LION TALK - JULY 2013

 

June 11 was a bright, sunny day for our Annual Golf Outing, (grill your own) Steak Fry, and first monthly meeting . The weather was good for golf, and three teams competed in the best ball match. Lion Steve Kryder brought a guest, Chuck Swearingen, for a great afternoon of golf. Chuck was riding shotgun to also help keep Steve awake as they drive back Wisconsin. The team of Kryder, Swearingen, Rampenthal and Serafini took honors with a score of 67 for 18 holes. Not bad at all. Lion Serafini said Lion Kryder had the longest drive of the day, "all the way from Kenosha, Wisconsin."  Official results on the par 72 Park Hills East Golf Course were as follows:

1. 67 –  Steve Kryder, Chuck Swearingen, Paul Rampenthal& Joe Serafini
2. 69 –  Roland Caruso, Pat Davis, Nelson Julius & Jack Grigsby
3. 72 - Rick Eastman, Paul Tormohlen, Leo Bonin & Terry Anderson

The steaks and meals were excellent, as always, although the “cooks” sometimes get their steaks a little overdone because they don't always pay attention when socializing. We were pleased to have guests from the Lena Lions Club, Virgil and Susan Gordon, and Gary Meyers join us for the dinner and meeting. We very much enjoyed their visit.

Lion Zone Chairman Gary Meyers thanked us for our past support. He looks forward to his new role as 2^nd Vice District Governor. Lion Darla VanBuskirk is stepping into his prior Zone Chair role.

6/11/13 Communications/Announcements

Birthdays - Lion Terry Anderson 70 on 7/2; Lion Brian Burke 6/7 (not quite half way to 70), and Richard Montgomery 66 on 6/13 - Happy Birthday to all! Lion Terry (Cheryl) Anderson will celebrate their 42nd Anniversary 6/19 - congratulations to you both! Lion Terry (Cheryl) Anderson' Lion Joe. Serafini announced he will be retiring from his insurance job as of 6/14.

United Way sent us a "thank you" for our recent $100 donation.

Officer Training - 6/6 Winnebago - Lions Zimmerman Anderson & Serafini attended. On 6/7 Dixon – Lions Rampenthal & Van Buskirk planned to attend. Stockton was cancelled by a rainstorm 6/12.

Freeport High School sent us a "thank you" for our scholarship award. Lion Montgomery sent an article/picture to Journal-Standard. It was seen in both on-line and print formats.

Lions Anderson and Burke received our new royal blue polo shirts with the Lions logo that they had ordered for us. All members who bought shirts should receive them shirts soon. Thank you Lions Anderson and Burke for trying to make our club image look a little sharper. We look better and YOUNGER every day!

Twinning with Nepal Lions Club - We should be receiving a letter from International Lions along with a patch recognizing our club. Thanks to Lions Anderson and Montgomery for all their hard work. Also, we still plan to send them a care package with items from Freeport, i.e. Mrs. Mike's, Pretzels, t-shirt, Pretzel Christmas ornament, etc. Any other ideas, let Lion Richard & Terry know and we'll start to get it all together.

Cheese Fundraiser - Lion Darla Van Buskirk said today 6/11 was last day to turn in all sales sheets. Orders were to be available for delivery the weekend of Friday, 6/22, through Monday, 6/24

Diabetic Retinopathy-Macular Degeneration Screening - Lions Troy Pettis & Serafini were working on location and date for September. Possibly Liberty Village in the morning.

Treasurer's Annual Audit should be completed by or before August 1.

6/11/13 Tail Twister -Lion Roland Caruso teased us with some U.S. Presidents middle names. Herbert (Clark) Hoover; William (Howard) Taft; Chester (Allen) Arthur. Nice job Roland in your last official role as Tail Twister and you collected $28.00 for our Admin. Account.

 

6/11/13 50/50 Raffle - Lion Rick Eastman sold tickets - $21.00 raffle winner was Lion Zone Chairman Gary Meyers (Lena) who then donated the money back to our club! Thank you ZC Gary! $42.00 total goes to our Admin. Account. Nice job, Lion Rick!

NOTE: Remember, 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!

