800 individuals worldwide have been accorded this honor, 30 of whom are from our club, including four “couples” winners – the Maddens, Stones, Aikens, and Barclays.

Each year our club donates half of the proceeds from the tickets purchased for the 50/50 drawing, along with all of the money raised through the Sergeant-at-Arms fines and happy bucks during our noon meetings. This money goes to the Optimist International Foundation for the purpose of supporting its charitable, literary, and educational activities. In return, for each one thousand dollars donated, Optimist International Foundation grants our club the privilege of presenting a Christian D. Larson Award.

In 2007 our Board of Directors voted to present the Christian D. Larson Award to our club members in order to recognize their positive contributions over a long period of time. Our Optimist Board had selected all of the recipients from 2007 to 2012. But in 2013 they decided that going forward it would be best decided by our growing group of past Larson Award recipients.

Each new honoree must have a minimum of ten years in the club, have held leadership positions, contributed greatly to both the community and our club, exhibited a positive optimistic attitude, and volunteered consistently over many years actively enhancing the club’s formula for success.

Because of the unfortunate situations we all have to deal with this year, I cannot really ask our past winners to “stand”. But I will quickly read through the names (in order of winning the award) and ask that these folks give a wave as your name is read.

They are:

Steve Fisher, Margaret Barclay, Phil Robinson, Joe Madden, Jerry Stahley, Chuck Dickerson, Jim Hawley, Bill Stone, Gary Aiken, Judy DeMarco, Dan Beck, Gary Smiga, Kelly Stone, Mike Bevis, Tom Novak, Gary Anderson, Will Cale, Don Kelley, Charlie Tapp, Bob Burkman, Nancy Lehren, Pat Behn, Mary Madden, Myron Rheaume, Tom Frazier, Stan Fronzaglia, Karl Frydryk, Joan Cordonnier, Gail Aiken, and Roy Barclay.

Thank you all!

Meeting Links

A Replay of the ZOOM Holiday Party is Here

December 8, 2020 – Youth Appreciation Awards Presentations

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

1 Timothy 4:12 – “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”

Heavenly Father,

Throughout the Bible, we have examples of young people doing amazing things. David was a boy when he killed Goliath. Jeremiah was around 14 when you called him and Samuel was 12. Josiah was only 8 when he became king of Jerusalem. Today, as we award our Annual Youth Appreciation Awards, help us to remember the amazing things our children and youth are capable of and never to doubt their abilities.

Amen.

Special Announcement

There is no meeting on 12/15/2020. Our next meeting will be 12/22/2020 at noon.

Announcements

Patrick Arehart, technology committee, announced that there is now a donation page on the CNO website. Click here to view the page. Donors can choose any amount they wish to donate.

Debe Dockins announced the Fire Stick winners for the Dime-A-Day contest are Beth Duncan and Wendy Hattan.

Christy Gariety, Adopt-a-Family committee, announced that CNO members donated 46 $50 gift cards for Adopt-a-Family.

Happy Birthday Jeff Umbreit

Today was Jeff Umbreit ’s birthday. Patrick Arehart led the singing today for the first time and he failed miserably. Even Zoom’s audio optimizers could not reduce the awful screeching version of the song Happy Birthday to You. It was, however, sung with love. Happy Birthday Jeff, and may you have a great year.

Tom Henderson, Youth Appreciation Awards

Debe Dockins introduced Dr. Tom Henderson, the superintendent of Centerville City Schools. Seniors Jade Eilers, Abigail Lachman and Emma Schutter were honored for their leadership, service and involvement in high school and community activities.

Henderson said thank you to CNO for the opportunity to recognize these students. He introduced the principles of CHS.

CHS Principals

East Unit Principle, Mr. Jack Durnbaugh
South Unit, Mr. Chuck Cowgill
West Unit, Mr. Jeff Wolff
Coordinating Principle, Mr. John Caroll

Henderson shared some information for the benefit of our numerous honorees and visitors today about what CNO is and what we do for the youth of our community

All three recipients will receive a “Star” plaque and a gift card for lunch. Normally, they receive lunch in person at our weekly, in-person, CNO meetings.

