Phather Phil’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, all of us try to follow Your teachings to led the good life. Yet, all too many of us fall short and are detoured by life’s temptations, which allows hell into our lives. As a loving God, direct us in to the path You have prepared for us. At least motivate us to really study the Bible – It’ll “scare the hell out of us.” Amen!
Today’s Guests – WELCOME!
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Jackie Andrews | Gary Anderson |
| Joseph Andrews | Award Recipient |
| Rick Ashmus | Mike Yoder |
| Scott Kujawa | Bob Burkman |
| Ruth O’Toole | Gary Anderson |
| Mikaela Pellerin | Recipient’s Guest |
| James Reinhard | Erin Dickerson |
| Jay Schindler | Mike Bevis |
| Chris Wysong | Debe Dockins |
All Photos from the Meeting are Here
Announcements
Nancy Lehren, chair of Child Health and Wellness, announced that CNO has received a $1000 grant from Optimist International for Build-A-Bear.
Donna Huss announced that you do not have to be able to sew to help the St Leonard club make blankets. They still have 19 more blankets to make. You just need to be able to cut and tie knots.
Laurie Poeppelman, chair of Optigear, said that she Evelyn Griffin will be taking orders for the next 2 weeks. They have Micro Fleece garments available. You can choose the CNO or CNO 2.0 logo.
Community Event
11/14/2019, Build-A-Bear for Oncology patients will be at Children’s Hospital. More volunteers are always welcome. Contact Nancy Lehren, the chair of Child Health and Wellness. Volunteer should arrive at 5:30.
Volunteers and Vehicles for Veterans Day Flag Deliveries
11/11/2019 – Avenue of Flags deliveries for Veteran’s day will be on 11/7/2019, 4 PM, 11/8/2019, 10 AM to 1 PM, 11/9/2019, 10 AM. Flag retrieval will be 11/12/2019 10:30 AM to 6 PM. They are very short of volunteers that have a flag compatible truck or van. If you have one of those and can help that would be fantastic. Contact Tom Novak if you can help as more volunteers are needed.
Social Events
- 11/8/2019 – 6 PM, Friday, Euchre party at the community building of Wentworth Village in Bellbrook off 725. Food and drinks will be provided. Cost is $10. 6 PM for dinner and 6:45 for cards, Sequence and Dominos. Please bring a dish to share.
- 12/10/2019 – 6 PM, Tuesday, Holiday Party at Yankee Trace
Happy Birthday Bob Bargmeyer
Today was Bob Bargmeyer’s birthday. We hope you had a great day Bob despite our singing! Both Charlie Tapp and Bob Duffy led us in singing Happy Birthday to Bob. I thought finally it would sound good with both conducting. It did not.
Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award
This year’s honoree and recipient of the “Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award” is Firefighter Joseph (Joe) Andrews. He is the 21st recipient of the award. Joe has been a part-time member of the Washington Township Fire Department since 2017. He is a full-time student studying Early Childhood Education at Clarke State University.
Bob Burkman started the ceremony. This annual award is to honor the memory of Ruth and John’s son Robert J. O’Toole. Robert lost his life on January 12, 1998 while responding to an accident.
Bob Burkman introduced Gary Anderson. Gary Anderson and Jesse Gaither produced the trifold on the tables.
You can read the trifold here.
Gary introduced the honored guests for today’s presentation: Ruth O’Toole; John and Paula Kalaman; Washington Township Fire Chief Scott Kujawa; Washington Township Administrator Jesse Lightle; Washington Township Fiscal Officer Gary Smiga; Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff Captain Mike Brem; the recipient’s mother Jackie Andrews; the recipient’s girlfriend Mikaela Pellerin.
Gary shared his memories and information of Robert J O’Toole. He knew him as Bobby. Bobby was a special boy that he and others couldn’t help but love. He had the good fortune of being Bobby’s principal from Kindergarten through 4th grade and again for 4 years of high school. He was born March 2, 1972 in Teaneck NJ to parents John and Ruth O’Toole. He started Kindergarten at Village South on August 30, 1977. He graduated High School on June 2, 1990.
His first-grade teacher once commented, “Bob is very shy around strangers, is anxious to read, and reads a lot at home. Because of his short attention span he does not complete most assignments.”
Like so many students identified with a learning disability, Bobby had above average intelligence on School Ability Tests given in 2nd and 5th grades.
His 4th grade teacher once wrote on his report card “Robert needs to pay more attention in class and keep up with his daily assignments. I feel he is much more capable than his work indicates. Bob does not do daily assignments and does not know his multiplication tables. Needs to use class time wisely.”
