HEREABOUTS pamela dillon
When the Christian Marketplace Network held its Fifth Annual Charity Golf Outing May 17, there were 64 golfers teeing up at Shaker Run Golf Course in Warren County. After 18 holes of golf, many participants won gift baskets, free golf coupons, golf shirts, autographed memorabilia from Anthony Munoz and Clark Kellogg, bed and breakfast gift certificates, restaurant gift cards and golf balls. But the real winner was the Miami Valley Women’s Center.
On July 16, past CMN Dayton regional director Veronica Grabill presented JoAnne Roherer with a check for $2,500 at a CMN luncheon meeting at Bravo by the Dayton Mall. Roherer, founder, board president emeritus and secretary of MVWC, also is a longtime member of the Christian Marketplace Network.
“She felt very blessed and thought it was wonderful that CMN would choose the Miami Valley Women’s Center as this year’s recipient,” said Cindy Good, MVWC executive director. “This gift is a welcome donation to the life-saving and life-changing ministries of the MVWC.
Last month alone, more than 350 women and men received at least one of these free services at their particular time of need: options counseling, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, mentoring, emergency infant needs and more.”
The Christian Marketplace Network has a strong tie to the area with 22 members residing in Springboro or Clearcreek Township. CMN was founded by Brian Benson in Columbus in January 2001. He wanted to provide a forum where Christian businesspeople could connect for mutual support and guidance. CMN has now grown to 14 chapters. In addition to chapters in central Ohio and Dayton, CMN has spread to Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The Dayton chapters sponsored the outing.
“Each year we receive submissions from non-profits, and the committee takes a vote to select a charity to support,” said Grabill. “The golf outing has been a success for raising money to give back to the community.”
CMN has three chapters in the Dayton area. The Dayton-South Chapter has a luncheon meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the third Friday of each month at Bravo. Cost is $15 for reserved members/visitors, and $20 for everyone else. The Dayton-The Greene Chapter has a breakfast meeting on the second Thursday of each month at Groundz4Living at The Greene. Members network, meet new members, dine, and participate in fellowship and devotional time. Cost is $10 for reserved members/first-time visitors, and $15 for second- and third-time visitors. For general information, visit www.cmn-usa.org, or call Bill Gafney at (937) 567-5267 for Dayton-South, and Ryan Gathard at (937) 458-3000 for Dayton-The Greene.
There also are quarterly Dayton-Lunch & Learns at Indiana Wesleyan University. Call Karen Armstrong at (937) 847-6184 for more information.
The Miami Valley Women’s Center is a non-profit Christian ministry with offices in Kettering, Huber Heights and Xenia. It is a crisis pregnancy center that was founded in 1982.
Contact this columnist at (937) 748-3487 or PamDillon@woh.rr.com.