Food Drive

Most people like to sleep in on Saturdays.  They've worked hard all week long and this is their day off.  

 

Not the Mendenhall Lions and Boy Scout Troop 247. 

 

Other people would get up on a Saturday and go fishing, hiking, or boating.   

 

Not the Mendenhall Lions and Boy Scout Troop 247. 

 

Other people would have spent their day shopping or gardening or cleaning.   

 

Not the Mendenhall Lions and Boy Scout Troop 247.   

 

They spent their day collecting canned food and other items to donate to the Southeast Alaska Food Bank--639 pounds to be exact!

 

Way to go Lions and Scouts!  Because of your tireless commitment to helping others, your efforts will help feed people all over Juneau.  And that's a good way to spend your Saturday. 

 

 

Helping Others

True or False: Will you find Lions in Barbados, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Kenya, Mongolia, Nepal, Slovakia, Swaziland, and Zambia? 

True.  Lions are everywhere!  There are

• 1.35 million members....
• in 46,000 clubs....
• in over 207 countries in the world! 

Lions are the largest service organization in the world and you are one piece of that pie! We may speak different languages or have different cultures, but we have one thing in common, a core belief that community is what we make it.  We are all dedicated to serving those in need and making our community a better place to live.  And, if the need arises, around the world.

Did you know that when the tornado hit Louisiana recently, Lions were some of the first responders there?  And when the tsunami hit Japan a couple years ago, Lions were there?  We're everywhere we need to be.

Lions don't take the day off; we're always on alert.  To do so might mean we miss an opportunity to help someone whether it be in our home town, our state, or our great country.  We might hear about someone in need through a neighbor or from a news article.  We're spreading the word about recycled glasses, vision screening, and other projects.   And with 1.35 million members, it would be a shame if we missed an opportunity where we could help.  Wouldn't it?

Official Colors

We're learning a lot about the Lions organization and our club, but there's still so much to know.  For instance: 

What are the official colors of Lions Clubs International? 

If you said blue and yellow, you'd be wrong.  If you said purple and gold, you'd be right. 

These colors were chosen for the following reasons:

Purple represents loyalty to country, friends, to one's self and to the integrity of mind and heart.  It is the color of strength, courage and dedication to a cause. 

Gold symbolizes sincerity of purpose, liberality in judgment, purity in life and generosity in mind, heart and commitment to mankind. 

Often a dark blue is used in place of purple. 

So there you have it!  We wear purple and gold for a reason, and it's a good reason, for this IS what Lions stand for! 

You Can Find Us Here

Times are changing, that's for sure....  As an avid garage saler, I grab the Friday issue of the Juneau Empire and search for Saturday's sales.  But what I've noticed in the last four weeks is there aren't any.  None.  Zip.  Okay, last week there was one or two, but not the usual 15 or 20 that you'd see in year's past.  Why is that? 

Because people have gone "social."  They're using social networks now for all their advertising needs.  If you want to find garage sales, you go to craigslist.  If you want to find a lost dog, you go to the Facebook Lost and Found page.  If you feel like writing your favorite aunt, you send an email.  If you need to look up a recipe for dinner, you go to your I-phone.  The phone book has almost become obsolete and people are using their phones and computer for most things now.  We google or bing every thing we need to know. 

So it only makes sense that we, the Mendenhall Flying Lions, fly on the social network too!  If Joe Brown from Fritz Cove Road wants to contact us, how is he going to do that?  We're not in the phone book.  We don't have a phone number published.  We don't have an office. 

So how are people going to get in touch with us?  Yea, the internet.  So go to google and search for Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions and see what comes up.  Do you find what you're looking for?  Do you find our web page?  Our blog?  Our facebook page? Hopefully you do!  I do know The Flying Lion blog does not come up directly because our name is different, but a mock page does and you can get there from that page.

All of these "social network" pages are kept current and any person can contact us through one of these sources.  They can learn about our club and our activities.  They can take the time to research our service and our commitment to the community.

And so can you!  Be sure to bookmark the following (click on them to go to the page):

e-Clubhouse (our website
The Flying Lion blog
Facebook

Club Leadership

First off, thank you to all members who have agreed to be an officer this next year.  We know everyone is busy, have lives of their own, families, jobs, etc., and now we've just added more responsibility to your already busy lives. 

So now you're the President or Secretary, maybe the Membership Director.  Now what? 

Hopefully by this time you have received a copy of the Officer's Manual and have taken time to read what your new job entails and that of your fellow officers.

Question:  What positions make up the Board of Directors? 

I see minds working.... Board of Directors?  Huh?  Your Club Officers make up the Board of Directors which include the positions of president, 1st vice president, secretary, treasurer, tail twister/lion tamer, 2 year director, 1 year director, membership chair, and immediate past president.  This is your Board of Directors. 

At meetings, when you need a quorum for voting purposes, you need a majority, or more than 50 percent of the officers in attendance in order to take a vote.  In this case at least five of these officers need to be in attendance in order to have a legal vote.

Do you know who your officers are for this year?