 

On June 25th at 6PM we held our 2013 installation of officers and guest night. Twenty-eight Lions and guests were in attendance for a meal of chicken breast and, or, roast beef with cheese cake for desert. The tables were attractively decorated with pots of petunias and many stuffed toy Lions. Following the meal, District Governor-elect Fred Peska, assisted by his wife Lion Karen Peska, conducted the installation of officers, presenting each officer with a cardboard letter. When the letters were properly arranged (the officers had to also be properly arranged of course) you could spell "CHANGING LIVES" which Lions can do when they help people.

 

6/25/13 Communications/Announcements - Birthdays - Lion Rick Eastman on 6/29; Lion Kevin Grande on 6/30; Lion Paul Rampenthal 6/7, and wife Kim on 6/27. HAPPY BIRTIIDAY TO ALL!

 

Lion Secretary Joe Serafini presented 100% Attendance Awards to a large number of Lions which is a good sign for any club. 100% Attendance pins were awarded to: Brian Burke, Roland Caruso, Rick Eastman, Kevin Grande, Richard Montgomery, Troy Pettis, Paul Rampenthal, Rebecca Shriver, Duane Smith, Dave Snyders, Paul Tormohlen, Dennis Zimmerman, Terry Anderson, and Joe Serafini. Great commitment by all.

 

Lion Karen Peska won our raffle at the end of the evening and donated the $29 to the Leader Dog Program.

 

The pots of petunias on the tables were presented to the women in attendance who could find certain items in their purse.

 

CHEESE SALES  UPDATE- Lion Darla, Cheese Sale Chairman, reported at our installation meeting that our cheese sale was most successful. Sales were more than double that of last year. She will have more details at the next meeting. Lion Darla Van Buskirk says we doubled our net – LION DARLA SOLD OVER $1,000 BY HERSELF! A nice fundraising job done by all. Many thanks to Lion Darla for all her work in organizing the sales. Things went very smoothly and The Cheese Market did a great job for their part. Each sale was ready in its own individual insulated bag. Thanks to all the good Lion sales persons as well.

6/25/13 50/50 Raffle: Lion Rick Eastman conducted - $29.00 was won by Lion Sharon Peska who stated she would donate to Leader Dog program. $28.00 went to our Treasurer for our admin. account'

 

6/25/13 Tail Twister - Lion Roland Caruso took the night off. You've done an outstanding job this past year, thank you!

MEMBER BIOGRAPHY

Lion Paul Rampenthal, our 2013 - 2014 President, was born in Freeport but grew up in Lena, Illinois, and attended Lena schools. Upon graduating from Lena-Winslow High School in 1975 he attended Morrison Institute of Technology (the M.l.T. of the Midwest) in Morrison, Illinois. After graduating from Morrison he began working for the Stephenson County Highway Department as a technician. Now, after 35 years with Stephenson County he serves as Assistant County Engineer.

Lion Paul has one son, Matt, who is currently in the U. S. Air Force stationed in Japan. For fun, Lion Paul enjoys running and biking. You might think he takes his fun activities seriously as he has run the Boston Marathon and the Chicago Marathon twice. He has also biked across Iowa in the well-known "Ragbrai'. Lion Paul and wife Kim are recently married and now enjoy biking together. We wish them many years to explore many trails together.

Lion Paul has been a very active Lion and this month is starting his second term as Club President. We hope all club members will pitch in this year to help President Paul in any way we can.

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Mark Your Calendar

 

·         Jul 09 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

 

·         Jul 23 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

 

·         Jul 23 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

 

·         Aug 08 - District 1-D Golf Outing - Wolf Hollow

 

·         Aug 13 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

 

·         Aug 26 - Candy Day Jamboree - Mt. Morris

 

·         Aug 27 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

 

·         Aug 27 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

 

·         Sep 13-14 - Cub Foods Brat Stand Volunteers

 

·         Sept 17 - Diabetic Retinopathy/Macular Degeneration Screening – Volunteers see Troy Pettis

 

·         Oct 26 - Rose Day - Volunteers

 

 

 

LION TALK - JUNE 2013

Our district governor, Ruth Lyle, reminds us that LCIF, Lions Club lnternational Foundation, is a world-wide organization that represents all Lions Clubs; recently by offering aid to the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes. You will remember that we received some financial assistance from LCIF a short time ago when our county had severe flooding.

