Blankets Blankets Blankets

You all remember our Lions Packs project....  After reading an editorial in our local newspaper last August about foster care children entering into the "system" with often nothing but the clothes on their back, we immediately took action to rectify this. We now provide a backpack to every child that enters into the Foster Care Program that includes a few items of necessity and comfort to help them through the first 12/24 hours.  Items include toiletries, a book, maybe a baby doll or a truck for small kids.  We also try to provide a soft, comfy blanket.  After all, what gives more comfort than cuddling up in a nice, soft blanket?

Last week Lion Mike Norton and myself delivered another 22 blankets to Office of Children Services.  Kathy was thrilled to get them and said they would take whatever we could give them.  Most of these were "tag" blankets.... two pieces of polar fleece material tied together.  So simple to make that even a child could do!

So... come on Lions.... do you have a special talent for knitting, crocheting, quilting, or tieing knots?  Do you have some spare time now and then?  Would you like to help make blankets?  We can get a group together now and then and each do our own blanket. They can be any size, but mostly a size to cuddle with, to wrap around your shoulders.  

If you'd like to help, let me know!! It doesn't need to take a huge commitment of time, just a desire to help.  I'd appreciate your help.  

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

And the Award Goes to.....

The men weren't decked out in their finest tux and the women didn't wear revealing, low cut, no back dresses.... but it was exciting just the same!  I felt like a movie star!  Okay I didn't.... it wasn't that exciting.... and I wore my every day jenes....  But our election did take place.

Please welcome the Board of Directors for 2014-15 for the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions Club:

President:  Lion Mike Norton

Vice President:  Lion Nancy Norton

Secretary:  Lion Becky Allison

Treasurer:  Lion Allen Butner
Lion Tamer:  Lion Tommy Dawson

Membership Chair:  Lion Neil Atkinson

2 Year Director:  Lion Steve Byers

1 Year Director:  Lion Joe Molburg

Immediate Past President:  Lion Mike Allison

Congratulations to all!  

For a couple (Lions Steve and Nancy), this is their first officer position and to them I say, "good luck!" Not that they'll need luck, only a passion to do their job and the initiative to look for help when needed. And it is a "job".... as much as we might just want to do activities, officers take care of the administrative side of being a non-profit like keeping track of members, submitting reports, taking care of federal and state requirements, banking and basically ensuring the club runs smoothly.

For Lions Mike N., Becky, and Neil this next year should be a piece of cake since this will be their third year in these positions.  We appreciate that they understand the importance of their contribution to the club and are willing to step up and do what needs to be done. Once again.

Lion Allen is our current Lion Tamer and is looking forward to taking care of all our financial needs.... Aren't you, Lion Allen?!  We look forward to good things.  And Lion Tommy is our current VP.  We think he'll make a great Lion Tamer!  There's just something fun about him!

Last, but not least, is Lion Joe who is always willing to fill in as needed.  We appreciate that about him and his willingness to accept the nomination for 1 Year Director.

Well, I guess Lion Mike A. is last.... as he is our Immediate Past President.

For the rest of our members....  work hard, play hard, pay attention, learn, ask questions, take training, sit on committees, chair committees, speak up, share ideas, get involved.... and you, too, can be a future new officer!

Miss Alex Ausel presided over the election to ensure it was all on the up and up and certified the results.  :)

Miss Alex, Lion Joey and Lion Chad

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Celebrating Three Years Today

Today we get to celebrate three years of service times two!  Yes, three years ago, Mike and Becky Allison agreed to join their good friend, Lion Mal Linthwaite, in the Lion family and have been working hard ever since.

4th of July Concession

Lion Becky is on her second year as club secretary.  Her first year she received Secretary of the Year for District 49A!  Talk about a hard act to follow!  Lion Becky chaired the Peace Poster campaign and White Cane campaign for two years and has helped on many other committees throughout the years.

Peace Poster winner 202012

Helping a fellow lion with yard work

Lion Mike is our President this year and has found it to be quite enlightening.  He's also chaired multiple committees these past three years--Bicycle Recycle project, Spring Dinner and Auction, and the Nominating Committee. He received the club's Lion of the Year for 2011-2012 because of his initiative in starting new projects and being the "go to" guy he is.

Lion Mike helping at Light Flights

Both have also assisted with many of our other projects such as vision screening, littler pick up, barbecue and auction, Light Flights, and 4th of July concession stand to name a few.

They've attended forum, conventions, and training courses while there.

Lions Mike and Becky have given a lot back to the community in these three years and we thank them for their hard work and dedication.  We look forward to the next three years!

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Gold Medal Tournament

Sure signs of Spring:  Spring Break and the Gold Medal Basketball Tournament!

This is the Juneau Club's big headliner!  This is THE fundraiser of the year!  This is the event most of SE communities look forward to every year.

Gold Medal is more than just a basketball tournament.  It's a week of fun for all involved from Lions welcoming old friends from years' past to gatherings and dinners with referees who have traveled to Juneau to referee this week-long event.  It's a time when families and friends come together from different communities in Southeast and rekindle their friendship, catch up on the past year, maybe eat fry bread.... AND compete against each other for the title.

Gold Medal this year starts at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning/Sunday (the 16th) and runs through Saturday (the 22nd).  If you have some free time this week, I'm sure the Juneau Club would appreciate any volunteer time you have to give to help them out with this event.

