Next meeting - Tuesday, May 21 - 12:00 Noon at the Sheraton. We understand that Pres. LINDA is off on a trip to Sweden, so JIM Schutz will do the formalities, but the Program Host is GAIL STIRR, and she will introduce UW Professor Nader Sheibani, of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences here at UW-Madison. He is also a member of the McPherson Eye Research Institute. His research is centered on the diseases of the retina, such as retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. These conditions, caused by abnormal blood vessel growth in the retina, are responsible for a large percentage of vision loss, particularly in older people. Great strides have already been made, and some of the conditions are now responding to treatment. Prof Sheibani will tell us more about the subject, and the research he is doing on this incredibly complex part of the eye. Vision is something we all want to keep, so it should be of real interest to all of us.

At our last meeting, Pres. LINDA arrived, but then hastily departed due to an injury to her Mom. (All's well - the Bergrens are a hardheaded bunch, and they stapled Mom back together and sent her home.) SCOTT GROVER being the ranking officer present in her absence, stepped up to the podium (if there was one) and ran the meeting. He didn't need crowd control skills, as there were only a handful of Lions present, but those who were there had a good many things to talk about.

SCOTT made another of his basketball announcements, this time with the good news. The W Club check arrived and was split among the participating clubs. Madison East netted $171.14, Fitchburg received $85.57, Madison West $699.54, Madison West Leos $313.75, McFarland Lioness $57.05, Token Creek $285.23, and UW Madison Campus took home $1,055.33. Madison Central was left with $2,331.58. Two kind and thoughtful Lions donated $160 in lieu of working, and $119.30 was received as tips.

The Highway Cleanup was quite successful. The weather was perfect - not too warm, not too windy, and the grass was dry. There was a lot of trash - seventeen bags - and seven people were there. Not left for the County crew was a box full of golf balls. Clearly, our project is picking up.

MELISSA NOVINSKI reported on the Flower Sale, and a summary should be attached to, or included with, the electronic version of this Lions Tale. Main points - About $3700 Gross Sales, 328 units, and our profit is probably down about 30% from last year, because of higher costs and a reduced number of sales. As usual, the top ten sellers had 80% of the total sales. Seventeen people helped with deliveries.

CRAIG BUTLER brought us up to speed on the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin Golf Outing. He's reserved Cherokee Country Club for June 10. So far, 24 golfers have signed up. He has the same sponsors as last year - a good thing, because sponsorship makes or breaks our efforts. There may be some conflict with other outings, but CRAIG was first in setting the date. He promised to let us know if and when he needs help.

JODI BURMESTER noted that the Youth Exchange picnic will be July 24. We'll hear more about that later. She also talked briefly about a potential project to support children in need. Stuff-the Bus may be ideal for the Madison Area Lions Clubs.

We ended the meeting with a good discussion about the formalities usually associated with a Lions meeting - singing, praying, and declaring national allegiance. Although these formalities have a long history with the Lions, many newcomers are somewhat startled. A number of relatively new Lions have commented about this, and it is something that we need to keep in mind.