MFLC Lion of the Year!

One of the hardest jobs of the President of our club is to recognize one person over another.  Our Club is filled with good Lions!  Members who give as much as they have to give!  And when you take all those efforts and tally them up, a lot has been accomplished.

But this year, when all the tallies were tallied and the results added up, one Lion stood out above the others.  This is not to diminish all the hard work other Lions gave to our club, unconditionally, tired, and worn out.  But there can only be one Lion of the Year.  

I think we took Lion Donna Hurley by surprise when Lion President Mike Norton announced, "and the Lion of the year is..... Lion Donna!"   

But it was justly deserved.  Lion Donna didn't work hard this year. She worked extra hard.  She gave it her all.  And then some.

On the chance that you're wondering what a Lion needs to do to qualify for Lion of the Year, here's just some of her contribution:

• Held the Vice President position and ran two or three meetings in the President's absence.
• She chaired a lunch at the Glory Hole, a place where the homeless and hungry can eat.
• She brought back the USS Juneau Presentation Silver to the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.  No easy task when working the United States Navy.  
• She planned and hosted a social for military veterans presenting the USS Juneau Silver.
• She was host to Captain Eugene Bailey of the USS Juneau (third ship).
• She planned and hosted a reception for the Legislature and other dignitaries where the USS Juneau Presentation Silver was unveiled and presented.
• She planned and hosted a reception open to the public to view the USS Juneau Presentation Silver.  
• She spearheaded planting a tree at the local VFW/American Legion Post.
• She was chair of the Budget Committee for 2016-2017.

Committees she worked on and events she helped with:

• Nominating Committee
• Joint Sight Committee
• Litter Pick up (3 events)
• Helped set up for the Helping Hand Fundraiser
• Participated in the Recycle for Sight, eyeglass recycle drive
• Served meals at the Annual Barbecue to benefit the American Diabetes Association
• Had a social and asked members to bring toys to give to the needy  
• Rang the Salvation Army Bell
• Helped at Light Flights, our annual helicopter tour to view Christmas lights
• Served at the Glory Hole lunch
• Planned a Remembrance Ceremony for the USS Juneau
• Helped at Family Farm Day, petting bunnies
• Approached the City and Borough of Juneau to place flowers at the USS Juneau Memorial site
• Helped at the first ever Meet and Greet
• Participated in the Bicycle Safety Rodeo
• Planted a tree at the VFW/American Legion site

And THAT'S why she deserved Lion of the Year!  We love you Lion Donna!  Thank you for ALL your service this year!  

We Serve!

Lion Nancy Norton

A Little of This and a Little of That

As the Lion year is coming to a close, it's a good time to stop and reflect on the year and to thank your members for all their hard work.

It's a known fact that some Lions have more time to contribute than others.  And that's okay.  But every single Lion needs to be recognized for every little thing they do.  Big or small.

We had our end-of-year party recently.  It was a combination social, award ceremony, and induction of incoming officers.

We ate.  Plenty.

We had a good time.

We laughed.

We ate some more.

Then came the serious part of the evening.... awards and recognition.  Lion Donna presented Lion President Mike Norton with a plaque for his leadership as President from 2013 to 2016 and his service to the community.

Lion Mike Norton, Lion Donna Hurley

Lions were then awarded their 100% Attendance pins.  All members of our club qualified between attending meetings and attending events!

We had several letters (with Chevrons) from International President Yamada recognizing and thanking certain Lions for their years of service:

Lion Bruce Wing:  50 Year Chevron

Lion Ted Quinn:  25 Year Chevron

Donna Hurley:  15 Year Chevron

Lion Sue Bowman, 15 Year Chevron

Congratulations to all!  That's a LOT of service!  

Last, but not least, induction of incoming officers.  We have another great team coming on board!  Great potential to lead, learn, mentor, and work hard.  Our incoming officers are:

Lion Donna Hurley, President

Lion Soapy Lingle, Vice President

Lion Nancy Norton, Secretary

Lion Bob Hurley, Treasurer

Lion Becky Allison, Membership Chair

Lion Tom Dawson, Tailtwister

Lion Susan Albury, 1 Year Director

Lion Mukhya Khalsa, 2 Year Director

Lion Mike Norton, Immediate Past President

Lions Becky Allison (left), Nancy Norton, Donna Hurley, Tom Dawson, Mukhya Khalsa, Soapy Lingle, Bob Hurley (right)

Lion Donna Hurley was a little shocked to hear her name after, "Lion of the Year is...."!  Yes, Lion Donna deserved our Club recognition as Lion of the Year!  

It was a good night, with good friends.

We Serve!
Lion Nancy Norton

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.