Golden Buckeye Newsletter

Message from the President

Greetings GBF members,

It has been a great year so far for Golden Buckeye Fellowship.

We have two more events before we close out the year; The Fall Soup-In and the ever popular Christmas banquet. I hope you are able to attend as these will be fun.

Thanks to those of you who made it to our annual bus trip. Much appreciation to Dan Stevens (and Richa and Josh), who provided a great tour of Richmond, Indiana. Please plan to join us next year!

Photos are on our website and I hope you are able to check them out! Click HERE to see them.

Gerry Greene’s article about our adventure is below.

Happy Fall!
David Starkey

September 2025

2025 Golden Buckeye Bus Trip

By Gerry Greene

Our 2025 bus trip took us to an important hub of invention and production in 19th-century America, where the National Road crosses the major north-south corridor of US Route 27, connecting Alpena, Michigan, to Miami, Florida. This is the place where fresh energy poured into western Indiana for many decades, working on canals and producing a wide range of inventions, from stoves to pianos to automobiles, leaving a rich history to be discovered by modern visitors.

Richmond, Indiana, continues to glow from its days of glory with fresh murals painted on buildings that have seen it all, and docents who talk with enthusiasm about what was as if it still is.

Approximately four out of every ten people in Richmond are fifty or older, reflecting a reality of few jobs and opportunities, but we were headed there to discover its past as forty-nine of us loaded into the modern coach at the cool beginning of a warm summer day.

After a quick stop at the Welcome Center, we toured the city. We viewed the murals, reflecting the importance of Gennett Records that brought many leading musicians into the city during the 1920s. When we passed the large courthouse, Dan Stevens, our Activities Director, gave us a brief history of the past political conflicts within the county as three cities vied to become the county seat.

During the latter half of the morning, we visited the Model T Museum operated by the local Model T club, where we enjoyed looking at old cars that had no heaters or other conveniences we enjoy today. It was fascinating to look at vehicles our parents and grandparents would have been very familiar with.

Who would have guessed that Richmond was ever a major producer of roses and shipped them widely through the United States from large greenhouses? The local Rose Club still maintains a garden of over 1,100 plants that are celebrated every June. We met the president of the club, who shared with us the club's rich history and ongoing activities.

Marilyn Jackson and Debbie Haas once again provided lunch with three excellent salads and a spread of cheese, nuts and other delights, all in a pavilion in a large city park.

Our afternoon began with a visit to the Wayne County Historical Museum with its many displays reflecting the county's history—a place where the first cooking stove was produced, bringing cooking out of the fireplace and into the kitchen proper.

A large display of bridal gowns captured everyone's attention, but the men in our group moved quickly on to see the other displays, while the women lingered and talked among themselves.

Cars. Did I mention cars? Richmond once manufactured twelve different kinds, and several were on display, names I've never heard, like Pilot, Richmond, Westcott and Davis. I do remember seeing Crosley's, but never knew where they were manufactured.

I was disappointed that Wayne County, like so many others, does not have a permanent display about abolition or northern forms of segregation that were so prominent in the 18th century. Nor was there anything about civil rights in the following century.

We walked across the street and entered what was once a Presbyterian church, now the Reid Center, where we listened to its large organ, which made my pew vibrate. We also heard the rich tone from a Starr piano that was made in Richmond. The main attraction, however, was the Tiffany stained glass windows on all sides of the building. The Tiffany Company mastered the craft that allowed certain yellows to be brighter, even on cloudy days.

We then proceeded to Starr Valley, where the pianos were made and where the Gennett recording studio once stood. In its heyday, Richmond's downtown hotel hosted America's talent who came to the studio to record music, and there is now a Gennett Walk of Fame that we visited on our sunny afternoon.

Our next stop took us to Four Leaf Honey Farm, where some of us learned how to make soap and others watched honey harvesting by a retired veterinarian who is an expert on beekeeping.

After a delicious soup-n-salad at Olive Garden, our last stop was at Uranus Chocolate Factory, where everyone enjoyed free samples.

On the bus ride home, lots of chatter reflected the good time we all enjoyed on the 12th annual GBF Bus Trip.