There were many items to discuss and decisions to be made at our May Board of Directors meeting. Lion Treasurer Kevin has spent considerable effort working with the State of Illinois to get our tax ID straightened out with them. We need to send them our constitution and bylaws plus fees, including a late fee of $300, totaling $500. We hope to now be perfectly legal. Thanks to Lion Kevin. Being Treasurer is not an easy task, but is highly important.

Lion President Terry has ordered 22 cases of Lion Mints. The cost will be approximately $75 a case. He has also ordered shirts with the Lion logo for each of us. The cost is approximately $20 each but the "tall" size will be more.

Another purchase for the club will be a Lion Costume. Lion Rick Eastman found one at a reduced price of $99 and the board voted to buy it. A Lion just might add to our club's image at local events and festivals. If you have the heart of a Lion (and have never had heat stroke), perhaps you can take your turn being "Our Lion".

Seven Freeport Lions attended the Illinois Lions State Convention in Rockford. District 1-D was represented by 89 Lions which was great. Of course it was a little easier since it was held in Rockford this year. Thanks to those good Lions who represented us.

Outgoing President Anderson attended the Freeport High School Awards Program and presented our club's $1000 scholarship to Alysia Rodriguez.

The board voted to pay the annual $80 fee to be part of the display-at the Stephenson County Visitors Center. They also agreed to sponsor a tee and give a $25 door prize at the August 8th District Golf Outing at Wolf Hollow Golf Course in Lena IL.

The Diabetic Macular Degeneration Screening Van will be available for our area in September. Lions Troy and Joe will determine a date and a place to have the screening. We will hear more as things develop.

Make your plans for our June 11th Meeting. We have invited the Lena Lions to join us for the day. Gather for golf at Park Hills GC at noon. Steaks will be ready for grilling at 6PM at the Eagle's Club. You might want to gather before for a bit of socializing. Don't forget to turn in-your cheese orders (the white copy) and the money into Lion Darla at the meeting.

Incoming Lion President, Paul Rampenthal, asked that you to sign up for the June 25th “guest night and installation of officers”. The meeting on June 25th will begin with Hors d'oeuvres at 6PM and dinner at 6:30PM. The installation of the 2013-2014 officers ceremony will follow.

'SAY CHEESE' SALES PROJECT - A reminder of order sheets procedure:
Bottom (Pink) copy goes to the customer. Middle (Yellow) copy will be kept by Lion Salesman until June 25th and then turned in to Lion Darla. Top (White) copy turn in to Lion Darla at the June 11th meeting. June 11th is end of the sale. Money must also be turned in June 11h. Cheese Market will use white sheet to fill your order. REMINDER: We deliver what we sell. Pick up your orders for delivery from the Cheese Market from Friday, June 21 thru Monday June 24. Have all orders delivered by meeting night, Tuesday, June 25.

