Bob Burkman’s Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We are thankful for this day that you have given us, for its blessings, its opportunities, and its challenges.
As Optimists, we are thankful for today’s opportunity to demonstrate our purpose as a “Friend of Youth”. We pray that all young people will receive your strength and guidance to face each day’s tasks and solve each day’s problems. We pray that you empower all young people with the ability to always give their best effort and face the future with confidence and optimism. We ask this in your name.
Amen
Announcements
- The 21st season of TOP soccer for special needs kids will start on 8/22/2021. The program needs volunteers, including assistant coaches and on-field buddies assigned to a participant. The kids look forward to the event each year. Volunteers do not need to know anything about soccer to help.
- Bob Lawson announced that they need volunteers to work at the Kid’s Day in the Park on 8/7/2021 from 9 AM to 1 PM. If you can help during all or a portion of that time let Bob Lawson know. See details below.
- The President’s Club will honor all member clubs’ Volunteers of the Year. They will honor CNO Optimist of the Year for 2020 Mike Brubaker and for 2019 Beth Duncan. The breakfast will be on August 12, 7:00 AM. There is room for a few more people, let Debe know if you would like to attend.
- Debe Dockins announced CNO will participate in Party in the Park on Friday, August 13. Volunteers are needed to work the CNO tent.
- Debe Dockins announced that Optimist 2.0 met last Thursday at Heavier Than Air Brewing Company. Thanks to the committee for setting that up. You can read about the meeting and Uptown Centerville plans here. The next meeting will be 8/19/2021 at Nelly’s with Zach Hollingsworth of Freedom Whiskey speaking.
Committee Meetings
- 8/17/2021, 6 PM, Monthly Board of Directors Meeting
Community Events
- 8/7/2021, 9 AM to 1 PM, Kid’s Day in the Park event. It will be held at 1700 Delco Park Dr, Kettering OH 45420. Activities are designed for kids aged 5 to 12. Free lunch begins at 11:30.
Social Events
Sue Jessee announced that a Euchre Party will be held on 8/6/2021 at the club house in Beth Duncan’s neighborhood.
About the CNO Educational Assistance Awards
The following are notes from Gary Smiga.
It is my pleasure to be able to introduce this year’s Centerville Noon Optimist Club’s Memorial Educational Assistance Award winners. The award is given in the memory of the individuals that have passed away while active members of our club. The following individuals exemplified what it meant to give back to your community with their service and character.
- Tom Frazier- 1994
- Tom Craig- 1994
- Denise Goeckel- 1998
- Dick Lewin- 2002
- Corwin Robinson- 2005
- Steve Fisher- 2007
- Dave Petree- 2007
- Jim Hawley- 2010
- Margaret Barclay- 2010
- Tom Gravlin- 2013
- Terry Blair-2014
- Dave Milam- 2014
- Ken Bluhm- 2015
- John Hughes- 2015
- Mike Hayes- 2015
- Wes Hamdan- 2016
- Tim Gibson- 2017
- Linda Fisher- 2017
- Brent Moore- 2018
- Chuck Dickerson- 2018
- Ed Case- 2019
- Jeff Brown- 2020
- Jim Schumacher- 2020
- Don Wildenhaus- 2020
- Tom Brozich- 2021
After Gary read the names, we had a moment of silence to honor and remember these fine individuals.
2021 Educational Assistance Awards
The following are notes from Gary Smiga.
The qualifications for our Educational Assistance award are as follows:
- Be a graduating high school senior that will be attending a college/university offering a two or four-year degree upon the completion of an accredited program.
- Be a resident of Centerville or Washington Township.
- Have a strong record of participation in community service activities.
- Possess a financial need as affirmed by the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
Before I introduce this year’s winners, I would like to recognize the committee who read the applications and made this year’s selections; Gail Aiken, Will Cale, Bob Duffy, and Roberta Taylor.
I would also like to thank the Board of Directors for budgeting funds to support this scholarship program, as well as the entire Centerville Noon Optimist Club membership for having worked in the various fund-raising activities to allow for this program and many of the others that we do to be a reality.
This year we have 5 first-year award winners. They are Grace Barnett, Trent Bollinger, Jayson Hayes, Megan Patel, and Ellie Spiewak.
Each of our first-year recipients will be receiving a $2000 check that they can use towards the cost of attendance at the university they have chosen.
At this time, I would like to tell you some things about each one of them. Each of them will also share their essay on “Why is it important that community members provide service to youth, and what is the high school student’s role in providing such service?”
Grace Barnett
Grace graduated from Centerville High School.
Grace’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:
- Working on the Eclipse Literary Magazine
- Choir
- Orchestra
- Serving food at St. Vincent’s
- Babysitting
Grace has also worked at Olive Garden as a host and at Kroger’s where her jobs include assisting elderly and disabled shoppers, bagger and cart wrangler.
Grace will be attending Marshall University majoring in Education with a career goal of becoming a middle school English teacher.
Trent Bollinger
Trent graduated from Centerville High School.
Trent’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:
- Volleyball, where he served as team captain
- SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions)
- Boy Scouts
- Member of the Exercise Science Block Program
Trent works at Bollinger Lawn Care, where he is the CEO/CFO.
