Next Meeting - April 5 - March is gone, and hopefully it will have taken its wind and cold with it. This is about the time of year when your Editor used to make Russian icebreaker jokes, trying to get RANDY JABLONIC's crew out on Lake Mendota. You know it is really Spring when you look out an Edgewater window and see those 8-oared toothpicks out there. But our program is inside, as usual, and SCOTT GROVER is the Program Host. He will introduce Chris Brockel, the Food and Gardens Division Manager for the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin. He will tell us about hunger in Dane County and what we might be able to do about it.

At our last meeting, Pres. JIM SCHUTZ appeared out of nowhere to open the meeting. We didn't seem to have a flag in sight, but somebody spotted a flagpole behind the kitchen screen, so we used that and our imaginations. LINDA BERGREN led the song, not helped by a new phone which she wasn't able to strangle, and ROSS ROYSTER gave the invocation. He should have prayed for order.

Guests introduced were John Schuchardt and Marianne Timm, from the local American Red Cross chapter. They're both contemplating Lion membership, John with Cottage Grove, and Marianne with us.

JERRY HODDINOTT reminded us that the Flower Sale is in full swing, and asked for delivery drivers for Monday, April 25. The depot will be at the Edgewater as before, and we need a lot of help to make sure the flowers are delivered as promised. See JERRY.

Pres. JIM displayed our plaque from WLF, recognizing our contributions to the Foundation, which was presented to him and the Club at the recent District Convention. He also announced that we were in the process of extending our Vision Screening to adults, and promised more information on the project later.

We celebrated the Lion Birthdays, and the service they represent, for eight Lions. Five were present in person - SCOTT GROVER (11), LINDA BERGREN (15), ROSS ROYSTER (30), JIM BRADLEY (34) and PHIL INGWELL (44), and one in spirit, RICH MATZELLE (40). JODI BURMESTER, and her sponsor JIM RUNDELL, didn't make it but we recognized their service anyway. Drawing winners were JERRY HODDINOTT, STEVE BRIGGS, PHIL INGWELL, SCOTT GROVER, LINDA BERGREN and DALE MUELLER, who was the lucky recipient of RICH's gift, which arrived from Hawai'i the day before. RICH says his home is at 1200 ft. elevation, which makes him safe from tsunamis, and about 3 miles from the coast, which suffered considerable damage when this last one hit. It took out the pier in his area that cruise ships use to land their passengers for shore excursions.

Speaking of the tsunami, Lions International has already sent help to Japan and will send more. If you'd like to contribute, contact Treasurer SCOTT GROVER. He will see that any and all donations reach the right place at International. The pictures we have seen on TV have been unbelievable, and they need all the help that can be sent. Among other things, the wave was about 30 ft. high and the Japanese had some 30 ft. seawalls. The problem was that when the earthquake hit the seacoast the ground that the walls sat on sank by three feet!! One thing for sure - if you are ever on the shore of the Pacific, know where the closest hill is and stay awake!

Our speaker was Julie Hannifan from Meriter Hospital. PHIL INGWELL introduced her, and the first thing she did was to note PHIL's many years of service as a Meriter volunteer. Then she described her "picnic basket" - the kit of stuff she has with her as she does her job managing the volunteer program that does so many things for Meriter, which is, after all, a community-supported nonprofit hospital. The basket had a lot of stuff - her name badge, a day planner (good luck with that one!), Volunteer Manual, calculator (for the budget), business cards, parking pass, thank-you cards, inspirational and humorous signs, copies of a quiz on Meriter statistics which she gave to us, and candy and puzzles. It wasn't clear who usually got the candy, but this time it was us. The quiz answers told us that Meriter has over 3300 employees, and last year, performed 10,317 surgical procedures, delivered 3662 babies and had 650 volunteers who served 61,712 hours. It is 113 years old. Tip money received by the gift shop and valet parking volunteers funds a scholarship every year. Your editor thinks that the original building is still there, pretty much buried inside the many additions built over the years. My tonsils are probably in a jar in there somewhere.