May 2013 Communications/Announcements

• Lion Troy Pettis is helping a lady in his church who has cancer and has some Raffle tickets if anyone interested in purchasing.
• Lion Terry Anderson indicated a past Lion president, Tom Burke, had recent heart surgery. Lion Brian Burke, Lion Tom Burke’s son, brought us up to date saying his Dad is home and doing well, considering - appears he can still crack the whip for the sons to get things done. We’re glad to hear Tom is on the mend!
• Lion Roland Caruso said if we get a chance we should check out Winneshiek Playhouse Theater as daughter Jessica is in the musical production “Taffeta”.
• Congratulations to Lion Rich (Andrea) Montgomery as they will be celebrating their 14^th wedding anniversary by dining out in Clearwater Beach, FL.
• We received a thank you for our recent $300 donation to the Annual RAMP Wheel-A-Thon on July 25^th.
• Officer Training to be held 6/6 in Winnebago; 6/12 in Stockton; 6/17 in Dixon. Will discuss more at next meeting as reservations are due 6/1.
• State convention 5/16'19 Rockford - look forward to a report from our contingent who plan to attend
• Lion Terry passed around copies of "Lions Share" and "Lions Roar" newsletters for our viewing/reading pleasure.
• Lions Club Shirts - Lion Brian Burke showed us a Royal Blue shirt - discussion held and then a motion by Rich Montgomery/2d by Dave Snyders to purchase was made, carried - cost will be approximately $20 per shirt although larger or tall sizes may be more. Nice job Lion Brian and committee!
• Lena Lions club visit – 4/24- those of us who went enjoyed a great meal at Beaches and presentation and tour of the Fire Station. They are an active club with many projects, including Carnation Day 6/8. We sold 6 dozen worth of their tickets for them, and they buy roses from our club; clubs helping & supporting each other! We extended an invitation for them to join us on 6/11 for our club golf outing steak fry meeting. They were excited because no club had ever asked them to join up for a joint meeting. So expect at least one foursome and other members for the steak fry as well.
• Twinning with Nepal club - Lion Richard Montgomery has the ball rolling. Discussion had us sending them a “care package” with items from Freeport, i.e. bags of Mrs. Mike's Chips and Freeport Pretzels, Pretzel City tee shirts, etc. Any other ideas, let Lion Richard know and we’ll start to get it all together.
• Cheese Fundraiser - Lion Darla kicked off sales, orders & money must be turned in by 6/l I with delivery on 6/22 through6/25. Program. Lion Darla van Buskirk and our cheese project took center stage. The cheese store has been great and we look forward to another successful fundraiser. Most popular cheeses are Baby Swiss, Butterkase and Havarti. Thanks Lion Darla for getting us up and running. -

May 14, 2013, Tail Twister - Lion Roland Caruso teased us with some distance questions. How far is it from Freeport, IL to Freeport, ME? 1,214 miles - guess we won't be bicycling that one! Freeport to Springfield IL? Just 196 miles. Nice job Roland and you collected $14.00 for our Admin. Account.

May 14, 2013, 50/50 Raffle - tickets were sold by Lion Rick Eastman - $14.00 raffle winner was Dennis Zimmerman (again!) and $13.00 goes to our Administrative account. Nice job Lion Rick!

May 28, 2013, 50/50 Raffle - Lion Rick Eastman conducted - $10.00 won by Duane Smith. Additional S10.00 to Treasurer for our Admin. Account.

May 28, 2013, Tail Twister - Lion Rick Eastman filled in for Lion Roland Caruso who was out East for a wedding and family time. Lion Rick teased us with multiple questions. What city can claim fame for where the pin-ball machine originated? Why Chicago of course! When was World's Fair in St. Louis? - 1903. How many square miles of water are in Lake Superior? 31,700 - Wow! Nice job Rick and along the way you collected $10.00 for our admin. Account.

NOTE: Did you know that 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.

Dates to Plan For:

·         Jun 11 - 11:30AM Club golf outing Park Hills - we've invited Lena Lions to join us

·         Jun Ll. - 6:00PM Meeting & Steak Fry - we've invited Lena Lions to join us

·         Jun 25 - 6:00PM Hors d'oeuvres - Ladies/guests night

·         Jun 25 - 6:30 Dinner followed by installation of officers, Ladies/guest night

·         Jul 09 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

·         Jul 23 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

·         Jul 23 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

·         Aug 08 - District 1-D Golf Outing - Wolf HoIIow (let Lion Serafini know if interested)

·         Aug 13 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

·         Sept 13-14 - Cub Foods Brat Stand - mark your calendars

·         Sept 17 8:30 – 11:30 - Diabetic Retinopathy / Macular Degeneration Screening - more to come

·         Oct26 - Rose Day

 

LION TALK - MAY 2013

At the April 9th meeting Lion Darla Van Buskirk introduced guest speakers Barb Davis and Jamie Engle from The Cheese Market. This local business furnishes the cheese for our annual cheese sale fundraiser. After 3 years as a new business, they outgrew their location and are preparing for the Grand Opening of their new store location at 1791 South West Avenue on the east side of route 26 across the road from Applebee's and The Meadows Shopping Center. In addition to free samples in the store, they plan to do more activities such as make cheese curds and grill cheese related foods outdoors. Our guests brought a large variety of cheese samples for the members to sample so we could tell customers, from our own taste experiences, what certain cheeses taste like. There will be a cheese tour July 20^th at Famous Fossil Winery; sounds like fun. Most popular cheese is Baby Swiss, Butterkase and Havarti. We thank Barb and Jamie for the delicious samples and for answering our questions. Thanks Lion Darla for leading this program. She will have the all sales materials at our next meeting to kick off this annual project.