Henderson introduced Guidance Counselor from each Unit who then introduced each student.

Abigail Lachman

CHS East Unit Guidance Counselor Samantha Stingley presented Abigail Lachman.

Lachman was nominated for the award for her academic record and commitment to service.

“Abby’s character truly sets her apart from her peers and speaks to the high level of intellectual and personal maturity that she exudes,” said Stingley. “Simply put, students at Centerville look to Abby as a role model and a person to emulate while our staff respects her and praises her ability to serve from the front.”

Lachman serves as president of the CHS Key Club and a deacon of her church, Westminster Presbyterian, and works as a server at Bethany Village, which has been particularly challenging as she has been serving one of our community’s most vulnerable populations amid an international pandemic.

Lachman is excited for the future and she is certain the preparation that CHS has given her has prepared her for college.

Emma Schutter

CHS South Unit Guidance Counselor Beth Buck presented Emma Schutter.

Schutter is seen as a leader at school and in the community.

“Emma’s exceptional work ethic and community-minded attitude is inspiring,” said Buck. “She is a thoughtful, talented young woman, who will undoubtedly continue to contribute to the world in a positive way.”

Schutter has exceled in honors and advanced placement level coursework, in addition to being a captain of the CHS varsity softball team and a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions, Building Our Lives Drug Free and Lunch Buddies.

Schutter said she is honored to be considered for this award since there are so many other students in her class.

Schutter is grateful to CNO and remembers participating in CNO’s Tri-Star basketball events.

Jade Eilers

CHS West Unit Guidance Counselor Kensie Miller presented Jade Eilers.

Eilers was nominated because of her impressive devotion to service and committing to a drug free life and spreading that message. She has accumulated more than 1,000 hours of community service, has spoken at the United Nations, has her own Ted Talk and has been in numerous theatre productions.

“With such an impressive resume, Jade remains a humble, kind and passionate young woman,” Miller said. “She has an impressive 4.2 GPA and will receive an honors diploma upon graduation. She has overcome obstacles that have been placed before her and has come out on top. I am so excited to see what Jade does next!”

Eilers thanked CNO. Her community service is centered around drug prevention. She enjoys giving talks that encourage kids to lead a drug-free life.

Closing

Henderson went on to say that there are a lot of outstanding students at CHS and these are three exemplary examples.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Casey Dixon	Jeff Umbreit	3rd Reading
Doug Flanders	Joe Madden	1st Reading

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Debe Dockins	Her Christmas Tree is up
Debe Dockins	3 happy bucks for today’s three honorees
Debe Dockins	Tom Henderson for doing a difficult job well
Greg Griffin	3 happy bucks for today’s three honorees
Jeff Umbreit	50 happy bucks for his and wife Sarah Umbreit’s 50th birthdays today and yesterday

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Paul Boeckman	December	9	12/9/1994	26
Roland Rapp	December	10	12/10/2002	18
Tom Novak	December	13	12/13/1990	30

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Jeff Umbreit	December 8
Patrick Arehart	December 10
Jay Schindler	December 10
Penny Culhane	December 11
Erin Dickerson	December 12
Pete Rife	December 13
Cheryl Dowd	December 16
Bill Stone	December 16
Liz Fultz	December 18

CNO Donations 2013 through October 2020

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

Over the past 53 years, we donated over $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $712,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

Casey Dixon – Guest of Jeff Umbreit – WELCOME Casey and Doug Flanders – Guest of Joe Madden – WELCOME Doug!

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

December 1, 2020 – Dennis Grant – United Rehabilitation Services

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,

As we look outside our windows on this first day of December, we see a fresh blanket of snow. How appropriate a symbol to remind us of your love and the grace you give us as we prepare for important religious holidays in both the Jewish and Christian faiths. Hanukkah, in the Jewish faith, celebrating freedom from oppression and of religious expression. The eight days and candles symbolizing the miracle of the last bit of oil lasting for eight nights. Christmas, in the Christian faith, celebrating the birth of Your son, Jesus Christ and the miracle of the virgin birth. Both holidays honoring You and the miracles You have granted. During this time of preparation, help guide us body, mind, and spirit to prepare our hearts for You.