• President:  Lion Mike Allison
• 1st Vice President:  Lion Tommy Dawson
• Secretary:  Lion Becky Allison
• Treasurer:  Lion Joe Molburg
• Tail Twister/Lion Tamer:  Lion Allen Butner
• 2 Year Director:  Lion Mike Norton
• 1 Year Director:  Lion Bob Hurley
• Membership Chair:  Lion Neil Atkinson
• Immediate Past President:  Lion Joey Ausel

This is our team.  But just because you might not be an officer this year, doesn't mean you can't be on a committee or chair a committee.  So if the President asks you which committee you want to be on or if you want to chair a committee, don't give it too much thought.  Just say YES! 

Things You May Not Have Known About the MFLC

Okay, here's an easy one.... What's the name of our club?  Is it:

1.   Mendenhall Lions Club
2.   Mendenhall Flying Lions Club
3.   Juneau Lions Club
4.   Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club

If you said #4, Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, you'd be correct.  We usually shorten it to MFLC or Mendenhall Flying Lions. We were chartered on May 23, 1983.  Another piece of trivia is this:  The name of the town has to be in the name of the club, i.e., Juneau.

That was just too easy!  Okay, here's another one; an important one:  What District are we in?  We're in District 49A of Multiple District 49.  Within Multiple District 49, there is District 49A and District 49B. 

District A is all Alaska clubs; District B includes clubs in Alaska, Yukon Territory and some of Canada.

A possible Quiz question:  What does A and B stand for?  "A" stands for Aurora and "B" stands for Borealis.

The Club's Banner

And here's something you may never need to know because we don't have them in our District, but sometimes you need to know when filling out paperwork.  What Region are we in? I, II, or III

If you guessed I, you'd be wrong.  :)  But if you guessed II, you are correct.  I don't know much about Regions other than it's another level of leadership in some Districts.

Which brings us to Zones.  Multiple District 49A is broken down into Zones.  We're in Zone 7 which includes all clubs in Southeast--Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, Juneau Lions Club, Ketchikan Lions Club, Wrangell Lions Club, and the newly formed Branch Club, Prince of Wales.
 
Who was our first club President?  If you said Lion Mal Linthwaite, you would be correct.  He has served our club well and we should all be so dedicated. 

I know this was a lot of information.... and likely boring information.... And I did try to keep it as simple as I could.... but it's important for you as a Lion to know your hierarchy.   

As a member of the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions, you have a certain obligation to learn as much as you can about this great organization so you can share it with others. 

 

To recap our hierarchy:

 

Lions Club International

District 49A

Region II

Zone 7

Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club

Club President 

 



4th of July Concession Stand

One thing a Juneauite could always brag about.... it's always sunny on the 4th of July. 

Well, not so much on THIS 4th.... Although it started out okay, a little nippy with low clouds, we were hopeful that the sky would clear up and it would be true to form. But it didn't.


Lions Mike N. (left) and Neil setting up.

This is our fourth year selling goodies to the parade participants.  Cycle Alaska is kind enough to let us set up on their property, which just happens to be at the entrance to the staging area for the parade participants and floats.  So everyone has to go right by us!  As it turned out, this year we were also close to the porta potty.... so we got a little more exposure and business!

Lions Chad, Joe and Mike N.

Lion Allen brought his Troop 247 to help out as well as his daughters, who rocked!    

Lions Becky and Neil

Lion Mike A.  gave an interview to the local radio/tv station.  He can't recall what he said though.... Should we be concerned....? 

 

Then it started to rain....  Lions Mike A. and Joe staying dry. 

This must have been a lull in the activity.  Lion Neil looks way too comfy!

 

Lion Mike N. holding up his end of the table.

Lions Marilyn and Becky manning the table, helping customers, and staying dry.

This little girl rocked!  She took boxes of pastries around to the parade participates and sold her wares!  Who could say no to that sweet face?

The Boy Scouts did their share of helping out, too, and even went car to car.  They were awesome!

All I'm going to say is thank goodness Lion Neil brought his umbrella!  It literally saved the day.  Our boxes of pastries were getting wet and soggy and the sugar packets gumming up.

All in all, it was a great day.  It eventually stopped raining and the sun tried to come out.  We don't know how much we made yet, but we're pretty sure our Charities Account will be happy.

For this writer, it'll be a really long time before I even LOOK at another donut! 



What Do Lions Stand For?

Which of the following is the motto of the Lions organization?
   We Believe!
   We Belong!
   We Serve!

If you said "We Serve" you're right.  Lions are all about serving, there's no doubt about it. It's their signature line and you'll see it on literature, in newsletters, on the web, even as a signature line on letters.

Do you know what the vision statement is for Lions Clubs?  "To be the global leader in community and humanitarian service."

To be the global leader in community and humanitarian service.... Wow!  You and me.  Part of the humanitarian movement! 