Welcome to Rich and Jeannie Galloway

By Art Caviness

Golden Buckeye Fellowship welcomes two new members to the group-- the Galloway couple.

These new members of GBF, Rich and Jeannie Galloway, were attracted to the group by word of the September bus trip. As we were getting ready to publish the September newsletter, they were planning to be on that bus and enjoy every one of the sites that day.

They moved to the Kettering/Centerville area about a year ago from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This couple lived there for about 30 years, the longest they have stayed in one place during their 50+ year marriage.

After a Christmastime wedding, Rich and Jeannie enjoyed the gift of married life. Jeannie was a school teacher much of her life, and both she and Rich taught school in Bethel, Wisconsin and Fresno, California. Rich taught sciences and eventually went to Loma Linda University Medical School to become a physician. The small Hattiesburg SDA Church later provided the physician "volunteer-minister" plenty of chances to speak and preach!

The Galloways were quite familiar with the Centerville area because they many times enjoyed visiting their daughter, Erin, who has taught history at Spring Valley Academy for a number of years. Retiring here seemed to fit perfectly.

Jeannie has travelled the world during her life, having been born in Panama when her parents were doing mission work there. When she was in college, she attended the SDA educational institution in Colognes, France for one year. She was going to Pacific Union College when she met Rich, and that is where the Christmastime wedding took place.

In addition to their professional work, Rich and Jeannie enjoy artistic and other hobbies. One of his patients taught Rich woodworking. That included cabinets, furniture, and wooden ballpoint pens! He also loves softball. Jeannie learned sewing and making quilts, and has enjoyed that hobby for a long time. Of course she loves to grow things in her yard, and at one time she got a three or four foot Magnolia (the tall version) from a Civil War site and helped it grow to be 75 feet tall! When you meet her, check to make sure she was not pulling my leg about any of that!

Rich's and Jeannie's identities, as they appear in their e-mail addresses, show their light-hearted approach to life. Rich's address shows him as Gland Guy. Other doctors know right away he is an endocrinologist, but ordinary people like this writer, are puzzled by that one. Jeannie's address lists her as Garden Genie! So she uses a homonym as a play on words right in her e-mail address!

This welcome to the Galloways will likely continue to grow as GBF members get to know them better.

Mission Trip to Peru

By Megan Constantine

This past July, a group of about 40 people from the Centerville Church went down to Peru to minister to the people of Atalaya. They split up into 3 church groups and helped put on an evangelistic program each night for the church members as well as people from the community. Members of the group assisted in the children’s program, shared a health message, or gave the sermon.

During the trip, the group spread the love of Christ to the people of Atalaya in many different ways. Some helped out at the medical and dental clinics. Others put on a week of prayer at the school. There was even a crew that helped paint and fix up the 3 churches.

The town of Atalaya was like a tight-knit community that was always willing to lend a helping hand and work together to bless others. This was shown when they worked as a team to clean their playground area. It was also visible when they took the time to welcome everyone individually to each night of the evangelistic series.

The people of Atalaya were super kind to the group during the trip as well. They shared coconuts, guava, and lots of plantains to enjoy as snacks. They also took the group to a lake to enjoy a water day during their holiday. They even came to the airport to wait with the group to make sure everyone left safely.

Before the group returned home to the States, they traveled to Cusco to see Machu Picchu. They got to enjoy about half a day exploring the site while also doing some sightseeing around Cusco. While there, they got to see llamas, look at souvenir shops, and ride a train to and from one of the historic wonders of the world.

Overall, the mission trip was very impactful. Many people got baptized after the evangelistic series, and many others voiced their decision of wanting to commit their lives to Jesus. The community of Atalaya was blessed and forever changed by the work done by the people from Centerville Church.

Good Neighbor House

By Doug Brown

Many Golden Buckeyes serve others by volunteering at various Dayton area organizations. The Good Neighbor House is one such example.

