The Wisconsin Lion November/December 2022

Wisconsin Lions Stampede to USA/Canada Leadership Forum

BY VICE COUNCIL CHAIR BERT FREEMAN (A2)

Haze and the fires to the west of Calgary did not diminish the excitement from those Lions that traveled to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, as the sea of Wisconsin Lions red shirts were on display at the 46th Annual USA/Canada Forum. Over 1250 Lions registered and participated in a number of events. Meeting old friends and making new friends is not uncommon, as the handshakes, hugs and huge smiles were on display through out the USA/Canada Leadership Forum.

First up on Thursday’s calendar of events was the Strides Walk with 410 Lions and Guests participating. The weather was perfect for the walk and an aerial photo of our entire group was taken above by a drone and the fun and excitement of this event was apparent when the photos were taken. Then, it was off for a short walk to an area park where a bagged lunch was served.

Question: How many Lions does it take to open a bag of potato chips? Answer: 6, The Lions at our table (from Texas and Nebraska) quickly learned that the sealed bag of the lunch chips were difficult to open and we all laughed at each others’ attempt to get at their chips.

After the Friday Luncheon, we were treated to two-time Canadian Olympic speed skating gold medal winner, Catriona Le May Doan telling

her story of heartache and triumph at the four Olympic Games she participated in for Team Canada. A gifted speaker, Catriona brought chills to the audience when she pulled out her gold and bronze medals and her famous Maskwacis Cree Nation drum as she was Canada's chef de mission banging the drum to at the Beijing Olympics. Catriona’s message of never giving up and pushing yourself was well received by all.

At the Lions University Ceremony, seven Wisconsin Lions received their Bachelor’s or Master’s Degrees from a smiling Lions International President Brian Sheehan. A proud picture with International Director Lee Vrieze was taken shortly after the ceremony.

The downtown Calgary Space Needle seemed to follow you

wherever you went. As we were walking back from the Wisconsin Lions dinner Friday night, the Space Needle was lit up with multiple colors and was quite impressive. The skyline of Calgary is breathtaking. We had a great time and were well received.

Saturday Lunch brought on the main attraction - International President Brian Sheehan from Bird Island MN. (I can’t help myself... “where the hell is Bird Island?”) As always, he did not disappoint - spinning his Midwest values and charging up his faithful to work together and to think outside the box. Always energetic, IP Brian’s message of “Together we can. Together we will.” is always at the forefront.

USA-CANADA LEADERSHIP FORUM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Saturday after lunch, the remaining Wisconsin group got together for the annual event photo. Smiling Wisconsin Lions - laughing, learning and enjoying our time together.

The two skits performed by a cast of well-known Lions was impressive and well received, starred Past International President Judge Brian Stevenson, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Starting with a court scene trying to convict Lori Sheehan for trying to start a riot at the Des Moines USA/ Canada Lions last year, and of course, was found not guilty pleading that the Lions were just enthusiastic, boisterous and having fun. The second skit was similar in that they were trying to jail Jama Wahl for being too boisterous for promoting the next USA/Canada Forum in Reno, Nevada.

Much was learned by the classes offered and reflected on the diversity of the New Voices class, membership initiatives, grant writing, meeting the young guns / future Lion leaders, and so much more. All attending had an opportunity to meet the current International Directors and enjoyed interacting and taking pictures which were quickly posted to their personal Facebook pages.

Saturday night, we had an opportunity to hear a brilliant message from the forum’s keynote speaker, Steve Farber. For 45 minutes, Steve had us laughing, crying, and singing. His message was to trust in ourselves, believe in our plan, and remember that kindness would conquer all. He told his personal story about the guitar he sold because he had a family to support. About the young man who began managing the worst Ponderosa in the USA (Gary, Indiana) and made it into the number one restaurant by thinking outside the box, by caring about his employees and helping them grow. The employees who changed porch light bulbs, shoveling sidewalks, all while delivering pizzas. And to the woman who knew no one, became ill, and the only number she had in her phone was the pizza store she frequented. She had no one to help her home from the hospital and when the nurse called the only phone number she had, that driver came and picked her up and took her home. Throughout the presentation, Steve spoke of overcoming all odds, engaging members to be the best they can, and lastly, that kindness sets you apart from the rest. Lastly, Steve did recover the much loved guitar, as the person who purchased the guitar decades before, saved his number and called him to see if he wanted it back for exactly what he sold it for, $380.

The next USA/Canada Forum will be held in Reno, Nevada on September 14-16, 2023. It was fitting that we all sang “Happy trails to you, until we meet again” at the conclusion of the evening!

Gratitude

BY COUNCIL CHAIR TAMMY ROCKENBACH

As we approach the holiday season, we think first of Thanksgiving. We associate Thanksgiving with gratitude. It is a time to reflect on all the blessings we have had in our lives. What is the definition of gratitude? It is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. Sounds like Lions.

At the USA/Canada Lions Leadership our DGs were motivated by the keynote speakers, informed with the seminars, fed with great food, and gave back with the Strides walk and service projects.

The Lions Healing Center just opened at the Marshfield Clinic in the Pediatric Cancer Center. This is a place that kids can have fun and parents can decompress. With their child life specialists, children with cancer and their families, learn how to cope with what their hospitalization and the treatments available for their illness. This was made possible by the Lions of Wisconsin in conjunction with a grant from LCIF. Thank you!

Have a great holiday season, and forever be grateful.

The Medford Lions Invite you to… Echo of a Lion

BY PAST DISTRICT GOVERNORS JUDY HATZ (C2) & BJ BLAHNIK (B1)

The history of our organization was constructed by gathering a likeminded group of individuals who had a common goal of improving our communities through service. The ideas, over the last century, helped carve our mission into, “We Serve,” which in turn gave Lions a voice and a purpose. Throughout time, we have learned about accomplishing larger goals when we work together rather than working alone. Now, by working together, we have created an echo stating the Lions are here, in your communities, working every day to help our future be a safer, cleaner, and more enjoyable place to live and raise our families.

Over the past two years, the Wisconsin Lions have grown in membership, and we want to keep this momentum moving forward. The leadership is working diligently to provide tools and ideas for all clubs to use in whatever way you see appropriate. Our organization is committed to ensuring new members are being properly orientated to understand our mission around the state and globally. We are also committed to providing tools and ideas on how a new member can be orientated on how their clubs operate and serve locally within their community because each club is very unique. When we do lose a member, we are working to track the information, through surveys, as to why they left so we can educate how we can change for the betterment of future Lions. Current membership surveys will be sent out so we can hear from all of you on how we are doing, and changes can be made to prevent members from leaving. Membership is the heart and soul of our organization.

Lions International has many ideas on how to grow membership, together we can! We are here to reignite the passion in our Lions and Leos. The Global membership Approach combines a strategic approach and a set of resources for our district teams to develop membership. In this article, we wanted to provide some ideas on how we can do this. A great example to showcase a membership event around one of your club’s service projects. Such as Breakfast with Santa, sunshine suppers, packaging holiday meals, etc.

Membership Growth Event Toolbox

This will provide you with all the resources in preparing for hosting a successful membership growth event. To find the Membership Toolbox go to lionsclubs.org then go to search Membership Toolbox. Also please take a look at all the other great resources you have at your fingertips.

We have heard our echo from the past as to why this organization is so great. But it is up to this current generation of Lions to keep our voice loud and remind our communities we are all better if we continue working together. When new ideas come into our club, let us ponder the potential rather than diminish the flame. To bring an echo back to a full and loud voice we must give ideas air and passion. Let our members know each of them matter and we should continue this echo into the future. For any assistance, please contact your Wisconsin Lions Membership Team.

2023 Lions State January 6th-8th

Medford Curling Club, 525 So. Whelan, Medford

Registration Form

32 Team Limit

Entry deadline: December 21, 2022

STATE LIONS

Skip Vice Skip

Second Lead First Draw

# of Extra Curlers/Guests

Team 1 9am 10:30am 12pm 1:30pm

2

Registration Fee $320/ four person team

Extra Curler/ Guest $40/person (covers banquet, beer, soda, food

# of Extra Curlers/Guests

Skip Vice Skip Second Lead First Draw

9am 10:30am 12pm 1:30pm

Mail checks & registration to Medford Lions Club: Steve DeLonay, W5704 Jolly Ave., Medford, WI 54451

ENTRY FEE INCLUDES:

• Friday night (rib eyes) from the Fireplace at the Medford Curling Club. Served during curling.

• No Formal Banquet.

• Food and snacks all weekend (Sat & Sun breakfast included).

• Free Beer and Soda at the Curling Club.

• Registration and payment must be received by 12/21/22 to guarantee entry. Early paid entries get first choice of preferred draw times.

• Annual Meeting & Raffle DrawingNoon-Sat. 1/7/23 at Medford Curling Club.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Boarders Inn & Suites 435 So. 8th St. Medford, WI 54451 715-748-2330 (by 12/5)

Medford Inn 321 N. 8th St.. Medford, WI 54451 715-748-4420 (by 12/5)

The Woodlands 854 N. 8th St.. Medford, WI 54451 715-748-3995 (by 11/6)

QUESTIONS, Call 715-965-4343

Lions Healing Center Opens

BY PAST COUNCIL CHAIR GERI SCHLENDER

Maree Stewart, Grants and Communications Officer, communicated earlier this year of the challenges they faced in completing the project. “COVID-19, supply chain, and staffing issues have really hampered our progress but it will end up being a gorgeous space for kids and families receiving cancer treatment at Marshfield Children’s Hospital.”

