Next Meeting - Tuesday noon, October 4, at the Coliseum Bar & Restaurant, as usual. Our business meeting for the month, and we'll go over what's going on, what just happened here, and what's coming up. Be there and help plan, review, and complain about the weather!

For those interested in the Bags Tournament, Treasurer SCOTT GROVER has provided a couple of reports. Significant figures in the financial detail are the profit of $2858.00, including $1970.00 from the raffle, $200.00 in entry fees and other income from donations, beer sales and misc. Not quantifiable, but still real, some exposure to sectors of the community we may not encounter otherwise.

We have heard that Lion AL GOLDSTEIN is very ill, being cared for 24/7 at home, under the direction of Hospice. Keep him and his family in your thoughts. And in other not-so-good news, we believe that Evelan Festge, OTTO's wife, has recently passed away.

At our last meeting Pres. MIKE rang the bell to quell the rabble babble, and then began the formal portion of the meeting without any formalities. Given the time of year, it was not unexpected that the first report came from Holiday Treat Chairperson LINDA BERGREN, and the first item was a warning - in past years LINDA has been able to set up a table at a meeting of another organization and unload some of our surplus stock, and that won't happen this year, so supply needs to be more evenly matched to demand. We don't have access to Oscar Mayer's cooler to store leftover fruit cake any more, either, so make sure of your order and get it in before the end of October. Order blanks are available on the website (printable and online) and at meetings. Delivery is planned to take place before Thanksgiving. You thought the turkey was the centerpiece of Thanksgiving dinner but it's not - it's the hallowed Lion Fruitcake! (Still the beloved Benson's original!)

STEVE BRIGGS appeared at the meeting with one hand bandaged, apparently having lost a battle with the locking system on his new car. The editor can sympathize, having a relatively new car with an entirely separate, quite large owner's manual just for the radio and GPS. The only mitigating factors in the editor's case is that he can't hear the radio anyway, and supposes that Bluetooth is some noxious dental condition.

It was semi-announced that we have a new TailTwister, ADAM GRASSNICKLE. Presumably that means a new nefarious set of fines and conditions. He appears to favor a simplified approach - just fine everybody and think up a reason later. He should do well.

The program was a report from 1st VDG JODI BURMESTER on two recent Lion events that she and Lion DALE attended. Our Club has supported Leader Dog for years, but since it is in Michigan, not many of us have actually seen it in action. From JODI's report, it has grown more sophisticated over the years. They do a meticulous job, from having puppies bred and raised just for them by volunteers (which must be one of the most difficult jobs there is, since they have to part with the puppies they have raised) through the training, first of the guide dogs and then dog and person together. JODI went through the new expansion unit they recently opened, and experienced being led by a trained guide dog. “You really have to trust the dog” was her comment.

Clients come from all over the US, Canada and Mexico, and the dog and the training are free to the recipients. Dogs serve from 7-9 years, and a deep bond develops between dog and person. They have added Orientation and Mobility Training to the program to help recipients make better use of the independence and freedom the dog brings to them. You have to know where you're going, and how to get there, before the dog can take you there. Among the marvels of modern science are the specialized GPS units that can now aid blind people with very specific directions. If you are a MCLC Lion, you can be proud, because this is just one of the many ways “We Serve.” It's why we sell Holiday Treats. See this Leader Dog video.

JODI also spoke briefly about the wealth of information passed on to those who attended the USA-Canada Forum. Like everyone who goes to a Forum, she came back all fired up, full of valuable information not just for Lionism but for everyday life as well, and full of enthusiasm. An enthusiastic JODI is hard to resist.