Amen.

Announcements

Tom Novak, Avenue of Flags, announced that it was an awesome year for Avenue of Flags. Thanks to everyone who volunteered.

Committee Meetings

Nancy Lehren announced that the annual nominating committee meeting will be held on December 9, 2020 at 6 PM via Zoom. Those involved will be emailed soon.

Social Events

The annual Holiday Party will be virtual this year. It will be on Friday, December 11, 2020 at 6:30PM. Everyone is invited and there is no cost to attend. Christian D. Larsen Awards for lifetime achievement will be awarded to members of CNO. The ugly holiday sweater contest will begin at 6:30 with prizes for originality. At 7 PM will be the Award Presentation. At 7:30, there will be a Holiday Trivia contest.

Dennis Grant, United Rehabilitation Services

Debe Dockins introduced Dennis Grant, the Executive Director of United Rehabilitation Services of Greater Dayton at the Charles D. Berry Center (URS), an organization that protects the rights of individuals with disabilities. Dennis has worked with children and adults with disabilities and their families since 1976 and has been with URS over 19 years.

Under his leadership, URS has dramatically expanded the scope of services offered and tripled the number of clients and families serviced. URS has dropped the combined administrative and fundraising costs from a high of over 32% in 2001 to below 10% since 2012.

Click this for the URS Facebook page.

You can view the slide deck here.

Look through his slide deck to see several great pictures of their clients and the facility. There are inside and outside pictures. Included are pictures of the wooden gateway that CNO donated.

Grant thanked CNO for our financial and moral support.

Because of COVID-19, they created a Virtual Tour of URS which is included in the slide deck. No guests are being allowed inside the building. Studies have shown that people with disabilities have twice the chance of getting COVID-19 and as much as 10 times higher chance of it resulting in death. URS has been very careful. When Ohio fully reopens you are encouraged to come for an in-person tour.

URS has been meeting the needs of children and adults with disabilities and their families since 1956.

Services

Childcare Services with 5-Star Rated Early Childhood Education and School-Age Programs for children with and without special needs, ages 6 weeks through 17 years; They offer these services for siblings without special needs so parents only have to drop off one place each day; Pre-school services are through a partnership with Head Start Services and it provides “Get Set for Schools” programming
Socially Engaging Programs for adults and seniors with art, music, gardening, fitness, cultural and community-inclusion opportunities
Vocational Training and work experiences including a “2nd Shift” Option
Employment Services with career exploration, work site assessment and training, as well as job coaching and placement services to help everyone achieve their personal employment goals
Senior Daycare Program
On-site Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Clinic
On-site Nursing Services
Full kitchen providing hot nutritious meals with both breakfast and lunch available

During COVID Services

They have had to get creative for both onsite and virtual services
Onsite therapies are happening
The adult day program normally can serve 135 clients, but it has been reduced to 60
In 2020 they found employment for 75 clients, which is good for any year
They are offering virtual performances for dance, ballet and opera through partnerships with Muse Machine and the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.

Funding Information

The CARES Act provided funds for purchasing technology that helped with being able to provide virtual services during COVID-19
They receive funding from donors and grants
They received $800K in state funds for 2020, but with expected state cuts they expect it to only be $150K for 2021
They expect a $400K budget shortfall in funds for 2021

Questions and Answers

Q. Could URS use additional volunteers during and after COVID?
A. URS has restricted volunteer access and it is limited mostly to outdoors. Volunteers have been putting together instructional packets and lesson plans for remote learning. Once COVID-19 restrictions are gone, they would be interested in volunteers from CNO.

Q. Where do you get clients from geographically?
A. URS has a lot of unique capabilities. They have the only pediatric facility of their type among the counties of Montgomery, Miami, Clark, and Shelby and this is where most clients come from.

Q. Has URS received grants from The Dayton Foundation?
A. Yes, the Dayton Foundation has been very good to URS. They gave $50,000 to URS in 2020.

Additional information about Dennis Grant

Dennis Grant is a Licensed Counselor in the State of Ohio and holds an MA in Rehabilitation Counseling and a BS in Special Education both from the University of Cincinnati.