On September 21, 2022 the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony took place, officially opening the Lions Healing Center at the Marshfield Children’s Hospital. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only a limited number of Lions were able to participate. In attendance were PID Bruce Beck, (representing LCIF) ID Lee Vrieze, MD GST Coordinator, PDG Don Drew, IPMD GST Coordinator, PDG Greg Pryor, CC Tammy Rockenbach, Lion/Dr SRI Vasudevan who is the MD-27 Chair of Childhood Cancer & PCC Geri Schlender, Grant Administrator.

We were greeted by some of the staff and given milk and cookies on our arrival. The staff demonstrated all the new Lions Healing Center features and explained how the children would benefit. Dr. Michael McManus joined the festivities to thank the Lions and LCIF for their contributions and remarked on the difference it would make for all.

The goal was to provide funding with the aid of a matching grant from LCIF and contributions from Lions Clubs and individuals from around the state and allowing us to provide a healing environment with technology options, educational resources and activities for children being treated for cancer.

Families from all over Central & Northern Wisconsin who travel to Marshfield each year to access world class physicians, caretakers, advanced equipment, innovative treatment and childhood cancer support network now have a comforting space in the state-of-the-art Lions Healing Center.

The renovated space includes LED color changing lights, a sound system, massage chair, comfortable sitting for families, organized toys/ TV, sensory mat, projector, special window treatments to improve environment, and much more.

Proving as ID Lee Vrieze said at the dedication, “Lions in the state have a motto too, it is ‘Reaching, Touching and Improving Lives’” and Lions of Wisconsin, your generosity and giving hearts have done that and will continue to for so many children and their families.”

Celebrating 40 Years as a Lion at 91 Years Young

BY PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR RONDA BIERBRAUER (E2)

Robert Ludtke is celebrating 40 years of being a Lion and a charter member of the Glen Hills Lions Club who Chartered in 1982. I sat down to talk to Robert and his stories began very quickly of the years he has been a Lion and all he remembers of the 40 years he has been serving his community and the State.

First a little history on Robert himself. Robert is the oldest of 5 children which include two sisters and one brother and a ½ brother. He has farmed all his life beginning for the most part in 8th grade and continuing the rest of his life, except while he served in the US Navy from 1955 to 1957. While in the Navy he became a Captain of a Twin four inch Johnson 821 Ship, an Anti-Air Craft. Twenty men served under Robert and he was considered the best firing man on the ship, until he melted the paint off his barrel. He says with a smile.

As a 9 year old boy, Robert began to haul milk, built barns, and milk cows. From there Robert has always farmed. He currently plants pumpkins and gourds on his acres of land, which the club then harvests and uses for a fundraiser.

Robert talked first of the Woodville Lions Club who Chartered the Glen Hills Lions Club in 1982. The 30 some members of the club that started his club always wore vests and jackets. He remembers that vests were worn with pride at all meetings. He served as the President eight or more years, and vice President too. Proudly he says, “my daughter-in-law, Kirsten, is the Treasurer right now.” He remembers with great warmth and affection the many trips he made to the Lions Camp every year to tour the camp in Rosholt. Visiting the camp and recycling center by touring with a camp counselor always brought sincere gratitude for why he helped charter a Lions Club. Robert tells of a little girl who came running up to him. “She grabbed on to me, crying.” “I didn’t know what to do, so I hugged her.” A young boy also approached Robert, however this time it was to take his cap. Roberts reply, “Young man it is a no go!”

I have always been our chicken cooker. I traveled all over pulling the float for our court to participate in parades. Then I became apart of the parade. Driving his 1978 Lincoln Town Car adorned with a Lion on the hood and Glen Hills Lions Club on both sides he proudly represents. To this day Robert still participates in the parade, and yes in his 1978 Lincoln Town Car. He talked for a while about the International Convention he attended when it was in Minnesota. He remembers the attire from so many different parts of the world and how seeing the many people of the world come together for the same reason and as part of the same organization was amazing. “I’ll never forget that weekend,” says Robert.

Projects Robert remembers and loves are the Halloween Party at the American Legion, Building the Ball Park, selling light bulbs and brooms and of course mints, gun raffles, and the three big auctions they had each year with donations from the community. One year I went to Iowa, to a Cap auction. I bought Brewers, Twins, and some businesses caps, bats, balls, and shirts. Then we had an action to auction off all the items to the town of Glenwood City.

If I remember anything from my interview with Robert it will be his warm smile. How proud and sincere he is about being a Lion and his will to forever serve as a Lion.

Fascinating and Educational Trip to LEBW and Lions International

BY DISTRICT GOVERNOR JOHN REIL (B2)

The MD-27 District Governors began their informational journey at the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin (LEBW) on August 30th and were greeted by Chief Executive Officer Stacey Troha and LEBW Board Chair PDG Bob Henning. We broke into two groups for a tour of the facility and for many of us, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure into Eye Tissue Recovery.

The Eye Bank is run by Lions, funded by Lions and Lions had a major role in the construction of a new $3 million building equipped with $2.5 million of new equipment. The old building has since been sold to offset the cost of the new building which employs 40 full time staff members and two Board Certified Corneal Surgeons. The DG team and their partners in service were amazed to hear that the Eye Bank team has a 99% transplant success rate. There are 47 Lions Eye Banks throughout the World, making Lions the number one supplier of cornea eye tissue.

There are five layers to the Cornea and each layer is 20 microns thick (for reference, a human hair is 70 microns thick). Out of all 47 Eye Banks, Wisconsin is the only one that can use human tissue for training purposes. We have six technicians statewide to recover donor eye tissue. It takes an average of six days starting with the moment the Eye Bank is notified of the Donor’s death to transporting the donor tissue from the medical facility to the Lions Eye Bank where they remove the cornea tissue, have the blood and tissue tested, transport it to the medical facility that will perform the transplant and doing the transplant surgery.

During that six days they send a blood sample, by plane, to Denver for testing to make sure the tissue is perfect for transplant and safe for the recipient. Denver is the only facility in the country that does this specific type of required testing. When PDG Bob Henning asked “how many in this room are eye tissue transporters?”, 3/4 of those attending raised their hands. Transporting is a service provided by Lions who volunteer their time to pick up the tissue and save the Eye Bank $250,000 per year. It is done by multiple Lions as a relay both ways. The Eye Bank also provides family services for recipients and their families as well as the donor’s family who are also given the opportunity to make a quilt square sharing something about their loved one which is then added to the Quilt of Remembrance kept on display at the Eye Bank. They are always looking for Transporters, so if anyone is interested in becoming a transport driver or want to know more about it, contact the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin.

On the 31st, we visited the International Headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois We saw a mock-up of Melvin Jones’ office and visited International President Brian Sheehan’s office. We even sat in IP Brian’s chair for a photo op and got to be President of Lions International for approximately 15 seconds, LOL. Photographs of every President in Lions International History on the walls and along with the Winning Peace Posters over the years. The HQ Building is a very impressive building and houses 300 staff members. They handle more than 30,000 phone calls and 106,000 emails every year, communicating in the different languages from around the world. How they can keep all that straight and organized is beyond me. Not to mention all the mailings around the world as well. They serve us, as Lions, with the best service possible as we do for our own District, Clubs and Communities. This is one office building with 300 employees doing all this day in and day out. Try to imagine us trying to accomplish the things we do without this truly amazing support system. We are so lucky that we have them backing us up, answering our questions, and making our job easier. So, the next time you reach out to headquarters for questions, please be sure to thank them and let them know how much they are appreciated for everything they do for us.

International President Brian Sheehan Replica of Melvin Jones’ Office

Donor Remembrance Quilt

LEBW CEO Stacey Troha

Headquarters Office Building

57 of our International Presidents

PDG Bob Henning

47 of our Past International Presidents

LEBW New Building

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2022

69 No. 3

Wisconsin Lion (USPS No. 688-740) is published six times a year for the 17,500 Lions of Wisconsin at 3834 County Road A, Rosholt, WI 54473. Periodical postage paid at Rosholt, WI and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 with new address to: 3834 County Road A Rosholt, WI 54473

DEADLINE: 1st of preceding month.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Bert Freeman Chair

Patty Hollis Vice Chair

Geri Schlender GLT

Don Drew GST

BJ Blahnik GMT

Evett Hartvig WLF Michele Brooks LEBW

DISTRICT EDITORS

A1 a1@wilions.org

A2 27a2editor@gmail.com

B1 terryerbstoesser@gmail.com

B2 27b2pr@gmail.com

C1 c1lionnews@gmail.com

C2 sanderson.cherie@gmail.com

D1 pr@lions27d1.org

D2 wilions27d2news@gmail.com

E1 barb.dulmes@gmail.com

E2 chamaca@frontiernet.net

STORY SUBMISSIONS

Articles and events (accompanied by photos of Lions in action) should explain the successful completion of a project or fundraising activity and should be submitted to that Club’s District Editor. Include a mailing address, daytime phone and e-mail of the person submitting the story. Submission guidelines at: wisconsinlions.org/wisconsin-lion/

Statewide content can be submitted to DG Bert Freeman at lionsubway206@gmail.com.

Recognition for Melvin Jones, Birch-Sturm, Knight of Sight & Ray Hempel awards should be submitted to the State Editor at jen@jennifercreative.com.

ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION OFFICES:

Subscriptions: $10/ yr. Contact the State Office for details.

CHANGE OF MAIL/EMAIL ADDRESS

Contact your Club Secretary AND the State Office at md27@ wisconsinlions.org with updates to your mailing and/or email address.

OUR MISSION

To empower Lions clubs, volunteers, and partners to improve health and well-being, strengthen communities, and support those in need through humanitarian services and grants that impact lives globally, and encourage peace and international understanding.

OUR VISION

To be the global leader in community and humanitarian service.

