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Lions Ledger

 

Elizabethtown Lions Club

 

“We  Serve

 

 October 2006

 

President's Message

     The Elizabethtown Rotary Club has extended an offer for our Clubs to help each other with some fund raising this fall.  They will help us with our shoo-fly pie and Christmas ornament sales in exchange for some assistance with their Christmas tree sale.  To this point the offer has been made, but discussion needs to occur.  I want to obtain some details about what kind of assistance is expected from us.  I have asked for this information from the Rotary.  I hope to have it by our October meetings so we can discuss it and get a consensus from Club members concerning our possible participation in this joint effort.  Please plan to attend these meetings to get information and offer input.

            There were some things I wanted to do as Club president that I would like to begin working on.  The first initiative is to recruit some female members.  I'm designating our meeting on November 28th as one where prospective female members may come and learn about our Club.  If you know of any ladies who may be interested, please invite them to join us that night so they are more comfortable while attending our meeting.  The second thing is, I would like to increase interaction among our members at meetings, with hopes of getting to know each other better.  Recent presentations to the Club by Lion Chris Metzler regarding his experiences with the Clemson University Athletic Department and the Philadelphia Eagles, along with one by Lion Paul Lesoine detailing his interest in kayaking, are the type of interaction I am advocating.  If you are involved in a hobby, have a humorous anecdote or an interesting life story that you are willing to share, please let me know.  I think it will add to the camaraderie and enjoyment of our Club meetings. 

            Finally, I also hope to improve the quality of the jokes told at our meetings.  This continues to be a work in progress, and I thank the Club for their patience.  I feel I have taken a big first step but have not been met halfway in this endeavor.  I'm not sure that others share my discerning taste in this matter, so I don't know how far I can pursue this goal.  I may have to give up on this one, and consider that two out of three is not bad.                                   

                                                                                                             Lion Joe

 

Lion King

            At the first meeting in September our Membership Chairman, Bob Brain, introduced a new program to help kick off this year's membership drive (see related story later in this newsletter).  Among the components of that program is the designation of one of our members as "Lion King" and that the name of that member be published every month in our newsletter.  So, with that brief explanation,

the current "Lion King" is …

                                                Lion  Dean  Dochterman

 

and the new member he sponsored is Lion  Bill  Thorpe.

 

 

Bingo Wrap-up

            You may be interested in some statistics from our Bingo tent project at the Elizabethtown Fair in August.

                                    Man hours to set up:            12

                                    Man hours during the week:   214

                                    Number of regular games called:     330

                                    Number of special games called:    52

                                    Man hours to tear down:    6

                                    Amount of money earned for charity:    $3594.00

 

            Chairman Chris Metzler reported that our proceeds were slightly less than what was generated last year, but still quite good.  Plans are already being discussed concerning ways to improve our effort at the Fair in 2007.

            Congratulations go out to Chris and his committee as well as all the Lions who helped with the Bingo project this year.  Nice work!

 

More Good News

     The other successful project our Club conducted recently was the Annual Car Cruise – the fifth one for us.  There were 106 vehicles exhibited at our show, a record number for us, but because admission is free to the public we don't have accurate attendance figures, however our best guess is that attendance was in the high hundreds.  It was a great day for all and conngratulations are due the committee who worked very hard to make it all happen – Steve Roland, Keith Perry, Glen Leib, John Lerch and Dave Mueller.  Of course, we also had other members contributing to the Cruise and they are to be thanked also. Like the Bingo project, the leaders of the Car Cruise have already held a meeting to discuss how to improve the show in 2007 so we look forward to a bigger and better Cruise next year.  Again, congratulations and thank you to everyone who contributed to this effort.

 

Welcome, Lion Bill!

            At our regular meeting on September 26 we had the privilege of inducting our newest member, Lion Bill Thorpe.  Bill was sponsored by Dean Dochterman.  Bill resides at 517 McKinley Drive in Elizabethtown and was formerly a member of a Lions Club in northeastern Pennsylvania.  If you haven't already done so, be sure to introduce yourself to Bill at our next meeting and welcome him to our Club.

 

White Cane Days

            At the present time we are without a chairperson for our annual White Cane Days project.  Although we have for many years conducted this drive in October, this year we plan to hold it in the spring but we still need someone to step up to lead this effort.  The information on the procedures to be followed is available, and it is not a long project – typically two days of solicitation – so if you have never been a project chair, here is your opportunity.  The funds collected through this program go directly toward helping the blind, and the used eyeglasses received are reused so it is definitely a project to benefit the visually impaired.  Please contact President Joe if you think this might be something you are willing to do for our Club but, more importantly, for the individuals who are suffering from visual impairment.  They are counting on us, and we are counting on you.  Remember … We Serve!

