LION TALK - MARCH 2014

February 11 Program

We were happy to have Carole Dickerson, Director of Freeport Public Library (FPL), speak to us at our February 11th meeting. She was born in Flint, MI, moved to Freeport in 2004 and started working at the library.

The current library building opened December 2013; just 10 years young. It is 42,000 square feet compared to the old Carnegie Library which was 17,000 square feet. FPL is handicap accessible, very open, flexible and accommodating. There are two large meeting rooms, heavily used by many community groups of all sizes, that can be combined to hold 125 to 150 people. They also have two smaller rooms for a one-on-one meeting or from 6 to 8 people. FPL is changing constantly as our world is changing rapidly these days.

Library use is free to all city residents, while a family outside the city limits can join for a fee of $95.00 per year. Library users not only have access to a great normal-print book collection, but also a huge collection of large-print books for the visually-impaired that are widely used. FPL also has available many movies and music CD's for residents to borrow, and the library subscribes to current magazines covering a wide range of interests. Many computers are also available for use, and are always in high demand.

A Summer Reading Program helps local students retain what they learned from prior school year. FPL also provides outreach for homebound people and rotates books in nursing homes monthly. A local history lecture series has been extremely popular, filling seats for each talk. If you are interested in local history or genealogy, a local history room is available, with help from members of the local genealogy society when needed.

Any library material in any library in the state is available in just a few days. FPL is a member of RAILS (Reaching Across Illinois Library System) which serves more than 1300 public, academic, special, and school library members, representing more than 3500 library facilities in a 27,000 square mile area. Go to http://www.railslibraries.info/ for more info.

A rapidly expanding collection of books are also available for electronic readers in keeping with our times. A resident with a library card can access thousands of titles from OMNI (Online Media of Northern Illinois), an association of 85 municipal libraries stretching across 21 counties. Go to http://www.omnilibraries.org/ for more info.

People who visit FPL can even have lunch at the small café, and view the exhibit of local artists' work in the hallways. If you want to impress out-of-town guests, take them to our beautiful library. When you are finished, taken them a few steps east on Douglas Street to the Lincoln-Douglas Debate site and sculpture, and finally top it off with delicious ice cream at the Union Dairy next door. You will be a star!

Great program, thanks, Lion Duane Smith for arranging this program!

February 25 Program 

Guest, Jodie Miller, co-owner/manager of Union Dairy, spoke to us following our dinner. She is very interested in our upcoming car show, and is enthusiastically working with Lions Rick Eastman and Bert Kersten to make it a success. She is reaching out to more people outside Freeport, is enlisting the Chamber of Commerce, and has talked with Connie Sorn from the Stephenson County Visitors Center. The committee is working at getting sponsors which will greatly help us realize a greater profit. Thanks to those who are working in this project. They will ALL MEMBERS to help. May 10^TH will be here soon.

Communications/Announcements

Scholarship - Lion Terry Anderson says our scholarship applications were placed at both Aquin & Freeport High Schools and at Highland Community College. Lion Terry says we have already received our 1st application - a record in and of itself!

Sight & Sound Tickets - see Lion Dave Snyders to get your book(s). $10.00 for 4 tickets or $3.00 per ticket which is $12.00 a book. Just a few left and they do need to be sold and returned to Lion Dave by April 8^th.

Diabetes Awareness - Lion Terry Anderson asked for input as to what date we should collect donations for Sugar-Free Candy to raise funds for the fight against Diabetes. The board decided that April 25 - 26 would be best. The weekend before that is Easter, and two weeks after that we'll have our car show on May 10th.

Dist. ID 2014 Calendars – There are 4 calendars left for sale. See You will have a many chances to win on the Pick 3 evening drawings on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. See Lion Joe Serafini; cost is $25.00 - get yours now.

Car Show Update - Show chairman Rick Eastman showed members the 2014 Car Show plaques he designed and made. They look awesome. On the day of the show members will be assigned  to all parking lots. The cars arrive at 1:OOPM to line up; entry fee is $10. The show itself is from 4 to 8PM. Need volunteers to attend the registration table and to sell 50/50 Raffle Tickets. More helpers are needed to assign vehicles to designated areas.

Personal Announcements - Lion Troy Pettis was promoted at Berner Foods from the warehouse to the factory. Congratulations, keep up the good work, Troy!

Thank you letters - Our club received thank you letters from Lions of Illinois Foundation (LIF) for our support of Camp Lions, as well as a Camp Lions 2014 silver chevron for our flag, and a thank you letter from young lady we helped by buying eyeglasses.