MD27 CONTACTS

COUNCIL CHAIR: Tammy Rockenbach 212 Sterling Dr. Oregon, WI 53575 608-438-9572 lzrock@charter.net

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR: Lee Vrieze (Mary) 18807 122nd Ave Jim Falls,WI 54748 (715) 382-3404 lvrieze2@charter.net

STATE OFFICE: JoAnn Burk, Office Manager 3834 County Rd A Rosholt, WI 54473 715-677-4764 md27@wisconsinlions.org

LIONS EYE BANK OF WISCONSIN: Stacey Troha, CEO 5003 Tradewinds Parkway Madison, WI 53718 608-233-2354 info@lebw.org

WISCONSIN LIONS FOUNDATION OFFICE: Evett J. Hartvig, Executive Director 3834 County Road A Rosholt, WI 54473 877-463-6953 ehartvig@wlf.info

LIONS PRIDE ENDOWMENT FUND OFFICE: Amber Young 3834 County Road A Rosholt, WI 54473 715-677-7000 prideoffice@lionspride.org

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‘MD27 Lions of Wisconsin’ on Facebook

Remembrance of Past District Governor Jordan Chadwick

BY DISTRICT GOVERNOR DAVID STEDMAN AND OAK CREEK LION CHRIS DANNENMANN (A1)

This past August we were saddened to hear of the passing of Past District Governor and member of the Oak Creek Lions Club in District A1 Jordan Chadwick. Jordan was a lifetime member of the Oak Creek Lions Club, having served in numerous leadership positions both for the Oak Creek Club, Lions District 27-A1 (District Governor in 2003-04) and the Wisconsin Lions on a state level. He was a recipient of the Melvin Jones Fellowship, the Birch-Sturm Fellowship, Ray Hempel Fellowship and a Knight of Sight Fellowship.

Jordan was a fixture in local parades with his baby blue classic 1966 Cadillac Deville convertible which was featured in the “Rock The Vest” video and the main subject of the 2019 International Lions Clubs Rose Parade Float in Pasadena, California.

Since joining Lions, he rose through the ranks and eventually became the most dynamic district 27-A1 Governor that we have had in decades. Jordan had an uncanny sense to pick the right people to make things happen for Lionism. With the help of his fellow lions, he made possible the election of the very first female District Governor in 27-A1, Debbie Schwanz. Jordan knew, as we all did, this was the right thing to do and it was time. This would lead ultimately to Karla Harris becoming District Governor and rising to the position of International Director for Lions Clubs International.

Jordan spearheaded the charge for Campaign Sight First. Leading the way for Model Club donations worldwide in this groundbreaking program, raising the millions of dollars needed.

Years later, he took the challenge of Campaign Sight First II Central Coordinator and helped to raise well over 372 million dollars in the fight against preventable blindness. Through these efforts, Campaign Sight First II saved the sight of countless millions of people around the world. Always willing to contribute, Jordan answered the call to consult with our Birch-Sturm Foundation. Thus, maintaining its solid principles and a promising future.

Seeing Club opportunities to further Lionism and unwilling to fail, Jordan personally volunteered to keep district golf outing events as scheduled, more than once, when other clubs could not, he volunteered Oak Creek Lions to run it. And they did. Eventually turning it into the Oak Creek Lions Club annual golf outing, which will soon bear his name. He turned an annual April garage Birthday party into the Annual Community Brewers Opening Day Event. He used his financial acumen (“smarts”) to start the Oak Creek Community Foundation which is now building an endowment for our community and Lionism; scholarships for the special needs, trades and for committee service minded high school graduates.

Countless stories are known, many remembered fondly; some you had to be there... For those that knew him well, he had a catch phrase...

“WE should do this, so that when that's done, WE'LL be done with that.”

That’s when you knew you were in. Come Hell or High Water. Jordan knew how to get things done by putting the right people in the right place at the right time to make it happen. And it was always accomplished to perfection...

As we look forward, we are in good hands by following his leadership examples and... Jordan is in good stead. Your spirit of free thinking, creativity and Lionism, will live on in all of us.

The Chain of Kindness

BY PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR DIANE FANSLER (E1)

Thanks to the many Wisconsin Lions for the inspirational and heartwarming Acts of Kindness that you and your Clubs are undertaking. For this issue, I have selected seven Acts of Kindness from four of the MD-27 Districts that shared their stories this month.

From B1: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual Bus for Wisconsin Lions to LeaderDogs in Rochester Hills, Michigan, was not available. B1’s IPDG BJ and Lion Victoria Blahnik offered their business van to the MD-27 VDG1s (even though they would not be allowed in the facility). The future DGs were able to learn and be inspired at the LeaderDogs headquarters and were also able to bond with their fellow VDGs en route.

From C2: The Tail Twister of the Whittlesey Lions Club was asked two hours before a Zone Meeting to contribute items for the Meeting Raffle. He rushed off to the local Walmart for five autumn-themed items but forgot his wallet. He started to put the items back when the stranger behind him said “Don’t put them away; I will buy them for you and the Lions.” When the Tail Twister asked for his name to pay him back, the man replied: “Consider it a donation to the Lions for all the good things that you do.” Thanks to that random act of kindness, the Club raised more than $100 for the Administrative Fund from the raffle ticket sales that night.

From D1: Even though the Mazomanie Lions Club’s sewing group was restricted to two women working face-to-face due to COVID-19 precautions, these kind Lions sewed and tied six fleece blankets with cheerful children’s themes to donate to the UW Children’s Hospital in Madison. The Club contributed supplies and the two Lions contributed their time, talent, and work. This Act of Kindness was appreciated by sick children, their families, and hospital medical staff.

From D1: The Potosi Tennyson Lions Club was fundraising by selling brats at the local farmer’s market where they noticed several young girls selling cookies. The girls’ booth had a hand-written sign stating “Cookies for a Cause: raising money for an inclusive park project.” Club members agreed to support the girls with a $100 surprise donation that helped the girls exceed their goal. When the Club President sent a photo to the local newspaper, the newspaper published an article and the photo, thus sharing the Chain of Kindness with the entire community.

From D1: While in Calgary, Canada, at the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum, an Oregon-Brooklyn Lion encountered homeless people along the route between the hotel and the Convention Center. When the temperature dropped on the last day of the Forum, the Lion gave his sweater to a homeless man. The Lion made an immediate, positive, tangible impact and made a difference in the man’s life.

From D1: At a funeral for a Lion, a D1 Lion noticed their Lions Club was listed in the funeral program as paying for the lunch, which is not usually done. The Lions at the luncheon wished to save the family embarrassment, so they told them not to worry about the cost. At the next Club meeting, members collected donations and covered the cost of the lunch.

From E1: An Amery Lion is a friend of the Activities Director of a Lions Club in MD-5M (Minneapolis Area). When the Minnesota Lion shared that their Club was funding a new activity for their Club sending empty Pill Bottles to Africa, the Amery Lion volunteered to assist. She collected pill bottles from several Amery Lions, 2 local Care Centers, an area Bridge Club, and family and personal friends. By including the Amery Lion’s pill bottles, the MD-5M Lions recently shipped 731 pill bottles and is considering to continue this Service Project. This Lions Kindness contributes positively to numerous, diverse individuals and groups. Medical Companies contribute excess current medications and receive tax benefits; Medical students and practitioners in financially-challenged areas of Africa are able to supply needed medications to their patients; and patients have a safe way to transport their medications.

If you wish to submit an Acts of Kindness by a Wisconsin Lion, please email a brief description plus the district and club name of the Act of Kindness to Diane at dianefansler@yahoo.com. Please put “Lions Kindness” in the subject line.

Preparing for the Future

BY WAYNE HEIMAN, PRESIDENT LIONS PRIDE ENDOWMENT FUND

Most of us have ways to prepare for and plan for and protect our future. We have vehicle insurance, home insurance, renter’s insurance, life insurance and retirement accounts. We set money aside through working and contributing to our social security account. We do our best to be prepared for the future, not only to be prepared for the unexpected that may happen, but also to enhance our future lives and future experiences.

The Lions Pride Endowment Fund of Wisconsin is a vehicle to help protect the future of OUR Wisconsin Lions Foundation and its state-wide projects of the Wisconsin Lions Camp, vision-screening, used eyeglass recycling, diabetes awareness and the hearing aid project.

Our mission statement reflects this: “To provide an enduring legacy for the Wisconsin Lions Foundation’s State-Wide projects that help Lions serve their local communities by reaching, touching and improving lives.”

This is both to be prepared for the unexpected- -such as the pandemic, or for increased project costs- -but also to maintain and enhance the experiences of our WLF clients served. Since its inception in 2005-06, many clubs and individuals have helped the LPEF with their donations. The LPEF follows a formula to donate a portion of the earnings to the WLF in order to maintain the principal. This means that the dollars that are donated are a gift that keeps on giving year after year- -leaving a legacy for the future. Please be part of this legacy with your donation to LPEF. Be a part of the Pride family.

Lions’ charities plan for the future. Restoring Hope Transplant House is looking to expand for the future to serve more clients. Lions Clubs International Foundation just finished Campaign 100 to serve even more people in

more ways in the future. The Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin moved into a new building, among other things, to provide enhanced services moving forward. Our Wisconsin Lions Foundation has put together a strategic plan for the future- -to provide continuing, efficient and enhanced services while being viable in the future.

Help the Lions Pride Endowment Fund of Wisconsin protect the future of our Wisconsin Lions Foundation through a donation towards a Ray Hempel Fellowship (noting this on the check memo), through memorials, honorariums or even through estate planning. Richard Cushing encourages us: “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.” Alan Lakein noted “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.”

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons approaching, let us be thankful for what we have and share just a little bit to protect the future of OUR Wisconsin Lions Foundation.

