Next Meeting - Tuesday December 3, 2019, on the Mezz at Festival Foods, at 11:30 AM as usual. This is our Board and Business (sounds like it ought to be a restaurant) meeting, and we can anticipate a little fine tuning on the two occasions before us, our Holiday Party at Angelo's on the 10th, and Drinks With Santa at LJ's on the 14th. Both start at 5:00 PM.

There will also be further considering to be done on things like the $1,400 hole in our Income Budget because we missed the Fall Raffle, finding an opportunity for another Bags Tournament, and searching for other ways to raise some means, for our service work.

At our last meeting, we welcomed a check from our Gum Ball vendors (the Rowbothams) for $987.60. This project, which goes on giving with very little help from us, has now provided, over the last 60 years or so, a grand total of $170,630.68! That has paid for a lot of help to a lot of people in a lot of places, one penny, nickel, dime and quarter at a time. Note that we can still place gum machines in new locations where there is foot traffic (preferably little kids with parents) and add to our income stream. All it takes is a permission slip (we have them) from the owner/operator of the location. Our vendor places and maintains the machines and pays us a commission on the profits. Like almost anything else, see SCOTT GROVER if you have a location in mind. AND, if you see one of our machines on location (BMO Hilldale comes to mind), be sure to thank the location staff for having it there.

Speaking of locations, we had a machine in Madison Fire Station #7 when it was located on Monroe St. The machine was on a counter in the garage area of the station. Someone accidentally bumped it, it fell on the concrete floor, and the big glass ball on top, full of gum balls, broke. Picture a fire station garage, trucks at the ready, and little round balls EVERYWHERE. They didn't hold it against us, though, and fortunately there were no fire calls during the time it took to clean up the mess.

Note - formal RSVP for our Holiday Party is not required, but for food planning purposes it would help to let SCOTT GROVER know if you are expecting to be there, or not. We'd like to match the food supply to the number of partygoers. By all means come, even at the last moment, with or without RSVP. We would like all our members and their spice (Plural of spouses) partners, whatever, to come and party. Attending Lions should remember to bring a modest present to exchange in celebration of our Lionistic birthdays.

An honored ritual was once again performed at our last meeting, when we inducted two new members, BECKY FRAIRE and STACEY TROJA. The formal induction was performed by Past International Director PHIL INGWELL, who referred to the 1925 Lions International Convention where the members of this new service organization were challenged by Helen Keller to be her “Knights of the Blind”, in the battle against blindness. From that point on, sight conservation has been the major goal of Lions everywhere, and in all sorts of ways and places. From white canes to research, from Leader Dogs to Lions Camp, from eye tissue transport to reader-assisting devices and training, and lots of big and little things in between, Lions have been in the forefront of the battle to preserve and protect eyesight and help those who have lost it, and we are still doing it today. Lions are the only service club mentioned in the United Nations Charter. PHIL noted a quote from the Lions Code of Ethics “should there be a question as to the propriety of a particular action on my part, to always resolve the issue against myself.” Or words to that effect.

The new members were presented with their pins by their sponsors WENDY DWYER and JODI BURMESTER, and the New Member's Kit by Pres. DALE BURMESTER.

PHIL then switched to a New Member Orientation Part One, explaining what Lion membership does and is, and how new members join, but really become Lions, at a point when something touches them to understand how important service is to the recipients. When you realize how wide our Lion service is, how many people are helped in how many ways and places, and how this is possible because you, and others like you, work on Lion projects everywhere, you really become a Lion, not just a “member.”

Calendar for December:
• December 3 - Business/Board Meeting
• December 10 - Holiday Party
• December 14 - Drinks with Santa
• December 17 - Program Meeting - Orientation Part Two