Grant has served

Four terms on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Provider Resource Association (PTRA) for organizations serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Three terms on the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
Four terms on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Greater Dayton Area ending in September 2017
Five terms as President of the Alliance of Executives, which represents Dayton area social service agencies

Thank you, Dennis Grant, for joining us to educate CNO about United Rehabilitation Services (URS).

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Casey Dixon	Jeff Umbreit	2nd Reading

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Debe Dockins	CNO member Jesse Lightle received the Administrator of the Year award from the Montgomery County Township Association.
Nancy Lehren	Thanks to Dennis Grant of URS for speaking to CNO today.
Beth Duncan	Thanks to Dennis Grant of URS for speaking to us today, plus she just feels good to be part of CNO and the work we do.

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Dan Beck	December	1	12/1/1981	39
Gary Smiga	December	1	12/1/1985	35
Roberta Taylor	December	6	12/6/1995	25

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Paul Bowell	December 3
Nancy Lehren	December 5
Marilyn Abbott	December 6
Bill DeShurko	December 6
Sarah Umbreit	December 7
Matt Somerlot	December 7

CNO Donations 2013 through October 2020

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

Over the past 53 years, we donated over $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $712,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

Casey Dixon – Guest of Jeff Umbreit – WELCOME Casey!

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

November 24, 2020 – Nick Scrimenti – Muralist

Erin Dickerson’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Though this year has been tough, and our holidays will look different, Lord, we have so much to be thankful for. We are thankful for technology and the ability to still meet with our friends and family. We are thankful for a slower pace of life and time to connect with those near us. We are thankful for roofs over our heads and food to nourish our bodies. Above all Lord, we are thankful for You and this life you have blessed us with.

Amen.

Gary Hansen was today’s host

Debe Dockins was unable to be at today’s meeting. President-Elect Gary Hansen stepped in to run today’s meeting and he did a fine job.

Announcements

Gary Hansen reported on behalf of Christy Gariety about the 2020 Adopt-a-Family program. The program was very successful. We have collected more than 40 $50 gift cards to help children in need in our schools. Thanks to all that donated to this annual fundraiser.

Kristen Marks, Essay Contest Chair, announced that there have been two essay submissions so far. She will reach out to the teachers in the schools again to get more kids interested. The winner of the essay contest receives a scholarship. The essays are due in February. Way to go becoming a committee chair Kristen! She was inducted into CNO 2/18/2020 and is already making a difference!

Social Events

Nick Scrimenti, Muralist

Greg Griffin introduced Nick Scrimenti, an artist and muralist originally from Dayton, Ohio and now residing in Cincinnati. He holds a bachelor’s in fine arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Cincinnati.

As a classically trained painter, visual artist, and experienced muralist, Nick has significant experience translating drawn or painted imagery into large-scale public art, as well as teaching.

Nick has been an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton, Miami University, and the University of Cincinnati. He is also one of a select few artists who are part of the Winsor & Newton Artist Outreach Program. The Artists Outreach Program travels to universities and art academies, demonstrating Winsor & Newtons paints, mediums, and techniques.

Scrimenti has many notable high-profile murals he worked on including the Kroger Corporate Headquarters Mural, the Samuel Adams Brewery Mural and many more. His personal work has been exhibited throughout the country and he’s been invited as a visiting artist to many well-known art schools including The Ohio State University, Michigan University, Cleveland Institute of Art, Herron College of Art and Design, Kansas City Art Institute, University of Wisconsin, The Art Academy of Cincinnati and many others.

For the last 11 years Scrimenti has made his living by creating large scale art and teaching.

His mural and sign painting website is here. There are dozens of pictures on this site of his work.

The slide deck has a lot of great pictures of finished and in process murals. You can view the slide deck here.

Nick credits his mural career to and continues to work with Art Works Cincinnati, a nonprofit that transforms people and places through investments in creativity. The organization provides youth, ages 14-21, with the majority from underserved households, with competitive 21st century career readiness skills through mentorship by professional artists. He instructs apprentices and they get paid.

Besides murals he also paints old fashioned style signs that are hung in front of businesses. This type of art was almost extinct, but recently has seen a resurgence. Conventional plastic and vinyl signs do not offer the human look that hand painted signs have.