November: A Time to Be Thankful

BY LION LARRY TESTA, PRESIDENT, WISCONSIN LIONS FOUNDATION

November – is the time when most of us look back over the year and think about what we are thankful for.

Deer Hide Collection

The Board of Directors, Staff and all of those we serve are thankful for PDG Bernie & Lion Colene Stuttgen for their hard work and dedication in steering Lions in Wisconsin for over 30 years with the Deer Hide Collection. Our best wishes go out to them as they retire from that role.

We are also thankful to WLF VP Brad Behrens for accepting the job to take over the program.

We collected $87,929 for Camp from the 2021 season. Clubs are encouraged to visit our Website and get involved by setting up collection sites, hanging posters in their communities regarding those sites or just making sure that the WLF Website is up to date

with collection sites by contacting Director Brad and getting him the information.

Lions Camp for Kids Raffle

We are so very thankful for everyone who participated in our 2022 Lions Camp for Kids Raffle. I’m happy to report that we hit a record breaking total of just over $56,000!

Diabetes Awareness Month

November is also Diabetes Awareness Month, with November 14 designated as World Diabetes Day. We are thankful for the donations we receive that enable us to provide resources for clubs to spread the news in their communities with the use of door hangers, water bottle stickers, coffee sleeves, etc.

All the information and materials needed for these events are at your disposal by simply calling the WLF Office at 877-463-6953 or emailing wlf@wlf.info

End-of-Year Giving

If you’re like most people, the end of the year has a tendency to sneak up on you and before you know it, the holiday season is here. What a

great time to help out the causes you believe in and maybe get a tax deduction, as well.

As you know, the cost to Campers to attend your Lions Camp is Zero. A $25 refundable deposit is collected at the time of application, but is returned to the Camper via the Trading Post so they can enjoy some “treats” while they are at Camp or even buy a souvenir. However, the cost to Lions is around $950 per camper to attend a week of Summer Camp. Most of our Campers wouldn’t be able to attend if it weren’t for the generosity of the Lions and Leo Clubs, along with private donations!

If you don’t know what to give a loved one for Christmas, the most recent statistics I found show that 59% of people would rather have a charitable donation made in their honor than receive a gift. Wouldn’t it make everyone involved feel great to know that your gift is the reason a child is able to attend Lions Camp?

In closing, let me thank you for your past help and contribution to our Lions Camp and to the Wisconsin Lions Foundation.

Remember “We Serve” – Mahatma Gandhi said it gracefully: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

LEBW Updates

New Recovery Kits & Corneal Tissue Boxes

On Saturday, October 1, we began using new boxes to transport corneal tissue and recovery kits. For clubs transporting inbound tissue, tissue coming into LEBW, you will now be transporting a blue, corrugated plastic box. The blue boxes will replace the existing brown cardboard boxes.

In addition, these same boxes will also be used when you transport recovery kits out to our Recovery Technicians along your routes. Inside the recovery kit are all the tools our Recovery Technicians need to recover corneal tissue from donors. Once they have recovered the tissue, they place it into a cooler inside the blue box so it can make its journey back to LEBW, where the tissue is evaluated and processed.

For outbound tissue boxes, there are a few minor changes to look for if you are a Transporter who transports tissue to hospitals/ surgical centers. This tissue will still be in a white box, but on top of the box will be a delivery label with the address to where the box needs to go. Below the address are instructions about how to make the delivery once the box has reached its destination. Below that are each route the box will take once it has left LEBW.

We are also very excited to share the latest LEBW Transporter Toolkit with you. The newly updated toolkit contains information about transporting and other pertinent information to help you be a successful LEBW Dispatcher and Transporter. We hope you take the time to review the new Transporter Toolkit - if you have any questions, please contact Adam

Crowson, Community Outreach Coordinator, at 877-233-2354 ext. 212 or acrowson@lebw.org.

Thank you for your continuous support in helping to give the gift of sight!

LEBW’s Cumulative Gift Giving Program

On January 1, 2021, LEBW began its new cumulative gift giving program. From that date forward, donors will be recognized for their cumulative lifetime gifts to LEBW. Gifts from Lions Clubs, private or corporate donors, donations made in memory or honor of an individual(s), contributions designated for a specific fund, and all other avenues of giving are included when establishing a donor(s) cumulative giving level. We hope that providing more recognition and benefits to our donors will highlight the need for more support for essential programs such as charity care, donor family services, donor memorial garden, education and surgical training, and general operations. In addition, the donor(s) name will be prominently displayed at the LEBW office on a new interactive digital donor wall. Completion of the wall is expected by the end of June 2023.

LEVELS NAME

$500 Gift of Sight

$1,000 Knight of Sight

$2,500 Founder of Sight

$5,000 Hope of Sight

$10,000 Angel of Sight

$25,000 Advocate of Sight

$50,000 Ambassador of Sight

$100,000 Innovator of Sight

$250,000 Visionary of Sight

$500,000 Helen Keller’s Inspiration of Sight

Your donation supports the following areas:

CHARITY CARE: Provides the gift of sight to individuals who do not have the means to afford their cornea transplant or aftercare.

DONOR FAMILY SERVICES: This fund helps to defray the cost of providing grief support, materials, and programs for our donor families as they recover from their loss.

DONOR MEMORIAL GARDEN: LEBW is raising funds to build a special garden to honor and remember individuals who helped change and enhance the lives of others through their gift of sight donation. The garden will be a lasting, living tribute to those who gave the gift of sight.

EDUCATION AND SURGICAL TRAINING FUND: This fund helps defray the cost of providing education to the public, healthcare professionals, medical examiner offices, surgeons, residents and LEBW staff.

GENERAL OPERATING FUND: This fund helps LEBW defray the rising costs of operating the eye bank, helps us purchase necessary medical supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff to replace outdated and obsolete eye banking equipment and other necessary supplies.

, Wisconsin Lions Foundation

WI

This institute will prepare Lions for leadership positions at all levels. It is open to Lions members ready to pursue leadership roles within their Lions communities. Club leaders would also benefit from attending and familiarizing themselves with leadership skills and a deeper understanding of how to better serve clubs and their communities.

$18-$20

ehartvig@wlf.info

WHEN: January 13, 14, & 15, 2023

WHERE: Wisconsin Lions Camp COST: Free to all registered attendees

REGISTER: Email your name & club, to PCC Geri Schlender at gss@frontiernet.net

DEADLINE: January 2, 2023

THE CAMBRIDGE AREA LIONS CLUB –

District Governor David Stedman presided over the induction ceremony of the 2022 officers: President, Michelle Krueger;

1st Vice President, Darin Zimmerman;

2nd Vice President, Lea Ann Mueller;

3rd Vice President, Marla Burton; Treasurer, John Sherman; Secretary, Amy Pidsosny;

Immediate Past President & Membership

Chairperson, John Sherman; Lions Club

International Fund Coordinator, Gary Posorske; Marketing & Communications, Carol Sapienza; Service Chair Jesse Pidsosny; Tail Twister Kris Runge; Sunshine Club, Dixie Kasmar.

Youth Exchange Student Thanks Lions for the Trip of a Lifetime

BY DELANEY ADKINS, YOUTH EXCHANGE STUDENT FROM WEST ALLIS. SPONSOR: WEST ALLIS LIONS CLUB)

From the moment I got off the plane in Poland in July 2022, I was met by warm hospitality that made me feel so welcomed. I knew this was going to be a great experience, but it exceeded any expectations. My host family was so generous-always making sure I was comfortable-and they really were excited to showcase their country. They were also hosting another girl from France, so not only was I able to learn about Poland’s culture, I was also able to learn a lot about France. My host family really wanted us to experience Poland and show us around. Immediately after we met, we went to Książ Castle. I was able to experience architecture that the U.S. doesn’t have anywhere. Along with its castle, came its history, including the rulers that had once lived extravagant lives there. From there, we dove into the cuisine by eating the most Polish food I could think of: Pierogies! Instead of just trying one pierogi, my host mom, Karolina, ordered us four different kinds so we could really experience it all. While in Poland, I was able to better understand the culture. Staying with a host family has helped me to better understand what life is like in Poland – What they do for fun, what they eat, how they travel, etc. Living with people from the country really immerses you in a way regular traveling might not. The whole host family stay is a memory I will never forget.

After one week with my amazing host family, it was time to go to camp. Right off the bat, everyone was so very friendly. I met people from all over the globe and learned everything there was to learn about their countries. It was tons of fun comparing and contrasting our countries! The Poland camp was a sailing camp. And while I don’t know the first thing about sailing, I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone. When I got there, I found out no one really knew how to sail and I still think that is one of the first bonding experiences we all shared. Sailing really is a team effort so within the first day, we all became comfortable with each other. There was even one day when we went tent camping! It was tons of fun! We put together our tents, ate dinner that was cooked over the fire, and sang. In the short week we had together, we all became really close, which is why the last few days were so hard. On Friday, we took a five-hour bus ride to Krakow where we would stay at a hotel and where people would depart. On Saturday, people started to leave and it was one big cryfest. From this experience, I think we were all able to learn a lot about each other and form lifelong friendships.

Traveling changes your perspective of the world and brings us all a little closer in this big world. I cannot thank the Lions Club enough for helping me go on the trip of a lifetime.

Candidates Wanted!

District Bowling

Nov 5, 6 and 12, Root River Center, Franklin

Franklin Lioness Lions Cousin’s Donation Night

Nov 13, Franklin

Portion of funds from 4-7pm benefit Franklin Lioness Lions Zone 2.2 Meeting Nov 14 Zone 1.2 Meeting

MUSKEGO LIONS CLUB – The Lions have been an important part of National Night Out (NNO), keeping Muskego kids safe! Veteran’s Memorial Park in Muskego was the place to be on August 3. Muskego Lions distributed 200 bike helmets, 200 safety vests, and 200 safety lights to children at the event.

