Golden Buckeye Newsletter

Message from the President

Greetings GBF members,

I hope this finds you staying cool and comfortable as summer has certainly heated up.

Thanks to those of you who made it out to the Plaza Theatre event on Father’s Day to see “Shop Around the Corner” starring Jimmy Stewart. It was a great success and enjoyed by all. Many of us also enjoyed ice cream, gelato, or a walk to the candy store after the event.

Please save the date for our upcoming annual bus trip. This will be a one-day event scheduled for September 11, 2025. Dan Steven’s is checking into activities in Richmond, Indiana, which promises to be a good time.

Blessings to each of you!
David Starkey

July 2025

Scam and Fraud Seminar

By Nanette Wright

GBF was privileged to have Kristin Garlough a financial manager from 5/3 Bank presented a seminar on Scams and Fraud. She was very well informed on the subject and presented the material in an easy to follow format and lots of educational interaction taking place with attendees.

What I learned……

I learned it is not if, but when will my identity be stolen. Being prepared is the key to keeping your identity safe.

1 in 5 Americans have experienced identity theft at some point in their life. Financial Identity thief is the most common.

I learned that romance scams are on the raise again. Also, if someone calls you and states that a family member needs money. Hang up and call that family member to verify that they need help.

If I receive emails that looks like it came from a financial institution, look at the email carefully. Check for misspellings, email address to see if it looks suspicious, and read the content carefully. Financial institutions do not demand something of you or states they will permanently delete your account.

I found out that Zelle may be the better option to transfer money to family & friends. Zelle is the top bank approved means to transfer money.

House title fraud is prevalent is our area. If your house is paid off it is recommended to have a line of credit attached to your home through your bank, so you house title cannot be stolen from you.

Steps to take to protect myself from having my identity stolen.

• Use a credit & identity monitoring services

• Monitor my credit reports and scores

• Monitor financial statements regularly

• Practice online safety

• Do not open suspicious attachments

• Do not click on unknown links

• Secure important documents

• Be aware of your surroundings when using your credit/debit card out in public

• Be aware of “shoulder Surfers”( someone looking over your shoulder)

• Do not use public WiFi

• Having a credit card is better than having a debit card which is linked directly to your bank account

Many other attendees stated they learned new information about scams and fraud and will be more vigilant about keeping their identity as safe as possible.

Thank you to everyone for attending this seminar on such a cool and raining day. We were treated to some tasty treats of ice cream bars, frozen fruit bars or hot chocolate.

GBF Softball

By Art Caviness

After muddy fields cancelled play on May 22 & 29, the 2025 Season for Golden Buckeye Fellowship softball finally got underway at noon on June 5 at Ernst Park.

Seasoned veterans Bob Hartloff, Craig Wallace, Jim Richied, Lonnie Dorgan, and Art Caviness were joined by young people who were key to there being enough players. Amy Wallace, Garrett Sampson, and Wyatt Sampson were those welcome young guests.

All three displayed some pretty good at bats, and their fielding also produced some plays that would have made good videos. Amy made one or two circus catches on fly balls, and she also made at least one of her signature plays where she catches the ball, then has it pop out of her glove, then she catches it again before it hits the ground!

Altogether, the combination of opening day and spring training softball produced a number of solid hits by both young people and fully grown GBF players. And there were good fielding plays on fly balls and several sharp grounders to the infield. (Remember under Jerry's rules, all an infielder has to do is field the ground ball cleanly to record the out.) The game lasted just long enough to end in a light, spring rain shower!

Jon Cobb, Isaiah Cobb, and Carol Good had conflicts that kept them away, but they plan to include many future games in their schedule this summer. And a number of others plan to join in the future also and all hope for sunny weather that lasts the entire game! Tell your friends they are still young enough (or old enough) to play GBF softball!

Plaza Theatre Event

By Nancy Klasing

On June 15, about 45 of our GBF group went to the Plaza Theatre in Miamisburg to watch the classic film, "The Shop Around the Corner". The Plaza Theatre is a 1950s style theatre that has been renovated within the last few years. It is clean and comfortable with an easily viewed screen and good sound quality. The staff, which I believe are all volunteers, were kind and helpful. The Plaza is located in downtown Miamisburg on Main Street. It is flanked by many interesting shops which would be fun to browse. Of special interest by some of the group was the Gelato Shop across the street from the theatre. It was hard to decide which flavors of the gelato were the best. Another plus of visiting downtown Miamisburg is that there is plenty of free parking behind the theatre and shops on that side of the street.

"The Shop Around the Corner" is a romantic 1940 Christmas story about two employees played by Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan who work in a gift shop in Budapest. They can barely stand each other but both are having active pen pal relationships with people they think they are falling in love with. Little do they know they have fallen in love with each other through their letters. Of course the movie ends with everyone living happily ever after! Other movies based on this one are the 1949 "Good Old Summer Days" and the 1998 "You've Got Mail."

