Next Meeting - Tuesday, September 7 - Fall is here, no matter what the official rules say, and our speaker will be Ann Albert from SAIL. " SAIL - Supporting Active Independent Lives is a vibrant non-profit membership organization of people 55+ who reside in the lovely Madison area", according to their web page, and their basic premise seems to be helping older people with the chores and situations that arise when they stay in their own homes. This is information some of us need now, and most of us will need eventually, at least until someone invents appliances that fix themselves and bluegrass that grows up to 2 inches high and stops. MICHELLE VETTERKIND is the Program Chairperson, and LINDA BERGREN suggested the program.

Due to a declining mail list and increased costs and difficulties with the Postal Service, the Lions Tale is discontinuing its mailing as a "periodical." We have had to follow the same rules and practices as Sports Illustrated, which mails a million copies a week, and this is increasingly difficult. Almost all of our members will now get the Tale by internet - the text by e-mail, and the full publication, with pictures, on our web page. Those few remaining Lions who don't have internet access will still get a print copy, which will be mailed with first-class postage. If you receive a mailed copy, and have access to the internet, PLEASE let Editor TERRY or webwizard SCOTT know!

That's not the only change in the wind. The Board has approved a change to our meeting schedule (NOT the calendar) so that effect 9/21 meetings will start with the meal at 12:00 noon, the program will run from 12:20 to 12:45, and the business portion of the meeting from 12:45 to 1:15. That suggests that if you can show up at least five minutes early you will have more time to eat. It also means that we will have an outside program at most meetings. It's amazing what you can learn at Lion meetings.

We started out the last meeting with Pres. JIM's announcement that no one got the correct answer to his "five points" as part of the TT's fund-raising contest started last meeting. Turns out he hasn't met the Pope yet, though his connection with astronaut Jim Lovell seemed a bit thin. TT JERRY HODDINOTT is next up - his five accomplishments are: 1. Attended a one-room schoolhouse on their own farm from K-8; 2. Was an All-Conference offensive guard in high school; 3. Went to the same college as Spencer Tracy; Was a Captain in the US Army Signal Corps; 5. Was appointed to positions in State government under both Gov. Lee Dreyfus and Gov. Tommy Thompson. Supposedly, only one of these is false - you guess.

LINDA BERGREN led the song, which we rumbled through in a pitch that suited the Editor and probably Steve Briggs, if no one else. SCOTT GROVER gave the invocation. PP JODI BURMESTER, emerging from seclusion, introduced guest Elizabeth Koenig, from the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin. Elizabeth has a Club membership proposal in hand. DON FENNO introduced guest John Haberkorn, also from the Eye Bank staff. We hope he'll come back, too.

PHIL INGWELL reported that the Community Service Committee had granted $100 to a soon-to-be Eagle Scout, to aid his project of making, distributing and servicing collection boxes for worn out American Flags, which will then be honorably destroyed. PHIL also noted that the USA-Canada Forum, to be held in Milwaukee Sept. 23-24-25, needs more volunteers to do all the things that make a great meeting a success. There are all kinds of jobs - talk to PHIL. If you are registered for the Forum, and put in one volunteer session, our Club will give you $50 to help cover the cost. Every MCLC Lion, including your editor, who has attended a Forum has come back saying it was time very well spent.

JIM KEMMETER, our Eye Transport dispatcher, says September is our month, and he anticipates 45 to 50 missions. This is Lion service in action on the front lines - see JIM to take part. JIM SCHUTZ noted that our Vision Screening project is expanding, with some new equipment, and there will be more info on the website. Our East Branch Club will be working a screening on Oct. 23. East Branch also has moved their meetings to the 1st and 3rd Wednesday at noon, still at the Hy-Vee community room.

We got "Thank You" letters from the Eyeglass Center, for glasses, and from the Salvation Army for working one of their kettles. With our help, they went well over their fund-raising goal.