NEXT MEETING- Tuesday July 7, by Zoom again. The hoped-for subsidence of the virus plague has not occurred, and so we will once again assemble virtually and virtuously. At this point no horizon is visible past which we could assemble in person in our usual group, so, in more recent vernacular, “get used to it.” Haul out the smartphone, I This-and-That's, and we will go at it by Zoom. A communication from one of our resident wizards will follow (or maybe precede) this Tale on how to join in. The Editor is still inclined to consider this process as some kind of witchcraft, minus the smoking cauldron, but perhaps including a few smoking Lions if your internet connection goes pfft in the middle. Just don't compound the problem by dropping your “device” in mid-meeting. The other participants may momentarily fear for your personal safety if your picture falls off the screen.

This is a business meeting, as far into the month as it can get, but despite the amount of time that has passed since the last one, not much is going on in MCLC as in most of the rest of the world. We think that the general population, with the exception of a few individuals who were outside , smoking, when brains were passed out, is in no hurry to assemble in groups, and so our meetings of virtuous Lions will continue to be virtual until the pandemic subsides.

Among the few things still planned, Stuff the Bus, our collection of school supplies in cooperation with Madison-Monona Lioness Club, is scheduled for August 15. The MMSD has said they will “quarantine” whatever we can collect and then distribute to points of need. Hopefully, specific directions on how our Lion members can take part will be forthcoming, but like everything else, it is going to be complicated. Imagine trying to run a school system without schoolrooms, or, if your taste runs more to entertainment, how to run an athletic program at a major University without any ticket income.!

Two of our MCLC Lions have stepped up onto the world stage by helping create the Global Lions Forum on FaceBook, which offers the opportunity for any Lion from anywhere, to comment, hopefully only on Lion matters, out there where everyone can see it. This has drawn the approval of Lions Clubs International leadership:

o Presidential Leadership Medal recipients:

• Lions Clubs International President Jungyul Choi honored a team of lions from the Global Lions Forum with the 2019-2020 Presidential Leadership Medal for their innovation and dedicated service.  The "super seven" have coordinated and hosted several virtual Lions Symposiums and Classrooms over the last four months.  Thousands of Lions from around the world took advantage of the opportunity to learn and participate in Lions events during a time when in-person events weren't possible.

• LCI 2VP Brian Sheehan presented the awards during the "Burmester Virtual Bar - 104th Lions Birthday Party" on Saturday, June 13th with help from PID Jerome Thompson and IPID Nick Xinopoulos.

• The seven recipients: Richard Stevenson, Winster Ceballos, Daniel Marney Elkins, Jodi Burmester, Dale Burmester, Paul Curtis, and Charles Short.

This is not an everyday occurrence-two of our MCLC Lions have created something that will benefit Lionism, and the people We Serve, on a world-wide scale.

For years, the annual USA-Canada Forum has given invaluable information on “how to” Lions Clubs operation and service, offering world-class speakers and work-session instructors. In happier days, our Club sent a representative, usually the incoming President, to the Forums, where invaluable information was freely supplied. Many of our Lions continued to attend Forums on their own, because of the quality of the event. This year's Forum is cancelled, and next year is scheduled for Iowa. This is an experience of a lifetime, and every Lion should go. Plan ahead. The Editor is hoping that some of this year's content will show up on the internet where we can all benefit.

Calendar:
• July 7 - Business/Board Meeting
• July 21 - Program Meeting
• August 15 - Stuff the Bus