Our Next Meeting - Tuesday, Feb. 2, at the Coliseum Restaurant and Bar. NOT at Noon!. As you may recall, the members present at our first meeting in January decided to hold our first meeting in February along with the Dane County Winners Circle Charter Meeting. So, instead of our Business Meeting for February, we'll be helping the Winners Circle celebrate. Events start at 6:00pm. Reservations were required for dinner, but if you forgot to send one in, come later for the party.

This means there will not be Lion business to be done, but there will be Lion conversation to be had. Talk to Sec. JOHN JENSON for reminders and updates on the coming District and State (Multiple District) Conventions. The Club assists with the registration, so if you want to go to either or both, talk to JOHN. If you've never been to a Convention, you should go, because it widens your view on the service you participate in providing, and besides, you get to meet a lot of really nice people!

At our last meeting, Pres. MIKE opened with the bell, followed by an invocation from PID PHIL INGWELL. We seem to see elements of the traditional ceremony to start meetings from time to time, but not all of them on the same day. The editor supposes that we are striking a balance between “we've always done that” and “if we've always done it that way, there must be something wrong with it.” Time marches on, and change is often, but not always, progress. For example, when the current Editor took over from HAL OTTERBACK, back in the days just after the discovery of fire, we mailed over 80 copies of the Lions Tale every week, which entailed all kinds of postal regulation required sorts, labels, and boxes, and a trip to the PO. Today we can send to 100 people, at least 3 of whom actually read it, with a few clicks on the computer. Occasionally we even mail one, which the Editor can do by clothespinning it to the home mailbox.

The Albany Lions Club will have their annual Pancake Breakfast on Feb. 13, at their Lions Clubhouse. Don't have the details, but hopefully SCOTT GROVER will be able to patch an internet link into this copy. If not, ask him. He either knows, or knows how to find out. Best I can do is to give you a link to their Facebook page.

Secretary JOHN JENSON presented a new style Monarch Certificate to KEVIN OLSEN, recognizing 10 years of service. Used to call them Old Monarchs, but that obviously wouldn't fit in KEVIN's case.

Past President and TailTwister JACK HEIM presented our check for about $700 to Hannah Becker from the River Food Pantry and Dave Erickson from Hash House Harriers, as a donation in support of their work. The amount came from our work with the Finish Five, plus some individual donations, and Hannah and Dave came to thank us for the contribution.

Lion WALT PRIDHAM and his wife Karen are celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary, and WALT'S 85th Birthday this weekend. WALT has spent a lot of those years as an MCLC Lion as well, so congratulations and best wishes from all of us!

MELISSA NOVINSKI introduced speaker Art Taggart, of the Epilepsy Foundation, who told us a lot about the problems of living with epilepsy. Caused by excess chemicals and electrical activity in the brain, seizures vary greatly in effect. A person having a seizure has no idea what is going on, and could wander, strike out at someone, or fall, and usually remembers nothing about what happened. Some children's seizures are hard to recognize, and it is important to train teachers to recognize and respond correctly. Adults frequently act in ways that cause others to call police instead of EMTs, so police training for proper response is also necessary. 40% of epileptics are OK with medication, but for 30% no meds work. Current research on brain chemistry is promising.

If this BULLetin looks more odd than usual, it's because the Editor is in the process of switching to a new computer, and it feels like having one foot in the boat and one foot on the deck when the boat's mooring rope comes loose. Most of the tools are missing, and the copy is being prepared on an old Works program that was kicking around in a drawer. Sort of like doing math problems in charcoal, writing on a shovel.

A reminder from SCOTT GROVER:

Madison Central Lions Club is announcing our 2016 Cornhole Tournament on February 20, at the Coliseum Bar & Banquet. Call it Cornhole, call it Bags, but add it to your calendar. This will be a recreational tournament, all are welcome, guys and gals, lads and lassies. Entry fee is $25 ($30 day of event), cash prizes will be awarded, raffles will be held, food and drink specials will be available. We'll need volunteers to help run the event.