21st Annual Barbecue Coming Soon!

We're just a few days away from our 21st annual Barbecue fundraiser to benefit the Alaska Diabetes Association!

Randy (of Randy's Rib Shack) and Lion volunteers will be up bright and early Saturday morning with ribs going on the grill around 6:00 a.m. for serving at noon.

You can dine in -- or request take home.

A plate of ribs, coleslaw, and baked beans cost $15 per plate; a rack of ribs $40 donation.

The Brewery donates a keg of beer so be sure to ask for the special!

All donations received go towards the American Diabetes Association, but all funds stay in Southeast Alaska.

Hope to see you Saturday!  We serve until ribs are gone but no later than 5:00 p.m.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy

Recycle for Sight -- Eyeglass Collection

Seventeen boxes..... two thousand two hundred and fifty four.... Eyeglasses, sunglasses, reading glasses, and cases that is.  That's what the Aurora Borealis Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center in North Pole, Alaska, will be receiving in the next few days.

The two Juneau Lions Clubs collect eyeglasses as a joint effort.  All eyecare centers in Juneau have a collection box and every year in October, we have a Recycle for Sight collection drive.  This effort is a year's worth of collecting.

Lions Mike Norton, Ted Quinn, Soapy Lingle

Once they are received at the North Pole recycle center, Lions and other volunteers will clean them, fix them, label their prescription, and file away until needed.  Every year this recycle center redistributed approximately 30,000 eyeglasses to needy people around the world.  Sharing the Vision.  #Lions100

We Serve!

Lion Nancy Norton

District Governor's Visit

The Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions was honored to have District Governor Karen Burns visit Juneau this week as part of her annual visit.  Clubs in Southeast can feel distanced from the rest of the district at times as most Lions clubs are further up north; we're about 900 miles from the next closest club.  But.... the silver lining is when a distinguished member from district comes for a visit, we usually get them a couple days due to flight schedules!  Can't complain there!

Not only do we love being tour guides as much as we can and show off our fair city but we try to fit a social event into the mix where we can spend more one-on-one time with the District Governor.

This trip Lions Bob and Donna Hurley hosted a social and asked DG Karen if she would swear in our 1 Year Director Susan Albury.  We don't normally wear our Lions vest to social events but Lion Susan felt strongly about having a vest on during this special moment so for this picture she is acting president!  It was all done in fun!

DG Karen Burns and Lion Susan Albury

Yes, we are honored whenever our distinguished guests from up north take time out of their extremely busy schedule to visit us in Southeast.  It's important that our members see the bigger picture in Lions.  Yes, we love serving our community but there's so much more to being a Lion if you want it.

District Governor Karen Burns and Lion Susan Albury

District Governor Karen shared her vision for this Lion year and that is to start new Veterans Club, provide a service dog to a Veteran with PTST, and increase membership by 100 new members.  That's certainly doable!  We have recently learned that for every new member we bring into Lions, 70 people in our community can be served!  

DG Karen presented our Club President Lion Donna Hurley with a 4 Diamond Centennial patch for completing all four of the Centennial Service Challenge activities:  Engaging Our Youth, Sharing the Vision, Relieving the Hunger, and Protecting Our Environment.

Lion Donna Hurley, DG Karen Burns

We also received a Bronze and Silver patch for completing two Legacy Projects:  The Bronze patch was for planting a tree at the American Legion post and Silver patch for bringing the USS Juneau Presentation Silver back home.

As with all good things, the District Governor and her husband, Mike, had to return to the Anchorage area where they will continue to share her vision, and that of the International President.

L/Back: Lions Bob Hurley, Soapy Lingle, Susan Albury, Mike Norton, Nancy Norton, Donna Hurley, and Tom Dawson
Front:  Lion Chevelle Hogan and District Governor Karen Burns

I, for one, feel this visit is never long enough!  But we'll meet again.   Until then....
 
We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton

Lions Recycle for Sight

The two Juneau Lions Clubs -- the Juneau Lions and the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions -- held their annual Recycle for Sight community eyeglass collection drive today.  This is where we ask the citizens of Juneau to bring in their used and unwanted eyeglasses to be recycled.

Lion Mike Norton and Lion Ted Burke

Ninety three pair of used eyeglasses were dropped off today....  Some sunglasses, some reading glasses, some were broken, but all will be shipped to the Aurora Borealis Recycle Center in the North Pole for repair and re-distribution.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton
#Lions100

Vision Screening Is What We Do!

As all Lions know, vision screening for children and young adults is our priority.  If you aren't a Lion, you may not know this.  But around the world, this is what Lions do.

We aren't medical professionals but use a state-of-the-art PlusOptix vision screener that can capture some common eye problems in children.

The Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions reaches out to the Juneau-Douglas School District, concentrating on elementary and middle schools as well as home schools and non-district preschools.  We also travel to most communities in Southeast Alaska to screen children.

So far this year (since September 20), we have screened the following schools:

Auke Bay Elementary:  screened 107 with 7 referrals
Juneau Co-op:  screened 37 with 1 referral
Riverbend Elementary:  screened 260 with 54 referrals
Valley Baptist Academy:  screened 79 with 7 referrals
Haines Schools:  screened 137 with 9 referrals
Faith Community Christian Church:  screened 53 with 14 referrals
Wrangell Schools:  screened 73 with 17 referrals
Juneau Community Charter School:  screened 79 with 14 referrals

The computer will either "pass" the child or it will come back "refer."  If a child is referred, we recommend that they make an appointment with their eye care professional for a thorough exam as the computer found some irregularities with their vision.

Thanks to Lions Soapy, Donna, Bob, Hari Dev, Tommy, and Mike for all your dedication to the children!

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton
Sharing the Vision, #Lions100

Chasing the Silver Coffee Hour

You might recall last year when the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions celebrated the return of the USS Juneau Presentation Silver.  Our Club worked hard to bring it back home, where it sits at the Juneau Douglas City Museum.  It wouldn't have happened without the help of the United States Navy, Senator Lisa Murkowski, the City Museum staff, and others.

Lion Donna Hurley, President of the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions, invites you to sit with her for a short history lesson on the USS Juneau Silver and her 31 year journey to bring it home, on Saturday, November 12, 10:30 to noon at the City Museum.  This coffee hour is free to all.

Click here for more information: http://www.juneau.org/library/museum/public_programs.php

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton

Ready... Set.... Eat Ribs!

You know it's Fall when we start planning our annual barbecue to benefit the Alaska Diabetes Association!  This will be our 21st year in serving ribs to the community!

Who:  Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions

What:  Annual Barbecue to Benefit the Alaska Diabetes Association

Where:  McGivneys, Mendenhall Mall

When:  Saturday, November 5, from noon to 5:00 p.m.

Our meals consist of ribs (smoked by Randy's Rib Shack), salad, and baked beans.  You can enjoy your meal at McGivneys or ask for it to go.  You can buy a meal or a half a rack of ribs!  We're there to serve you!

Stay tuned for more details as it gets closer to the event.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton

End of Season Litter Patrol

Another summer come and gone.  Another year of keeping the road to the Mendenhall Glacier clean of trash.

As part of "protecting our environment," the Juneau Mendenhall Flying Lions picks up litter three times a year -- spring, summer, and fall.

One can't help but hope the weather will be kind to us as we trek along the side of the road.  And today it was.

It was a beautiful Fall day, 31 degrees, as the six of us "did" the walk.  A big thanks to Lions Soapy Lingle, Bob and Donna Hurley, Chevelle Hogan, Mike Norton, and myself.

Until next Spring....

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton
#Lions100
Protecting Our Environment