Many thanks to David Starkey, our GBF President, for organizing this event and supplying the film. Everyone seemed to have a great time visiting with each other as well as viewing the film.

Of further interest, the Plaza Theater specializes in showing classic family oriented films. Tickets are only $5.00. You can check the web site for movies and showtimes. www.myplazatheatre.com

What is In Your Hand?

By Linda Farley Meyer

What do you hold in your hand? That seed question posed by God to Moses, brings me to the reflections of the recent interview I enjoyed with Gerry Greene, our Golden Buckeye past president—author, publisher, re-publisher, poet, computer software formatter, regular social media poster, caring friend, and fellow journeyer of life. Gerry kept his hands, already filled by business and finance work, engaged in lay ministry/pastoral and Bible worker leader in his church. Gerry’s hands, those early years, held VCR evangelistic tapes and self-published doctrinal Bible Study Guide of our church doctrines, that he would leave in people’s homes so they could prepare for the next study or review the last, between his studies with them.

One might fairly ask, with other Bible Study aids available, why would Gerry sacrifice his limited valuable time, finances, and energy to compile, write, edit, and publish yet another Bible Study resource. Gerry’s response was that he felt a Bible Study guide was needed that would present more in-depth Bible verses, printed out not just listed. He also wanted his written lessons to present the conclusion, at the end of the subject’s study, not at the beginning.

Here we need a bit of Gerry’s history. Gerry grew up in a pastoral home and gave His life to Jesus. Though he admits to climbing “fools hill,” the true bend of his life incorporated spiritual principles. Gerry demonstrates strong serious Biblical and history centered study habit. But when asked, if he always had a bent for writing, he answered that serious study in word crafting, and writing took back seats in college, though his family tree included Noah Webster, of dictionary fame. Publishing was not on his mind.

The historical stories, Gerry enjoyed, heard, or read as a child, provided life-long impact his own character growth. Gerry took those learned lessons, from those early church pioneers into his life and practice. Sure, that others might be inspired, as he was, he determined to make that happen via public domain access. Step by step one skill built on another unlocked opportunities to touch an increasing number of people. Gerry discovered that long out of print books, with interesting religious history, including Ellen G. White books in public domain could be made available at low cost. Some books he hand-typed, dedicating 2 hours a day to his missionary project outreach. Thirty-six re-publications show his hard work. The republished book, Christ Our Righteousness, by A.G. Daniels, gets the most sales.

Through republishing Gerry interacted with the White Estate and researched copyright laws, to make sure there were no legal concerns. If you have questions, Gerry has at least some answers that assisted him in publishing out of print books, falling under public domain.

The re-publication work experience arrested Gerry’s attention toward writing and drove him to learn, whatever and however he could, about writing. He read books, took classes, and joined writing groups that even included poetry writing. Though poetry is not his favorite reading material, he enjoys communicating his own thoughts through poetry. Gerry writes and shares several poems per week.

VCR tapes obsolescence created a new niche and Gerry was ready. He uses his self-published, Bible Study Guide: 28 Fundamental Beliefs , six copyrights later. It remains, along with other well used toolbox tools-- computers, phones, internet, AI, and social media--, in his hands. Gerry occasionally, asks AI to set a poem to music. I tapped my toes to the created catchy tune he shared with me.

Gerry added formatting skills to his computer knowledge. The formatting knowledge and skill made him the perfect volunteer candidate for formatting and illustrating the Sabbath School.net website. His penchant for sharing Jesus with the world, allows him opportunity to put each adult Sabbath School lesson on Facebook. Gerry posts the day-to-day day quarterly lessons daily on Facebook. Here again you will find each suggested verse printed into each lesson. These posted Sabbath School quarterly lessons are on Facebook, because that is a way people around the world can read the lessons, who might not have access to the quarterly. It is a social media platform that links nations.

You, our Golden Buckeye members might want to make Gerry your friend on FB, joining 5,000 friends or 1000 followers. There you will find his posted poetry and available publications, some for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, some are offered free. People around the world have access to materials from Gerry. Ask Gerry for his complete list.

Beyond all that I learned about Gerry in my interview, you might find his hands moving furniture for someone in need, or reaching out to others in caring ways, for Gerry’s hands are hands of service. Yet in all this Gerry rarely gets personal feedback. He can see if book sales or requests for free literature offered come. His grateful happy heart, filled with the love of God, through the Holy Spirit, takes joy in seed sowing.

One of Gerry’s poems, Disciples, seems just the right closing commentary on Gerry’s activities and his call to service.

Disciples

It won't be long, you'll sing my song,
Share the stain and feel my pain.
It won't be long, they'll come for you
With weapons and chains. You'll suffer too.

There is work to do.
Do not slumber or sleep.
There is work to do.
Lead my people, My sheep.

It won't be long, the world will see
What happens to those who follow me.
It won't be long, you'll feel the loss
That turns to gain upon my cross.

There is work to do
regarding service of love.
There is work to do.
Preach good news from above.