Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
Lord,
Marcus Aurelius wrote, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”
As we approach Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season, may we not become so overwhelmed and wrapped up in the busyness of this time of year that we fail to notice the multitude of blessings surrounding us. Let us give thanks to You not only for momentous events in our lives but let us also give You gratitude for the simple blessings each and every day.
Amen
Get to Know a Member – Lacy Owens
President Sarah Umbreit interviewed Lacy for this week’s “Get to Know a Member.”
Sarah asked whether Lacy puts up her Christmas tree before Thanksgiving or after. Lacy said she always puts her tree up after Thanksgiving. Sarah shared that she now puts her tree up before Thanksgiving and already has hers decorated.
Lacy said her first job was as a pool lifeguard, and her training proved valuable because she ended up saving two people.
When asked what she is most thankful for this year, Lacy said her daughter is pregnant with her first grandchild.
Lacy Owens joined CNO on October 23, 2019, and was sponsored by Stan Fronzaglia.
Announcements
Tree Lot Update
Greg Griffin reported that last Saturday they started unloading Christmas trees at 8 AM and finished in 1 hour and 40 minutes, which is a new record. The tree lot opens for sales at 9 AM on Friday, November 28, 2025.
Scheduling to Know
- There will be no lunch meeting on December 9, 2025, due to the annual evening CNO Holiday Party.
- There is no CNO 2.0 meeting in December. The next CNO 2.0 meeting will be held on January 15, 2025.
Top Optimist Poinsettia Sale
Craig Dring announced the Top Optimist Poinsettia’s will be available for pickup at the lunch meeting at Yankee Trace on December 2, 2025. If you are unable to pick up your poinsettias then, Craig will contact you to make arrangements. Thank you to everyone who purchased them.
Adopt-a-Family Program
Chris Gariety announced that all of the children in the Adopt-a-Family program have been adopted. She said the program is also accepting extra money for food for these families, as a greater need is expected this year. The last day to donate money is at the December 2, 2025, meeting.
Practical Uses for AI – Patrick Arehart
Greg Griffin introduced Patrick Arehart by saying, “It is my pleasure to present to you today as our speaker, my dear friend, Patrick Arehart. Two words come to mind when I think of Patrick. The two words are “Gifted Mind.” Patrick has a passion for learning and has an innate ability to soak up knowledge and information like no one else. How many of you know who “HAL9000” is? I am wearing my HAL9000 Shirt today in honor of today’s topic. HAL is the AI computer from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and I think it is great way to introduce Patrick who is now going to tell us about AI and how we can use it.”
Note: This talk was first given at the CNO 2.0 meeting on November 20, 2025. Patrick was invited to present it again at the Tuesday lunch so more members could hear it. The presentation portion below is the same as in the November 20, 2025, article.
Patrick started by stating that this talk is not technical and not a programming class. The focus is on practical, everyday applications that anyone can start using right away.
He described AI as “amplified intelligence.” It is a tool that expands a person’s abilities and lets them accomplish more with better quality. It helped him build parts of this presentation, and in another example, he created a complete “hygiene and hormones” PowerPoint for a friend in under a minute. AI can produce impressive results with very little input.
You can be productive with AI on day one and will improve over time. It is not a skill like playing the piano that takes years of training and practice. Within weeks it will become second nature.
Some people still worry that using AI is cheating, but the same arguments were made decades ago about calculators and word processors. Patrick said his excitement today reminds him of how he felt at age thirteen when he first realized what computers could do.
Slides
The slide deck has some additional points and the examples Patrick presented.
You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
Better Note Taking with Dictation and AI Cleanup
Patrick has been trying for thirty-five years to talk to a computer and have it write what he says. In the past, dictation required commands and constant corrections. Today you can simply talk naturally. The computer transcribes, and AI fixes it afterward.