Nov 17, South Milwaukee Zone 1.1 Meeting Nov 28

Franklin Lioness Lions Culver’s Fundraiser Night

Dec 15, Culvers, 4220 W Oakwood Park Ct, Franklin

Portion of funds from 4-9pm benefit Franklin Lioness Lions District Convention Friday, January 6, Ingelside Hotel, Pewaukee

1st Vice District

2nd Vice

District

District

Please submit your paperwork by November 15th to Lion Cindy Lotzer at cindy.lotzer@yahoo.com. Remember to include the meeting minutes stating that your club is supporting you.

FORT ATKINSON LIONS CLUB – Members came out in full force for the Brat and Curd Fry community event. Grilling, serving customers, selling raffle basket tickets and more. Together, they had a successful event that not only served as a fundraiser, but brought members together to socialize and be reminded about the community of the “We Serve” Lions. It was the first time the club participated in the city-wide Rhythm-Remix event and had a great turnout of Lions Club members, district Lions officers, and the community. Thanks to Lion Michelle Ebbert for heading up the fry portion and Lion Nancy Onufer who handled the raffle.

FROM THE 27-A1 DISTRICT GOVERNOR DAVID STEDMAN tubabuzz@charter.net 920-650-2113

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

“Membership is Everyone’s Responsibility”

Membership is one of those topics you can spend a lot of time discussing how to improve our clubs, but the truth is the solutions are quite simple. We all have a responsibility when it comes to our club’s success when it comes to membership growth. It’s not solely the responsibility of the membership chair or the president to attract new people to our clubs; it takes the whole team effort by all the members to make those non-Lions join us in our efforts to serve our communities.

TEAMWORK MAKES LION WORK!

Each Lion has the ability to impact the lives of 70 people annually, so the more we invite the more we can serve. Imagine if every Lion asked just one person to join their club – think how many people we could serve. All it takes is asking one family member, friend, or neighbor. You might be surprised to find that many individuals would join our organization, but have never been asked directly to become a member. JUST ASK!

When non-Lions see us performing our service in the community, do we stop to think about how our actions may influence others? Better yet, how much visibility do our clubs have in the community, letting them see what we are all about? What we do, and how we present ourselves has a major impact on our future growth. How many times have you heard that Lions are the best kept secret? You might be surprised at how many individuals have heard about us, but have never been given the meat and potatoes about our organization – what we do not only for our communities, but for the whole world. So, when the opportunity presents itself, have your elevator speech ready to go! Share your passion with others as to the reason you are a Lion. TELL YOUR STORY!

Not only is it important to attract new members, but it is also important to be retaining our current members and making sure they are valued, respected, needed, and above all enjoy being a Lion. Everyone has a different reason for joining a Lions club. Be sure you are nurturing each other with an element of fun and excitement when at meetings or performing service activities. Our International President Lion Brian Sheehan emphasizes the importance of having fun while serving and that is such an important part of lionism. KEEP MEMBERS HAPPY!

It’s also a great idea to go beyond your own club and experience the whole world of Lions. Attend another club’s festival or event. Think about going to a district, state, or international convention, even if you have never gone or haven’t attended in a while. You’ll be amazed at what you will learn about what other clubs are doing and how their club functions. You will make FRIENDSHIPS THAT LAST A LIFETIME!

The Fort Atkinson Lion was our best promotion, waving to city travelers and encouraging them to head to the food stand.

There were over a dozen baskets with a variety of prizes from resort stays, wine collections, and family fun packages.

The cheese curds were a popular item. Lion Jim Glynn scoops the curds from the fryer for hungry customers.

Hopefully, you can look at yourself and your club and say everything is going great, but if you are not quite so sure, maybe it’s time to evaluate where things are and what can be done to improve things for the future. Encourage new ideas from the newer members and embrace diversity. Our clubs are not the same as they were decades ago. Change is never easy, but if our clubs are going to grow in membership, we have to work through changes and accept the fact that some change is actually alright. All of us should have the same goals as Lions which is to give back to communities by serving in the best way we can. By doing so and showing others what a great organization we are a part of, it will help us to grow our membership and clubs to be strong pillars in our communities and live up to the true meaning of our motto, WE SERVE!

Lions Jim Schafer, Pete McMillen, and Don Gross sold beverages and snacks.

The second shift of Fort Atkinson Lions Club.

Fort Atkinson Lion Glen Schafer welcomed District Governor Dave Stedman and partner in service Lynn Klug.

A handful of Lions: 2VDG Ray Jones, Sue Jones, 1VDG Tal Janowitz, Darlene Janowitz, and organizer Michelle Ebbert.

Lions Jeff Woods and Kevin Becker cook the brats.

CLYMAN LIONS CLUB – The Annual Pork Chop fund raiser.

JUNEAU LIONS CLUB – The Flyin Pancake Breakfast.

THERESA LIONS CLUB – Tractor pull with Past Club President Rob Bowe and 2VDG Deb Freeman

THIENSVILLE-MEQUON LIONS

Raising funds at the Taste of Mequon event.

GRAFTON LIONS CLUB – The Annual Golf Ball Drop awards funds to the Grafton Fire Association and the lucky winner whose golf ball is dropped closest to the cup from atop a ladder truck. Lion Dave Antoine and Grafton Lions President Rose Sauers present a check for $206 to Firefighter Luke Van Natta, who climbed the ladder and dropped the balls. It is a fun event and a great community builder.

BEAVER DAM LIONS CLUB –

Members Dr. Alan Earhardt, Desi Jimenez, Robert Wyman, Mike Baxter, and Mary Nummerdor classifying prescriptions on donated glasses.

FROM THE 27-A2 DISTRICT GOVERNOR BERT FREEMAN lionsubway206@gmail.com 608-733-1801

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

A couple of items of interest as I begin my 4th month as 27-A2 District Governor

Lions Supporting Lions

In the past 2 years as the Vice Governor visiting clubs, it became increasingly clear to me that some clubs are not willing to take on service projects or a fundraising event because of the lack of members to help, be it advancing age or dwindling membership. At the District Zone Chair meeting held in August, I announced a plan to have those clubs that need help and could use some assistance, contact their zone chair. Describe the event, times needed, mention how many Lions they need, and the zone chair will assist in contacting the clubs in their zone for help. If need be, that same zone chair will seek region or district support for additional help, if the support numbers are not met. We need visibility to grow our membership. It all comes down to, CLUBS SUPPORTING CLUBS. This is nothing new to those who perform vision-screening in our district. It is not uncommon to have 3 or 4 clubs combine efforts to support a vision-screening service project in a district schools. Let’s use this as a role model to support each other.

Zone Chair Meetings

5 Gun Raffle and Meat Raffle November 13, 12-3pm Iron Ridge Inn Restaurant Hartford Lions Club Pancake/ French Toast Breakfast Nov 12th, 7:30am-1:30pm Hartford Union School

In the past, officers of the respective clubs attended the zone chair meetings and starting immediately, any member of a club in that zone will be able to attend and participate in that zone meeting and share their thoughts and offer suggestions.

Lions have one of most recognizable brand/logo in the world. I cringe when I hear “Lions are the best kept secret”. WE ARE NOT, and I shake my head when I hear that comment, because it is not true. We as Lions need to talk to our neighbors, family, friends, and share exactly who and what Lions are all about and the awesome services we provide to those in need. It may take more than one discussion with that potential member to garner interest. It is called the “5 touch rule”.

“I said what I meant, I meant what I said”

BEAVER DAM LIONS CLUB

In preparation for new and improved playground equipment, Club members tore down the obsolete equipment.

HUSTISFORD LIONS CLUB

Lions Jerry Jahns, DG Bert Freeman, Beth Lueder, and Michele Jahns at the Venetian Night Fundraiser with youth volunteers.

BEAVER DAM LIONS CLUB –$7,000 was raised at the Annual Emily C. Lyons Memorial Golf Outing at Old Hickory Golf Club in Beaver Dam. We are so grateful to the Lyons-Wood families for their continued support and generosity. #EMSTRONG Pictured are: Dawn LyonsWood; LEBW Board Treasurer, Ron Blawusch; Elle Callies; LEBW Community Outreach Coordinator, Adam Crowson; & LEBW Past Board Chair, Rick Daluge. Save the date for 2023July 8th at Old Hickory Golf Club.

“The more I help others to succeed, the more I succeed.” Ray Kroc

COLOMA LIONS CLUB – The Club celebrated their 50th anniversary at their annual Community Appreciation Picnic held at the Coloma Community Park on August 15th. There were over 100 fellow Lions and members of the community that joined in the celebration, including District Governor Dave Brinkman, Zone Chairperson David Przekurat from the Wild Rose Lions Club, Max Harrington from the Plainfield Lions and other Lion members from Plainfield and Hancock. The celebration couldn’t have happened without the help of members and their families. Community businesses made donations to make the anniversary a success.

The Coloma Lions Club was chartered May 30, 1972 and the rest is history. Charter member Arden Bandt spoke about the history of the club. District Governor Dave Brinkman congratulated the Club on their success and recognized the history of the Club. Max Harrington of the Plainfield Lions Club talked about his role in sponsoring the Coloma Lions Club fifty years ago. He and Jim Wenzel met with community members of Coloma to talk about the benefits of having a Lions Club. When there is a need by a group or someone in the community, the Coloma Lions Club is ready to step up.

DISTRICT 27-B1 VISIONSCREENING PROGRAM – The school vision-screening program was started in 2014 by the Appleton Noon Lions after purchasing their first screening device in the fall of 2013. It was made by PediaVision and called the SPOT vision-screening camera.

