Tuesday, July 12, we are scheduled to hear Sgt. Dennis Kruger of the Wisconsin State Patrol. He was hurt in a chase-shootout-capture in the Town of Oregon this past weekend, so we have to hope he'll be well enough to tell us about their Beltline Enforcement and other current projects. JODI BURMESTER is the Program Host. As your Editor is already on record in another publication as being in favor of a lot more traffic enforcement, he's looking forward to this one with anticipation. The rest of you should get either good information or a warning, or both, from this program.

At our last meeting, signs of what is to come were readily apparent, as the TailTwister dined in magnificent candle lit splendor on what was reported to be steak, champagne in an ice bucket, and other goodies. It did seem that proper respect was still a little bit lacking, but that will be corrected shortly. Looks like it will be a long (and interesting) year.

Outgoing President LINDA BERGREN, opened the meeting with enthusiasm, and called on OTTO FESTGE to lead the song. He waved one arm vigorously and one tentatively, seizing on an appropriate remark by the TailTwister - "God Bless America" as a request for that song in place of our usual "America." We eventually managed to agree on a pitch and faked our way through the words. ROSS ROYSTER gave the invocation. Gary Prisbe was introduced again as a guest of SAL AL-ASHKAR.

DON NEVIASER remarked that there was still time to sign up for the Service Club Olympics. It's a day to have some fun - contact DON if you can go.

MELISSA NOVINSKI again asked that all Rose Day money be turned in immediately, if not sooner. She has closed out the credit card account, so all payment must now be by cash or check. Help her out, and get the money in! Our service projects will put it to good use, and everything still out there now is profit.

Speaking of turning in money, if you owe any dues, please get a check to MELISSA ABBOTT, our new Treasurer, right away. The operating funds are low, and several Lions have outstanding dues which we really need, as you will see and hear later.

Our new officers and directors, headed by incoming President CHUCK BASFORD, were installed by Past President TERRY SCHAR. CHUCK'S first official act was to thank LINDA BERGREN and last year's Board of Directors for their service, and the Club members for his election as President.

CHUCK then laid out the Club's challenges for the year ahead, commented on the need for some new directions and, having obviously put a lot of thought into the situation, offered his suggestions on what we should do first. He urged all members to offer their suggestions to the Board, so that we can rebuild the energy and enthusiasm in our Club. Our dues income is down, and as noted above, some members have outstanding dues. In addition, District and International dues have increased in the past couple years, while ours have stayed the same. The Board's first job will be to tackle the budgets and schedule for next year, and as you will see, they've already started. He plans to have a complete Club Directory on our website, password protected so that it is for Club members' use only, along with the Lions Tale newsletter and the Calendar which we have now. The committee structure will be examined, in hopes of making it more effective by combining some and eliminating others that aren't functioning.

He noted the need to increase our attendance and participation, which we hope to do by adding new members and reactivating old ones. CHUCK leads by example in bringing prospective new members to meetings, and he says "when you are out in public, show you are a Lion by wearing your pin. When you meet people, talk about what we do and how we serve. Ask them to come, and keep asking! If just half of our current membership each got one new member, we would restore our active group to where it was several years ago." Our Foundation (service funds) income is down by 25%, so we need to find other says to raise money more effectively. He ended by thanking the new Board of Directors for volunteering their service. They have their work cut out for them, and we all have to help.

The first major change has been made. At the June Board meeting, the Board voted to change our regular meeting schedule to twice a month, first and third Tuesdays. CHUCK conducted an internet poll in which 19 out of 22 of our members responding favored going to twice a month. The change will be effective some time in September.