We Serve!
Nancy

Juneau Health Fair

Tis the Season!  For vision screening that is!  We offered free vision screening at the Nugget Mall yesterday  It didn't start out well and we were starting to regret it a tad when we went to set up our table the night before only to find that there wasn't a space reserved for us.  Lion Mike returned a second time later that night and still nothing.  A phone call to the Health Fair coordinator confirmed that the Nugget Mall manager had been remiss in laying out space for several non-profits.... Yet.... she didn't think she should get her check list and make sure everyone was taken care of????  It was easier to blame someone else????  That's all I'm going to say about that!

Today when we went over extra early to set up, we initially questioned where they had put us.... right outside the room where people were "checking out" from the day's activities.  Looking at the line weave next to us, my first thought was, "great.... no one is going to see us amid the crowd" but it actually turned out to our benefit as Lion Mike talked to those waiting in line and got them to step out of line for a minute for a quick vision screening!  Way to go, Lion Mike!

We screened 33 people today with 15 referrals.  Out of those were four children.  We had quite a few that we couldn't get a reading because of "dim light" or "pupils too small."  Several of the people with the worst results hung their heads in shame when we asked, "do you wear glasses."  We could tell!  The numbers don't lie!  I doubt they'll start wearing them just because we told them they should!

The new vision screener seemed to work okay except we had problems with the printer.... again.  Ugh.

I guess it was a decent day; 8 screenings an hour....  We got to talk to former Lions, one man who's father was a member of the Douglas Lions Club way back when.   We talked to one man for quite awhile before I asked...." by any chance are you an eye doctor?"  He smiled and said, "yes, I am."  More discussion took place and he expressed interest in "working with us."  Not certain what that means at this time, but we'll check it out further.

Anyway, it was a decent day.  Thanks to Lion Mike N. for taking time out of his day to do this!  I was also there, but wasn't really needed....

You've Been a Club President.... What's Next?

Okay, so even if you haven't been a Club President, this webinar provided some great information that one could use not only in their membership in the club but in their personal lives as well.

This was actually a really interesting course.  It walked us through the process that three Lions took to find their purpose as Lions.  

You had Lion Joan.... who, after writing her personal mission statement, decided that diabetes awareness was her passion.  She realized she liked to manage and coordinate activities.  Each step took her closer to realizing she was interested in being on the Diabetes Awareness Committee at the district level.

Lion Anthony went through the same process and his personal mission statement identified his passion:  to help other club presidents achieve their goals.  He values personal relationships and is rewarded by mentoring and teaching.  He chose Zone Chair as his goal.  Lastly, he outlined steps he needed to take to reach that goal.

After Lion John went through the process, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to increase Lionism at the club level.  He wanted to see strong leadership continue and felt the best way he could help his club is through mentoring skills.

This course made me think about our own club and where each of us fit in....  What is your passion? What are your strengths?  Are they being utilized to their fullest or are you just along for the ride?  Do you see yourself in a leadership role?  What about serving at the District level?  Are you taking steps to get to your destination?

Our first step in figuring all this out is to craft our personal mission statement.  Don't worry, LCI will walk us through the process.  During this process of self-discovery, we'll learn what's important, why it's important, and steps we need to take to end out on top.  Click here to start:  Lions Learning Center and click on Leadership.  See you at the top!

A Celebration of Six Years

One of our members is celebrating six years of Lionism today....  Any guesses?

If you guessed Lion Mike Norton, you'd be correct.  Being a good friend of Lion Mal Linthwaite, it was only a matter of time before Mike was invited to attend a meeting.  Being the good friend he is, he accepted the invitation to attend a meeting.  Then another.  And another.

Lion Mike has enjoyed being a member, participating in activities and committees, but it didn't take long before he got nominated for his first officer position--Lion Tamer for 2009-2010.

The following year, 2010-2011, Lion Mike was elected President.  This was a position he probably wasn't prepared for being a fairly new Lion of a little over two years, but he accepted the nomination, embraced the opportunity to serve Lions and his community, and learned everything he needed to do a good job.  If you ask him, he'll say those first six to nine months were horrible.  

Then, 2011-2012 he was elected to serve a second term as President.  Being more prepared, he gladly accepted.

By now the district is probably realizing they might have a fish on the line!  Here's a Lion who's embracing Lionism; attending conferences, conventions, and forums; attending training wherever he can get it; and have realized they have a leader in the making. Yep, let's make him Zone Chair!  

Lion Mike was then appointed Zone Chair where he has served for two years (2012-13, 2013-14).  As Zone Chair, he oversees four clubs in Southeast Alaska:  The Mendenhall Flying Lions Club, the Juneau Lions Club, the Ketchikan Lions Club, and the Wrangell Lions Club.

Lion Mike has enjoyed his time as Zone Chair immensely and has some regret that his term is coming to an end.   But who knows what the future will bring.

Congratulations on six years, Lion Mike!  We appreciate all that you've done for our club and our community!

Celebrating 21 Years

March 1, 1993.... was a very good year....  Why?  That's when Lion Mal Linthwaite signed Rosemary Matt up to be a Lion.!  Holy cow.... 21 years!  Yes, that's how many years Lion Rosemary has been a Lion with the Mendenhall Flying Lions!

Did you know Lion Rosemary was the first woman to be inducted into the MFLC?  Yep.  And she served us well over the years.  

Lion Rosemary is one of those Lions who has done it all.  Not only was she active in activities, fundraisers, and service projects (like the club's signature paper recycling), but as a leader in the club.  I don't know all the officer positions she held, but do know she received the District's Secretary of the Year. She was also Club President from 1996-1997, 1998-1999, and 2000-2001, 2003-2004!   

Lion Rosemary is a Member-at-Large which means because she travels a lot, is unable to attend regular meetings but has a desire to retain membership in the club.  We appreciate all that Lion Rosemary has done over the years to serve our community and our club.  

Congratulations, Lion Rosemary!