Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Heavenly Father,
When we show our patriotism by pledging allegiance to our flag, help us to truly listen to what we are saying. Often, we are just going through the motions. We do not act as “one nation UNDER GOD” and we struggle with “liberty and justice for all”. We put ourselves and our needs above You, what You expect of us, and what we pledge to be. Help us Lord to strive to be better and do better. You and our nation deserve it.
Amen.
Announcements
Debe Dockins said to let her know if you would like to help decorate the 2021 CNO Americana float and/or if you would like to ride on the float with her and wave to the community. They now have a final design for the float.
Mike Bevis, golf outing chair, said that 100 golfers have signed up so far. They need “day of event” volunteers for lots of tasks on Monday, July 12, 2021. There are jobs for all times of the day including early morning, mid-day and at the end of the day. They are also looking for donors and silent auction items like bottles of wine and gift cards.
Beth Duncan announced that the results of the 1st Annual Centerville/Washington Township Got Talent contest are in! View all 10 finalists and learn the top 3 winners list at the end.
Committee Meetings
- 6/16/2021, 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, 3/24, 4/14, 5/12, 6/16, 7/7. Additional volunteers are always welcome. The golf outing will be held on 7/12/2021.
- 6/15/2021, 6 PM, Monthly Board of Directors Meeting, Zoom hosted by President Debe Dockins.
Avenue of Flags Fundraiser
Debe Dockins introduced the three chairs of the CNO Avenue of Flags (AOF) Committee. They are Tom Novak, Mike Brubaker and Bob Burkman.
Tom Novak presented today. You can view the slide deck here; it has some great pictures, charts, and maps.
Tom said that one of the advantages of having 3 co-chairs is that they back each other up.
Tom gave special thanks to Paulette Novak, Sue Brubaker and Carol Burkman, who are the wives of the committee chairs, for their patience. At this time of year, the co-chairs spend a lot of time away from home helping with the Avenue of Flags.
The AOF not only earns the club money, but it is the reason several people joined the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. Diane Arehart, Dan Samiec and Carolyn Taylor are examples of CNO club members that joined CNO because of what they learned while helping the AOF team.
AOF is a Community Based Fundraiser
Here are the major groups that help and what percentage of flags they deliver and pick up.
- CNO members, 64%
- Subscribers, 15.8%
- CHS Wrestling Team, 9.3%
- Various VFWs in our area, 7.5%
- Blue Star Mothers, 3.3%
The CHS wrestling team handles 8 routes. The CHS wrestling coach a couple of years ago came to the AOF chairs with the idea of parent/student teams installing sleeves and delivering/picking up flags. As a thank you, the groups above receive donations for their help. Subscribers and CNO members are offered a discount for their help as well.
Flags are Delivered on the 5 American Flag Holidays
- Memorial Day
- Flag Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans Day
The Avenue of Flags (AOF) program delivers to residences and businesses in our community. Flags are displayed for 4-6 days around the 5 American Flag Holidays.
Tom thanked the volunteers on the various Avenue of Flag teams
- Subscriber renewal team: they enter subscriptions and renewals into the AOF database and follow up with subscribers that have not renewed from the post cards and emails reminding people to renew.
- Flag site “check-up” teams; they have already gone out this year to make sure the inground sleeves can be easily found and are straight. This greatly speeds up the process of installing the flags.
- Flag delivery/retrieval teams.
- Flag Facility Team at Sinclair College.
- Flag assembly teams.
Thank you to all AOF Helpers. It really is true that many hands working together accomplishes amazing results. New routes are added every year and they always need more volunteers.
Statistics and facts about the program from Mike Brubaker
- 2020 net profit was $94,684.00
- 2965 flags were delivered on Veterans Day 2020
- At least 2831 flags will be delivered for Memorial Day
- More subscriptions will be added before each flag delivery day
- AOF volunteers periodically build the flags from purchased parts and kits
- During the spring of 2020 they assembled 250 flags in just 2 hours
- High volume purchasing saves us and other local Optimist clubs that we sell our flag supplies to
- Gross sales to other clubs for supplies in 2020 was $21,000.00.
