Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Gracious and Holy Lord,
The new year brings with it 365 new possibilities, a hope for the future, inspiration for what may be, and anticipation for what You have in store for us. As we look forward to this year ahead of us, we give You thanks for what we have learned and for how we have grown over the past year. Help us to move forward into 2024 with a sense of joy and optimism for this life and these opportunities you have granted us.
Amen.
Announcements
- Beth Duncan announced that a Euchre party will be on 1/26/2024 at ContempoRoast. The cost is $5 and pay at the door. Please register ahead of time using the member calendar.
- Jane Fiehrer, co-chair for the Visual Arts Contest committee, is looking for a new co-chair for the committee. Each year children send in photos of their painting and drawings. Awards are given for each type of art.
Edge Teen Center, Sara Gabbard
Karen Charnesky introduced Sara Gabbard, the Executive Director of EDGE Teen Center. EDGE is located in West Chester/Liberty Township, Ohio.
From Karen Charnesky:
I connected with Sara while expanding my network on Linkedin. When I met Sara Gabbard in person, she was energetic and enthusiastic about the work that she does. Sara Gabbard is the Executive Director for the EDGE Teen Center located just south of us in Liberty Township, Ohio. Sara has worked in the nonprofit and child advocacy arena for the past 11 years.
Mission
EDGE is a safe place just for teens after school where all teens are valued and accepted.
About Edge Teen Center
At EDGE Teens have quiet areas to study and do homework. There is free tutoring.
There are free healthy snacks and a café with low prices.
Teens can hang out with friends and play video games, pool, ping pong, air hockey and take part in outdoor activities.
Presentation
Sara Gabbard said her favorite thing about her current role at EDGE is getting a front row seat to watch the personal growth of the teens they serve.
She is a mother of four. She told her son she was going to talk to 100 Optimists today and he said that he hoped they would be quiet. She wonders if that will happen as energetically as our meeting started out today.
Sara worked in sports management for many years and then she became a mother and realized that profession did not leave enough time to be the mother she wanted to be.
You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
She and her husband, after having three children, adopted a child. They saw things in the system that you can’t unsee and they needed to do something about it and that is how EDGE came about. Sara read us this quote by Arundhati Roy, “The trouble is that once you see it, you can’t unsee it. And once you’ve seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There’s no innocence. Either way, you’re accountable.”
EDGE teens serve between 1500 and 2000 community service hours each year. EDGE helps teens find service opportunities and document it. EDGE provides transportation to/from service sites, making it easy for students to serve our surrounding community.
Instead of being alone at home, teens have opportunities to connect with new friends, develop meaningful relationships with adults who care about them and take part in teen-focused programs. The adults at EDGE can make an impact where parents may not be able to do so.
At EDGE there is a broad spectrum of teens with various skills and experiences. There are some in the National Honor Society and there are some on probation.
They teach adulting skills like interviewing. If teens participate in exercises, like interviewing, they get a free meal from a food truck that comes several times during the year.
In July each year they take kids on college visits.
Every day kids are offered some kind of optional program. The kids can just hang out, but the teens are offered an optional program.
Sometimes, as adults, former students become employees and volunteers at EDGE.
EDGE is closed in June which gives their workers and volunteers a chance to recuperate.
How You Can Help
Sara asked us to be curious about young people instead of judgmental. If you get curious and believe in them, show up for them consistently and care, then they become good adults.
EDGE receives no government funding.
- They need volunteers
- Send snacks; they need 12,000 snacks per school year – this link takes you to their Amazon list
- Help with the Shamrock Shuffle 5K fundraiser
Statistical Impact of the 2022-2023 School Year
- 1,054 total teens impacted across all programs
- 1,505 hours of community service completed
- Average daily attendance is approximately 100 teens
- Workforce Readiness Programming was delivered to 800 teens (mock interviews, resume creation, job search)
- 800 teens served in the first semester of the current school year
Thank You
Thank you, Sara Gabbard, for educating us about the services of EDGE. Your and your team’s work is very appreciated and important.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Chris Mackey | Patrick Arehart |
| Diane Flick | Mike Bevis |
| Jeff Mogg | Mike Bevis |
| Jessie Kuhn | Mike Bevis |
| John Harney | Blanca Criner |
| Melanie Asbell | Stan Fronzaglia |
| Sarah Gabbard | Speaker |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Jeff Mogg | Mike Bevis | 1st Reading |
| Dave Ball | Gary Hansen | 1st Reading |
| Beth Hall | Diane Arehart | 2nd Reading |
| Scott Sowder | Gary Smiga | 2nd Reading |
| Melanie Asbell | Lacy Owens | 3rd Reading |
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Gary Hansen | Celebrating 49th Wedding Anniversary with Nancy. |
| Gary Hansen | Thrilled that Michigan won the National Championship. |
| Jim Mogan | Celebrating 56th Wedding Anniversary with Mary Lynn. |
| Sara Gabbard (Today’s Speaker) | Got to see Chris Mackey who was a guest today. They were great friends in high school and it has been 20 years since they have seen each other. |
| Mike Bevis | He and Terry just spent 11 Days in Germany and had a great time seeing lots of sites including the Christmas markets. |
| Julie Noeth | Glad Mike and Terry Bevis decided to come back from Germany after having such a great time. |
| Kelly Stone | Happy the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs. |
| Katie Calloway | Michigan won the college football championship last night. |
| John Fisher | John’s mother is Mary Madden. He said all Mary talks about is CNO. He is so appreciative of the love and support for Joe Madden as well as his mother. |
| Karen Sirmans | Spent eight days in France with her daughter enjoying wine and snails. |
| Joan Cordonnier | Happy to be back for a CNO meeting after the holiday break. |
| Joan Cordonnier | Thanks to Larry Lynde helping sergeant Bob Myers gather the Happy Bucks. |
| Larry Lynde | Has a very interesting story about the grandkids in the backseat of a car during a recent trip. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Explanation of today’s fines levied by Sergeant Bob Myers | The fines are so these people who help the club have an opportunity to help the club even more with $1 donation to the OI Foundation. |
| Gary Hansen | Organizing the youth recognition program |
| Roland Rapp | Being Treasurer |
| Mike Bevis | Efforts for the golf outing fundraiser |
| Tom Novak | Efforts for the Avenue of Flags fundraiser |
| Patrick Arehart | For all his help on the finance committee |
| Diane Arehart | Work as co-captain on the tree lot |
| Joan Cordonnier | Being president |
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Susan Thomsen | January 14, 1997 | 27 |
Birthdays
| Don Massie | January 10 |
| Jesse Gaither | January 11 |
| Bill Williams | January 11 |
| Amy Creech | January 13 |
| Rob Jones | January 13 |
| Kelly Kempton | January 13 |
| Bob Duffy | January 15 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received this week
A copy of Thank You Notes the club received this week are here