LION TALK - OCTOBER 2012

September 11^th meeting Communications/Announcements - Lion Paul (Betty) Tormohlen celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on 9/8! Congratulations to you both! Happy Birthday to Bert Kersten! Lion Richard Montgomery reminded us that today eleven years ago many friends and comrades died in the 9/11 attacks. Since then we have been involved in two major battles and have lost many more of our military as they fight to allow us to celebrate our freedom. We held a moment of silence to honor those who have passed but also to honor those who continue to serve our country and maintain our freedoms that we should never take for granted.

Rather than having a regular program, members broke into small groups and brainstormed how to improve our club. Each small group then gave a brief report, and the members all filled out a questionnaire. The completed questionnaires were given to Lions Rebecca Shriver and Darla Van Buskirk who will compile the results to give for a later meeting. The results should prove interesting and provide some good ideas for improvement and membership growth.

September Activities:

• September 13^th - Leonard Ferguson Center open house 5-7PM. Attendees saw the new construction helped by our $3,000 donation from earlier this year.
• September 20^th - German Valley Lions Club Buffet Fundraiser at Freeport VFW. The club bought 10 tickets for member use. Attendees enjoyed a terrific meal and camaraderie.

September 25^th meeting Announcements - Lion Pat (Carlotta) Davis celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary on.9/29. Lion Bert (Linda) Kersten celebrated their 13th on 9/25. Congratulations to all! Lion Rick Eastman said his 3 yr. old grandson came home and was quite excited to recite the Pledge of Allegiance! What an exciting time when you hear our youth recite such an important part of our heritage.

The September 25th Board Meeting was very full, as is the calendar for whole month of October.

• October 7^th we volunteered to cook and wait tables to help the Stephenson County Senior Resources Center with their “Oktoberfest Cookout & Dance” at the VFW from 12:30-4:30PM.
• October 12^th and 13^th are Lions Candy Days - Collection locations are at Sullivan Foods, Cub Foods, K-Mart and Shopko.
• October 27^th is Lions Rose Day - Lions were urged us to push sales and get as many turned in at the 10/9 meeting so they can get be routed early. Sales deadline and final money turn in is at the 10/23 meeting. For questions ask Lions Joe Serafini or Brian Burke.

In other business the board moved to donate the following contributions:

• $400 to Amity Society for their child care program.
• $100 to the University of Illinois "Keepers of the Land" educational program for 3d graders.
• $1000 to the Stephenson County Historical Society to help restore the one room school, an important part of our local heritage as an educational tool.

We were sorry to learn that past president and active Freeport Lion, Harry Kline, had died. Lion Harry was the chief medial technologist at Freeport Memorial Hospital for a number of years who later served as a Lutheran minister. This later calling took him to many places before his retirement.

The board thanked Lions Terry Anderson and Jack Grigsby for refurbishing and restoring our Lion benches at the Park Hills Golf Course and at the J. C. Penney store. They now look so much better. Good job!

The District 1-D Newsletter mentioned that the Center for Sight and Hearing was having an open house on October 12^th from 1PM - 3PM. The Center’s website is www.centerforsighthearinq.org.

Lion Biography (by Lion Duane Smith): Longtime Lion, Paul Tormohlen, was born in Kansas City. Paul's father was a Methodist minister so the family moved with his work. They later returned to Rockford where Paul grew up. He graduated from Rockford East High school in 1942 and attended the University of Illinois briefly. But as most young men in those days he soon ended up in Uncle Sam’s military. Paul served in the Army Field Artillery for three years in the South Pacific. He participated in the campaigns for Saipan, Taiwan, Leyte Island in the Philippines, and Okinawa until June of 1945 when he was returned to the States and discharged in October. He found a job in the Service Department of the Rockford Hudson dealer. He soon became manager of the Beloit Hudson dealership, and later bought the business. This continued for seven years until Hudson quit making cars. At this point Paul returned to Rockford and sold cars for Chrysler; then used cars; then Fords; and later sold Chevrolets.

 In 1972 Paul came to Freeport Chevrolet as manager. He and partner Virgil Bocker bought the dealership in 1976. Virgil bought the business in 1983 when Paul started Tormohlen Chrysler. He owned that the next 20 years until he sold the business in 2003. Shortly thereafter, he began “Tormohlen's Good People Automotive” located on Ihm Boulevard where he works most days.

Paul currently starts each day at 5 a.m. with a swim at the YMCA, a routine for the last 30 years. He and Betty have two sons, Gordy and Tom. Gordy is with him in their car business. Paul and Betty also have a granddaughter who sells cars in Rockford, and a grandson who sells cars in Monroe. Paul and Betty enjoy travel and have taken eight cruises. Paul's long-time interest is collecting Hudson autos. You've probably seen him at one of the local car shows with one of his fine autos. He is very active at the National Hudson Collectors Association, and he and Betty drive their Hudson to the meetings around the country. With all his other activities Paul has always been a very loyal and active Lion since 1964 - almost 50 years serving his community.

A QUOTE FROM THE OCTOBER 1988 NEWSLETTER: “The Hearing screening Mobile Unit was stationed on September29th at the Jewel/Osco store. Sixty people were tested between 5p.m. and 8p.m. We consider our efforts a success. Thanks to Jim Argo for his good work.”