Route Facts
- There are 71 routes (2 are new for 2021) with 160 delivery and pickup volunteers
- Most routes have 30-35 flags
- Routes are designed to take 1-2 hours to deliver
- About 3 routes are added each year
- The largest route has 181 flags
Additional volunteers are always welcome
Let Tom know if you can help with delivery or pickup of flags. Helpers go out as 2 person teams. They are very excited to get volunteers that have flag friendly vehicles like mini-vans, SUV’s and pickup trucks. If you do not own a flag friendly vehicle you can still help; you will be paired with someone who has a compatible vehicle.
Sending Payments
If you receive a payment of cash or check from a new or current subscriber, send them directly to the home of Bob Burkman. It saves a step instead of people sending to the CNO P.O. box. This also increases the chances of late subscribers receiving their flags for Memorial Day or Flag Day.
Note that subscribers can subscribe, renew and pay with a credit card on the CNO website, https://centervillenoonoptimist.com/avenue-of-flags-sign-up/
Memorial Day and Armed Forces Day History
Memorial Day, was originally named Decoration Day. Memorial Day started on May 30, 1865, to honor the 620,000 people who died in the Civil War. May 30th was chosen because there were no battles on that day. Memorial Day got its current official name in 1967. Currently Memorial Day is on the last Monday of May each year because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Signed into law on June 28, 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect on January 1, 1971. Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May as a tribute to the men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces.
AOF Flags History
In 2003 to test the fundraiser, CNO put out 30 flags for free in Quail Run. If Chuck Dickerson had not put up the initial $3000 in funding, the program probably would never have started.
Back in 2005, the first year Avenue of Flags was a fundraiser, they did skits at CNO lunch to educate members about the concept. One of the skits was the Tom and Jerry show played by “Tom” Novak and “Jerry” Stahley. Others played American Historical characters. Charlie Tapp dressed up as Paul Revere. Benjamin Franklin was played by Chuck Dickerson. Ken Peacock played Johnny Appleseed which represented the need to “plant” the flags.
Subscribers Help Us Serve the Community
The Avenue of Flags is about the American Flag. The revenue helps support what CNO does for the youth of our community. Neighbors telling their neighbors about the Avenue of Flags is a large source of new subscribers. This was the only way it worked for the first few years. If you have neighbors that have not subscribed, let them know about the program and how it helps the community.
New Member Readings and Inductions
None this week.
Welcome Guests!
No guests this week.
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Don Kelly | A grandaughter just graduated from college. |
| Don Kelly | A grandaughter finished her first year at Miami University. |
| Carolyn Taylor | Going to be a a grandmother for the first time around August 23, 2021. It’s a BOY! |
| Carolyn Taylor | After a year of COVID-19 delay, her son (the dad-to-be) is starting graduate studies at the Wharton Business School, at the University of Pennsylvania, May 23, 2021. A two year program, every other weekend. |
| David Duncombe | Has been cleared by his doctor to drive for at least another 2 years. Ohio makes you get certified by a doctor after you turn 90. |
| Charlie Goodwin | Son has earned his a MD and PhD and is completing his Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology/Oncology fellowship and taking a job in Houghton, Michigan. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| CNO Members who helped serve lunch | Helping to deliver today’s lunch and putting Yankee Trace jobs at risk |
| Debe Dockins | Winning bets on the Kentucky Derby |
| Patrick Arehart | Wearing shorts on a chilly day |
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Month | Day | Joined | # Years |
| Brendan Cunningham | May | 15 | 5/15/2018 | 3 |
| Jay Hoffman | May | 15 | 5/15/2017 | 4 |
| Wendy Hattan | May | 15 | 5/15/2018 | 3 |
| David Ladd | May | 16 | 5/16/2012 | 9 |
Birthdays
| Member | Birthday |
| Marge Back | May 11 |
| Jessica King | May 11 |
| Abby Davis | May 11 |
| Tim Bemis | May 15 |
| Kristina Rainer | May 16 |
| Carolyn Taylor | May 17 |
| Jim Long | May 17 |
CNO Donations – 2013 through May 2021
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received
No Thank You Notes were received this week.