Lions clubs throughout the United States have acquired the SPOT screener for use in vision-screenings. In 2015, the Wisconsin Lions Foundation received a $100,000 LCIF Grant where each district could acquire three screening devices of their choice. B1 District chose the SPOT screener and currently has 134 trained screeners with six certified trainers. At present, B1 District has eleven SPOT vision-screening devices of which seven are district owned and four are club owned.

The screenings not only include schools but also community functions, daycares, and county fairs. In 2019 we eclipsed the 100,000 mark at 106,521 students screened with 11,584 referrals. PID Doctor Ed Cordes challenged the nations Lions to screen one million students between August 15, 2021, and December 31, 2021, in response to the Covid-19 school closings. District B1 came in second in the nation with 21,504 screenings and 2,709 referred. The bottom line to all these numbers are the thousands of lives we have impacted by improving the quality of vision.

MARKESAN LIONS CLUB – On Labor Day, the Club held their annual chicken BBQ. They served 400 meals and sold out in about an hour and a half. It was a great day for a barbecue.

27-B1 District Convention November 11-12, 2022

Radisson Hotel and Conference Center 625 W. Rolling Meadows Dr., Fond du Lac

• Visit wilionsb1.org for more information

Send your District Calendar additions to lionsof27b1@gmail.com

HEART OF THE VALLEY LIONS CLUB – On July 30, the Club held a Stuff the Bus event at Walmart on Calumet St. in Appleton. It was made possible by a number of generous supporters, including Kobussen Bus Inc. in Kaukauna and Dixon Ticonderoga in Appleton. The club worked with the schools to identify a list of the most needed supplies. They received an overwhelming response from the community. In addition to supply donations, they received over $2,000 in monetary donations; these monies were used to purchase gift cards for gym shoes.

Winnebago East Shore, St. Peter and Van Dyne Lions Clubs combined efforts and set up a Lions booth in the Expo Center at the Fond du Lac County Fair. They provided vision-screening to any child accompanied by an adult.

St. Peter and Winnebago East Shore Lions Clubs set up a visionscreening training and refresher class for the upcoming school year. The training and certification were conducted by PDG Fred Gebhart in which seven Lions were certified and six Lions renewed.

The Cleveland Lions Club held a vision training class in which 11 members attended and were certified. The class was conducted by certified instructor PDG Fred Gebhart. They were trained on the WelchAllyn SPOT device under the district vision-screening program.

Since beginning a Spot visionscreening program in 2014, the Appleton Noon Lions Club has vision screened more than 73,000 young people. The club has referred more than 7,000 students for professional follow up eye exams as a result of the Spot vision-screening.

Montello Lions Club held a visionscreening at Montello City Park on the first weekend of May. They screened 29 kids.

WILD ROSE LIONS CLUB – The Club celelebrated their 70th Anniversary. Past presidents

Jim Erdman, Dave Przekurat, Patricia Karasek, Joe Turcotte and Jack Dickson spoke of the highlights of their prospective years. The 70th Anniversary logo was used throughout the celebration.

WILD ROSE LIONS CLUB – The theme for this year’s parade for Party on the Pond was Hometown Heroes. The Club chose to honor their senior members by having them ride on their float. The combined years of service is 187 years! Pictured is Jim Morgenroth, Jack Dickson, Dave Przekurat, Jim Erdman, not pictured is Sandy Dickson

WILD ROSE LIONS CLUB – The Club hosted the 27-B1 Zone Meeting on Monday, September 6th. The tri-yearly Zone Meetings are intended to help the various Waushara County clubs connect and share ideas and successes, while enjoying a meal and social hour. The guest speaker was DG Dave Brinkman. The focus of the evening was “Being of Service”. He challenged the clubs to go into their communities and seek out the needs and then come up with plans to meet those needs to the best of their abilities. Mr. Brinkman also encouraged the clubs to “Tell Their Story,” often the community is unaware that they have a local Lions Club but they don’t understand the reach and scope of the Lions Club International. There are five types of service excellence events that all clubs host yearly; Hunger, Vision, Diabetes Awareness, Environment, and Childhood Cancer. The clubs 27-B1 clubs excel in this commitment.

FROM THE 27-B1 DISTRICT GOVERNOR DAVE BRINKMAN brinkdav@yahoo.com 920-344-2585

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

?? Hello Lions and Leos of 27 B1, We are in the final days leading up to the District Convention, which is November 11-12. If you haven’t registered yet, don’t fret, you can register at the convention which is being held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Fond du Lac. More information can be found on the District 27-B1 website, wilionsb1.org. The schedule is full with 3 seminars; the first on Old Glory Honor Flights, followed by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department brief on Internet Scams and Fraud and finishing it off is International Director Dianne Pitts’ discussion on Lions Club International Foundation. Come join us for some good old-fashioned Lions fellowship and a chance to win some raffle prizes to boot.

As the District progresses through the year, we are moving closer to achieving the goals the District has established. The question I would like to ask, has your club established goals? Something that your club would like to accomplish during the year? How about individual goals? Maybe there is something you would like to accomplish as Club President or Club Service Chair? SMART is the acronym for characteristics of goals:

S – Specific - clear and describes what will be accomplished

M – Measurable - so you can measure progress

A – Actionable - having control over accomplishing the goal

R – Realistic - challenging and not something that is impossible

T - Time-bound - have a target end date to keep process focused Clubs and individuals who set goals that are SMART have a higher chance of achieving greater success. A quick example: I would like to add 38 new members to my club by the end of the year. Not realistic is it? How about, I would like to add three new members to my club by the end of the year. More like it. At your next club meeting take a couple of minutes and think about some SMART goals you think you or your club can establish before years end. If you get stuck, let me know if I can help. My contact information is on the page.

MISHICOT LIONS CLUB –

Thanks goes out to Kambrya who repainted all of the Mishicot Little Libraries. She did a fantastic job!

WAYSIDE MORRISON LIONS CLUB – The last Music in the Park was hosted for the season. Bent Grass Band from Green Bay performed for a crowd of over 600 people. Because of the outstanding community support throughout the year, the club was able to give back to five different organizations; WI Lions Camp, Leader Dog, Syboll Hopp School in DePere, ASPIRIO, and the Brown County K9 Unit.

VAN DYNE LIONS CLUB – A $1000 check was presented to the DAV and a $1000 check to the Am Vets. The funds were raised at their annual Smalltown Days and car show on August 20th. The theme of this year’s event was “Smalltown Salutes Veterans”. Members of both the DAV and Am Vets held a flag raising ceremony at the event, marched in the parade and helped with the car show. Pictured are (l to r): Lion Brian Seffern, Jeff Bedward, Steve Chestna, Lion President Scott Scovronski

SISTER BAY LIONS CLUB – The Annual Labor Day weekend Sister Bay Marina Fest was started by Lion Bill Steger who was with the US Navy at the Sturgeon Bay Shipyards decided he wanted to do something for kids. Children and parents rig sailboats or powerboats inside an event tent using scrap lumber cut into various sizes. Tables were equipped with hammers and nails, string, colored markers and flags. Lions staff a table with glue guns and help supervise the working tables. The kids assemble their boats with the scraps to rig the boat as they choose. The Lions have continued the event every year since Bill’s passing in 2005. His wife Judy continues to assemble the sails every year, over 170 this year! The Club makes an annual donation of $750 to the Leader Dog Program in Lion Bill Steger’s name.

HOWARD-SUAMICO CLUB – The Club is seeing an increase in requests for accessibility ramps for persons with various physical challenges and is attempting to fulfill this need by designing, building and installing the ramps at the residences of qualifying individuals. Labor is provided by Lions Club members, and materials are obtained through community donations, Club funds and the qualifying individual’s contributions. A recently completed ramp project provided Kegen with easy access to his home. This likely would not have been possible if not for the generous funding from two organizations called Options for Independent Living (OIL) and DIY Home Center. Looking to the future, the Club would like to continue to build and assemble accessibility ramps to fill a need in the local community. In order to continue with these important projects, they are looking for donations from private parties or local businesses to help defray the ramp material costs. If you are in need of this type of service, or can help in any way with funding, feel free to contact Lion Art Becker at akbec@sbcglobal.net or Lion John Myers at johnmyers3206@yahoo.com.

PESHTIGO LIONS CLUB – Members participated in their third and final Adopt-aHighway Project for 2022. The Peshtigo Lions pick up trash along two miles of County B, one mile of County BB, and Schacht Road from the city limits to Old Peshtigo Road. They also picked up trash from the on and off ramps north of Peshtigo. Pictured are Lions Paul McClain, Tom Gryzwa, Jim Tress, Steve Peterich, Dan Peterson, & Terry Gardon. Participating but not pictured were Lions Mark Neumann & Rhonda McClain.

OCONTO LIONS CLUB – The Club delivered glasses, used toner cartridges, and clear medicine bottles to the Lions Camp on August 27th. Although no rain was forecasted the pic says it all. Pictured: Adam Orth, Sherri Orth, Chris Schwartz, Bob Schwartz.

MARINETTE LIONS CLUB –

Members Wally Hitt, Dave Evancheck, John Foster and Mike Martin sorted thousands of donated, used eyeglasses for the Lions Recycle for Sight Program.

GRAND CHUTE LIONS CLUB – The Club has been constructing wheelchair ramps for people in the Fox Valley area around Appleton since 1993.

The manager of the project meets with the homeowner and designs a ramp that will meet their needs and also be ADA compliant. Owners pay for the ramp materials and the Lions provide the labor. All ramps are constructed using screws to allow for adjustments and ease of disassembly. When the ramp is no longer needed, the owner calls the Lions and they remove it from the property. Portions of old ramps are reused in order to save the next owner from buying all new materials. As of August 1, the Grand Chute Lions have constructed a total of 483 wheelchair ramps.

