Next Meeting - Tuesday, Oct. 7, at the Sheraton. Our business meeting for October, presided over by Pres. JACK. We can expect reminders on some things we have going on, like the Holiday Treat Sale and the Highway Cleanup, and perhaps some new opportunities.

Madison Central Past President CHUCK BASFORD passed away on Sept. 13. Lion CHUCK will be remembered as a Lion who was passionate about the things he cared about, which included Lions and the sports of curling and bocce, and as the one who propelled Madison Central Lions Club into the electronic age, ready or not. Several MCLC members conveyed our sympathy to his family at the observance, which took place on the late afternoon of our last meeting, on Sept. 16.

Lion JODI BURMESTER, Editor of The Wisconsin Lion, did a nice job of composition on the last issue, with the report on the past season of Lions Camp by Director ANDREA YENTER, and a “Thank You” letter from a camper's family side-by-side on the third page. The camper letter was a story we've heard many times before - the wonderful time their child had at our Lions Camp. ANDREA's report, if you read it carefully, demonstrated that this doesn't happen just by chance or by routine. A lot of dedicated people work very hard to achieve this result. We've been doing this for years, but we can't get complacent about it because it takes a lot of effort and resources to achieve it. We Lions should be proud, but we should step it up a bit to make sure it keeps on happening.

At our last meeting, TOM STEVENS showed up sporting his Lions cap. If your editor had known he was going to do that, he would have worn his gold vest. Fortunately or unfortunately, the regular TailTwister was not present, so some opportunities were missed, and TOM's attempt at obtaining extra credit from the TT went for naught. LINDA BERGREN filled in for the absent TT with some unanswerable question as an excuse for a fine. Whatever works.

Pres. JACK opened the meeting with the bell (he's good at that) and a quotation from Vince Lombardi, “never settle for less than your best, and you'll be amazed at what you can do.” We had one guest, Lion KAREN THOMPSON of the Hillsboro Lions Club, brought by JODI BURMESTER.

JODI also reported on the International Blind Sailing Regatta, held recently at Sheboygan, There were 17 countries represented by contestants and a Lions International Vice President in attendance. A crew of three blind crew members handled each boat, assisted on the course by sound buoys and sound equipment. The meet was successful, and maybe we can have a program sometime on exactly how they did it. The editor has spent just enough time in sailboats to appreciate the difficulties.

LINDA BERGREN said the Order Blanks for the Holiday Treat Sale are out, and there's one online on the website. She's moved the start date and the due date for orders up this year, so the treats can get here earlier and we can move them all out before the holidays.

The annual Madison Area Service Clubs luncheon will be held on Wed. Oct. 15. Speaker will be Leslie Ann Howard, Pres. of the United Way of Dane County. She has seen a lot of service, and will be talking about the changes and trends in needs and responses over the past years in Dane County. You might still be able to get a ticket - it's at the Sheraton so you can find it. See JOHN JENSON. Cost is $22.00.

The speaker, introduced by Pres. JACK, was Paul Riehemann, from the Madison Area Service Club Council and a Rotarian. He set out the data on global temperature change and the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the years, and the arguments for changing the ways energy is produced and used, emphasizing the use of fossil fuels. He also raised the ongoing question “what will we do when the oil runs out?” Apparently the Rotary is contemplating breaking their “no political arguments” rule, and publicly supporting the use of a “revenue-neutral carbon tax.” It seems that this would be a major step for any service club, or any other nonpolitical organization, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out, but the issue is important, and additional information on anything as complicated and controversial as this one is helpful.

Our own Lions International Statement on Environmental Issues can be found here, on our web site.