The history of Good Neighbor House is both interesting and enlightening. Just before Frank Perez came to Kettering Hospital in 1994 as CEO, several local SDA churches decided to close their separate Dorcas programs and merge them into a single organization which became Good Neighbor House. They asked Frank for advice on how to develop that merged program in the best way possible. The resulting vision led to a much larger program for Good Neighbor House than anyone imagined in 1994. That eventually led to its current location on First Street in downtown Dayton, which is strategically ideal to serve the underserved with food, dental and medical services. In a recent month the food pantry served 2,092 families, not counting the dental and medical patients.

Many active local SDA church members volunteer regularly at Good Neighbor House, including Jim Garber, Dave Seidel, Doug Brown, Junior Davidson, and Chris Davidson. Dann Hotelling is the current chairman of the board at GNH. He reports that there are many other board members from the various SDA churches who merged their Dorcas Society groups into the much larger GNH.

Current Board members include Dave Seidel, Jon Cobb, Phil Parker, Joel Greve, Bill Hrovat, Steve Divnick, Roy Chew, Charles Robinson, Delthony Gordon, and Chairperson Dann Hotelling.

Dave Seidel and Charles Robinson illustrate a characteristic uncommon in service organizations. Dave is both a volunteer front line food distributor as well as a board member! And Charles and his wife are very active in the parking lot fundraising program. That is a very unusual combination (being both board member and volunteer) in the same charitable groups! But Good Neighbor House has several other board members who participate in volunteer activities at GNH! And Michelle Collier, the director of the entire GNH program, does a good job of coordinating all the full time and volunteer members of the team!

Doug Brown took me with him recently to see what happens behind the scenes at Good Neighbor House on one of his volunteer days. We bumped into Jim Garber as we went about Doug's routine volunteer activities. Both drive the GNH box truck to pick up pallets of food donations. Currently, the Dayton Food Bank and Costco are the largest weekly providers, while other area organizations, stores, churches and individuals also periodically provide donated food supplies for GNH clients.

One thing that struck me as I spent those few hours with Doug, was that the employees and volunteers all seem to see their work as God's work. They live by the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40 (The Message Version) "I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me."

For a man who spent his pre-retirement years as a principal and educator, Doug seemed very handy driving (and unloading) that GNH truck. I rode with him to Costco to pick up several skids of food that they donate weekly for GNH clients.

During COVID, he and his wife, Millie, volunteered many extra days at Good Neighbor House providing food services. Doug has volunteered at several other places including Sycamore Hospital and Pipestone Golf Course. Volunteering at the golf course provides Doug free rounds of golf! His hospital volunteer job allowed him to show empathy and care for people. He remembers one patient who needed help getting back to her car after her appointment at Sycamore. Waiting in the lobby for her ride, he noticed her crying. She shared she had just learned she must have both feet amputated. Doug consoled her as best he could as he helped her to the car.

One thing that I learned during my day with Doug was that at least two current volunteers at Good Neighbor House used to come there as needy clients! Now they are helping serve others. I am sure the current customers are treated with especially great respect and understanding by those who used to walk in their shoes!

Shellie Rice, who supervises the food and volunteer aspects of the GNH program, sees the whole program as a "God thing." A month or so ago, they were running very low on protein food supplies. When the volunteers worried about failing to provide properly for the many hungry clients, her response to them was, "God will provide." Sure enough, four full skids of the needed food showed up the next day!

There is always a great need for volunteers to help the Food Pantry meet the needs. Opportunities include - food intake, sorting/organizing, boxing/sacking food, and distribution. Serving others and being Jesus' hands, feet and voice brings great satisfaction! Many of the volunteers are short term - they come and go. The real need is for individuals who can help over the long haul!

If you've got spare time on your hands and/or are looking for something useful to do - why not prayerfully consider helping at Good Neighbor House?! You can volunteer for one or more days of the week. If you feel impressed to help, why not give Shellie Rice a call at 937-224-3003 ext. 1108? She'll be glad to explain the process and help you make a difference for the underserved in downtown Dayton!

Building to Share, Sharing to Build

By Kim Lin

Beavercreek Seventh-day Adventist Church was established in 1976. By next year, we will have reached our 50th anniversary. We thank God for the founders of this church and the work that they did to establish this center of ministry in Greene County. Over this half century, our church, in addition to having a sanctuary that seats about 220, we had four classrooms, to meet the needs of each age group. Then as the church grew, the younger children often had to attend Sabbath School together with the older children due to space limitations.