 

Pie Sale

            Believe it or not, it will soon be time for our next fund raiser –the annual pie sale.  Again this year we will feature our now famous shoo-fly pies but near the close of the sale we will also have fruit pies and pumpkin pies available.  The cost of the pies this year will be $8.00 each, slightly higher than last year but a bargain nevertheless considering the quality and size of the pies.  The pie sale will kick-off at our meeting on October 24 but it is not too early to begin taking orders now.  And, get this . . . this year's top seller will be honored for his efforts!  Get moving.

 

Membership Drive

          As noted earlier in this newsletter, our Club has embarked on a newly designed campaign to increase membership in our group.  The Drive began September 12 and will end June 1, 2007.  The program will be led by Bob Brain, our Membership Chairman, and will work like this:

           

                Each time a new member joins, his/her sponsoring Lion will be . . .

 

                1.  designated the honorary title of "Lion King."

                2.  be addressed at every meeting by everyone as "Lion King (name)"  Those not doing so will be

                     subject to a fine by the Tail Twister.

                3.  introduced at each meeting he is Lion King.

                4.  given the honor of being first in line to eat.  (Now that has to motivate you!)

                5.  recognized by having his/her name printed each month in the Club newsletter along with the

                     name of the new member he/she sponsored.

                6.  given all these honors until the next member sponsors a new member, at which time the title and

                     honors will pass to the new sponsor.

                7.  have his/her name attached to the Head Table Lion.

                8.  The Lion who sponsored the most new Lions during the contest will be gifted at the end of the

                      year  (Surprise!).

                9.  If more than one member attains the honor in any given month, the honor will be shared and all

                     rules will apply.

 

Sooooo … let the games begin!

 

Ornaments

     If you can believe the pie sale is on the horizon, it shouldn't be difficult to imagine that right behind that comes the sale of the Elizabethtown Commemorative Collectibles – more commonly known as the Lions Ornaments. This year's item will feature the St. Peter's Catholic Church, the old church, and will be similar in design to the ones we have sold in previous years.  There is a growing demand for these beautiful gold ornaments as many individuals are viewing them as collectibles which will grow in value as time passes. We anticipate the items to be delivered by the end of October and the Chairman of this project, Tom Trayer, will keep us informed about their arrival and the plans to sell them.  In past years this has been a very good fund raiser for our Club and we have every reason to believe that this year's ornament will be very popular, as well.  So begin thinking about who you know who will want to purchase one or more ornaments and let them know that they will soon be available.

 

Early Alert

          Mark your calendars now for the Club's annual Family Christmas Party.  This year it will

be held Tuesday, December 12, the second Tuesday of that month – a regular meeting night for us.  At this time we anticipate it to be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church but if the repairs to the Fire Hall are completed by that time we may be able to return there for our party.  More information, of course, will be provided as we approach that time.

 

Shirts and Books

            There are still a few more Lions Club shirts (the bimini blue ones) available and, if you don't already have one, you may get yours for just $25.00 each.  They are sharp looking and look terrific when our members wear them to Club activities and projects.

            Also, if you haven't yet received your "Yellow Book" for the 2006-07 year, a few of those are also waiting to be picked up.  These, of course, are free to members and contain much useful information about our Club, its members, and our schedules for the year.

 

Address Stamp Available

            Our Board of Directors recently approved the purchase of two stamps which can be used to print the Club's return address on envelopes being used for Club correspondence.  We formerly purchased preprinted envelopes but decided there is an economic advantage to stamping our own envelopes.  So, if you are doing Club business and need to send mail, contact either President Joe or Secretary Dale or Dale Williams to arrange for the use of the stamp.

 

Greeters for October

          For the meeting on October 10 – John Lerch and Ray Powell

            For the meeting on October 24 – Frank Telenko and Eric Metzler

 

Region Rally

          Our Region Rally will be held Thursday evening, November 2, at Four Seasons.  More information about this will be announced as it becomes available but you may want to mark your calendar now and reserve this date.

 

Programs for October

            You were beginning to think we forgot to announce the programs for our meetings in October, weren't you?  Nah, we just changed our format a little for variety's sake.  Here they are:

 

Tuesday, October 10, 6:15 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church – Mr. Derek Sanders,

Construction Instructor, SACA YouthBuild in Lancaster will speak about their program to rehab

young adults who are on the path to "nowhere fast."  He will share his personal story of challenge and adventure from several years ago when he decided to leave corporate America, pack up everything, and move himself and his family to Costa Rica.  He pretty much packed all their belongings in the car and went "south of the border!"  Somehow, he was able to build a reputable house there without having a Home Depot within 2000 miles.  Did we mention he left without being able to speak any Spanish?  His slides and stories should be very entertaining.

 

Tuesday, October 24, 6:15 p.m. at St. Paul's United Methodist Church – Mrs. Jan Kautz, Vision Therapist at the IU 13, will be with us this evening to discuss her strategies and techniques for educating visually impaired children from both Lancaster and Lebanon counties.  This promises to be an educational experience for all of us.

 

Today's Chuckle

*  If you suffer from kleptomania, should you take something for it?

 

*  If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

 

*  I went to a seafood disco last week … and pulled a mussel.