 

Board of Directors Notes

 

President Paul Rampenthal reminded us of the District 1 D convention in Rockford April 4th and 5th. Everyone is encouraged to go of course. Our club has the right to have three voting delegates. We should make our decision and let President Paul know by our next meeting. Lion Rebecca Shriver will take care of choosing a silent auction item to take to the convention. Value of the item was discussed. Lion Dennis Zimmerman showed two print ads he designed for the convention booklet and asked for approval. One is a memorial for Lion Paul Tormohlen and his 49 years of service. The other ad congratulates new District Governor Jim Kloepping. Thank you, Lion Dennis, for doing a fine job.

The University of Illinois Extension asked us for support to again sponsor "Earth Day" in our local schools. The board approved a monetary donation, the same amount we have given for several years.

A fourteen year old girl with diabetes requested assistance to help her go to Camp Granada in Southern Illinois, a camp session for children with diabetes. The club voted to help her with a monetary grant.

An older couple also requested assistance so they could purchase a Low Vision Reading Machine. The machine costs $2100. The club voted to subsidize partial cost of the new machine because the two machines the club owns are currently in use.

President Paul informed the board that the Cub Foods brat stand applications are already available and can be submitted by March 1st. He also will take care of applying again if we so desire. The board agreed. Thanks Lion Paul.

A slate of officers for next year was discussed and will be presented at our next meeting. 

President Paul told us that he thought about 25 Lions and guests from our club enjoyed the Ice Hogs hockey game on February 22^nd . This popular event might become an annual occasion for District 1-D Lions. Stay tuned.  

A BIT OF A BIOGRAPHY - by Lion Duane Smith

Lion Rick Eastman is a long time “Freeporter” who attended Freeport Schools and graduated from Freeport High School in 1979. Upon graduation he joined his father in the family print shop which he bought in 1995. Lion Rick loves his work, particularly in working with and helping all the people who come through his doors. Lion Rick and his wife Theressa have been married 30 years and have two children, Scott and Shiloh. They are also the proud grandparents of four grandsons and two granddaughters. For fun, Lion Rick loves to bowl, fish and golf. He is a member of the Freeport Bowling Hall of Fame which says something about how well he bowls. Lion Rick also adds that he loves to collect anything old and that he enjoys being a Lion. He appears to enjoy his present job as our Club “Tail Twister”, stumping most of us with his trivia questions after our meals as he gleefully collects our dollars for our club’s administration account. He is also working hard with his committee on organizing our club's first car show “Cruisin’ For A Cause” scheduled for May 10^th, 2014. Lion Rick is a definite asset to our club.

 

LION DUANE’S NOTABLE QUOTES

• * "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King
• "I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to politicians." - Charles de Gaulle
• * "Temperance is the moderating of one's desires in obedience to reason." - Cicero 
• "A woman is like a tea bag; you don't know her strength until she is in hot water." Nancy Reagan

Invite a prospective member to attend a meeting to see what we're all about!" 

CALENDAR DATES TO REMEMBER

3/10 - 7PM Zone Meeting - Leaf River

3/11 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

3/25 - 5:30 Board Meeting

3/25 - 6:30 Regular Meeting

4/4 - 4/5 - Dist. 1D Convention - Radisson Hotel, Rockford

4/8 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

4/22 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

4/22 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

4/25-26 - Diabetes Awareness Fundraiser

5/10 - 1st Annual Lions Car Show - "Cruisin For A Cause"

5/13 - 6:00PM Regular Meeting

5/27 - 5:30PM Board Meeting

5/27 - 6:30PM Regular Meeting

Invite a guests to visit our club AND ask them to consider becoming a LION.

"ONLIONS" (online) REFERENCES

BLOG: https://freeportlionsclub.blogspot.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/FREEPORTLIONS

OUR DISTRICT: http://district1dlions.org/

OUR STATE: http://www.illinoislionsmd1.org/

INTERNATIONAL: http://www.lionsclubs.org/

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 1^st, 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  

Social Media

Bloggers Site:  https://freeportlionsclub.blogspot.com  

Facebook:     https://www.facebook.com/pages/Freeport-IL-Lions-Club    

 

 

2014 SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Click the link below to locate the Freeport Lions Club 2014-2015 Scholarship Application form (to be used by any Freeport, Illinois, 2014 high school graduate to apply) for a $1,000 SCHOLARSHIP to Highland Community College.

CLICK LINK BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxq3YtFyOweseFF0STctUl9JX2s/edit?usp=sharing

DEADLINE:
Applications and grade transcripts must be submitted for review by our Scholarship Committee no later than April 11, 2014. Late applications will not be considered.
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