"FRIENDS OF THE PEC" PROGRAM

 



River recreation access explained by Roger Schamberger & Joe Ginger

Our March 12th program, "Developing the Pecatonica River as a Recreational Asset”, was presented by Joe Ginger, Jim Leamy and Roger Schamberger from the "Friends of the Pecatonica Foundation", a group  founded in 2006 whose mission is "To preserve, protect and foster the vitality of the Pecatonica River for the plant, animal and human communities within Stephenson County and it's watershed". Our guests gave us an excellent slide presentation of all the work that has taken place so far with more plans ahead. Bobtown Landing in McConnell IL to McNeil’s Damascus Landing east of Lena is a 7.9 mile stretch but is one of Illinois friendliest paddles. If you are adventurous, you can also port at Brewster's Landing, just east of Winslow IL, and go all the way to Tutty’s Landing in Freeport, where the group is currently assisting the Tutty's Crossing Coalition to enhance that City of Freeport park. The group sponsors a river clean-up each year. Even though some of our members had never paddled the "Pec", all found the presentation was interesting and very informative, especially. This group has done a lot of good in the short time it has been operating. Their ongoing river access improvements within ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)guidelines will be an increasing source of recreation and an economic asset for our area in the future.  We thank these gentlemen for their presentation and wish them much success with their goals. Thank you Lion Duane Smith for arranging the program.

 

March 12th Communications/Announcements - Lion Dave (Angie) Snyders celebrated their 23rd Anniversary in the Dominican Republic - was definitely warmer there, Congratulations. Lion Nelson (Karen) Julius had a house fire. He said they may be able to get back into their house around 1st of April after they  repair the smoke and fire damage. Being displaced isn't a lot of fun; we're hoping they were able to meet that deadline. Lion Rick Eastman has designed a pin for the competition to design a pin for this year’s state convention. The design was shown to the members and they all agree that Lion Rick’s design  looks like a winner.

March 9th Tail Twister -Lion Roland Caruso teased us with some golf questions. For us golfers it was a tease to talk golf and still not be able to play yet due to the weather, but good job Lion Roland. You collected $16.00 for our Admin. Account.

March 9th 50/50 raffle - tickets were sold by Lion Rick Eastman - $16.00 raffle winner was Pat Davis who generously donated $14.00 back to the club, THANKS LION PAT! $30.00 goes to our Admin. Account.

The 2013-2014 slate of officers was presented to the board and to the membership and approved by both. We should be in good hands again for next year. Here is the slate of officers approved for next year:

President: Paul Rampenthal	Treasurer: Dennis Zimmerman
1st Vice Pres.: Richard Montgomery	Secretary: Joe Serafini
2nd Vice Pres.: Kevin Grande	Tail Twister: Rick Eastman
3rd Vice Pres.: Rebecca Shriver	Lion Tamer: Pat Davis
1-Year Director: Brian Burke	2 Yr. Dir.: Roland Caruso
1-Year Director: Duane Smith	2 Yr. Dir.: Troy Pettis

Be sure to turn in your "Sight and Sound Sweepstakes' tickets to Lion Dave Snyders before our April 9th meeting if you haven't already done so.

We received a "Thank you" letter from the Lions of Illinois Foundation for donating 628 pairs of eyeglasses and 5 hearing aids turned in by Lions Burke, Pettis & Serafini at a recent Zone Meeting.

 

March 23rd Communications/Announcements - Lion Rick Eastman was anxiously awaiting becoming a grandpa for the 6th time. We hope all goes well for Mom and baby and await the news at our next meeting. Troy Pettis celebrated a birthday on 3/7 * Happy belated Birthday to you! Lion Darla Van Buskirk just returned from a trip out East (Phil., PA) - she got to visit friends  and see theatre, Independence Hall, Philharmonic Orchestra, and Art Institute to name a few. Sounded like a wonderful trip and we're glad you're back safe and sound.
 

March 23rd 50/50 Raffle Drawing: Lion Rick Eastman conducted - $12.00 won by our Treasurer Kevin Grande (that's two times in a row - but who's counting!) $11.00 to the Treasurer for our Admin. Account.

March 23rd Tail Twister - Lion Roland Caruso hit us up for some baseball questions around the team that's in second place next to Yankees in World Series Wins. Who might that be, oh yes, that other team from down Southern Illinois - those *ST. LOUIS CARDINALS! Two non-multiple choice questions were asked of N. IL fans Pres. Terry and Secretary Joe who both missed their questions, but were proud to be able to pay their fine. Oh yes, they've won 1l World Series compared to their counterparts in N.E. IL. Fun time, nice job Lion Roland and you collected $13.00 for our Admin. Account.
 