BONDUEL LIONS CLUB – The 64th Annual Corn Roast was held on August 5th. The club roasted and served over 500 dozen ears of corn. There were ball games to watch, a corn hole tournament, food, drinks and music by the New Generation band. Attendees were greeted by our own Bonduel Lion and Corny.

IOLA LEOS CLUB – The Club raised $335 in a 9-Pin-Bowling Fundraiser on May 20 at Silver Lake Lanes. 23 students in 7th through 12th grades took part in the event. The money will be used to support the 2023 Kids Easter Party. Awards were presented to the top eight bowlers, with the top participant earning $75 in gift cards, and the eighth-place finisher receiving $15 in gift cards. Henry Vater took first place (pictured), Parker Prahl garnered second, and Charlie Vater came in third.

FROM THE 27-B2 DISTRICT GOVERNOR JOHN REIL lionjohnr27b2@gmail.com 920-759-1388

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

To the “AMAZING” Lions Club Members of District B2. I truly am proud to be your Governor and want nothing more than to help make you proud to be a Lion. All that we have going for us in this extremely gifted group of Lion Leaders and Lion Members makes us Kings of Service. Service is what we do, and service is what we are great at doing. With colder weather and Winter fast approaching, it may make it harder for some of us to do service, so our service projects may slow down. This is where we must “think outside the box” as International President Brian Sheehan has asked us to do. Don’t let these next few months slow us down or prevent us from doing what we know how to do better than any other organization or service group out there. Take advantage of the situation at hand and lend a hand to someone that needs your help. Help a neighbor shovel snow, take them to the store or go to the store for them, just stop in and say “Hello” or to see how they are doing or if they need anything, give them a little bit of your time over coffee/tea or a game. The holidays are almost here so deliver holiday meals to the elderly or to those families that could use a little help. These are trying times for everyone with gas and food prices escalating. So, with all of this said, please remember to Serve by Example, Serve with Strength, Serve with Integrity and most of all, Serve with Compassion.

Membership is growing, we have 9 new members in our District so far and I have several new member inductions scheduled soon. I applaud you for the recruiting efforts your clubs are doing, and I have no doubt that we will reach or even surpass our goal for new members. I have lots of new member kits so my challenge to all of you is to help me use them up.

Club visits have been going very well and it is one of my favorite parts of being the District Governor. I truly enjoy visiting your clubs and meeting your members so please invite me to your club, I want to meet all of you.

There is a new section in the Wisconsin Lion called “Random Acts of Kindness” and it can be found on the back of the page. If you or anyone you know has a random act of kindness and would like to share it, write it up and email it to me. You never know, it could end up in the next edition of the Wisconsin Lion.

NIAGARA LIONS CLUB – The “Stuff the Bus” event was recently held for school supplies. They also accepted cash donations and increased those donations with a $1,000 check to the Niagara School District. Pictured are (l to r): Niagara School teachers Amanda Perry-Dollar, Kerrie Steinbrecher, Annie Santori, and Sherri Champagne and Lions Terry Youren and Dan Decker.

Please remember to register for our District Conference on November 4th & 5th at the Tundra Lodge in Green Bay. It’s a family event so bring your kids and/or grandkids. We have activities planned for them and they will get free waterpark passes for a fun filled afternoon. You must provide an adult chaperone for your children. A free pizza lunch will also be provided for all the kids and chaperones. I have emailed the necessary registration forms to all Club Presidents and Secretaries, if you still need one, email me and I will send you a copy. Lion Tammy Welles (district27b2news@gmail.com) will be sending out an email blast with more information about the Conference, so be on the lookout for it. If you have an activity coming up and you want to share it with other Clubs, send it to Lion Tammy at the before mentioned email address and she can blast it out for you. There’s Power in Our Service

WISCONSIN RAPIDS LIONESS & LIONS CLUBS – The Clubs presented a check to Chris Hamm, President – HHAUSA, Inc. of $500 to support a veteran for an Honor Flight chapter in Wisconsin. HHAUSA also dedicates the first 22% of their funds to combat PTSD by providing outdoor experiences to a new life and healing through archery and the outdoors to those who serve as Veterans, Active-Duty Service Members, First Responders, and Law Enforcement Officers. We are proud to support this mission to heal!

WISCONSIN RAPIDS LIONESS & LIONS CLUBS – The 22nd Golf Outing was on Sunday, September 4th. Lioness/Lions sponsored Hole 11 and held a raffle on that hole of an USA wooden flag and wind chimes. Rubber duck game with seven iron to see who could hit the farthest duck in foursome received an extra ticket for raffle.  All golfers had fun hitting the rubber duckies. Proceeds will go to Leader Dog. Perfect Weather!

EASTON WHITE CREEK LIONS CLUB – This is Kandis and her Leader Dog, Tim-Tam. Kandis and Tim are being trained in the Michigan center for Leader Dog. Kandis and Tim will return to their Adams County home on September 24th. Kandis is thankful for all the Lions and has chosen to join Easton White Creek along with her husband.

ROCHE A CRI LIONS CLUB – Kalven, Bonny, Mary and Jim in pictures. Kandis and husband Rick are members as of August meeting.

MARSHFIELD LIONS CLUB – The club cooked and served brats at Simplicity Credit Union on August 16th.

Lions Dennis Suckow and Dave Riesling.

Lions Sue Cherney, Nicole Hovendick, Bruce Lautenschlager and Lily Michalski

Lions Steve McCabe, Ken Zittleman and Dennis Suckow

MARSHFIELD LIONS CLUB – The club served food at their booth at the Central Wisconsin State Fair.

IPDG Linda Carter Received the Knight of Sight Award. Pictured are: PDG Mike Carter, IPDG Linda Carter, DG Phil Hollis.

THE NEKOOSA LIONS CLUB – The Club celebrated spouses' night with the awarding of three Melvin Jones Fellowship awards to Gary King, Jason Dhein and Terry Whitmore. They also dedicated a bench purchased in memory of the five Past District Governors from the Nekoosa Lions Club: PDG Lion Tom McLean, PDG Lion Herb Carlson, PDG Lion Marveen Carlson, PDG Lion Norm Pearson and PDG Lion Leanne Pearson

We Serve 2022 Convention: One For The Memory Books

As we bid farewell to 27-C1 District Convention 2022, the memories will be cherished by all that were there. Friday night’s auction was one for the books, as BJ Blahnik from B2 took over the auction for awhile. This was quite the feat as he is legally blind. Throughout the weekend between the auction, the raffle baskets, and the raffle of the homemade furniture made by the students of our very own Lion from the Bevent Lions, we made over $4,000 for the Lions Camp. Saturday brought nominations, seminars, awards, and a lot of hanging out with friends new and old. Our seminars included Lion Andrea Yenter, Director of the Wisconsin Lions Camp. As always, she really wowed the crowd with her passion for her job, the kids and the Camp.

The Eye Bank seminar did not disappoint, with their detailed presentation about what goes on in the Eye Bank. Our Past International Director, Mark Lyon and his wife, Lion Lyn Lyon were spectacular guests all weekend. They really mingled with the Lions, and Mark Lyon had an awesome message about seeing the invisible members of your club, and those in the community. Our keynote speaker had a lot to say on diversity.

The end of the evening brought the results of the nominations. Congratulations to Rita Mueller who will be WLF Director, Lion Sue Habrat, who will be the newest Lions Eye Bank Director, Lion Sherri Ross who is 2nd Vice Governor-Elect, 2nd Vice District Jamie Wilde, now 1st Vice District Governor-Elect, and 1st Vice District Governor, Patty Hollis, now District Governor-Elect.

This convention might be in the memory books, but there is always next year’s convention. It will be at the Weston Lanes on October 27-28, 2023. We will see you there.

FROM THE 27-C1 DISTRICT GOVERNOR PHILLIP HOLLIS lionphilhollis@gmail.com 715-460-4831

DISTRICT

GOVERNOR

As the holiday season comes upon us, we should stop a minute and count our blessings. With each fundraiser and service project we do, we are helping people, not just in our own communities, but all over the world. We come together to serve each other, to help each other.

As the year goes on, I have attended fundraisers, service projects, and club meetings. At each event, I am touched and proud to be a Lion as I see all the people you serve. At our convention this year, I got to meet a lot of Lions, I otherwise would not have. Everyone I met was so excited to be there. To learn what other Lions were doing in their communities. They were meeting old friends while making new ones. As I looked around, I could not help remembering why I became a Lion.

I want to challenge everyone this holiday season, to remember why you became a Lion. As your family comes together, talk with them about what you do as a Lion. Let them in on the secret we all know. That service from the heart is something that makes you feel proud and accomplished. That feeling when you are done with a service project and know that the people who benefit from it are so thankful. Or when your club writes a check for the many programs, we as Lions support.

You are all a blessing to your Lions Club and community. Every accomplishment you and your club achieve should be celebrated. So please, celebrate this holiday season. Reenergize yourself and remember that you are important in every way to the Lions!

As we go through the next few months, I want to visit each of your clubs. I want to hear your ideas, your thoughts, and your feelings on how to make Lionism work for you. Please schedule a date for me to visit your club at the above contact information.

Wisconsin Lions Foundation, Inc. and Deer Hides for WI Lions Camp are ramping up for our annual deer hide collection, which last year brought over $80,000 in funds for our program! To make this even more fun, we’re excited to share that our deer hide buyer has given us gloves to sell in our trading post. These are high-quality work gloves in a variety of sizes - some made with the deer hides our buyer got from us. Profits from the sales go directly to Camp - it’s another way to support this great fundraiser. Go to our camp website (wisconsinlionscamp.com) and click on Trading Post. The gloves are located in the accessories menu. Happy shopping!