He demonstrated an actual example from troubleshooting Outlook where he dictated several paragraphs without stopping to fix the errors. The raw text was filled with typos, incomplete sentences, and mid-thought corrections. He then showed the polished version produced by AI, reorganized into steps, causes, and solutions.
He encouraged members to talk as if explaining something to a coworker who will organize it later.
Travel Planning Made Simple
For trip planning, Patrick asked AI for a four day plan for a trip to Phoenix. It returned a detailed list of attractions, hiking trails, restaurants, and lodging as well as travel tips and a sample itinerary. Creating a plan in minutes removes stress and saves hours of research.
Helping with CNOtes and Other Writing
Patrick showed how AI helps with CNOtes. It saves time and eliminates repetitive work. Older blog excerpts and titles were written manually, but newer ones were generated automatically, and the improvement is clear.
AI also works well as a proofreader. You can paste text and ask for grammar and spelling corrections. Since no one else sees the mistakes, it is easier to accept feedback.
Using Your Smartphone for Ideas and Notes
Patrick encouraged everyone to use the ChatGPT or Claude mobile apps. You can dictate (or type) ideas anywhere, and the app syncs them across devices. Later you can merge them into lists, outlines, or anything else you need.
Digitizing Handwritten Recipes
Patrick demonstrated how AI can convert handwritten recipes into professionally styled recipes, even when the source is incomplete, or written in cursive. AI converts them into clean digital text, fills in steps that are commonly understood, and formats them neatly.
Examples included Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl, Sour Cream Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and a Champagne Punch recipe that originally had no instructions. AI completed each recipe with standard techniques and consistent structure.
Organizing Notes and Creating Bedtime Stories
AI can turn handwritten or scattered notes into meeting agendas, summaries, or outlines. It can also create bedtime stories by combining a few fun details about a child, such as favorite foods or toys, and turning them into a full story. You can have AI add a “lesson” like brush your teeth twice a day.
Creating a PowerPoint with AI
Patrick explained the steps he uses to build PowerPoints with AI:
- Brainstorm ideas iteratively with AI
- Ask AI to turn them into an outline
- Refine the outline iteratively with AI
- Ask AI to generate the entire presentation
This presentation used AI at many stages. Patrick noted that this approach saves hours of work while improving your presentations.
Condensing and Rewriting
AI can quickly improve or adjust writing. Patrick showed how it reduced his own biography from 115 words to 77 words, then to 50 words, and even produced a humorous version. AI is excellent at making writing shorter, cleaner, or more polished.
Patrick Arehart bio – Humorous version
The following text is exactly what the AI generated.
Patrick Arehart has been programming for more than 45 years, which is remarkable considering he still remembers when computers had floppy disks, loud fans, and error messages that actually meant something. He founded Arehart Consulting LLC back in 1988, mostly because no one could stop him, and he’s been designing databases, building systems, and fixing other people’s “quick solutions” ever since.
Patrick now uses AI in his consulting work, not because it replaces him, but because it lets him solve problems faster and look even smarter while doing it. His approach is simple: practical solutions, real-world experience, and absolutely no theories that require a chalkboard covered in Greek letters.
Start Now
Patrick encouraged everyone to try one small task this week, such as rewriting an email, digitizing a recipe, or planning a trip. AI expands creativity instead of replacing it. It is improving every few months and has reached the point where it can now extract text from images in PowerPoints, something that was not possible when he first used it.
He reminded members that the learning curve is low, the cost is reasonable (or free), and the time saved is significant.
Closing
Patrick closed by reminding everyone that AI is simply a tool that helps people become more productive and organized. It unlocks creativity, saves time, and continues to improve rapidly. Members asked questions about writing, fiction, and practical scenarios, and he encouraged them to keep experimenting and discovering new ways AI can help.
Thank You
Thank you, Patrick, for an accessible and practical look at how AI can make everyday life easier.
