Next Meeting - Tuesday, June 5, on the Mezz at Festival Foods, at 11:30 AM. Our last Business Meeting for this Lion year. Seems like there's a lot going on, so there should be some things to talk about.

At the last meeting, TailTwister ADAM GRASSNICKLE reappeared, and reminding all present that it was National Chocolate Chip Day, inquired about the number of calories in a box of Chocolate-O's. KATIE PARADIS won. No possible collusion in a Lions Club, of course. The Editor was absent, probably celebrating the day. He only eats broken chocolate chip cookies (breaking them first if necessary) because it is well known that all the calories drain out if you break a cookie.

Pres. KEVIN opened the meeting at the prescribed hour of 11:30, with 10 members and 2 guests present. The formal Words for the opening described the recently-opened Bucky On Parade exhibit, with 80+ ornate Buckys on display all over town. The event benefits several local charitable endeavors, but the editor will have to dispatch several of his best reporters in an effort to find out how.

Plans are coming into focus for our Summer Bags Tournament - Aug. 4 at Cherokee Country Club - and its concurrent Raffle, featuring a pair of Green Bay Packers/49ers game tickets, a pair of Wisconsin Badger football Homecoming tickets and a pair of Madison Mallard tickets. Great chances for sports fans to win game tickets. Raffle tickets should be available at this coming meeting. Price is $10 for one, three for $25. In order to make this a success, every (EVERY!) member will be expected to sell tickets. Who won't want to get those Packer/49er tickets?

A Fall Bags Tournament is planned in partnership with the Oregon-Brooklyn Lions Club, on Oct.13, in Oregon.

Still working on a summer Scavenger Hunt where stops key into our areas of service.

A group excursion/visit to Lions Camp at Rosholt (the voice of the late Lion LES HUSEBOE still resonates) is planned for Wednesday Aug. 1 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.This will be midweek of the session for deaf/hard of hearing campers and a great chance to see the Camp in action. If you haven't been to the Camp you absolutely should go, and if it's been a while since you were there you should see the improvements that are constantly being made. Good chance for a boat and/or wagon ride, too. PHIL INGWELL is coordinating with other Madison clubs, and if we can get enough people (guests and family members welcome) we'll look into getting a bus. It's about a two-hour drive from Madison. [Post Script: PHIL reports that he just received a call from WLF and all 2018 dates are now filled or have just a few individual spots open. We will call in January for 2019 when the new schedule is available.]

Upcoming events:
• May 25-28: DeForest Brat Bust (The Editor was unable to find any info on this event, other than having been in DeForest a few days ago to verify that it is still there. Hard to see because of the trees.)
• June 7: Lions Eye Bank of WI golf outing at The Oaks in Cottage Grove. ADAM has info.

Program speakers Local Medicare and Retirement Manager, Janelle Sharp and Local Medicare Advisor, Leigh Maxwell from UnitedHealthcare told us about their company and what they do. Those of us who have had Medicare for a long time know the labyrinth pretty well, and if we have an expensive Medicare Supplement policy we don't have to think about it much. But to newcomers it is, to quote Winston Churchill, “a puzzle inside a riddle wrapped in an enigma.” UnitedHealthcare provides education to the community on Medicare benefits, prescriptions savings programs and more! We learned several ways we can partner with UnitedHealthcare and share in the mission of helping people live healthier lives and make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealthcare insures 49 million people and is the largest healthcare company in Wisconsin. People prefer face-to-face interaction (no surprise to your retired-insurance-agent Editor) and UHC has local teams to inform and assist with Medicare, often through informal tables set up at functions to educate the public on Medicare. They also actively encourage their employees to volunteer with outside organizations and sponsor events (like ours). Should be a good source of assistance for our club.