Membership Info - Contact Joe Sarafini (815) 275-8737 or Terry Anderson (815) 566-7977

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

FEBRUARY 2014 LION TALK


Communications/Announcements
Thank You Mr. Bill Niles, Freeport IL, for your $100 donation to be used for Leader Dogs for the Blind. Our club has supported the Leader Dog Program for many years and will continue to do so into the future with generous gifts such as this.

Lion Liz Boyer announced she is expecting her 2nd child second week of July.  Congratulations Liz!  Lion Brian Burke announced that over the holidays he and girlfriend Jennifer Wichman got engaged!  No set date yet but we're extremely happy for the both of them!  Lion Roland (Anita) Caruso became proud grandparents for the 1st time on 12/19/13 when granddaughter, Julie Mae, was born. She weighed 7 pounds and was 19 inches long, and everyone is doing great; congratulations! President Paul Rampenthal announced that he needed the money for the Ice Hogs Hockey Game right away. The date is fast approaching.

We didn't win any monetary awards during the Festival of Trees at the Freeport Public Library, but we certainly had a beautifully decorated tree, with mints, garland of used eyeglasses and many stuffed lions hanging on several branches.  Thanks again to Lion Troy Pettis who headed up this project, and to his elves Lions Terry Anderson and Rich Montgomery who helped trim the tree.  Think forward to Christmas 2014 - How can we top last year’s tree design as we decorate once again?

Our club received several thank you letters including those from Leader Dogs for the Blind, a Lions International Foundation memoriam, the Freeport Public School Fund, Malcolm Eaton Industries, and an anonymous person who we helped to get a pair of eyeglasses.

See Lion Joe Serafini to purchase Dist. 1D 2014 Calendars. They still cost $25 and have many chances to win on Mon-Wed-Sat Pick 3, evening drawings.

Be sure to check out IL State Magazine as there is an article about our Club on pages 11 & 12 of the January, 2014, issue. http://issuu.com/austinprabhu/docs/state_magazine_january_2014.

If any member is interested in joining Rockton Lions 75th Anniversary in February, see Lion Paul Rampenthal for information.

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District 1D Governor Fred Peska tells us in the District 1D Newsletter that we have 1791 members as of January 1, 2014. From July 2013 to December 31, 2013, we gained 68 new members but lost 79; 17 of those members have deceased. We can all see why we need to keep adding new members. The 1D News also tells us that a six inch cat fish may have more than a quarter of a million taste buds, not just in it's mouth and gills, but on it's whiskers; fins, back, belly, sides and tail. You can learn all sorts of neat things in. newsletters. http://district1dlions.org

Educational Programs
At our 01/01/14 dinner meeting Lion Pat Davis introduced special guest and former Lion Jeff Cowman. Jeff is not only a past member but also a past president of the Freeport Lions.  He graduated in 1982 from Freeport H/S and later graduated from Highland Jr. College.  He started his own business of helping people with their computers in 2007 after the company he worked for was bought out. He started teaching an A-plus certified computer class at Highland College in 2013, and says it is very fulfilling.
 
Jeff talked to us about a lot of malicious software, scam operations or people who want to "help" people with unnecessary services that are not needed. He warned to not click on (open) any pop-up links that appear suddenly. If you need a software update, go to the original source.  For personal computer security, one can rely on Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender or Malware Bytes. There are other programs in the market, but Jeff recommends these three as effective, efficient security software programs. Nice job, Jeff. Thanks Lion Pat for having Jeff visit our club. 

Did you know that you can download FREE books to read on your personal electronic device, iPod, Kindle, etc.? All you need is a library card to get started. Most of you have visited our beautiful new Freeport Public Library.  Some of us go there on a regular basis for reading, or listening, or viewing materials. The library is also used as a meeting place for many local groups and for their lecture series. Some of us use the local history room . Others use their computers or bring their children for children's activities. All you need is a library card to get started. Library Director Carole Dickerson will be our program speaker at our February 11th meeting to update us about all they do to keep up with our rapidly changing world.

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Board News
At our January 28th board of directors meeting we received several thank you notes for past help and considered a number of new requests for assistance. The board granted the Senior Resource Center $200,  $100 for the LCIF Measles Program and decided to buy two business size ads in the District Convention Booklet. They unanimously voted to again sponsor a camper to Camp Lions next summer ($525), moved to have the club purchase four District Calendars at $25 each, and moved to contribute $100 to the United Way's upcoming dinner and fundraiser. 

Our club’s Diabetes Awareness fund collection day will take place sometime after March 1st, organized by Lion Terry Anderson as he has many times. His father and brother both suffered from the disease.  The date of the Diabetes Awareness Day will be decided shortly. 

Lion Dave Snyders will organize this year's Sight and Sound Sweepstakes sale as he has many times before. Check with Lion Dave for more tickets. He needs to turn tickets in by April 22 at the latest. 

Lion Terry Anderson distributed the annual Mint Collection Report detailing our grants to purchase eye glasses. Total collections for the candy mints displayed at over eighty places of business for 2013 was $4,157.86. This was nearly the same as it has been for the last five years. The amount we bank varies however, depending on club expenses. This year, expenses were $1,414.57 which left a bank balance for this effort of $2,743.29. Fifty-four people inquired about receiving glasses and 33 pair of glasses were granted in 2014 costing our club $1,585.47.  All glasses this year were purchased at ShopKo ($72.99 a pair) or Wal-Mart ($52.74 a pair).  The board thanked Lion Terry for his report and for his work.  They praised him for the time, effort, gas, etc. that he gives to these worthwhile projects. 

The board also wishes to thank Lion Rich Montgomery for continuing communication with Lion Sunit Shrestha from our twin club in Kathmandu, Nepal, and forwarding the communications on to us. We hope Lion Rich is also enjoying basking in the warm Florida sunshine and occasionally thinking of his fellow Lions as we enjoy our beautiful snow drifts, icicles and warm sweaters. Lion Rich also publishes our club Blog and posts news and events to our Facebook page. Lion Rich reports that he attended the February 13 Ybor City Lions Club in Tampa, Florida, as a guest of Lion Ernest “Cookie” Garcia, Crews and Garcia Produce, a friend whom he and Andrea have known for many years. 

Lion Rick Eastman and the Car Show Committee did a lot of planning and the "Crusin’ For A Cause" car show is on schedule for May 10, 2014.  Lion Rick (EastRich Graphics) printed a great poster with all the details which you have probably seen. 50/50 raffle tickets are also available for us to sell. Check with Lion Rick if you have questions. 

A special thank you to Lion Duane Smith for publishing the printed version of “Lion Talk”, and to Lion Joe Serafini for “Meeting Minutes” from which the Blog and Facebook pages get the majority of their information. 

NOTABLE QUOTES
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller 
"The Hall of Fame is for baseball people.  Heaven is for good people"    Jim Dwyer 
" Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde 
"When you shoot an arrow of truth, dip it's point in honey." - Arab Proverb 

Calendar Event Dates

 
2/11 -  6:00PM Regular Meeting
2/22 -  ICE HOGS GAME - Rockford
2/25 -  5:30PM Board Meeting
2/25 -  6:30PM Regular Meeting
3/11 -  6:00PM Regular Meeting
3/25 -  5:30PM Board Meeting
3/25 -  6:30PM Regular Meeting
4/4-4/5 - Dist. 1D Convention - Radisson Hotel, Rockford
5/10 - 1st Annual Lions Car Show - "Cruisin For A Cause" 

Think Membership – Invite a guest to dinner. Then ask them to become a Lion  

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