April 9, 2013, Communications/Announcements

• Lion Rick Eastman welcomed new granddaughter Cassandra on April 4th! That’s number 6 for Rick and wife Theressa. Congratulations to you both.
• Lion Rich Montgomery welcomed a son 39 years ago on April 12^th.
• Lion Joe Serafini welcomed two sons on this day April 9^th 31 and 34years ago. My how time flies!
• Our Twinning Project with the Kathmandu-Gliese Lions Club in Nepal is moving along thanks to Lion Rich Montgomery asking Lions Club International staff to officially recognize the project. Lion Richard asked us to think of things we might send the Kathmandu Lions to show who we are, what we do and what Freeport and the surrounding area is like. I'm sure we all have ideas that might be meaningful. Let Lion Richard hear about them.
• American Diabetes Association seminar to be held April 13 in Chicago. The brochure that was distributed by President Terry stated that 26 million Americans have diabetes and 79 million Americans are pre-diabetic. As many as 1 in 3 Americans are estimated to have diabetes by the year 2050 unless things are changed. If diabetes is not properly managed, it can lead to amputations, kidney failure, blindness, heart disease and stroke. The best health changes to make are healthy food choices and staying active.
• Lion Dave Snyders collected all Sight & Sound Tickets and says “thanks” for selling.
• District 1-D Convention April 4, 5 & 6 in Dixon - 6 Lions attended, was very enjoyable with several good breakout sessions.

 

Freeport Lions Shriver, Anderson, Serafini, Caruso and Pettis study materials at District 1-D Convention (Lion Montgomery photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

• State convention is May 16 - 19 in Rockford
• Cub Foods Brat Stand - Lion Paul Rampenthal confirmed our club’s September 13 & 14 dates. Volunteer and mark your calendars!
• Thank you letter from University of Illinois Foundation for our $100 donation for 4-H youth development.
• Thank you letter from New Horizons Counselors Center for our $100 donation.
•  Lena Lions Club invitation on April 24 with meal at Beaches and meeting to follow at Lena Fire Station

April 9, 2013, Tail Twister -Lion Roland Caruso teased us with some cheese questions, which state has the most cheese factories? It was a trick question, why Wisconsin of course! Nice job, Lion Roland. You collected $18 for our Admin Account.

April 9, 2013, 50/50 raffle - tickets were sold by Lion Rick Eastman - $16.00 raffle winner was Joe Serafini and $16.00 goes to our Admin. Account.

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April 23, 2013, Meeting - Communications/Announcements –