(NOTE: Both Raffle & Tail Twister funds raised go to our administrative account to help offset our postage, supplies, added meal costs for attending Zone Meetings, etc. - Thanks to all Lions for contributing and helping.)

At our March 26th Board Meeting President Terry Anderson gave the board a copy of an E-mail the club had received from (of all places) Kathmandu, Nepal. The Kathmandu Gliese club was inquiring if our club would care to "twin" and share communications regarding our activities. This could prove a most interesting thing to do with a faraway and exotic place that some may have only read about in the National Geographic magazine. Lion Richard Montgomery will do some checking on this. What do you think?

The Board voted to donate $150.00 to the Stephenson County 4H pork chop dinner on April 7^th  for interested members. The Club received 20 tickets to distribute to the general public.

Lion Anderson also reported that we had not yet received any scholarship applications. If you know of anyone who may have a graduating senior who plans to attend Highland CC, let Lions Terry or Joe know so we can get the parents an application. The deadline is April 13, 2013.
 

Some of our club members will attend the Lena Lions Club meeting April 24th at Beach's Supper Club with a presentation and tour of the Lena Fire Station to follow. This is a good opportunity to visit another club and interact socially and see how they handle their meetings but also a feel for their activities. In turn, our board invited the Lena Club to our annual golf outing and steak fry June 11th. These should both be should be fun activities and chances to share ideas.
 

Lion Joe Serafini reminded us of the approaching 'John Deere Classic golf tournament and the "Birdies for Charity" benefit for the Lions of Illinois Foundation. All the pledges for the "Birdies" contest will be matched by John Deere which is a great fundraiser for LIF. Our club pledged 3 cents per birdie which is the same as last year. It usually costs the club around $75.

Our club voted to donate $500 to the Center for Sight and Hearing in Rockford IL this year. As we all know, they offer a great service for vision- and hearing-impaired people.

Eight Lions plan to attend  the upcoming District Convention April 4, 5, and 6 at the Sauk Valley College campus in rural Dixon IL. Lions Caruso and Serafini contacted Freeport Park District staff who donated a foursome gift certificate for the convention's Silent Auction. Lion Rich Montgomery updated our Club's table-top tri-fold display for the convention. Thanks Lion Richard!
 

At our April 9th meeting Lion Darla VanBuskirk will sponsor a guest speaker for our second annual Cheese Sales Fundraiser. That kicks off at April 23d meeting with forms distributed to members.

Mark your calendars for the weekend dates of September 13th and 14th to help sell bratwursts at the Cub Foods Brat Stand. Serving brats to the public enables our proceeds to help fund our many area activities where “We Serve”. We will need a lot of good workers that weekend. We did very well financially last time. Thanks to Lion Paul Rampenthal for making the proper application so that our club could be drawn in the Cub Foods Brat Stand lottery. That should be a good time of the year with good temperature and weather, right?

BIOGRAPHY DEN - LION TROY PETTIS 

by Lion Duane Smith

Lion Troy grew up in Kewanee, Illinois. He graduated from Kewanee High School (Boilermakers), in 1981. He continued his education at John Woods Junior College in Perry, Illinois where he studied swine management. This study was followed, naturally, by working for twelve years for large hog farms.

Troy moved on to the city of Boieford, North Carolina, where he worked with boats at the marina there. He married in 1993 and adopted a son in 2000. While in North Carolina Lion Troy joined the local Lions Club and we are very pleased that Lion Troy became a Freeport Lion when he moved to our fair city.

He later divorced and moved back to Illinois in 2010, and now is settled in Freeport where he is employed at Ultrasonic Power Corporation. Lion Troy has quickly gotten involved. As he loved vocal music, Troy has joined our local choral society and is the choir director at Zion Church where he also serves as a deacon.

We're sure all these organizations are just as happy to have Troy join them, and we hope he finds Freeport a very welcoming community in every way.

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Calendar Dates

Apr. 6 - District convention - Sauk valley college, Dixon/Sterling

Apr. 9 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

Apr. 23 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

Apr. 23 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

May 1 - State Convention - Rockford

Jun 11- Club Golf outing/steak fry

Sept 13-14 - Cub Foods Brat Stand - need volunteers!!

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