When was the last time you read the Lions Code of Ethics?  Let's read it together:

• To show my faith in the worthiness of my vocation by industrious application to the end that I may merit a reputation for quality of service.
• To seek success and to demand all fair remuneration or profit as my just due, but to accept no profit or success at the price of my own self-respect lost because of unfair advantage taken or because of questionable acts on my part.
• To remember that in building up my business it is not necessary to tear down another's; to be loyal to my clients or customers and true to myself.
• Whenever a doubt arises as to the right or ethics of my position or action towards others, to resolve such doubt against myself.
• To hold friendship as an end and not a means.  To hold that true friendship exists not on account of the service performed by one to another, but that true friendship demands nothing but accepts service in the spirit in which it is given.
• Always to bear in mind my obligations as a citizen to my nation, my state, and my community, and to give them my unswerving loyalty in word, act, and deed.  To give them freely of my time, labor and means.
• To aid others by giving my sympathy to those in distress, my aid to the weak, and my substance to the needy.
• To be careful with my criticism and liberal with my praise; to build up and not destroy.

To be honest, when I read this my eyes glaze over.... but there are key words that will help us understand what the ethics are that we're to live by as Lions -- "I may merit a reputation for quality of service," "to accept no profit," "to be loyal," "true friendship demands nothing," "to give my unswerving loyalty in word, act, and deed," "to aid others by giving sympathy to those in distress, my aid to the weak, and my substance to the needy," "to be careful with my criticism and liberal with my praise," and "to build up and not destroy."

So when you're talking to a prospective new member and they ask "what type of people are in the Lion's Club" what can you tell them?  We Serve.  We're honest.  We have integrity.  We're kind and fair.  We help the world, one person at a time.  THAT'S the kind of people I associate with!  

Calendar Year

Who knows what the Lion's calendar year is?  Well, we just started a new year, our 2013-2014 year.

A Lion's calendar year goes from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. 

I've tried to find out why.... if there's a specific reason, but haven't had any luck yet.  Anyone know? 

So what might happen as the new year transitions?  Much like the New Year, we celebrate!  There's usually an end-of-year social for all members to get together and eat, drink, and be merry!  The outgoing President will usually present small tokens of appreciation to deserving members. 

Often times new officers will be installed at this end-of-year party as well as any new members will be inducted. 

But let's back up a bit.  Prior to July 1, officers should be tidying up their affairs and prepare to transition their files over to the new officer.  There should be some training and guidance so the new officers can start July 1 with their feet firmly planted on the ground. 

Club welfare will be scrutinized to see what problems there were and how they can be improved upon for the next year.  This might be done in conjunction with a Member Satisfaction Guide. 

You can also expect to renew your membership dues at this time.  Dues are good for one year, the Lion's calendar year.

Lions Clubs International elects a new International President and they will outline their objectives and goals for the coming year.  There are usually several global campaigns that clubs can participate in like Plant a Million Trees Campaign in 2011-2012.  Last year it was the Reading Action Program. 

Our incoming District Governor will also have his own  goals and pet projects that we can work towards and get involved with.  This year it's increasing membership. 

So this is a little of what you can expect as our new year transitions.  It's a time of renewal.  Renewing our enthusiasm.  Renewing our commitment to our club and organization.  Looking forward to the year to come with fellow Lions, enjoying good fellowship, learning and growing. 

Happy New Year! 

Trivia: Intro

It's been said that members join the Lions Club for the service activities and aren't interested so much in the details of the organization. 

I tend to agree, to a certain degree.  Let me ask you:  Do you ever feel left out or lost in a conversation between two seasoned members, not totally understanding what they're talking about or what a word might mean or what's involved? 

Or maybe they speak Acronyms.  What the heck does LCIF, DG, PID, CS and all those mean anyway???? 

What do you do in these instances?  Ask for clarification?  Stay confused?  Tell yourself it doesn't concern you anyway?

Imagine working for the State of Alaska, the City and Borough, or some other company and trying to do your job without the tools.  When you start a new job, you're handed an SOP manual, the accounting manual, the personnel manual, the union book, and multiple others.  Your supervisor sits with you for days to train you on your job.  You're signed up for classes that will help not only do YOUR job, but GROW within your area of interest. 

Imagine starting a new job and not getting the training or tools you need to understand what others are talking about, or a description of what your job actually entails, or receiving the information to help you make an intelligent decision within your job or have a conversation among peers.

Would you feel like you belonged?  Would you feel motivated to do a job you didn't understand the dynamics of?  Possibly not.... 

This Lion calendar year, 2013-2014, we will take you on a journey through the Lions organization where you will learn little snippets of information that will help you connect to other members not only in your club but the organization.  I promise to keep it interesting, light, and not too boring! 

LCI feels it's important for all Lions to have a basic understanding of this great organization we're a part of.  Even seasoned members might learn something, or reinforce what they already know.  This knowledge can take members one step closer to becoming the leaders we need.  

Remember, knowledge empowers us!  The more we know, the more we can accomplish! 

One final word...  There WILL be a quiz!  Maybe once a month.... maybe every quarter.  With the winner receiving a, no, wait, that will be a surprise! 

Stay tuned.  The quizzing begins tomorrow! 

Lion Nancy