JODI BURMESTER is the Program Host next week, and she will introduce Neil Heinen. Not as a TV person this time - he's bringing his wife, Nancie Christie, and they are going to talk about "All About Food Critiques" They jointly owned and operated a restaurant in Madison, so they know their subject.

Looking ahead, the meeting on December 7 will include the celebration of November and December Lion Birthdays, and a discussion, led by President LINDA, on the future direction of our Club. We need some new ideas - our membership and attendance are both sagging, and some fresh energy would help. What would also help is for every active member to get to the meetings - in numbers there is strength. The Program Committee is bringing us interesting programs, and there are Lion projects to participate in. Something for everybody - just scratch around a little, find something you are interested in doing, and do it.

At the last meeting, TT/mo ALEX WONG led off with a raffle of some donated items. Top prize was a Cross pen and pencil set donated by PADDHE HEINEN and won by ART TAGGART. Other prizes were an Oriental Print donated by PHIL INGWELL and won by DON NEVIASER, a watch from the former President of South Korea, also from PHIL and won by STEVE BRIGGS, and special four-year calendars featuring the Chinese New Year and Animal of the Year, donated by ALEX. Those went to GEORGE ALBRIGHT, MELISSA ABBOTT and our speaker, Dominique Brossard, who graciously participated in the raffle. Lots of prizes, more fun, but maybe the tickets need a little more shaking up. OTTO FESTGE led the song, successfully switching to "God Bless America", in recognition of Thanksgiving. SPARKY WATTS gave the invocation, also appropriate to the day.

With no time to deliberate, President LINDA has ordered approximately the same amount of nuts, candy and fruit cake as we sold last year. We are relying on all Club members to remember who they sold to last time, and do as well or better this time. The stuff will be here for our December 7 meeting. Items ordered include mixed nuts and whole salted cashews, roasted almonds, praline pecans, chocolate raisins, chocolate almonds, chocolate pecan clusters @$7.00, malted milk balls, sweet & salted trail mix @$5.00, and a few one-pound fruitcakes if anyone can sell them. Price of fruit cake uncertain. A search of old BULLetins did not turn up any announced prices from last year and apparently there are no records. Does anyone have last year's "order blank" or a firm memory of the price? Call President LINDA

BOB (ho ho ho) BOHN announced that we are ringing bells for the Salvation Army kettle on December 8 at Sentry Hilldale. The SA deserves our help - they are one of the few groups who go and do it themselves, helping those most in need of help, and not sending someone else. So we can help them by putting in just a couple hours of our time. Two hour shifts, and we still need someone in the afternoon and evening. Check with BOB for available two-hour slots. We should have two people on each shift - less work and more fun.

JIM SCHUTZ said the Beaver Dam Lions, including his father-in-law PDG HAROLD NAGLER will be here at the first or second December meeting with citrus fruit. Texas grapefruit, $14.00/box, California navel oranges $16.00/ box, half-and-half- (you guessed it) $15.00 box

Pres. LINDA said there would be a festive gathering at her firm, Morgan Stanley, 5325 Wall St. near High Crossing and East Towne, from noon to 3 PM on December 1st to benefit 2nd Harvest Food Bank. Bring an item of nonperishable food, and they will treat you to cookies and cider or coffee. Sounds like a good deal.

In looking thru last year's BULLetins for nutty price lists, three things stood out: we had a series of programs on food, (always a popular subject), we had a meeting on Club direction, and we were appealing to Lions to put the meeting on their calendars first and be sure to get there. The more things change, the more they stay the same. We need to break out of some of these ruts. (Not the food part, though.)

Our speaker, Dominique Brossard, told us about the progress and promises of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in food production. For centuries man has improved plants and animals through selective breeding, and now scientists have been able to alter the characteristics of plants thru the introduction of genetic material from other species, such as bacteria, viruses, or other plants. The intent is to improve nutritional value, or to make plants more resistant to disease, bugs or herbicides. There are now 52 approved GMOs in use, appearing in such things as soybeans, field corn, canola, cotton, papayas and zucchini, and because many of these produce oils used in cooking, they are practically everywhere, and without incident. Some trials have not been commercially successful, because although the product had the desired characteristics it just didn't taste good.