In 2017, when Pastor Gordon joined Beavercreek SDA Church, his engaging sermons and warm personality drew more and more people to our congregation, intensifying the need for larger facilities. Prior to his arrival the church already had plans for renovations, but the need became very clear. Although in 2018 we made fellowship hall and kitchen renovations to expand the usable space, we lost our youth classroom, but it was still not enough.

Our fellowship hall soon became inadequate and during our monthly Sabbath fellowship dinners and we could not fit enough tables and chairs to accommodate everyone. As attendance went up, the space felt more cramped and overcrowded, and many members and visitors were unable to stay for meals, which caused some to leave. Another growing challenge was the limited number of restrooms, which often led to long lines and frustration for many.

Luke 18:27 "But He said, 'The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.'"

Eight years ago, we began planning and fundraising for a church expansion. But raising such a large amount of money was not easy. The growing number of members and the many inconveniences we faced pushed us to move forward more urgently with our plans. After much prayer and with everyone's eager anticipation, we finally broke ground on June 29, 2024, beginning our expansion project under the campaign theme, "Building to Share, Sharing to Build."

Challenges During Construction

As the expansion neared its final stages, our kitchen construction happened to overlap with two of our biggest annual events—Vacation Bible School (VBS) and our new seminar, Summer SPLaSH. In July and August, both programs had record-breaking attendance. On the very first day of Summer SPLaSH, over 300 people came to our church. Yet, at that very moment, we had no kitchen and no running water in the west side of the building, making meal service an enormous challenge.

We managed by ordering pizza, serving vegetarian hot dogs, and having members prepare food in advance at home, bringing it ready to serve at church.

Matthew 6:31–32, "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."

Truly, the Lord provided everything we needed, and not once did we feel lacking.

Complete and Dedication

After 13 months of construction, our project was completed in late August 2025. We celebrated with a series of dedication events:

Night 1: Pastor Michael Goetz, Lead Pastor at Centerville SDA Church, challenged and blessed us with a message on what Christ really builds His church upon.

Night 2: Pastor Andrea Jakobsons, Lead Pastor at Kettering SDA Church, shared an inspiring message about the true value and cost of the Sanctuary Moses built and Solomon's Temple—in today's terms—and whether it was worth it.

Night 3, the actual Dedication and Ribbon Cutting Service: Ohio Conference Executive Secretary Elder Oswaldo Magaña, blessed our church with powerful message of the real reason we have the building. He offered the dedicatory prayer for the evening. That evening, August 22, we were also honored to welcome Beavercreek Mayor Adams, Ohio Conference Treasurer Andy Sutton, Kettering Health Representative Jimmy Philips, SVA Principal Peter Cousins, as well as Pastor and Mrs. Gordon, Campaign Director Dr. Ross Collins, Head Elder Joel Holiday, Building Chair Wayne Whitmill, Church Treasurer Malou Gilford, Church Clerk Helen Riggs, Prince Asante, representing Young Adults, along with Andrew Elliott and Emilee Ramirez, one of our youth and children respectively.

The Ribbon Cutting was followed by an Agape Feast and Communion Service where we rededicated our lives to our Lord and Savior through foot washing and the Lord's Supper. We concluded the weekend with Elder Marvin Brown, President of the Allegheny West Conference who spoke for the Sabbath Service, a concert in the fellowship hall on Sabbath afternoon and a corn roast next to our new Pole Barn on Sunday – a space to be used for recreational activities.

"Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice."

Conclusion: All Glory to God

Reflecting on the entire journey of this building, we realize that it was not a human accomplishment but the grace of God. Without His guidance and provision, we would never have reached this point. This testimony serves as a reminder that God desires more than just our financial contributions; He seeks our very selves, our unity, and our trust. When we take a step of faith, He opens the way and leads people back to Himself. May this testimony encourage us all: the church is not a building, but the people of God. Yet when He leads us to enlarge our tents and expand our facilities, we must boldly respond, because it is His good plan to accomplish great things. Come by and visit us soon at 670 Grange Hall Road. To God be the glory, great things He has done.