Next meeting, April 17, our speaker will be Rafael Carbonell, Madison Chamber of Commerce Dir. of Regional Development. He will give us an update on the work of the “Collaboration Council.” Formed in 2004, it is made up of leaders from the business, government, education and non-profit communities, with the intent of growing the economy of the Capital Region in ways that preserve and enhance the quality of life. That’s an objective most would agree on. JIM BRADLEY is the Program Host.

TaleTwister's Jackpot
$1,080

At our last meeting, a fuzzy-haired creature appeared, who on close inspection turned out to be our TailTwister nominee. He challenged us to tell what was different from his normal demeanor, and when he wouldn’t accept “everything” as correct, we all paid. Turned out he was wearing his wedding ring on his right hand. That’s as good an excuse as any — it’s going to be an interesting year.

JIM SCHUTZ led the song at our last meeting, Pres. SAL led the Pledge, and ROSS ROYSTER gave the invocation. We had one guest — DON NEVIASER brought Themis Flores for the second time.

Things on the horizon: Wis. Council of the Blind is sponsoring an information meeting, “Macular Degeneration, Progress in Sight VI” at the Alliant Center 8 AM to 4 PM on April 18. A lot of information will be available, and among the speakers are some familiar names — TOM STEVENS MD, David Gamm MD, MARSHALL FLAX, Karen Majkrzak, and one of your editor’s eye surgeons, Mitchell Wolf MD. Free and open to the public. Lions Camp Spring Work Day is April 21. MICHELLE LONERGAN has tickets for the Three Gaits raffle, (prize, a day in a luxury suite at Miller Park) in support of their therapeutic horsemanship program — call her at 283-6819. JODI BURMESTER has a couple more raffle offerings coming up, including the WLF statewide raffle.

We heard some unhappy news. ROSS ROYSTER’s wife Roxanne is recuperating from major surgery, and BILL WILCOX’s wife Barbara is extremely ill. Please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

JIM KEMMETER reported on the Eye Bank Transporter program for March. There were a total of 36 missions completed in our area. Madison Central Lions did 16, McFarland Lions 15, and Madison West Lions 5. (You can see the complete results online.) “Because of what I do tonight, someone will see tomorrow!” Enough said. Along a similar line, JIM SCHUTZ reported that the District Eye Screening program is active as well. They could always use more trained screeners and more help — talk to JIM SCHUTZ.

JOHN JENSON had a big retirement party, and those in attendance contributed $520.00 which will go to our Lions service. Trust JOHN to keep Lions in action — congratulations and THANK YOU, JOHN!

Less than 2 weeks remaining in our Rose Day sale. Make your contacts, get your orders, and turn them in to DON NEVIASER. You should already have told him about how many you’re going to sell. This is our biggest fundraiser, and help is also needed on delivery. Again, tell DON you can help out on April 23. And PLEASE FILL OUT THE ORDER BLANK COMPLETELY, including driving directions!

Election results for next year’s officers were announced: DON NEVIASER, President; JODI BURMESTER, 1st VP; SANDY SOBECK LESLIE, 2nd VP; JOHN JENSON, Secretary; MELISSA ABBOTT, Treasurer; Dr. TOM STEVENS, Tail Twister; DALE MUELLER, Membership Director; and SCOTT GROVER, STEVE BRIGGS and MICHELLE LONERGAN, Directors. JIM BRADLEY continues as a Director and SAL AL-ASHKAR as Past President. They can'’t do it by themselves — volunteer for committees, and help out when asked.

PHIL INGWELL was the featured speaker, and he told us about Sight First II, the current fundraising project of Lions Clubs International Foundation. The goal is $150 million USD, and the stretch goal is $200 M, and he told us how much LCIF has done with the $145 million USD from Campaign Sight First, which ultimately was able to grant $193M. That money will run out in less than 2 years, and the new SF II is to keep our worldwide service going. We have literally saved the sight of millions of people (7.1 mil. cataract surgeries, 305,000 trained eye care people, 1,818 projects in 90 countries) at an average cost of $6 per person, and all Lions have helped. Individual pledges are important. If you have an IRA you have to draw on, you may be able to contribute from it tax-free — talk to a tax advisor. This is a big part of what we do as Lions, and we’ve helped over 100 million people one way or another.

If you're interested in a direct donation yourself, you can download the contribution form here (PDF format).

We have a new address and phone number for Dick Pomo:
Dick and Sharon Pomo
525 Michelangelo Drive
Green Valley AZ 85614
(520)-648-1088
pomodick@msn.com