In November 1986 Bob took the Ohio Interest Survey Profile which showed his best liked career interest was humanitarian/caretaking. His favorite subject was Social Studies.
Bobby O’Toole gave his life in the line of duty doing what he loved and wanted to do. Gary couldn’t believe it has been 21 years already since this tragedy.
Next Gary Anderson introduced Washington Township Fire Chief Scott Kujawa.
Scott Kujawa said, “We have an unbelievable fire department. I am fortunate and thankful for the opportunity to serve in my current role. Every one of our members are committed to providing excellent service to the residents and visitors of our community. Today, we are fortunate to get to recognize one of our outstanding employees.”
He was honored and humbled to present today’s award. Scott and Robert J. O’Toole were in high school at the same time. He thanked the entire O’Toole family and the Optimist club for their continued support and remembrance of Firefighter O’Toole through the Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award.
Scott noted that today’s lunch was “Sloppy Joes”. He and others at their table wondered if that was on purpose with the recipient being Joe Andrews!
Scott discussed why Joe Andrews was chosen as this year’s recipient.
From Scott’s notes:
While at the firehouse, Joe is known for the compassion, positive attitude and integrity that he brings with him every shift. He recognizes what needs completed, does so without any prompting by his supervisor, and is truly a leader when it comes to accomplishing tasks in a timely fashion. During emergency calls and non-emergency events, Joe genuinely shows concern, compassion and empathy for the residents and visitors of our community. He engages our community members and employees with thought-provoking discussion and has excellent listening and communication skills.
The really cool thing about Joe is that he doesn’t want any recognition for his accomplishments. He simply believes that he is here to serve our community and do what’s right. Firefighter Joseph Andrews truly embodies what it means to be a public servant.
Award recipient Joe Andrews spoke next.
He thanked Chief Scott Kujawa, the department, the O’Toole family and CNO for the award.
Joe remembers that on his first day at the department they visited the grave of Robert J. O’Toole. He found this moving. Robert must have been very inspirational that this still happens 21 years later which is how old Joe is.
He really likes the job, the people and the community.
Thank You Notes Sent to CNO
You can read recent thank you notes here.
CNO Donations 2013 through June 2019
Click this link to see a summary of the donations our club has made.
Over 50 years, we have donated close to $2,000,000 to our youth community. In the past 6 years, we have donated nearly $700,000.
Birthdays
| Member | Birthday |
| Bob Bargmeyer | October 29 |
| Suzanne Werts | October 30 |
| Cheryl Reichel | November 1 |
| Deb Saunders | November 1 |
| Wendy Hattan | November 2 |
| Robin Golden | November 4 |
Membership Anniversaries
No membership anniversaries this week.
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| James Reinhard | Andy Dickerson | 1st Reading |
| Christopher Wysong | Debe Dockins | 1st Reading |
| Abby Davis | Vince Reidy | 2nd Reading |
| Lacy Owens | Stan Fronzaglia | 2nd Reading |
| Dawayne Kirkman | Debe Dockins | 3rd Reading |
| Louise Haun | Mike Bevis | Induction |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Chris McAlpine | Impersonating Abe Lincoln |
| Kelly Davis | Fighting in line when purchasing raffle tickets |
| Beth Duncan | Fighting in line when purchasing raffle tickets |
| Greg Griffin | Having someone protect the bell and gavel |
| Erin Dickerson | Losing Optimist Passport |
| Andy Dickerson | Letting Erin lose her Optimist Passport |
| Debe Dockins | Missing a board meeting |
| Greg Wasmund | Missing a board meeting |
| Greg Smiga | Left board meeting early [as a former educator, he should know that requires a note to the office] |
| Ron Tinnerman | Forgetting who CNO 2.0 speaker was earlier this year |
| Jean Pummill | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
| Larry England | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
| Judy Demarco | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
| Barbara Santo | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
| Larry Lynde | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
| Cherie Gentry | Keeping a low profile, therefore not being easily fined, so now you are fined |
Happy Bucks!
| Member | Reason |
| Cherie Gentry | Happy that the Monroe Optimist club Trunk or Treat went well despite the weather and happy that Erin and Andy Dickerson participated |
| Martin Huffstutler | His guest last week was so impressed that she is looking for an Optimist club to join in Philadelphia |
| Jay Schindler | Happy to be at our meeting, he was a guest of Mike Bevis |
| Debe Dockins | Happy that her guest Christopher Wysong is joining CNO |
| Gary Anderson | Great to be home among freinds and honoring the memory of Bobby O’Toole |
| Ellie Parker | Happy that she can wear her tail and ears with Halloween coming up |