Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Lord,
In this, the last week in the Christian season of Advent, may we all take time to reflect on Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. May we never lose hope that we have the power to make the world a better place, one small act at a time. May we find peace within our hearts each day knowing we did our very best. May we find joy, not only in big moments and grand gestures, but also in the everyday little ones. May we feel Your love surround us and share that same love with all those we meet. And may we live this, not only during the season of Advent, but in every season of our lives.
Amen.
Installation of Jim Mogan to the CNO Board of Directors
Debe Dockins, the Lt Governor for District 7 of the Great Ohio District of Optimist International, installed Jim Mogan to the Board of Directors today since he was not able to attend the Installation dinner in September.
Happy Birthday Cindy Gaboury
Today was Cindy Gaboury’s birthday. Cindy put on a set of noise reduction safety earmuffs before coming up to the front of the room. The earmuffs were the kind airport workers use while working next to jet engines. She knew what was coming.
Before we started singing, Joan wanted to do it a little differently. There are so many people with December birthdays she asked them all to stand up and be sung to, with, of course, Cindy being the main person celebrated.
Bob Duffy led us in singing Happy Birthday. Cindy is probably the only one that went home without a headache.
December Birthdays
Joan Cordonnier said she feels bad for people with December Birthdays because many growing up may have felt like their birthdays get lumped in with Christmas gifts.
In a great act of generosity Joan gave all members with a December birthday a gift. Thank you so much Joan!
Make no mistake, these gifts were BIRTHDAY gifts and not Christmas gifts, something that many December birthday people like to make clear!
Club Day
Today was a Club Day with no main speaker. Joan Cordonnier mentioned there are several committees in our club and let people know that not only can members be a part of multiple committees, it is in fact encouraged.
Some committees about to start up their primary activities are the Golf Committee, Avenue of Flags and Safety on Wheels AKA the “Bike Rodeo.” Additionally, there are committees for the contests coming up including, oratorical, essay, visual arts, and photography,
Today we heard the Holiday Dinner recap, Tree Lot recap, and about several programs related to improving children’s mental health and a program to foster Collies and Shelties.
Recap of Holiday Dinner Beth Duncan
Beth Duncan recapped the holiday dinner from December 12, 2023.
Beth said thank you to Sue Jessee for putting on the event with help from Sarah Umbreit and Erin Laurito.
See this CNOtes article for full details of the evening.
During the dinner we listened to the Centerville High School Chamber Quartet. After dinner, the Centerville High School Symphonic Choir performed several Christmas songs.
Three deserving members received the Christian D. Larson award, Optimist International’s most prestigious award. This award is a lifetime achievement recognition given to members who have exemplified outstanding service to both our community as a whole and The Centerville Noon Optimist Club in particular.
Christian D. Larson 2023 Recipients
- Gary Hansen
- Jean Pummill
- Roland Rapp
Tree Lot Wrap Up
Karl Frydryk said the tree lot had revenues of $110,000 for a net profit of $52,000 for the club. The trees were sold in 14 days.
Karl thanked the tree lot cashiers for doing a tough job. Sometimes it can get very hectic processing the purchases.
Karl thanked Don Kelley and Donna Huss for picking up the cash and checks each night that they deposited the next day.
Greg Griffin added that it is only 346 days until the 2024 Christmas Tree Lot opens.
St Leonard Adopt a Family
Carol Smerz said the St. Leonard Optimist Club adopted a family with South Community Mental and Physical Health Center. With the help from one of South Community’s case workers, they provided clothing, toys, food and hygiene items that were delivered by the case manager. They completely filled a four-door crossover vehicle with the items. See the photos in the link at the bottom of this article.
South Community helps children and families suffering from mental health issues.
Childhood Mental Health Initiative Committee
The next meeting of the newly formed Childhood Mental Health Initiative Committee will be held on January 3, 2023, at 5:30 PM at Lizard Apparel. Along with more members, they are looking for a chair and co-chair.
They are trying to find ways to help support students in ways they need it most.
A goal of the committee is to publicize resources that parents may not know about at some of our events. One program is the On Our Sleeves program offered through Dayton Children’s, which offers suggestions to parents for conversation starters with their children to help normalize talking about feelings.
The CHS Hope Squad is another program having success that they want people to know about.
M.I. Understanding Program
Carol Smerz and Jean Pummill presented the M.I. Understanding program.
The “M.I.friends” program provides children with a comfort toy named Poppy, support videos and activities to work through, while also giving parents strategies, tools, resources, and suggestions on how to support their child as they learn to self-regulate. Poppy can help manage stressful situations when big feelings arise.
View a video form the M.I. friends program.
Players Box Program
Stan Fronzaglia explained the Players Box Program, a non-religious program run by Southbrook Church. Stan has been involved for four years and it was started nine years ago. The program is designed to help students and parents learn to function under pressure in the areas of Arts, Academics and Athletics.
Players Box is for children from third grade through high school and their parents.
The children and parents go to separate classes for 90 minutes a week for six weeks.
