Erin Dickerson’s Prayer read by Jean Pummill
Lord our God,
As we grow closer to Thanksgiving, help us to look upon the changes in our seasons with gratitude. When we look outside in the evening and see the dark, help us to be grateful for time to rest. When we walk outside and hear the crunching of the leaves under our feet, help us to be grateful for our time here on earth no matter the length. When we see our breath in the cold air, help us to be grateful for the life you have breathed into us. When we look out at the fresh fallen snow, help us to be grateful for our uniqueness and to rejoice in the amazing things we can accomplish when we stick together.
Amen.
Announcements
- Gary Hansen announced that the TOP Optimist Club is selling Poinsettias for $15 as a fundraiser. Delivery will be December 7, 2021 at the noon lunch meeting.
- Christy Gariety, Adopt-a-Family co-chair, announced that she and Sue Jessee are accepting $50 gift cards at CNO lunches and on Christmas Tree Delivery Day (Nov 20) with activation code receipts from Kohl’s, Target, or Walmart to be given to families this holiday season. The cards need to be received by 11/29/2021. You may also mail the gift cards with the activation receipts and a note stating, “From Centerville Noon Optimist Member”, to Centerville Schools, Adopt A Family Program, 111 Virginia Ave, Centerville OH 45458. Email her if you send a donation.
- Greg Griffin announced the tree lot will be open 11/26/2021. The shifts all end by 8 PM each evening. Please show up for your assigned shifts to help with one of your club’s major fundraisers.
- Gary Hansen announced that there is a great article in the Dayton Daily News about CNO member D. Ralph Young and his WWII presentation to CNO on 11/9/2021.
- Gary Hansen said that we received a nice thank you note for the $3000 donation we recently sent to the Optimist International Foundation. This makes our total donations to OIF just short of $127,000.
Dates to Remember
- 12/14/2021, 6 PM to 9PM, CNO Holiday Party at Moraine Country Club. The price is $35 per person and includes appetizers, dinner, desert, and valet parking. You must pay ahead of time. There will be a cash bar available. Deadline to RSVP is December 3, 2021.
- 11/26/2021, The Tree Lot opens for sales to the public. Your Team captain will let you know when they can use your help.
There is a Video of Today’s Meeting
Since Yankee Trace was installing carpet in the ballroom, today’s meeting was on Zoom. If you did not attend today’s meeting, you may want to watch a video of it. CLICK HERE to watch the Zoom Recording.
Patsy Garner, Optimist International President
Gary Hansen introduced Patsy Garner, the 2021-2022 President of Optimist International.
Gary Hansen’s Introduction:
A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to hear from our OI President via Zoom at the District meeting and I found that her thoughts on what we should be doing “One Degree More”, fit very nicely with my idea for CNO, doing “Even More,” so I invited her to join us. Patsy Garner has been an Optimist since 1989 and is currently a member of the Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth. By way of introduction, she asked me to just say “Patsy is an Optimist” so with no further introduction, please welcome Optimist International President, Patsy Garner.
Patsy said her husband was OI president 2014-2015. They are the only couple in the history of OI to have both been the President of Optimist International.
Similarities between Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth and CNO
- CNO is the current reigning Optimist Club of the Year and Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth is the previous Optimist Club of the Year.
- Both clubs are over 50 years old. CNO was started 53 years ago and Breakfast Optimist Club of East Fort Worth was started 58 years ago.
- Both clubs support Junior Optimist Clubs (JOI).
- Both clubs eat together at their meetings.
One Degree More
Patsy’s theme for the 2021-2022 year is “One Degree More.” Each quarter will have an emphasis:
- 1st quarter: Be an Optimist
- 2nd quarter: Optimism – A Philosophy of Life (Purposes)
- 3rd Quarter: Optimism – Promise Yourself (Creed)
- 4th Quarter: Optimism – Better Together
She showed a video about 212 Degrees and 1 Degree More of Optimism. It is time to turn up the heat! You can view the video here.
By one degree more, she is saying go one more level in what you have been doing. If you have been helping one child, now try to help two. If you volunteer for two activities per year now, try and volunteer for three. Last year, if you volunteered one day at a multi-day fundraiser, this year try and volunteer for two days.
2021-2022 Goals for Optimist International
The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Patsy said, “The entire OI team commits to achieving a growth goal of +212 by increasing our brand awareness, membership growth, leadership development, and growth by giving of ourselves to our community, our programs, and our projects.”
Her goals for 2021-2022 are:
- Increase net membership by 212
- Charter 100 New Clubs
- Increase net JOI membership by 212
- Increase JOI Districts by 12
Incentive Awards Available to Members and Clubs
There are new incentives for achievement by individual members and clubs. For example, gift cards will be awarded to members who sponsor 2+ new members.
View all the awards here.
2022 Optimist International Convention in Reno
At the end of June, 2022, the OI International Convention will be held in Reno, Nevada. Reno is the biggest little city in the world. Patsy said she recommends that you plan to go, especially if you have never been to Reno. This year the host hotel is not requiring all the meals to be on their site so there will be a lot of offsite activities and meals.
OI Marketing Efforts
OI has hired a new marketing director and she has shown them how to think bigger. They have seven marketing employees all of which have marketing backgrounds. They are putting together a complete marketing plan. There will be a new video created each week for social media. Podcasts will launch in January, 2022.
The marketing team is focusing on getting retiring Baby Boomers to join Optimist clubs. Most of the time everyone thinks we need younger members and we do. However, they are forgetting that a huge number of Baby Boomers are retiring and looking for something to do.
Thank You
Thank you, Patsy Garner, for speaking to us today about your plans as president of Optimist International and for explaining “One Degree More.”
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Mark Poling | Stan Franzaglia | 3rd Reading |
Welcome Guests!
Zoom Meeting this week.
Happy Bucks
No Happy Bucks this week.
Sergeants at Arms
No Sergeants this week.
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Beth Duncan | November 20, 2016 | 5 |
| John Kalaman | November 20, 2016 | 5 |
| Marilyn Becht | November 20, 2016 | 5 |
| Paula Kalaman | November 20, 2016 | 5 |
| Christine Balsan | November 21, 2013 | 8 |
| Martha Jackson | November 21, 2013 | 8 |
| Kristina Rainer | November 21, 2012 | 9 |
| Julie Cochran | November 19, 2009 | 12 |
| Art Hung | November 16, 2001 | 20 |
| Tim Clemmer | November 16, 2001 | 20 |
| Jon Fox | November 20, 2000 | 21 |
| Larry England | November 17, 1994 | 27 |
| Nancy Lehren | November 17, 1994 | 27 |
Birthdays
| Member | Birthday |
| Russell Hulbert | November 19 |
| Brendan Cunningham | November 22 |
| Jayne Weikel | November 22 |
CNO Donations – 2013 through September 2021
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
Read the Thank You notes the club received this week here