Next Meeting - LAST ONE AT THE OLD EDGEWATER! Sept. 18, 2012, noon. Our speaker will be our great friend Steve Keip, Director of Sales and Catering for the Edgewater. He will tell us where they are going and how long it will take them to get there, which may even give us one page of a blueprint for our Club future. There's no place like home, and we're going to miss this one. The attendance has been so low we can report it by name rather than by number, but it would be nice to have a big crowd for the farewell luncheon. Pres. LINDA also mentioned the possibility of some awards and recognition on that day.

At our last meeting, Lions present were, LINDA BERGREN, SCOTT GROVER, JACK HEIM, MELISSA NOVINSKI, ROSS ROYSTER, JIM SCHUTZ, WALT PRIDHAM, DALE MUELLER, GAIL STIRR and TERRY SCHAR. There is a unique connection among the last four. Since all present knew the opening by heart, it was referred to but not performed. LINDA reported that negotiations with the Sheraton did not go as smoothly as the initial conversation, because of issues over mode of payment and number of attendees, among other things, so the situation apparently is still in flux. No doubt we will hear more at the next meeting - stay tuned.

Information gathered from various sources suggests that potential members are interested in projects, not sales, and perhaps those that could be concentrated upon one at a time. Some familiar examples: highway cleanup, eye screenings, eye tissue transport, assisting the Transplant Games, and perhaps used eyeglasses sorting. We anticipate that some members of our East Branch Club will attend our meetings, which will help in the numbers department.

SCOTT GROVER noted that the UW Basketball schedule opens at the Kohl Center in November, and opportunities to work at the concession stand are available. This is a way to raise money by having people come to us, rather than us going out knocking on doors, and the more volunteers from our Club that help out, the more money the Club gets for our service fund. Sign-up can only be done on our web site.

It was reported that Lion JIM KEMMETER is receiving treatment at the St. Mary's Rehabilitation Center. Suggest you call before you visit.

One way to recruit new members is to invite them to go with you on one of our projects, Eye Bank tissue transport being one of the best opportunities, so that they can see for themselves what Lions do.

This year (in May) was our Club's 90th Anniversary, and the tentative plan is to celebrate that and have our usual Holiday music program at the same time, likely the first meeting in December. If that works out, it probably will not be at the 7:00 AM hour, as the usual first meetings of the month are planned to be.

We will have our usual Holiday Treat Sale this year, and order blanks will be available soon. As always, please get your orders in early so the merchandise can be obtained early. We will have to control our inventory carefully, as we presently have no replacement for Steve Keip's office as our depot.

When you are recruiting a potential future member, it is extremely important to try to find the aspect(s) of Lion membership that will appeal to them. Some are obvious: the chance to serve your community, the opportunity to meet and get to know a group of new friends, belonging to the world's largest service organization. Less immediately obvious are such things as traveling to conventions in interesting places, training sessions on leadership and “people skills” that are valuable in personal and occupational life as well as in Lions, and the chance to practice those skills in the volunteer leadership positions that are present at all levels of Lionism, from Club committees to Zone, Region and District offices, and even on the International level. One of the greatest rewards is intangible - to see a helping hand extended to someone in need and to know that because you are a Lion, “I was part of that.”