We have just learned that JERRY HODDINOTT's granddaughter, Katie Snyder, passed away on Feb. 12. She was a second-grader at Kennedy School. Our sympathy goes out to JERRY, Lani and their family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Next Meeting - Tuesday, March 4, 2008. Our speaker will be from MG&E, and, improbably, his name is James E. Jenson. No relation to our JJ. Subject will be “Green Power Tomorrow.” There seems to be no end to the new gadgets, including cars, that run on electricity, and we will hear some ways it can be had without more damage to the environment.

At our last meeting, the TailTwister greeted us with a bag of citrus fruit, which he claimed he had brought back with him from Arizona. Not content with letting us know he'd been someplace warm, he presented oranges and grapefruit to arriving members, but also asked for assistance for the cost of transportation! At least this time we got something for our money. He apparently has taken over the HAROLD NAGLER/JIM SCHUTZ war on scurvy.

Pres. DON opened the meeting, LINDA BERGREN led the song, and MICHELLE VETTERKIND gave the invocation. There were no guests. JODI BURMESTER, filling in for SANDY SOBEK LESLIE, reminded us to work on our Rose Day sales. This is our biggest fundraiser - let's make an effort. SANDY will also need workers to route the deliveries the day before, and actually deliver on Rose Day. Let her know that you will help. Bouquet of one dozen roses, red or mixed colors, $24 - Mixed Flower Bouquet, $18 - vase, $4.

Our First Annual Walk For Sight will be at East Towne Mall on Saturday, March 29. Registration Forms are available - early registration thru March 20 is $20.00, and Event Day Registration is $25. Registrants will receive a genuine Walk For Sight T-shirt. Flyers are available to pass out or post on neighborhood boards. There will be a children's vision screening conducted at the event to demonstrate our service. Let your friends and neighbors know!

JODI showed off some proposed new Madison Central Lions Club shirts - blue and white, with a Lion logo and the option of having your name embroidered on the shirt. Sizes S,M,L,XL,XXL are $35.00 and XXXL is $37. Your name on the shirt is an additional $5. An order blank is being circulated at meetings - see JODI for any needed information.

There will be training for those interested in becoming Vision Screeners at the Edelweiss Country Club in New Glarus on Saturday, April 19, 8:30 - 3:30. This is your chance to join the team of volunteers who do the screening, and take part in an outstanding Lion service.. The training will cover the necessary information to operate the camera and read the pictures, and provide certification for those who complete it. Note that if you can't be on the front lines with the camera, you can still help at screening sessions. Lions are needed to handle paperwork and provide the extra hands that are always necessary. Contact Lion DAVE HINELINE of Waunakee. He's the District Vision Screening Chairman.

Our speaker was Don Schramm of the UW Engineering School, and he started out by distributing a pop quiz on what happens and what is needed after natural disaasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes or tsunamis. Turned out that the answers to all the questions were the same - they were myths, not reality. These things are not random, they are predictable. Epidemics and mass hunger don't always follow, especially when there has been some preparation. Tent cities are not a particularly good idea, because they lead to overcrowding which brings its own set of problems. Foreign volunteers unfamiliar with the language and culture aren't much help, and many relief supplies which pour in are not what is needed, take up resources which could provide what is needed, and may actually be a disposal problem. Local people often organize to provide effective help, and know best what they need, and it takes a long time for an area to recover. Interesting program, followed by a good question-and-answer period. SAL and KAREN AL-ASHKAR brought us the program.

By now you should have noticed that the Wisconsin Lion magazine has become the Wisconsin Lion Newsletter. But have you noticed that the Editor/Designer is JODI BURMESTER?