A history of "Sharing Hopes And Nourishing Needs Of Neighbors"

By Duane Bollenbacher and Patien Dulaney

Duane:
In 1997 a group of young couples and individuals in Bluffton formed the Bluffton Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees). After one year they decided they did not like paying big dues that were sent out of town. So in 1998 they formed a local service club--called the Bluffton Area Service Organization, or BASO. They existed for a couple years and they got busy, most of them with young children and disbanded. When the Exchange Club was formed, BASO gave them ideas for activities and turned over the money in their account.

There were 25 members when the Exchange Club officially started on April 25, 2003. The activities were dictated by International Headquarters and 90% of the expensive dues went out of town. As the President and other officers became busy elsewhere, our numbers dwindled extensively but we still tried to do all the nationally-dictated activities. We finally got down to a very small number, myself being the only remaining charter member from the Exchange Club just three years prior. 

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I called for a meeting of anyone interested in forming a LOCAL, completely volunteer, service group.  On the evening of June 19, 2006, the following people met at the Bollenbacher house on Main Street to decide the fate of the Exchange Club and any new organization; in attendance were my wife Deb and I, Bill Steiner, Jayne Benroth (as a consultant from the Exchange Club), Amy Parthemore, Min Lindsey and Malissa Takacs.    

We then met in July to form a new club and make these decisions: meetings would be informal; cost of membership was $10 per year; and the RULE was “There Ain’t No Rules”.  Our goal was to make Bluffton a better place to live by aiding the youth, the elderly and those in need. From that humble beginning, we grew into an organization that was very proud and happy to help the community in any way we could.  We needed a name for this service group. We could not devise an appropriate acronym for “BLUFFTON”, but my wife Deb finally came up with “Sharing Hopes And Nourishing Needs Of Neighbors (S.H.A.N.N.O.N.)”, using the fact that ‘Bluffton’ had originally been called ‘Shannon’.  Within two years we had grown into a club with membership of over 30, without any membership drives.  Our group was VERY DIVERSE, with ages ranging from 12 to 88, including men and women retirees, full-time workers, young couples (with or without children) and college students.  The projects that each member helped with were as varied as the members were.  Some of our older members helped with sit-down activities.  Some of our members could not attend day-time meetings but became experts at helping with one or two activities each year.  We tried to involve youth in helping our activities as much as possible.  Over time, we found that two activities became our main sources of income.

We offered the public the opportunity to donate to the Flag Fund so that flags could fly above Main Street each summer.  In return, a named person could be honored or memorialized.  This highly successful project was in cooperation with the Village of Bluffton, The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Bluffton American Legion. 

The other event was the Friday night Chicken Barbecue and the HUGE Community Garage Sale (beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and restarting on Saturday morning).  This was held on the last weekend of February in the Centre at Bluffton (the first Garage Sale of the season in the community each year). 

Over the years we became involved in many projects, some of them a one-time undertaking, but most of them were regular events:

• Scholarships to Bluffton High School graduating seniors, eventually giving three $1000 scholarships each year.
• Helping with projects and providing some funding for the Bluffton Food Pantry. 
• Sponsoring one or more families every Christmas through the Bluffton Food Pantry by providing food, gifts, gift cards and gas cards. 
• Sponsoring, providing, preparing and serving two Community Meals a year at the Senior Citizen Center. 
• Co-Sponsoring ‘1000 Books Before Kindergarten’ with Bluffton Public Library.
• Providing and preparing a Christmas dinner for and then eating with residents at Vance Street Apartments for several years.
• Being a member of Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce and helping with projects. 
• Providing gift cards and gas cards for families whose child had to make frequent trips to hospitals in Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati.
• Parading and handing out candy and/or small Bluffton School Flags at the Blaze of Lights and Homecoming Parades.
• Blaze of Lights—Selling tickets and loading customers onto the wagon for the Wagon Rides.
• Helping to sponsor and participate in the Relay for Life.  
• Providing a ‘Fishing Booth’ for children each year at the spring Arts and Crafts Festival.     
• Volunteered weekly at the Mennonite Memorial Home to hand out evening snacks.
• Volunteered weekly at the Mennonite Memorial Home to transport residents in wheelchairs to Chapel.           

As with many groups, the number of members versus active members over the years was very telling.  In addition to being involved in every project, some of the more active members with special duties included Duane Bollenbacher, president for 17 years and flag donation organizer; Bill Steiner, treasurer for the entire time; Joan Steiner, secretary and coordinator of the Chicken Barbecue; Deb Bollenbacher, organizer and facilitator of the Garage Sale for 10 years; Connie Anderson, who took over the Garage Sale for Deb; Harlan and Pat Basinger, Erin Burkholder, Becky Cox, Amy Parthemore, Elaine Harris, Min Lindsey, Tim Closson, the Steele family, Fairy Parkins, Joan Bauman, Adam Belcher, Jerry Cupples (who mounted the American flags on the sticks and helped the Legion erect the flags on street poles every year), Libby Hostetler, Carolyn Gillam, Sharon Garmatter, Jenny Pilarowski, Judy Augsburger, Phil and Sarah Shank, Ben and Terri Stahl, Jesse and Amy Blackburn, many college students and many others at one time or another (apologies to any that I missed). 

The S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club of Bluffton would like to give many thanks to all the individuals, the businesses, the organizations and all others who helped and supported us in any way.  I, Duane, wish to thank ALL the members of S.H.A.N.N.O.N. over the years for their caring and giving of themselves to help make Bluffton a better place for the youth, the elderly and those in need.       

As time passed and with COVID interfering with many activities and with many of our members growing older and slower, in spring of 2023, we decided to finish out the year and disband.

However, a group of energetic, enthusiastic, new and younger members decided to continue this organization.  I now turn this letter over to Paiten Dulaney.  

Paiten:
In December of 2022, a young funeral director decided she was ready to get involved in a community organization. As my manager and I discussed the different options, S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club was brought up. It had just so happened that during this week, we would be handling the funeral service for Mrs. Deborah Bollenbacher. When Duane came into the funeral home to drop off some items for Deb’s funeral, I asked him about S.H.A.N.N.O.N; what it was, what it meant and how to get involved. We talked for a while before he headed back home and I returned to work. Before we knew it, I was a member, had a t-shirt and was invited to help the group wrap Christmas gifts for a family that the club had adopted, all before Deb’s funeral. 

At the very first meeting I attended, the group was throwing around the idea of disbanding. Being the newest and youngest face, I decided I couldn’t let this club fail as I was just joining. I searched for some other new and young faces to help keep S.H.A.N.N.O.N. alive. So along came Kristen Mullins, Gabe Deneker and Dylan Whitlow. As new faces came, so did our hope and ideas. Soon, before we knew it, our titles became: Paiten Dulaney - President, Kristen Mullins - Vice President and Gabe Deneker - Treasurer. We put our boots on the ground and started to get to work. For months we discussed ways to fundraise, community tools we could provide and expanding to other communities in our area; trying to find new ways to bring life to the meaning of Sharing Hope and Nourishing the Needs Of Neighbors. 

Unfortunately, with many challenges in our way, our future as S.H.A.N.N.O.N. was dim and unattainable. Finding more active members, establishing non-profit status and fundraising during this time proved to be a challenge. With that being said, after much discussion, review and internal reflection, it is with great displeasure that I am announcing the end of the S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club. I would like to thank each and every one of you who has dedicated many years of hard work to this organization. Your service to our community is and always will be cherished. S.H.A.N.N.O.N. Service Club started as a service organization by Bluffton and for Bluffton. May we all continue to share the message of sharing hope and nourishing the needs of our neighbors.