Avenue of Flags 2019 Season Kickoff Presentation

Phather Phil’s Prayer

Heavenly Father we stand before You in thankful praise even when we unaware of all You do for us. It’s comforting to converse with You. You put us at ease by listening to us and bolstering our faith, mind and soul. Help us not to worry about anything and come to You in prayer and ask for every thing we need. Let us be mindful that You are always with us even when all we say is “Thanks”. Amen!

Today’s Guests

Guest Guest Of
Karin Gilstrap Cindy Harris
Nina Vasiliu Tom Novak

All Photos from the Meeting are Here

Special Notice

There is no lunch meeting on 5/28/2019.

Upcoming Community Events

June 1, 2019, 9AM to 11:30 AM, the Fishing Derby, Bob Lawson said to let those planning on attend know they need to fill out the registration form and bring it to the derby. Spread the word on Facebook! Registration is between 8:00 – 9:00AM. We supply free worms however you are permitted to bring your own bait and lures. We stock the ponds with approximately 400 pounds of Catfish for the Derby. There are other fish also in the ponds – mainly Bluegills. Prizes and trophies for all.  Children ages 5-15 are encouraged to participate and try this event. The event is held at Washington Township Rec Center, in two ponds. Click here for registration form.

2019 Fishing Derby Registration Form

August 10, 2019, St Leonard BoomerFest. We had members from our club within a club from St Leonard at today’s lunch. St Leonard wants everyone to save the date, August 10, 2019 for their Annual BoomerFest. Click for details.

Upcoming Social Events

5/29/2019, 6:30 at Heather’s Café in Springboro, “Dining in the Dark”. There will be a nice meal, but you will be blindfolded during it. The event includes meal, music and silent auction. The cost is $65 per person. The event is a fundraiser and raises awareness about the issues facing the blind community. This is being arranged by Bob Collins’ daughter.

Committee Announcements

Bob Lawson announced that for the upcoming Fishing Derby on June 1, 2019 he needs someone with a pickup to help transfer items to and from the event.

June 25, 2019, 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM a “New Optimist Wanted” (NOW) event will be held at Yankee Trace instead of our traditional lunch. Committee chairs will present what they do to new and prospective new members. There will be a buffet lunch served that day.

Awards

President Donna Huss presented two awards today:

  • Scott Langer received a pin for sponsoring 10 new members.
  • Jesse Gaither received the 100-year pin for earning the “Promise Yourself” member award. Donna also mentioned that Jesse’s business Minute Man Press received a business of the year award last week from the City of Centerville.

Avenue of Flags Fundraiser

Donna Huss introduced the three chairs of the CNO Avenue of Flags (AOF) Committee. They are Tom Novak, Mike Brubaker and Bob Burkman. Each spoke to us about our fundraiser.

Flags are delivered on

  • Memorial Day
  • Flag Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Veterans Day

Especially this time of year, the three committee chairs spend a lot of time away from home. Tom thanked their wives Paulette Novak, Sue Brubaker, and Carol Burkman for their patience with their husbands.

In 2003 to test the fundraiser, they 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. Then there were American Historical characters. Charlie Tapp dressed up as Paul Revere. You need someone to plant the flags, so Ken Peacock played Johnny Appleseed. Benjamin Franklin was played by Chuck Dickerson.

In 2005, the program earned about $1500. As of the end of 2018, net income was $77,750 with 2141 flags being placed on Veterans Day 2018.

The 2019 Avenue of Flags fundraiser is being dedicated to its founder Chuck Dickerson, who left his earthly life in 2018.

Statistics and facts about the program this year from Mike

  • 2001 flags will be delivered for Memorial Day.
  • More subscriptions will be added before each flag delivery day.
  • There are currently 6.6% more subscriptions now than this time last year.
  • For Memorial Day there will be 100 helpers delivering flags, with 30 of them being subscriber helpers that are not members of CNO.
  • Most flags will be delivered on May 23, 2019.
  • Each Flag Route is designed to take about 1.5 hours.
  • The largest route is 160 flags.
  • AOF volunteers build the flags themselves from purchased parts and kits.

Tom explained some more about AOF. Neighbors telling their neighbors about the Avenue of Flags is a large source of new subscribers and it was the only way it worked the first few years.

Helpers go out as 2 person Teams. They are always looking for volunteers. They are very excited to get volunteers that have flag friendly vehicles like mini-vans, SUV’s and pickup trucks.

Bob explained some history about Memorial Day. Originally called 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. Bob mentioned that 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.

Birthdays

Member Birthday
Jim Marker May 23
Don Skelton May 25
Cristlyn Johnston May 26
Casey Wyckoff May 30
Mike Witt June 01
Shawna Hatton June 01

Membership Anniversaries

Member Month Day Joined # Years
James Schumacher May 22 5/22/1991 28
Pete Rife May 22 5/22/2013 6
Bob Clements May 25 5/25/2005 14
Paulette Novak May 25 5/25/2005 14
Amy Barker May 26 5/26/2008 11
Cheryl Reichel May 26 5/26/2008 11
Debe Dockins May 26 5/26/2009 10
Bob Burkman May 31 5/31/2003 16
Carol Burkman May 31 5/31/2003 16
Gary Aiken June 1 6/1/1982 37
Wayne Christie June 1 6/1/1988 31

New Member Readings and Inductions

Name Sponsor 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction
Karin Gilstrap Cindy Harris 1st Reading

Sergeants at Arms

Member Infraction
Anyone wearing shorts Wearing shorts when it is cold, even though it is past the middle of May!
Tom Novak At recent CNO 2.0 meeting spilled beer on new member Mark Karns
Mike Yoder Couldn’t find name badge
Jesse Gaither Late to meeting

 Happy Bucks! 

No time for Happy Bucks this Week.

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