CNO Christmas Tree Lot Setup – This Is How We Do It
Greg Griffin put together a great music-backed video showing photos from the big delivery and setup day on November 22, 2025. The montage captured the whole transformation of the DMV parking lot into the CNO Christmas Tree Lot. Students from local high schools, the University of Dayton, and many club volunteers were all out there working hard and making the setup move fast.
New Member Readings and Inductions
- Dave Hungler, Second Reading, Sponsored by Dave Kay
Happy Bucks
- Jeff Busch shared that his son was selected for the National Honor Society.
- Karl Frydryk reported that he survived grocery shopping at both Kroger and Dorothy Lane Market.
- Don Kelley said his daughter wrote her final tuition check after paying for sixteen years of college for her four children.
- Jane Fiehrer said her mother just turned ninety years old.
- Carrie Thompson shared that her daughter’s volleyball team is going to the NCAA tournament.
- Bob Myers said he loves My Favorite Muffin because his granddaughter is always happy when he picks it up for her.
- Craig Dring said he is grateful that so many CNO members spoke with the TOP Optimist members at tree lot delivery day. It helps because they work with TOP Optimist members who have special needs and can use the practice looking people in the eye, shaking hands, and having conversations.
- Gail Aiken noted that she has been a CNO member longer than any other woman. She was one of the earliest female members when the club transitioned from being men only.
- Christy Gariety said her mother-in-law just turned 103.
- Ashley Holmes shared that her grandfather just turned 102.
- Beth Duncan jokingly welcomed Mike Yoder as a guest since he had not attended a lunch meeting in a long time.
Sergeants-at-Arms Fines – Bob Myers and Mike Creech
- Ashley Holmes was fined for leaving her name badge in her car.
- Paul Boeckman was fined, as Sergeant Mike Creech put it, “simply because we can.”
- Julie Walling Noeth fined herself $2 for being late the last two weeks. She has been volunteering at the Good Neighbor House food pantry downtown. They need help and walk-in volunteers are welcome Monday through Thursday between 9 AM and 2 PM.
- Sarah Umbreit was fined for losing the bell.
- Patrick Arehart was fined for using an analogy of inventing an atomic bomb as being a very difficult problem to solve.
- Patrick Arehart was also fined $3 for calling the puberty presentation given annually to fifth graders the “hygiene and hormones” talk when Dr. Sergeant Bob Myers believes it should be called the “puberty” talk.
- Karl Frydryk was fined because Dr. Sergeant Bob Myers pointed out that half of our Christmas trees for the tree lot came from Michigan and many were marked with yellow and blue paint, clearly showing support for that state up North.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Bill Johnson | Erin Laurito |
| Cooper LeMaster | Gail Aiken |
| Dave Hungler | Dave Kay |
| Jacob Dice | Gail Aiken |
| Lin Pursel | Bob Glavin |
| Melanie Norton | Blanca Criner |
| Priscilla Stapleton | Christy Gariety |
| Steve Hall | Mike Fanelli |
Club Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Jay McAlpine | November 27, 2017 | 8 |
| Shelby DiPasquale | November 27, 2017 | 8 |
| Chris Wysong | November 27, 2019 | 6 |
| Jayne Weikel | November 27, 2017 | 8 |
| Patrick Arehart | November 27, 2017 | 8 |
| Rick Talda | November 27, 2017 | 8 |
| Steve Rau | November 27, 2019 | 6 |
| JoAnne Rau | November 27, 2019 | 6 |
| Gail Aiken | November 29, 1988 | 37 |
| Ted Humphrey | November 29, 2001 | 24 |
| Liz Fultz | November 29, 2015 | 10 |
Birthdays
| Alice Onady | November 26 |
| Tom Conroy | November 27 |
| Tom Beery | November 29 |
| Denny Cottle | November 29 |
| Christina Clemmer | November 30 |
| Rick Hartley | December 1 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received this Week
CLICK HERE to see the Thank You Notes received this week
Links to PowerPoint and Pictures
CLICK HERE to see the PowerPoint Slide Deck from this week’s meeting