They learn about themselves and how to handle pressure. They also learn their personality types, learning styles and get tools to help handle stress.
The leader of the program will be presenting at the CNO lunch on 1/23/2024.
I Lead Program
Stan Fronzaglia explained the I Lead Program, a youth leadership program inspired by the leadership philosophies of Dr. John Maxwell, a world-famous leadership expert.
The program is designed to enhance student’s values, attitudes, social skills and leadership. This results in improved mental health.
The students develop better relationships with their peers and they find their voice. It takes little time to initiate and is simple to use.
CNO member Lacy Owens is also a member of the CNO Childhood Mental Health Initiative Committee and brought this program to Stan’s attention. They have attended three meetings of John Maxwell’s team, and it looks amazing with an incredible opportunity for CNO.
The program is taught in schools in small groups with the students leading the discussions.
The state of South Carolina has it in their schools and it has had great results. The teachers and principals have reported significant improvement in school climate and student behavior within weeks of implementation. The kids feel better about themselves.
The program has been proven to work with over three million registered students worldwide including the U.S.
The program is coming to our area and CNO has an opportunity to spearhead the initiative in our schools. The Childhood Mental Health Initiative Committee continues to investigate this opportunity.
Almost Home Dog Rescue Organization
Gregg Richardson, a member of the Dorwood Optimist Club, told us about the Almost Home Dog Rescue Organization (AHDRO). Their mission is to find forever homes for Collies and Shelties. They take in over 100 dogs a year. Since 2003, AHDRO has saved 1,631 dogs.
Their foster program is the backbone of AHDRO. Fosters provide love and a safe environment. AHDRO matches a dog’s needs to a foster’s capabilities and environment. ADHRO provides food, a bed, a crate, heartworm/flea/tick prevention, a leash, a collar, toys, veterinary care, medications and more.
The dogs improve quickly after being in a good environment.
AHDRO is actively looking for more fosters. Learn more about fostering here.
You can also help AHDRO with donations or by adopting a dog.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Cooper LeMaster | Gail Aiken |
| Emma Higgins | Andy Higgins |
| Gregg Richardson | Speaker |
| Jacob Dice | Gail Aiken |
| Melanie Asbell | Lacey Owens |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Beth Hall | Diane Arehart | 1st Reading |
| Scott Sowder | Gary Smiga | 1st Reading |
| Melanie Asbell | Lacy Owens | 2nd Reading |
| Amy Creech | Deb Ulrich | 3rd Reading |
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Bob Burkman | Celebrating 61st Wedding Anniversary with Carol on December 29, 2023. |
| Bob Lawson | $5, one granddaughter is getting an EMT degree from Sinclair and another was just accepted at The Ohio State University. |
| Harry Bossey | He was at Miami Valley Hospital for 9 days which is why he couldn’t help at the tree lot this year. |
| Stephanie Llacuna | Therapeutic Riding Institute served 60% more people in 2023 than 2022. Given CNO’s great support for TRI she thought we would like to know. |
| Joan Cordonnier | Paid a dollar to get her gavel back. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Don Kelley | Don was a money collector for the tree lot and he was to deposit the money the next day. Newly deputized temporary sergeant Karl Frydryk learned that Don’s wife Sandra was doing the deposits! |
| Mike Creech, Roland Rapp, Gary Hansen, Sam Pfabe | Sitting with each other instead of their wives at the Holiday Party |
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Tom Novak | December 13, 1990 | 33 |
| Bill Stone | December 22, 2007 | 16 |
| Scott Langer | December 30, 1997 | 26 |
| Bob Duffy | January 1, 1988 | 35 |
| Paul Stull | January 1, 1970 | 53 |
| John Carroll | January 3, 2012 | 11 |
| Greg McAfee | January 7, 2008 | 15 |
| John Speers | January 7, 2008 | 15 |
Birthdays
| Bill DeShurko | December 6 |
| Matt Somerlot | December 7 |
| Sarah Umbreit | December 7 |
| Jeff Umbreit | December 8 |
| Patrick Arehart | December 10 |
| Megan Dalton | December 10 |
| Penny Culhane | December 11 |
| Erin Dickerson | December 12 |
| Dave Mitchell | December 15 |
| Bill Stone | December 16 |
| Erin Laurito | December 17 |
| Judy Tellis | December 17 |
| John Curran | December 18 |
| Liz Fultz | December 18 |
| Cindy Gaboury | December 19 |
| Peggy Tarnowieckyi | December 20 |
| Anna Bargmeyer | December 21 |
| Paul Boeckman | December 22 |
| Debe Dockins | December 22 |
| Sam Routsong | December 22 |
| Steve Mock | December 25 |
| Dave Gaines | December 27 |
| Dave Kay | December 27 |
| Christine Balsan | December 28 |
| Kelly Stone | December 29 |
| Rafael Santillan | January 1 |
| Ted Humphrey | January 7 |
| Laura Caschera | January 8 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received this week
A copy of Thank You Notes the club received this week are here