Next Meeting - March 7, 2017 , Tuesday noon, at the Coliseum Bar & Restaurant, as usual. Our Business Meeting for March, which means that it will either be warm or cold, dry or rain or snow, and windy. Hopefully just outside and not at the meeting. There will be business to discuss - the Bags Tournament, probably, and one reason you should come is to find out what else is going on.

Regular reports from Lion JODI indicate the typical District Governor experience - she's all over the place, meeting, learning, traveling. Once she gets her wheel fixed, the pace will probably pick up. Lions are fortunate that among the membership are people like JODI who put in the time and energy to keep things running and on course. Presumably PHIL and JOHN have told her what to expect, but it's clear that the pace hasn't slowed any since they did it.

At our last meeting, Pres. MIKE rang the bell and the conversation died away. To no one's surprise, LINDA, having returned from Mexico, found a few of our Holiday Treats scattered about, which she has consolidated and is anxious to get sold. The editor scored a box of sea salt caramel chocolates, but there's still a variety of snacks and nuts, so let's get them gone.

We were reminded that Cycle For Sight is coming up this next weekend, and there are lots of ways to participate. For last minute info, talk to GAIL STIRR.

The District Convention is this coming weekend also and is in Middleton, probably for the last time for a while. Registrations should have been made by now, but if you're not signed up and want to go, see Sec. JOHN JENSON. If anybody can get you in, he can.

We are preparing a slate of Club officers for next year, and if you haven't been on the Board for a while, step up and volunteer for an office. No bands play when you take an office, but you get the satisfaction of helping to plan the Club's activities. That way you are among the first to know.

ADAM GRASSNICKLE introduced our speaker, Dr. Alex Ognibene from Project Wellness, who started out by noting the main causes of death in an aging population, Diabetes (Lions are on that one!), Heart Disease and Cancer. He pointed out the need to start early on a plan for prevention and early detection, rather than the usual course of waiting and then reacting when something doesn't seem right. Catching things early, or not letting them develop in the first place, can lead to a much longer life. Major factors in maintaining good health are Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, Water Intake, and Energy. Most of us had heard a lot about the first two, but the others, not so much. To put it in personal terms, your goal should be to be sure your grandchildren remember you.

The US has 4% of the world's population, spends $10,000 per year per person on health care, more than double anywhere else, and takes 50% of the world's medications. For the first time in history, life expectancy in the US is falling, which is hard to explain. Stress, caused by trauma, thoughts, toxic diet and drugs, is a major contributor.

Some factors to watch: Don't smoke, exercise for 30 min./day (3.5 hrs./wk), Body Mass Index less than 30, and watch your diet. You can add as much as 14 years to your adult life. Cholesterol should be LDL less than 100 and HDL more than 60, and triglycerides less than 140. Blood pressure less than 135/85. Eat 5 meals a day, smaller and more often, avoid grain, sugar, and processed meats. Drink plenty of water and eat more one-ingredient foods. He gave us a lot to think about, but you have to do more than think about them, you have to do them. Schedule your exercise, for example, and do it regularly.