Events

Joyce Reid Kasprzak's affiliation with education began as a reading and language arts specialist in Dayton Parochial Schools from 1969 to 1973. She started working with the nonprofit Home Based Arts (HBA), now Children's Historical Publishing, as a volunteer in 2000 before becoming the Executive Director in 2006 after the passing of Founder William Bell. Before joining the organization, Joyce was the Founder and CEO of the Dayton/Toledo/Columbus region of The Diet Workshop for over 25 years. The national headquarters in Boston commended her franchise as the largest and most successful in the company's history. Honored by The New York Times for outstanding work incorporating weight loss programs, her innovation and vision won Dayton's Female Entrepreneur Award. In 2010, Joyce was recognized by the Dayton Daily News as one of the Top Ten Women for community contributions. Joyce received the Cardinal Bernardin Community Service Award in 2010. The Dayton Exchange Club presented her with the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2019. She continues to work as the Executive Director of Children's Historical Publishing, which has placed over 600,000 learning-activity books in the hands of minority and at-risk children. She is a respected member of the Education Committee for the American Heritage Foundation, Montgomery County Reentry Public Education & Advocacy Committee, and the Dayton Woman's Club. Joyce lives in Tipp City with her husband, Alan Kasprzak, and visits her son, Brian, in Los Angeles as often as possible.

Val Beerbower manages the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Sinclair College. Part of the Workforce Development team, Val oversees planning, execution, and recruitment for summer cohorts offered at the college. She obtained her journalism degree from Ohio University in 2006 and started her career on the editorial teams of newspapers and magazines before pivoting to PR and marketing … and then pivoting to economic development … and then pivoting to higher education. When she’s not assisting small business owners, she enjoys spending time with friends and neighbors in downtown Dayton. You can learn more about Val on her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valbeerbower/

Topic – Have you heard of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program? Don’t sleep on this unique educational opportunity for small business owners. Each summer, 25 to 30 entrepreneurs are selected to participate in this 12-week business boot camp. Each week, scholars take a deep dive into a variety of topics related to business management and administration, all while developing a five-year growth strategy. Best of all, there’s NO COST to attend, thanks to a grant that provides a full scholarship to all scholars. During this informational session, the program manager for Sinclair College, Val Beerbower, will present an overview of the program, the curriculum, and eligibility requirements, and how to apply. Curious now? Get a sneak peek at https://workforce.sinclair.edu/entrepreneurs.

Bryan Suddith serves as the Deputy Director of the Montgomery County Veteran Services Commission. He has been with the Commission for 6 years. Bryan is responsible for leading the staff and managing both the operations and marketing of the Commission. Bryan is married to a United States Air Force Veteran, his wife of 27 years who served as a Lieutenant with the 45th Engineering Squadron in the Space Command. Bryan holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Dayton and has 12 total years in leadership with Montgomery County.

A deep dive into the trends and impact of the nonprofit sector

This presentation will highlight the services offered for families and youth in Kettering through the Youth and Family Resource Coordinator including upcoming initiatives, ways to get involved, and the launch of neighborhood bridges.

Laura Tran joined the district as the City of Kettering/Kettering City Schools jointly-supported position of Youth and Family Resource Coordinator in the summer of 2024. She is a licensed social worker with experience working in the nonprofit field. Her wide range of experience includes serving as the training coordinator and adoption coordinator for a foster care agency and as a domestic violence social worker in the Dayton area shelter system She has nearly ten years of experience in social work, dedicated to connecting our community with essential resources and supporting families from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, and is the new Area Director for neighborhood bridges, launching soon in Kettering! Audiovisual needs. 

 Laura.Tran@ketteringschools.org, 937-499-1496

While Kayleigh has been passionate about service for as long as she can remember, it was during her time serving as a United States White House Intern alongside Laura Bush and staff that she truly began to understand the true value in her potential to make a positive impact. Kayleigh joined the Girls on the Run of Dayton staff in 2017 and has served as Executive Director since 2018. She has led the organization through tremendous growth and the COVID-19 pandemic with the commitment to serve EVERY girl that wishes to participate. She considers her position a privilege and honor to work alongside so many amazing individuals, working together to inspire the next generation of women to be changemakers.

In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors with her son, Jack and their Aussiedoodle, Penny. 

A look back through the facinating archives of our club. Brenda and Ted will share a treasure trove of items we were given. We'll have a presentation and pass around some amazing documents, magazines, letters, newsletters etc. We'll lead a discussion with members to help celebrate our 62 Years of service. It's going to be fun!

Guest of Jana

This program features the stories of famous area haunts, such interesting stories as the location of a mob execution, the gazebo a murdered bootlegger’s wife still frequents and a famous building built on the graveyard of children—where some of the departed little ones still roam. I will also reveal some conclusions about how spirits interact with the living, drawn from my research on ghosts I’ve completed in writing my series, the Haunted Shores Mysteries. And, of course, I have several documented intriguing photos of famous ghosts to ponder. One of these ghosts may be right around the corner.

BIO:

Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author, speaker and podcaster. As an educator, he served children for more than three decades and has mined that experience to create captivating fiction, authoring two series, the bestselling series, “The Haunted Shores Mysteries,” and the award-winning series, “Lessons in Peril.” His novels have won critical acclaim and garnered national awards including Mystery of the Year (ReaderViews) Best Book Award (Chanticleer Books and Reviews) and the Gold Award (Literary Titan) and amassed hundreds of 5-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Dr. Overbeck also hosts the popular podcast, “Great Stories about Great Storytellers,” which reveals the unusual and sometimes strange backstories of famous authors, directors and poets and can be heard wherever listeners get their podcasts. He is a speaker in considerable demand, sharing his popular presentations about ghosts and the world of book publishing with hundreds of audiences all over the U.S.

As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop.

When he’s not researching, writing, speaking or podcasting, Randy enjoys traveling with his wife Cathy and visiting both his far-flung family and the scenic locations around this country, often in search of inspiration for his next great story.