Next Meeting - Tuesday November 19, 2019, on the Mezz at Festival Foods, at 11:30 AM as usual. This is our Program Meeting for November, and we will be Inducting two new members, Rebecca Fraire, and Stacey Troja, head of the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin. It will be a sort of combination Induction and Orientation, which means the organization, from Lions International on down to the Club level will probably be reviewed, and there will be a lot of information about what Lions do and how they do it, at all levels. We'd like every member to make an effort to attend, partly to welcome our new members, partly to get their memory refreshed on how it all works, and partly to be brought up-to-date on current programs of emphasis and new structures (no more standalone Lioness Clubs- it's the 21st Century.) It's old stuff to some of us, but some things may have changed when we weren't looking, and there are some pretty good stories about the good we do in all sorts of situations and locations.

There were some pretty good stories in the last Lions International Magazine. Find out what, because you are a Lion, you did recently to help someone whom you have never met, and probably never will. But they will remember you.

At our last meeting, 9 Lions were present, including a rare visit from the Editor, who actually has some of his own notes to review this time. Some official Minutes of, and Treasurer's Reports from, previous meetings were promptly approved.

There was a lengthy discussion of the upcoming Drinks With Santa project on December 14, and details about exactly what might be done and who will do it were discussed. We will try more ways, banners, displays, etc. to enhance the presence of our Lions Club, and what Lions in general and our Club in particular, do to serve the local and wider communities.

The Holiday Party (at Angelo's on Monona Drive, starting at 5 PM, December 10) will have the usual appetizers, probably a few pizzas, cash bar and all-inclusive Lion Birthday Party for the whole year. Lions are asked to bring a small gift (the limit has been eased up to $10) for the Birthday drawings. RSVPing would be helpful for planning purposes.

The Club has received a Thank-You letter from the Wisconsin Lions Foundation (Lions Camp, Eyeglass Recycling, etc) for our annual donation, and WLF sent along a special pin for the President.

Our Club was represented at a recent region meeting, held at the new Eye Bank facility, by DALE BURMESTER, JOHN JENSON and MIKE KNOWLTON.

Sec. JOHN JENSON reported that next year's District Convention will be on March 14-15, 2020. If you've never been to a District Convention, you should go. You learn about Lionism in action, and you listen to, and meet, some really good people.

The Board is considering the adoption of rules and procedures for E-mail voting by both Board members and the general Club membership, on matters which require a formal vote, but for one reason or another cannot be presented to a meeting of enough Lions to constitute a quorum. Sometimes this happens with "rubber stamp" procedural matters, and sometimes an opportunity for service arises, with a time limit too short to assemble the multitudes. It would be one way to put modern technology to use for our advantages. We have a sample from the Lions Club of Inman, Kansas, on how they propose to do it, and it includes the formal Rules of Order for motions, seconds and recording of the votes. More on this later, after the Board has considered it.

In the Editor's opinion, this is worth having in order to process routine actions that still need formal approval. Really difficult or contentious issues are better handled in formal meetings with members present, because you get better understanding of positions if you can see and hear the speaker in person. Occasionally, important things will come up when no meeting is imminent but the Club needs to act, and if you have a procedure in place you can do that.

Calendar for November and December:
• November 19 - Program Meeting
• December 3 - Business/Board Meeting
• December 10 - Holiday Party
• December 14 - Drinks with Santa
• December 17 - Program Meeting