Next Meeting - Feb. 5, 2013 - 7:00 AM - At the Sheraton, as usual. The first dawn meeting of the new year, and we will hear all about our Vision Screening Project! JIM SCHUTZ, the originator of vision screening in our District, and CRAIG BUTLER will tell us all about it. Demonstrate, explain how to become a “screener”, what you can do to help before you get trained and certified, and where it all goes from there. If there is a perfect “hands on” project for Lions, this one is right up there with Tissue Transport. If you find even one person in a screening session with a treatable but undetected problem, you have permanently altered a life for the better. This is a meeting you should not miss!

Our March project will be Diabetes Awareness, and the work will start with the formation of a committee to plan our activities. Offer your help to Pres. LINDA.

We still need workers for the basketball dates at the Kohl Center. Sign up on the web, or talk to SCOTT GROVER.

At our last meeting, VP JODI BURMESTER presided, JIM SCHUTZ led the song, and PHIL INGWELL gave the invocation. The room was crowded - a great feeling! We had 23 Lions and guests in attendance, including DALE MUELLER and his wife Gwen, and several Lions from the East Club. We need to keep this going.

Secretary JOHN JENSON is signing up Lions for the District Convention, to be held March 8 & 9 at the Madison/Middleton Marriott. The Club will pay the registration and lunch costs for members attending, and you should go, especially if you haven't been to one before. You get a wider view of all that Lions do to serve. See JOHN to sign up. Note that the State Convention will be at the same site in May.

Sec. JOHN formally presented an Award Pin from the Wisconsin Lions Foundation to Past President JIM SCHUTZ, recognizing our Club's contributions in work and money in the last year. He also presented Lion Service Certificates from Lions International to CRAIG BUTLER and JODI BURMESTER, each of whom have 20 years of service.

GAIL STIRR announced this year's “Cycle for Sight” event, to be held Saturday, March 2. It is an indoor cycling fundraiser benefiting vision research at UW Madison. Locations are the NAT and the SERF on the UW Campus, and we hope to have at least one 4-person team participating on behalf of MCLC. See GAIL for info and signup, or go to www.cycleforsight.wisc.edu. If bike riding is not your thing, you can participate as a contributing sponsor. GAIL knows about that too.

MICHELLE VETTERKIND led the Lions Birthday celebration for Lions MELISSA NOVINSKI, 19 years; CRAIG BUTLER, 20 years; JOHN JENSON, 32 years; DALE MUELLER, 47 years (our Club and Lake Mills); and AL GOLDSTEIN, 52 years. AL didn't make it to the party, but we applauded him in absentia. Among other things, he furnished the Club with fruit cake sale depots at his stores back in the day when we had them holding every door in Madison. Drawing winners included DEBBIE MAHAFFEY, GAIL STIRR, WALT PRIDHAM, and one of our visitors.

JIM SCHUTZ talked briefly about our Vision Screening project at Head Start. We have gone there successfully for several years, finding a few children to refer to ophthalmologists each time. This is what Lions do best - seek out problems and help with solutions. You can be part of this team - just make it to the next meeting!

PHIL INGWELL, Program Host for the day, introduced “Heeere's JODI!” who put down her gavel and told us about the efforts being made in our District to add to our membership. It's everyone's responsibility, and it helps if you can invite a prospect to work with you on a Lion project. Studies show young people today want to serve, but they want “hands on” activities, not just meetings. That's one reason for our 7 AM meetings to spell out project participation to those who can't come at noon. Our Club has those projects - Tissue Transport and Vision Screening, among them. We also have a Facebook page - one of the most popular “social media” of these times - to spread the word.