Lions of the Year!

The Mendenhall Flying Lions take two HUGE awards at this year's Multiple District Convention in Fairbanks!  We are so proud of all Lions who take time out of their busy schedules and lives to volunteer in their community.  But besides the community service activities, projects, and fundraising, there's officer positions.  And these are time consuming. They take up a huge amount of one's time preparing reports, keeping records, research, keeping Club members informed as well as the District Governor and community.  Being a volunter is a lot of work! 


Lion Becky

But Friday night at the Awards Ceremony for MD49A, Lion Becky Allison won Secretary of the Year for the District!  This is huge considering this is Lion Becky's first year as an Officer.  We hope it isn't her last!  When the District Governor was making the announcement, she described "the recipient" as keeping in touch with her, sending her information, reports, and the like and this is important to anyone at the head of an organization.  They need to know that their organization is healthy, working hard, doing what needs to be done, taking care of business.  And Lion Becky did that.  She did all that was asked of her and so much more.  Congratulations, Lion Becky!  A well-deserved award! 

Lions Mike A., Becky A., Mike N.

 

Lion Mike Norton was, shall we say overwhelmed by his award?  As Zone Chair for Southeast Alaska, he's had his hands full visiting Clubs, keeping members informed of what's happening at the District and International level, and providing support to the clubs as well as the District Governor.  Looking after his Clubs has been a priority for him this past year.  But to be presented with Lion of the Year was not expected!  He tells me he was shaking from the news and if you know this man at all, you know this is out of the ordinary.  But he has worked terribly hard this past year and we're very proud of this award.  Only one other Mendenhall Flying Lion has ever received Lion of the Year at the District level--Lion Mal Linthwaite. 

Lions Becky and Mike have a year to enjoy their trophy and this feeling of floating on air.  Being a Lion isn't about the awards or the recognition.  It's about service to your community, about helping others.... But being recognized for your hard work is also important.  Getting that pat on the back once in awhile is always a good thing.  It makes us want to "do" more. 

Petersburg Vision Screening

Lion Allen traveled to Petersburg this weekend.  A first for the Juneau Club and a first for Lion Allen! Normally the Ketchikan Club services Petersburg but they were unavailable for this event.  This was Lion Allen's first solo trip with the vision screener! 

The original request was to provide vision screening at the Early Childhood Family Fair on Saturday, but then the school district asked if we could screen elementary kids as well.  Well, as Lion Allen said, he likes to travel so spending an extra day down there wasn't a problem! 

His screening totals:
   Elementary School:  screened 145/referred 21
   Health Fair:  screened 32/referred 4

Great job, Lion Allen!  We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to help Ketchikan, Petersburg, and us out! 

Lion Mike N.

Vision Screening Update

The Club has been busy with vision screening the last month or so.  We are fortunate to have the assistance of the Glacier Valley School Nurse, who single handedly screens every one of her children!  This year she screened 345 students with 37 referrals!  It's because of people like Stephanie that allow us to reach so many young kids.

In addition to Glacier Valley School, we've participated in many health fairs throughout SE Alaska.  These are the figures we've done so far this year:

Juneau Health Fair, March 9
Lions Becky, Tommy, Allen, and Mike N.
Screened 26, referred 11
Trained 2 new Lions on the machine.

Hoonah Health Fair, April 6
Hoonah Volunteers provided this screening (A big thanks to Carol and Judy)
Screened 37, referred 14

Gustavus Health Fair, April 13
Lion Tommy and his daughter
Screened 40, referred 12

Yakutat Health Fair, April 20
Lions Neil and Sue
Screened 47, referred 13

Next week the vision screener goes with Lion Allen to Petersburg where he'll spend a couple days screening school kids and participating in the Health Fair. 

Thanks to all who volunteer their time to do this. 

Lion Mike N.

Spring Litter Clean Up

A great big THANK YOU to Boy Scout Troop 247 (and siblings) who picked up litter along the Mendenhall Spur Road yesterday in conjunction with the Mendenhall Flying Lions and Earth Day!  It was a sunny day, and a tad chilly, but the Troop showed up in good spirits and ready to get the job done! 

They hit every high spot and low spot picking up garbage which has accumulated over the long winter.  It's nice to know that we can be proud of this stretch of road that takes a million tourists to the glacier every summer. 

 

The Mendenhall Flying Lions sponsored Boy Scout Troop 247 last year and they've been a big help to the Club and its activities throughout the year.  



 

 

We look forward to serving with them for years to come! 

 

A Fond Farewell

The Mendenhall Flying Lions is losing one of their Charter Members in a few days....  Lion Mal Linthwaite was the driving force behind the creation of the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club 30 years ago on May 23, 1983. 

Lion Mal and his wife, Jean, are moving out of Juneau to sunny Tucson.  Tucson's gain will be Juneau's loss. 

The main reason we get involved in the Lions Club is to give back to the community in the form of service activities.  Along the way, we might attend a Convention  or some kind of Lion training and we realize there's more to being a Member than just participating in service activities.  Besides being an officer at all levels in the Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, which included Club President three times, Lion Mal has been a true leader in Lions Club International:

Zone Chair: 4 times
Regional Chair:  1987-1988 and 1989-1990
District Committee Chair:  5 times
Deputy District Governor:  1984-1985
District Cabinet Secretary:  1993-1994 and 1997-1998
Club Secretary of the Year
Zone Chair of the Year:  1983-1984 and 1990-1991
District Chairman of the Year:  1985-1986
District 49A Lion of the Year:  1986-1987
District 49A Foundation President:  1986-1987

Lion Mal's involvement in the Mendenhall Flying Lions has truly been a gift to the Alaskan Lions.  We wish him and Jean safe travels and a happy new beginning.  We wish him our best!

Lion Mike
P.S.  Lion Mal says he WILL be joining a Club in Tucson to continue his journey.