Welcome NEW Club Members!

We inducted four new members at tonight’s meeting and we are so happy to have these folks step up to help us help kids! Welcome to the largest Optimist Club in the world!

Name	Sponsor
Katie Calloway	Gary Hansen
Cheryl Dowd	Joan Cordonnier
Ashley Simeone	Emily Duke
Jordan Feldkamp	Cindy Harris

Guests and Members in Attendance

Name	Member/Guest
Jendaya Herbert	Guest
Josh Panczyk	Guest
David Stone	Guest
Jim Ehrensberger	Guest
Walt Harrison	Guest
Mark Karns	Guest
Joe Poelking	Guest
Rafael Santillan	Guest
Nan Zanawick	Guest
Nicole Zanawick	Guest
Paul Zanawick	Guest
Nancy Anderson	Member
Pat Arehart	Member
Pat Behn	Member
Katie Calloway	Member
Wayne Christie	Member
Bob Collins	Member
Joan Cordonnier	Member
Mike Cordonnier	Member
Bill DeFries	Member
Judy DeMarco	Member
Cheryl Dowd	Member
Jordan Feldkamp	Member
Stan Fronzaglia	Member
Cindy Gaboury	Member
Jesse Gaither	Member
Rachel Goetz	Member
Cindy Harris	Member
Brian Miller	Member
Valorie Murray	Member
Laurie Poeppelman	Member
Cheryl Probst	Member
Pete Rife	Member
Candace Rinke	Member
Ashley Simeone	Member
Nick Tarkany	Member
Ron Tinnerman	Member
Jon Werts	Member
Laurie Westheimer	Member
Bill Williams	Member
Sue Zammit	Member
Diane Arehart	Member
Gary DeMarco	Member
Emily Duke	Member
Evelyn Griffin	Member
Greg Griffin	Member
Gary Hansen	Member
Donna Huss	Member
Jean Pummill	Member
Jayne Weikel	Member

CNO 2.0 Venue and Details

The venue for tonight’s CNO 2.0 meeting was Nelly’s Taste of Bolivia in downtown Centerville.. Thank you to the owner of Nelly’s, Rafael Santillan and his fine team for the great food and the space.

We had 39 members and 11 guests in attendance.

Tonight’s Presentation

Jesse Gaither introduced tonight’s guest speaker, Bill DeFries. Bill recently published his book Impacts Beyond the Bounds – Explosive Success for Atypical People. Bill is a Marine Corp Veteran and has been a member of Centerville Noon Optimist club since November, 2004. He is also the CEO of Copp Integrated Systems, a member of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, serial entrepreneur, motivational speaker and author.

Bill started with some of his history. He was born on the South side of Chicago 58 years ago. He was a kid that didn’t like school and was in trouble a lot. He credits doing well to his parents staying together, high school sports and The U.S. Marine Corps.

In 1978, right after high school he had to get his own apartment. He obtained a job with the teamsters loading freight during the Jimmy Hoffa era. He quickly realized manual labor was not for him. He reconsidered college and was amazed he was accepted into Southern Illinois University. It didn’t take long for the university to reconsider and they kicked him out. He decided to enlist into the U.S. Marine Corp. That 4-year experience during the Cold War and the Beirut Embassy bombing crisis formed the basis for the rest of his life.

The book contains 10 simple things that helped him get where is here today, split into “Grenades” or chapters. His favorite is “Your Eighth Grenade: Give, Don’t Give Back.” Being a member of the Centerville Noon Optimist club truly helped him understand the concept of giving to the community. The picture on the cover of book is of him about to throw a live grenade.

He discussed his restaurants. He originally planned to open his first Beef O’Bradys in Chicago, but he fell in love with Dayton and Centerville. His first restaurant opened September 24, 2004. Soon after it was opened Judy DeMarco and Dave Kaye recruited him into the CNO.

He noted that life isn’t always a bowl of cherries. He recommends having friends around you for support. In 2007, he opened a second restaurant and right after in 2008 one of the worst economies in our history started. He thanks the Centerville and Beavercreek communities who helped sustain his restaurants when thousands of restaurants were closing every day during the recession.

He is glad to have been part of Dayton and provide employment. He is especially happy to have provided entry level jobs for youth at his restaurants.

Thank you, Bill DeFries, for sharing your story with us this evening.