Trent will be attending the University of Cincinnati. After college he would like to continue his studies to become a physician’s assistant.
Jayson Hayes
Jayson graduated from Centerville High School.
Jayson’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:
- Football, where he earned special mention in the GWOC and won the Elk Iron Award for no missed practices
- Basketball, where he was a member of the State Championship team
- Track and Field
- 1st Vice President of the Littlejohn Junior NAACP Youth Council, where he handed out school supplies and participated in other outreach activities for youth
Jayson worked at Flag Football Fanatics, where he served as a referee for youth flag football games.
Jayson will be attending Georgetown College. After reaching his goal of playing in the NFL, he would like to become a real estate agent and own property.
Megan Patel
Megan graduated from Centerville High School.
Megan’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:
- BAPS Youth Regional Core Team as a summer camp event lead, responsible for planning, organizing and executing events
- National and Spanish Honor Societies
- Engineering, Environmental, Reading and Interact Club
- Bowling
Megan worked at Walmart serving as a front-end cashier, greeting and assisting customers, as well as restocking.
Megan will be attending the University of Cincinnati studying Aerospace Engineering with the hopes of someday finding more sustainable methods of airborne travel.
Ellie Spiewak
Ellie graduated from Centerville High School.
Ellie’s Extracurricular and Community Service Activities include:
- Track and Field, where she served as a captain and was All State
- Cheerleading, where she served as a captain
- National and Spanish Honor Societies
- CHS Character Club
- Chemistry, Study and Lunch Buddies
- Blood Drive organizer
Ellie worked at Lock 27, Dorothy Lane Market and Compunet Clinical Laboratories.
Ellie will be attending The Ohio State University where she plans to major in Biomedical Engineering and work in a clinical setting to develop new medical technologies.
Educational Assistance Awards Renewals
These first-year awards are renewable for a second year with a continued financial need, continued involvement in school, community or faith-based activities and a freshman grade point average of at least a 3.0.
Now we will welcome our two scholarship award recipients from last year who have achieved all 3 of these renewal requirements.
Madison Earnest
While she cannot join us due to a full-time work commitment as a Camp Counselor at the Centerville-Washington Park District Nature Day Camp, Madison successfully completed her freshman year at The Ohio State University with a 3.929 GPA while completing 53 credit hours, 21 of them through advanced placement credits.
Madison served as an Undergraduate Student Government Committee Representative where she participated in the “Breaking Down the Ballot” project, creating a student guide for Columbus ballot issues and candidates.
She was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity where she participated in service, fellowship and leadership events.
She also worked as a Student Office Assistant for the Office of Student Life.
Kristen Bell
Kristen successfully completed her freshman year at The Ohio State University with a 4.0 GPA while completing 59 credit hours, 32 of them through advanced placement credits.
Kristen is involved in the Health Sciences Scholars Program where she will serve as lead peer mentor next year.
As a Psychology Department Student Ambassador, she served as course assistant for the freshman survey class, helping to create and run department events and talk to prospective students and their parents. She also participated in Swim Club, Psychology Club and on Buckeyethon to actively fundraise for pediatric cancer relief efforts.
Closing
We often hear a lot of negative stories about today’s youth that you might begin to wonder if there is any hope for their future and our future. Today, these young individuals have hopefully dispelled those concerns, as they exemplify the qualities that will allow them to move forward and be the leaders of our tomorrow.
Grace, Trent, Jayson, Megan, Ellie, Madison and Kristen we are all immensely proud of you and we wish you the best at the schools you have chosen to attend.
Fellow Optimists, please join me in a round of applause for these fine individuals.
Thank you.
New Member Readings and Inductions
No readings or inductions this week.
Welcome Guests!
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Allison Barnett | Family |
| Grace Barnett | Scholarship Winner |
| Greg Bell | Family |
| Kristen Bell | Scholarship Winner |
| Rosemary Bell | Family |
| Bronson Bollinger | Family |
| Kayla Bollinger | Family |
| Trent Bollinger | Scholarship Winner |
| Andrew Bollionger | Family |
| Colleen Brady | Mike Bevis |
| Madison Earnest | Scholarship Winner |
| Glenn Hayes | Family |
| Jaylen Hayes | Family |
| Jayson Hayes | Scholarship Winner |
| Valerie Hayes | Family |
| Tom Ioanes | Family |
| Tammie Johnson | Family |
| Megan Patel | Scholarship Winner |
| Ellie Spiewak | Scholarship Winner |
| Laurie Spiewak | Family |
| Melanie Taylor | Family |
| Ricky West | Family |
Happy Bucks
No time for Happy Bucks this week.
Sergeants at Arms
No time for Sergeants this week.
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Month | Day | Joined | # Years |
| Marge Back | July | 20 | 7/20/2016 | 5 |
| John Sherman | July | 24 | 7/24/2009 | 12 |
Birthdays
| Member | Birthday |
| Steve Rau | July 23 |
| Mike Yoder | July 24 |
| Phil Robinson | July 26 |
| Kathy Klein | July 26 |
CNO Donations – 2013 through June 2021
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
Click Here to Read the Thank You Notes we received this week