Oklahoma Needs Our Help

Hi, Lions. It's true that we all have our own lives, our own problems, our own challenges.  But right now, the people of Oklahoma need all the help they can get.  Yesterday's tornado devasted so many homes, so many lives. 

If you care to help, there's a lot of options:  The Red Cross can always use donations, but have you ever considered donating to Lions Clubs International? 

Lions Clubs International has a Disaster Relief Fund to help disasters such as this.  You can access the Donate Now link here?  http://lionsclubs.org/blog/2013/05/21/lci-and-lcif-respond-to-oklahoma-usa-disaster/  If you have any questions filling out the form, please contact your Club Secretary or myself.

I donated.  Will you?

Michael Norton
Zone 7 Chair
MD49A

Postal Service Food Drive

It started out like this: A Post on Facebook

 

Southeast Alaska FoodBank

Just a reminder: the USPS's Stamp Out Hunger food drive is coming up on Saturday the 11th. We're going to need help transporting, sorting, and stocking these donations, so please let us know if you or your group would be interested in helping us that day. Thanks.

 

So we put out an email to the Club to see if anyone wanted to volunteer some time and help out. 



 

 

We heard from Lion Allen who thought this would be a great project for his Boy Scout Troop 247.  They would join Lion Mike N.

 

 And we agree.  Those boys rocked!

 

They worked for 2 hours today sorting through canned goods and other food items.

 

All in all, we sorted and handled 2,231 pounds of donated food that will help feed our community. But equally important, we had a great time and met some really nice people, Darren and Judy from SE Alaska Food Bank.  Who knows, maybe we've started a new partnership....

4th Cabinet / MD 49 Convention in Fairbanks

I've been to several great Multiple District Conventions over the years, and this year's was no different. 

It didn't hurt that the Ice Breaker took place at the Antique Car Museum!  It was incredible to see all those period cars -- and all from Alaska! 

As in any cabinet meeting or convention, we had a lot of business to deal with.  The subject of redistricting was heavy on a lot of people's minds and I suspect all were relieved when the Delegates voted to not put it on the ballot. 

As posted a couple days ago, Southeast Alaska won many awards.  Lion Ted Burke, from the Juneau Club, won the highest honor and received the Presidential Medal from LCI.  A much deserved recognition for his involvement in Lions all these years. 

The best part of the trip was hanging out with Lions from my Zone.  Lions who I don't get to see often enough or outside of regular meetings.  We had Lions who attended for their first time.  I wonder if it made an impact on them....  I think they came away feeling rejuvenated and excited for this new phase in the Lion's organization.  One of leadership. 

Brief Convention Recap: 

1. Nominations were held for Lewis Quinn (District Governor), Cindy Beardsley (1st Vice District Governor), Mike Brown (2nd Vice District Governor), and for Council Chairman Lou Jones.  All were elected to the respective positions.
2. The Lion Necrology Service:  There were 19 Lions who were honored, two from Ketchikan--Lion John Chappele and Lion Don Haseltine.  These are Lions that passed away this last year.  
3. 49A Awards: 

• Membership Growth:  Mountain View Lions
• President of the Year:  Sherie Viera (Palmer)
• Club of the Year:  Copper River Basin Lions
• Secretary of the Year:  Lion Becky Allison
• Lion of the Year:  Lion Michael Norton

Plus many other awards.

There will be a full cabinet report coming shortly.

Yours in Lionism
Mike N.

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!