Officer John P. Kalaman and Robert J. O’Toole Awards Presented to Our First Responders

Debe Dockins, President of Centerville Noon Optimist Club

Today is the first meeting with our new president, Debe Dockins. Thank you, Debe, for taking on the extra duties to serve our great club. You are perfect for the job.

President Dockins announced that she plans to work with committees to re-imagine during COVID restrictions how our club can continue to have community events and fundraisers to continue our mission as “Friend of Youth.”

Optimist International Foundation 50^th Anniversary

Bill Stone, the district rep for the OI Foundation, announced that this year there is a special Dime-A-Day pin for the 50^th anniversary of the Optimist International Foundation. The Foundation has decided in honor of its 50^th anniversary that the donation amount is $50 for this year. Their vision statement is, “We envision a Foundation that can provide significant funding for Optimist International’s youth and service programs and is proudly supported by individual Optimists, their Clubs and the community at large.” Please consider donating to this outstanding non-profit organization. Please send your donations to the CNO OI rep Greg Wasmund, then our club gets credit for your donation.

Announcements

Debe Dockins announced that the Ohio District Conference and Convention will be October 23^rd and 24th, 2020, at Embassy Suites in Dublin Ohio.

Mike Brubaker, Optimist of the Year

The 2019-2020 winner of the Centerville Noon Optimist Thomas P. Frazier Optimist of the Year Award is Mike Brubaker.  He is more than deserving of this recognition. Mike joined CNO on 10/28/2008.

It is the job of the previous year’s winner to announce the current year winner. Beth Duncan stopped by the Brubaker home and gave the award in person during the Zoom President and Officer Installation meeting on 9/29/2020.

You can read the full article in the 2020-2021 Installation Dinner CNOtes.

A video of Beth presenting the award to Mike is available here. 

Community Events

Debe Dockins announced that she is looking for volunteers for the Halloween Hop and Howl. CNO is partnering with the Centerville-Washington Park District. The events will be 10/29/2020 and 10/30/2020 from 4 PM to 6 PM at Forest Field Park. Contact Debe Dockins if you would like to volunteer. Volunteers should arrive no later than 3:30 PM.  We need 12 Optimist volunteers each day (10 treat stations and two people at a Welcome/CNO Tent/Table). CNO volunteers are welcome to decorate the treat stations. Volunteers will be handing out bouncy balls, Halloween candy, tops, spider rings, etc. Children dressed in costume will walk between treat stations. At each station, a sign will direct children to perform a challenge like “howl at the moon”, “walk like Frankenstein”, “cackle like a witch”, “hop like a bunny” or something else. Adults and children aged 10+ are required to wear a mask or facial covering.

Virtual Awards Ceremonies – Respect for Law and Firefighter/EMT awards

CNO members Bob Burkman, Gary Anderson and Debe Dockins were on hand to facilitate our annual awards for the John P. Kalaman Respect for Law Award and Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award. Also on hand were CNO members and Centerville Police Department Captain Mike Brem and Township Administrator Jesse Lightle.

The families of the gentlemen the awards are named after were represented at the ceremonies by John Kalaman and Ruth O’Toole.

One Recipient is Selected From each of these organizations

• City of Centerville Police Department
• Washington Township Substation of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
• Washington Township Firefighter and EMT

The ceremonies were recorded on 10/2/2020.

Links to Brochures and videos of the ceremonies

• Tri-Fold Brochure of the John P. Kalaman Respect for Law Awards
• Video of the John P. Kalaman Respect for Law Award
• Tri-Fold Brochure of the Robert O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award
• Video of the Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award

John P. Kalaman Respect for Law Awards

Each year one award is selected for the City of Centerville Police Department and one award is selected for the Washington Township Substation of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Nominations are accepted from the peers of those eligible. All employees of the department are eligible, not just police officers.

City of Centerville Police Department

This year’s recipient is Records/Communications Specialist Amanda L. Holland. She was nominated by a fellow R/C specialist at the City of Centerville Police Department.

Amanda Holland spoke. She thanked the Kalaman and O’Toole families and she appreciates that the awards are still happening during this chaotic year.

She said, “Everything we do in dispatch is a team effort.” Being selected for this award is a big deal to her. She understands the sacrifices of officers and their families. Her husband is an officer for the City of Franklin. She helps new Records/Communications (dispatchers) employees understand how important their job is.

Holland introduced her husband and her 3-year-old daughter, Ella. Also attending were her Mother, her Mother and Father-in-law and some friends.

Washington Township Substation of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office

This year’s recipient is Deputy Shane Carter.

Deputy Carter has been assigned to the Washington Township sub-station as the Community Engagement Officer since 2019. Deputy Carter turned an old, unused trailer in the parking lot into a community resource trailer with plans to provide food & drinks at neighborhood events. Within months, the trailer served a much greater purpose after tornadoes devastated the Miami Valley Region. Deputy Carter mobilized the trailer as a resource to serve hot food and cold drinks to the areas most affected. He was later awarded a $10,000 grant to purchase and outfit a new trailer.  Deputy Carter has worked tirelessly to strengthen the relationship between the township and police as he took it upon himself to develop a Facebook page for residents to assist in setting up neighborhood watch groups.  He also participates in Super Saturday events and conducts security surveys for businesses and residents.

Deputy Carter spoke. He thanked his family and said that without his wife’s support he would not have been able serve his community at the level he has been able to. He also thanked Township Administrator Jesse Lightle and Sheriff Streck for their support.

Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award

This year’s recipient is Fire Lieutenant Jeff Joseph.

An active member of the Washington Township Fire Department for 31 years, Jeff now works part time for the department and is also a full-time employee at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. His positive attitude, energy, and passion make an enormous impact on the department, along with his broad range of skills accumulated over decades of experience. Jeff is constantly looking for ways to lighten the load of others, working a variety of assignments as needed and even bringing dinner for crews that he has cooked himself. According to Fire Chief Scott Kujawa, “Lt. Jeff Joseph exemplifies what it means to be a Washington Township firefighter.”

Lieutenant Joseph spoke. He remembers the awful day when the Robert O’Toole and John P. Kalaman were lost in the line of duty. For him personally, the experience of a line of duty death is something you never forget. It is an honor to receive this award and he thanked CNO and the department for honoring him.

Ruth O’Toole made a few comments after the group picture was taken. She said, “Thanks to the Optimist Club for keeping Bob’s memory alive. Thanks to everyone for being here today.”

About the CNO Awards from Bob Burkman

In July 1965, a discussion between Past Optimist International President Carl Bowen and former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover resulted in the birth of the Respect for Law program. This is the fourth most popular international program with more than 1,500 Clubs participating last year.

After the tragic events of January 12, 1998, Centerville Noon Optimist member and then township trustee, the late, Terry Blair became the driving force to name our club’s Respect for Law Award in honor of John Kalaman. 

The John P. Kalaman Respect for Law Award and the Robert J. O’Toole EMT/Firefighter of the Year Award, given in October, are the results of Terry Blair’s efforts.

The Kalaman family pushed for the passage of Ohio’s Move Over/ Slow Down Law, adopted in 1999, requiring motorists to change lanes or slow when approaching stopped emergency vehicles. 

There are many reminders of John Kalaman within our community.  There is a John P Kalaman Memorial Golf Tournament held here at Yankee Trace Golf Course, which funds a scholarship in John’s name and a yearly blood drive is held in his name.  The City of Centerville named a street for him.

The Firefighter/EMT award honors the memory of Ruth and John’s son Robert J. O’Toole. Robert who lost his life on January 12, 1998 while responding to an accident.

No time for Happy Bucks this week.