Nick really likes painting large scale murals. It can be challenging since painting an 8-foot orange is very different than a 3-inch orange.

There are several steps to go from mural design to the wall. He first starts with a grid over the design and the wall. He factors in the proportions available on the target wall. His grid system usually is 4’ x 4’ squares and occasionally 2’ x 2’ squares. The initial painting is filled in with large areas of blocked color, like a coloring book.

Notable Mural Projects

Kroger Corporate Headquarters
Samuel Adams Brewery
Rhinegiest Brewery
Kenner Toy Mural
Miami Beach Art Basel
Aurora Indiana Mural River Stage Mural
Hamilton, Ohio Mural
Cobblers Apprentice Mural
Dayton Mall (inside the mall)

Nick’s Hamilton mural was featured in the movie “Dark Waters,” and he was listed in the end credits. The movie stars Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman.

Scrimenti said, “The Kroger Mural was like his baby. It took a long time to create, but it came out great. It looks 3D and might be the largest still life ever painted.”

Scrimenti mixes his own paint out of special acrylic outdoor paint that holds up to the effects of the sun so it doesn’t fade.

Question and Answer

Q. How do you begin to price a project?

A. He starts with the square footage of the wall and then combines that with the time it has taken in the past per square foot.

Q. How long will your murals last on the side of a building?

A. If it is clean, primed, and uses the right paint, Nova Color products, it will last at least 20 years. He puts a clear coat on top of it that will extend that time and make it easier to clean. His first project was done 11 years ago, and he can’t see any changes in the color for that project.

Q. How do you apply the paint?

A. He prefers to use a brush. If there is a large giant area, he will use spray. Sometimes he can roll a large area, but most of the buildings are old and beat up, so you end up using a brush anyway.

Q. What project took the longest?

A. The Kenner Toy Mural took from June to November. The Art Works organization finds a lot of donors that give generously to allow these projects to happen.

Q. How does the weather affect your work?

A. The weather is a concern. They paint projects from the top to bottom so if it does rain, it doesn’t mess up parts that are finished. There have been some mistakes made by interns that have cost a lot of time because of rain.

Q. Do you have safety concerns?

A. Workers overheating is the primary concern. If the project is not shaded it is very uncomfortable, especially while wearing the required hard hat. Nick can easily drink 2 gallons of water in a day. He typically loses 15 pounds per summer. The scaffolding and height do not bother him.

Q. Do college students help you and receive college credit?

A. In a way. Students don’t get credit necessarily, but the job can count as a required internship.

Thank you, Nick Scrimenti, for joining the CNO meeting today to show us your work and give us a perspective of how challenging creating murals on a large scale is.

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name	Sponsor	1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Casey Dixon	Jeff Umbreit	1st Reading

Happy Bucks

Member	Reason
Myron Rheaume	Happy that Charla is using a positive attitude and recovering from her broken leg.
Greg Griffin	Gary Hansen did a great job running today’s meeting.

Membership Anniversaries

Member	Month	Day	Joined	# Years
Andy Dickerson	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Erin Dickerson	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Gareth Dickey	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Mariah Vogelgesang	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Rick Altvater	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Ron Kuker	November	24	11/24/2018	2
Jay McAlpine	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Jayne Weikel	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Nancy Anderson	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Patrick Arehart	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Rhonda Meeker	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Rick Talda	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Robby Johnson	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Ryan Fay	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Sharon Silverberg	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Shelby DiPasquale	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Sonny Singhvi	November	27	11/27/2017	3
Jesse Lightle	November	28	11/28/2006	14
Liz Fultz	November	29	11/29/2015	5
Ted Humphrey	November	29	11/29/2001	19

Birthdays

Member	Birthday
Natalie King Dunlevey	November 24
Tom Beery	November 29
Denny Cottle	November 29
Nancy Anderson	November 30

CNO Donations 2013 through October 2020

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

Over the past 53 years, we donated over $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $712,000.

Sergeants at Arms

No Sergeants this week.

Welcome Guests!

Casey Dixon – Guest of Jeff Umbreit – WELCOME Casey!

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.