• Lion Bert (Linda) Kersten just returned from a week in New Orleans. How many Hurricanes did you drink?
• Lion Rebecca Shriver is flying high as her daughter Marilyn is home for 4 days & they're having fun.
• Lion Rick Eastman submitted a great looking pin for the Lions of Illinois pin design contest. Good Luck!
• Twinning Program Update - thanks to Lion Rich Montgomery for his research and work. We are awaiting confirmation from Lions International & a patch for our club banner. Discussed sending our twin club in Nepal items from Freeport, i.e., Mrs. Mike's Chips; Freeport Pretzels, tee-shirts, etc. More to follow, any ideas, let us know.
• National Day of Prayer will be May 2, 2013.
• Lena Lions Fish Boil - 5/18 for good food/fun, don't miss this.
• Center for Sight & Hearing thanked us for our $500 donation.
• Parkview Nursing Facility asked our endorsement of their plans to add a 500-bed addition to their facility. The club gladly endorsed their plan.
• Congratulations to the Forreston Lions Club on their 50th Anniversary. We wish them many more years of service to their community.
• We received a thank you from the University of Illinois Extension for our $100 donation to their Youth Conference.
• A number of our club members will attend the Lena Lions Meeting on April 24th.
• A number of members are also planning to attend at least one day of the state convention being held at the Clock Tower Convention Center in Rockford May 18-19.
• President Terry informed us that a Freeport High School graduating senior has been awarded our $1000 Lions Scholarship this year (a young lady). She was chosen from 4 applicants who plan to attend Highland College. The award will be presented on May 23 and her name will be made public at that time.
• President Terry showed us a polo shirt with the Lions Logo which our club members could purchase for $20. This was another item that had been mentioned in the September 2012 survey responses.
• United Way sent a letter to the club explaining a plan to make a "Learning Trail" at the Willow Housing Complex, and requesting various levels of donations for construction. The project is planned to be a learning experience for the children who reside there or in the neighborhood. The Board voted to donate $250 to help create the children's' learning trail.
• The Board voted to purchase a $100 brick paver for the Leonard C. Ferguson Cancer Center’s “Garden Walk”. It will have "Freeport Lions Club We Serve" engraved on it.
• Lion Joe Serafini told us during our dinner meeting that Rose Day will be October 26th this year. He and Lion Rick Eastman have already been working on redesigning our sales tickets. He passed the new ticket around and asked for our ideas as well.
• Board voted to donate $300 for the RAMP - Wheel-a-thon event.

Following is a list of our special committees resulting from the September 2012 Survey Results.

MEMBERSHIP	SIGHT AND SOUND	PUBLICITY
Bert Kersten	Terry Anderson	Rich Montgomery
Kevin Grande	Roland Caruso	Rick Eastman
Brian Burke	Duane Smith	Rebecca Shriver
Troy Pettis

 ''SAY CHEESE'' SALES PROJECT REMINDERS

• Order Forms - Bottom (Pink) copy goes to the customer. Middle (Yellow) copy to be kept by Lion salesperson until June 25 and then turned in to Lion Darla. TOP (White) copy turn in to Lion Darla at the June 11th meeting. June 11th is end of the sale. The Cheese Market will use the (most legible) WHITE copy to fill the orders.
• We deliver what we sell. Pick up and deliver your orders for delivery from the Cheese Market from Friday, June 21 thru Monday June 24. All orders should be delivered by meeting night, Tuesday, June 25, 2013

April 23, 2013, Old Business:

Lena Lions visit - Lions Terry Anderson, Dave Snyders & Angie Snyders, Bert Kersten, Darla Van Buskirk, Richard Montgomery, and Joe Serafini attended Lena's meeting 4/25. Nice dinner at Beach's and then we went to Lena Fire Dept. for informative history lesson, a short meeting then toured the Fire Station and their equipment. We had a great visit. President Terry invited their club to join us for our golf outing/steak fry 6/11 and they were excited. We will get them more information on costs/times.

April 23, 2013, 50/50 raffle drawing: Lion Rick Eastman conducted - $14.00 won by our Treasurer Kevin Grande Additional $14.00 to Treasurer for our Admin. Account.

April 23, 2013 Tail Twister - Lion Roland Caruso teased us with some water questions. Oceans/seas cover how much of earth's surface? 97%. Did you know you could live without food for over a month, but only a week without water. I'm thirsty - how about you? Nice job Lion Roland, and along the way you collected $15.00 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!!!

Up-Coming Dates (mark your calendar):

May 14 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

May 16-19 - State Convention - Rockford

May 28 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

May 28 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

Jun 11 - Club golf outing/steak fry - we've invited Lena Lions to join us

Jun 25 - Installation of officers/Ladies Night

Aug 8 - District l-D Golf Outing - Wolf Hollow (more to follow)

Sep 13-14 - Cub Foods Brat Stand

These well-behaved attendees were looking for YOU at the 2013 District 1-D Convention in Dixon IL

Become A More Social Lion

Online sites: https://freeportlionsclub.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Freeport-IL-Lions-Club/181458685261615

 

"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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