LION TALK - DECEMBER 2012

LION TALK - A NEWSLE'ITER FOR THE FREEPORT, ILLINOIS LIONS CLUB

December 2012

November 13 - Members of our Lions Board met prior to the regular meeting to discuss the recent club survey. Suggestions made in the survey were discussed.

1. One change that was suggested started at that meeting. The meal was served buffet style with self service. It appeared that the club members had no problem with the change. This will ease the serving for Denise.
2. Changing meeting times was also discussed and the club moved to change the time of our meetings as follows:
1. The first meeting of each month will start now at 6PM. The time of fellowship will then also be earlier.
2. The second meeting each month will now start at 6:30PM with the board meeting now starting at 5:30PM. Write it down so you don't forget until we get used to the new times.
3. There was also discussion as to setting up permanent committees such as membership, publicity, sight and sound, etc. More information will follow.

We were happy to have Rich Highbarger as our guest November 13th. Rich works at FHN in the Ophthalmology Department. We hope Rich will join us again and consider becoming a Lion.

Our other guest on the 13th was State Representative, Jim Sacia, who stated that he liked his job representing “the 108,000 folks in our district”, but mentioned that he doesn't plan to run for another term. Rep. Sacia started his talk by stating that our state was financially in the worst shape of all 50 states, and from now on the budget must be no more than our income. “We must suck it up.” He hopes that they will get something accomplished in that direction in the next session. He said House Speaker Madigan is so powerful he can get things done, and he wants to leave a better legacy than the current mess. Current pensions may not take a big hit but COLAs may, and state employees may be hit hard. Rep. Sacia thinks 99% of the legislators are good, likeable people who work very hard. He thanked the Freeport Lions Club for their interest, and we thanked him for joining us and sharing his thoughts.

Our Holiday Party will be held December 11th at the Eagle's Club in place of our regular meeting. The social time will start this year at 6PM. We will have dinner at 6:30PM. The program will begin at approximately 7:15. We will be entertained again by our F. H. S. Jazz Band who we enjoyed greatly last year. You won't want to miss them.

December 10th is also the date for the All Service Club Lunch at the Masonic Temple (lower level). We usually try to make it there about 11:30 or shortly thereafter. They try to be finished before 1:00PM. The High School Choir always perform and are very entertaining.

The following actions were taken on items discussed at the November 27th board meeting:

• Donate $100 to the FHN Festival of Trees.
• Pay the FHS Jazz Band $300 for playing at our Christmas gathering.
• Send $500 to the Lions relief program for the victims of super storm Hurricane Sandy.
• Grant $200 to the Public School Foundation.
• Donate $250 to Malcolm Eaton Enterprises.
• Offer one $1,000 scholarship to a graduating Freeport or Aquin High School senior who plans to go to Highland Community College.
• The Lions of Illinois dues are rising somewhat. Lion Treasurer Kevin felt the $30 he collects for dues each 6 months can still cover it.
• Lion Paul Rampenthal volunteered to chair the Lions Ice Hog Fundraiser February 16th. Thanks Lion Paul. The Ice Hogs will give Lions $5 of the ticket price of $15 off all the tickets the Lions sell.

Lion Serafini gave the final report of the Rose Sale. Club members sold 538 dozen which netted the club $4,991. Thanks so much Lion Joe for all your work to coordinate our largest fundraiser. Rose Day was another great success due to Lion Joe and all the many good Lions who gave time and effort in many ways.

The Peace Poster Contest only had three students participate. Contact was made with middle school art teacher Ms. Cook who said that next year she hopes to get a better start. The three students who participated were given a set of markers for participating.

One suggestion mentioned in our recent club survey was that name tags might be helpful. Our old name tags have been found. They were used for many years but a number of years ago fell into disuse. Lion Kevin Grande volunteered to bring them up to date. The intention is that we will use them again in the near future.

On Saturday, December 1^st eight good Freeport Lions rang the Salvation Army bell at ShopKo. People seemed to be in the Christmas spirit and gave generously. We hope we helped the Salvation Army a great deal that day.

From the District Newsletter, District Governor Lyle reports that since her term started we have gained 43 new members but we hive lost 51. Several clubs are under fifteen members but they continue to get the job done in their community due to the hard work of those loyal Lions. All clubs must continue to seek good new members. Ask someone to be a Lion!

NOTABLE QUOTES:

• Never play poker with a man named Ace, Never eat at a place called Mom's and never invest in anything that eats or needs painting." Anon.
• 'The Golden Rule: Whoever has the gold makes the rules." Anon.
• It’s harder to conceal ignorance than it is to acquire knowledge." Arnold Glassow
• If you are thinking a year ahead, sow seeds.
• If you are thinking 10 years ahead plant a tree.
• If you are thinking 100 years ahead, educate the people." Kuan Tsu 3^rd Century B.C.