July 2008Brown County Lions Club: In the hills o' Brown - Scenic Spot of IndianaDistrict 25 E-1 Chartered: Feb. 5, 1943 65 Years of Service |
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DG to speak to club Lion District 25-E Governor Gary Ochs will be the program at the next dinner meeting, which is a vest/Lions shirt night.
Lion President Rick announces initiatives to strengthen club At the Board meeting, newly inaugurated Lion President Rick Dean announced seven initiatives he believes will provide long-term benefits to the club. First on his list is a leadership development program, to develop a mentoring program for future Lion officers. “A chairmanship shouldn’t have to be a life sentence,” he pointed out. He hopes to bring more consistency from year to year, as well as make recruiting officers easier. Better communication from year to year for our projects is next on his agenda. When committee members change, there should be documentation for the new members about how and why the last year did what they did. A formal manual or notebook procedure could help out next year’s effort. The Lion Chief believes better public relations is a priority. Each project should have a PR person to work with PR Chair Lion Adam Young to make sure our projects get the promotion and the credit they deserve. Other ideas are: · A formal mentoring program to ensure that sponsors are fulfilling their obligation to introduce their new member to club activities. · Better communications with other philanthropic organizations to better coordinate grants, to ensure that all worthy causes in our community are supported with charitable resources. · A broader Finance Committee, so that those who work hard to bring in money to the charitable account gets more of a say in how that money is distributed. · A Parliamentarian is to be appointed to ensure that all the “t”s are dotted and the “i”s are crossed when we make decisions.
Dining Out cards ready for fair Lion Larry Weir reported that the Dining Out card fundraiser, which will replace the coupon book this year, is at the printer and will be ready for sale at the Fair. Lion Larry has a marketing plan in place, and has a goal of selling 1,000 cards for $10 each. He said the expected net is almost $8,000. The cards fit in a wallet and contain 28 “value propositions,” contained on stamps redeemable for two-for-one meals at local eateries. Everyone will be offered the chance to sell cards. If each Lion sold five, we’d be half way to our goal.
Brown County Fair set to go Lions have several opportunities for you to serve at this year’s fair, which runs from July 28 through August 4. Lion Vickie Gilmore serves as co-chair of the Lion booth inside the commercial tent. We’ll be selling Dining Out cards, recruiting members and generally promoting Lionism under the big-top. Lion Vickie or Lion John Wood will be signing up folks to staff the booth at the dinner meeting. Shifts run from 6-8 or 8-10 p.m. each night of the fair. Lion Jerry Simo promises 70s and low humidity every night for fair parking this year. Sign up at the dinner meeting to park cars from 5-8 p.m. and see if Jerry can keep his promise!
Good news from the Playhouse Lion Gloria Berryman reports that, armed with a good show, the Brown County Playhouse sales are up 22%. Expenses are up 11%, so she’s pleased to see the increase. Lion Don Stuart is captain for the next play, “How the Other Half Loves.” He reports he is almost full, but still has some choice sales slots open. Call Don to reserve your time in front of the popcorn machine!
Log Cabin Tour parking shorthanded Lion Dave Woerner reported that 33 Lions agreed to park cars for the ill-fated Log Cabin Tour 2008. Because some agreed to work multiple shifts, we almost covered our commitment to the Psi Otes. Lion Dave pointed out that we haven’t filled all of our parking shifts with Lion members for the last four years. As a result, he encouraged us to consider whether we should only contract to staff part of the tour in future years. Any decisions were tabled for further evaluation.
Lion Notes o Lion Secretary Jan Harker reminds everyone that dues are now due. o It’s not too late to contribute to Sight First. Send checks to PO Box 716. o 47 eyeglasses and 14 cell phones were collected this month o The Board of Directors gave the Finance Committee authority to delve into our savings or investments in order to ensure that our charitable grants can always be at least $20,000, in the event of a bad fundraising year. We have earned and distributed more than that amount for the last several years. o The VonSchriltz Memorial Fund will be established with the Brown County Community Foundation to provide additional funding each year for diabetes awareness activities or for administrative expenses. o Pride ABC2 needs help desperately. Lion John Davis reports that he continues to get great community response for the work of the Lions who sweep. If you can help, please contact Lion John. o Lion Bob Gilmore reported the LCIF and other Lions Clubs have donated $30,600 to flood relief in our district. It’s great to see that kind of money being used locally when it is needed. o Lion Brian Teel reports that there was a drill for the regional Pandemic response coordinators the first week of June. The coordinators announced that there had been an outbreak of the avian flu originating in Chicago and spreading to Southern Indiana. In response, Lion Brian “cancelled” the Log Cabin Tour, which was, oddly enough, cancelled. Who knew he had that power?
Environmental Tip of the Month Used coffee grounds make a great fertilizer for plants that thrive in acidic soil, like rhododendrons or azaleas. Sprinkle coffee grounds and eggshells around the base of plants to repel ants, snails, and slugs. From Sierra Club's "the Green Life"
Presidents Corner: Being newly elected, I feel that I should share some of my thoughts, so that you know the reasoning behind some of my actions. First of all, I want to say that I was honored to be asked to be the President of this club. I intend to do everything in my power to ensure the continued success of our club, encourage the spirit of camaraderie within the club, and uphold our excellent reputation in the community. During my past 8 years as a Lion, I have noticed things that I feel we should improve. I have also seen things that we do well, and should share that across other committees. We have a wealth of knowledgeable, and caring people. So, I feel that we should draw upon those resources to try to address some of these issues. I have also seen people punished for doing a good job, or taking on a difficult task, by being stuck with it. I know we have all stepped into a task, or been asked to help. Then asked what we are supposed to do, and get a different answer, depending on who you ask. That needs to be corrected. So, I believe we need to improve what we are doing, make it more fun, and better utilize our resources. I presented some of these focus areas to the Board at the July Meeting. Once I receive their feedback, I will be presenting those same issues to the membership, to solicit feedback, and interest. I want you to know that I would like to eliminate, or minimize, the unpleasant struggles we sometimes go through. In order to make this community service organization a pleasant experience, and to help ensure it’s continued success. More to come in future articles, and meetings. ---Lion President Rick Dean
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