PLOVER-WHITING

LIONS CLUB – Pictured (l to r) serving a back to school dinner: Lion Andrea Thorstad, Lion Marlene Raykowski, Lion Georgia Lutz and Lion Judy Lutz

MERCER LIONS CLUB – The 8th Annual Joe Manzanares Fundraiser Golf Scramble was held on Friday, August 12th at Tahoe Lynx Golf Course in Mercer with 18 teams vying for honors. The 18-hole tourney was the idea of Cory Pedri, a grandson of Manzanares. A delicious buffet was served by the Lions with Louise Minisan chairing the kitchen crew. The tournament chairmen were Lions President, Mike Burgess and Lion Amy Burgess.The event raised just under $5000 and the money all goes back to the Mercer community in Senior scholarships, Mercer Food Pantry, Toys for All, Mercer Ambulance and Rescue, Mercer Fire Department, Flowers for Veterans, and much more. Pictured are (l to r): Stephanie Manzanares, Heather Sbraggia, Hailey Konoske, Alexis Swanson, and Joyce Manzanares, the widow of the tournament’s namesake, Joe Manzanares Sr.

North Lakeland 8th grade students and their parents are being presented a check from Lions Club President Wendi Neupert and Lions District 27-C2 Governor Bob Bertch.

BOULDER JUNCTION & MANITOWISH WATERS LIONS CLUBS – The clubs held their 22nd Annual Golf Tournament at the Trout Lake Golf Club on Thursday, August 25. Each club brought in a share of the proceeds. The Boulder Junction Lions Club chose to give their $2075 in proceeds to the Boulder Junction Community Playground Project and the Manitowish Waters Lions Club chose to give their $5250 in proceeds to Camp Jorn YMCA Child Care.

MERCER LIONS CLUB – The Mercer Lions Club held their annual awards banquet on September 8th. President Mike Burgess thanked the members for their many volunteer hours and dedication to the club’s projects during the last year. He then presented length of service awards to Glenn Doxsee for 20 years and Bill Gust for 45 years. President Burgess then presented the Knight of Sight award to Louise Minisan. The Knight of Sight Fellowship is the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin’s highest form of recognition presented to an individual  or organization that exemplifies their mission of giving the gift of sight. President Burgess also surprised Lion Amy Burgess with the Lion of the Year for “Outstanding Service and Devotion as a Chairperson for Multiple Events Showing True Lionism”.

WINCHESTER LIONS CLUB –Sandy Bruhn, Winchester Lions treasurer, presents Issac Cowart, Director of Operations at WinMan Trails, with a $400 donation. WinMan Trails is a non-profit trail system spanning 1,300 acres of private and public land. Their mission is to inspire adventure and strengthen community by sharing an exceptional outdoor trail-related experience.

BOULDER JUNCTION LIONS CLUB – The Club presented $500 to the North Lakeland School 8th grade class. The students and their parents were the servers for the Boulder Junction Lions Club Colorama Dinner in Nash Hall at Camp Manito-wish YMCA on September 17th. In addition to this donation, the 8th grade students also earned $841 in tip money from the guests who enjoyed their service. The funds that the class receives helps pay for their class trip next spring.

Pictured are (l to r): 27-C2 District Governor Bob Bertch, Treasurer and Community Playground Committee member Laura Bertch, Community Playground Committee member Dennis Duke, Lion and Golf Tournament CoChair Tom Finta and Lion Kathy Finta.

North Lakeland School Superintendent, Brent Jelinski, receiving the donation from Boulder Junction Lions Club Treasurer, Laura Bertch.

Pictured are (l to r): Lion Jerry Yencich; Lion Doug Ziese; Lion Paul Culler, Lion Mike McKeon, Camp Jorn YMCA Executive Director Dennis Lipp, Lion Phil St Clair, Lion John Hilbert, and Lion Chuck Rayala.

Below: Lion Louise Minisan and President Mike Burgess

Above: Lion Amy Burgess and President Mike Burgess

THREE LAKES LIONS CLUB

A special event celebrated 70 years of service on September 12th. The club board of directors thanked special guest speaker, Immediate Past District Governor B.J. Blahnik and presented him with an $800 donation for Leader Dogs for the Blind. Pictured are: Collette Sorgel, Tammy Anderson, Dave Hintz, Don Meeder, B.J. Blahnik, President Keven DeHaan, Larry Roth, LCIF Representative Hollie Larken, Ryan Miller and Ron Friedle.

FROM THE 27-C2 DISTRICT GOVERNOR BOB BERTCH bobbertch22@gmail.com 715-892-2366

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

As I write this article, it is now officially fall in the Northwoods and time to enjoy the colors of the season. Fall is one of my favorite seasons because of the still warm days and cool nights for sleeping. While we are enjoying the fall, we cannot forget our goal of getting new members and training our officers. There is still time to set up Meet and Greets to get new members in our communities and tell the locals and the world who we are and how important we are to their community. In our District, we already have a couple of the Meet and Greets set up in the near future. Our hope is that these events will bring us back into a positive growth for the District.

I know that this article will be in the November/December paper so a lot of the colors will be gone and some of the white stuff will be on the ground and time to move into the Christmas season. As we get together this Holiday season, let’s remember to spend time with our families and our clubs and celebrate the season. I tell my clubs we are a family of Lions who serve mankind locally and around the world. Give thanks to all we have and take some time out to remember who we are and what we do. In the words of our International President Brian Sheehan Together We Can. Let’s make plans for the New Year to grow our membership and train our officers and members. My sincere best to all of you in our District and all Lions and enjoy the Holidays.

PLUM LAKE LIONS CLUB –The Club recently worked on highway clean up on their portion of Adopt-A-Highway. Lion helpers pictured are (l to r): Lion Kathy Novorolsky, Dixie Barber, Lion Co-President Kathy McCaughn, and Sara Thompson. They were thrilled to have drivers beep their horn and shout out thank you’s while they were cleaning up the roadside.

CABLE & AREA LIONS CLUB – The Club, which includes the towns of Cable, Drummond, Grandview and Namakagon, had a busy September. First they sponsored an informational seminar about Identity Theft and Consumer Protection. Next, they set up tents for the Chequamegon Mountain Bike Race that starts in Cable. They then drove out to a food station on the race trail to hand out food and drinks to the racers. Lastly, on the day of Cable Fall Fest they sponsored a Shredding Truck so people could bring in all their confidential documents to have safely shredded. This was a tie-in to the earlier Identity Theft Consumer Protection presentation. Jeff Kersten, Agency Liaison for the Bureau of Consumer Protection within the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, gave a presentation on Identity Theft and Consumer Protection to the Cable and Area Lions Club and guests in September.

PHELPS LAND O’LAKES LIONS CLUB – The Phelps Land O’Lakes Lions Club served burgers and brats at the Phelps Scarecrow Fest on September 17. Pictured front row are: Pete Schindelholz, John Voss, Steve Chandler, Wally Beversdorf and Rollie Alger. Back row are: Brian Blank, Bill Reckling, and Scott McPherson.

CROSS PLAINS & MOUNT HOREB LIONS

CLUBS – Mount Horeb Lion Becky Faliveno and Cross Plains Lions Doc Esser and Charlotte Esser work an Adult Visionscreening at the Beloit Health Fair event.

AVOCA, BLUE RIVER & MUSCODA LIONS CLUBS – The weekend of September 17th and 18th, The Village of Avoca and Pulaski Township celebrated their Sesquicentennial event. The Avoca, Blue River, and Muscoda Lions held a pancake breakfast the morning of the 18th at the Avoca VIllage Hall, including fluffy delicious pancakes, local sausage from the Richland Locker, yogurt from Schreiber Foods, and butter from Alcam Creamery and Grassland Dairy. The club served just about 150 people. A great weekend serving one of the three communities we serve. The pictures are from the pancake breakfast.

Also in October, the Avoca, Blue River and Muscoda Lions will be holding a Trunk-orTreat in the Kratochwill Building parking lot in Muscoda during the village’s trick-ortreating hours of 5-7PM on October 31st.

AVOCA-BLUE RIVER-MUSCODA LIONS CLUB – The Club completed a project to remember a member of the of the community who passed away recently. Tracey Krueger, a longtime teacher, coach and athletic director at Riverdale Schools was honored. Lion Mark Cupp, who headed the committee for the “Coach K” project, stated Coach K was known for his compassion, kindness and infectious smile and his willingness to help others. The Lions Club recently hosted a dedication of a refurbished basketball court in Muscoda.

Pictured are Tracy’s family: son, Brendon, wife Cicila, and daughter Alyssa.

MOUNT HOREB LIONS CLUB –

Lion Becky Faliveno with the new bench the club earned for collecting their first 500 pounds of plastic. The bench was placed in Lions Park. Lion Becky chairs the Next Trex plastic collection committee.

District Diabetes Chair Lion Jill Kietzke is asking all District Lions to take a pre-diabetes test as part of one of the Lions Clubs five global causes. She suggests taking the test and then possibly sign up for her diabetes prevention course. The test can be found at diabetesrn@trollwaydiabetes.org. Contact Lion Jill at mamakietzke22@gmail.com

MONTICELLO LIONS CLUB – The Club was busy selling cheese curds and mushrooms at the Fall Nationals Tractor Pull on Saturday, Sept 24th in Monroe, WI. Shown are Lions Melissa Hershberger, Bob Harvey, Jeri Wendler and Roger Gempeler. It was a big job and everybody loved them.

FROM THE 27-D1 DISTRICT GOVERNOR ALAN JOHNSON aj542012@gmail.com 608-513-4984

We Serve – but are you ready to lead?

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

Lions of 27-D1, we have come to the month of October! I hope you are well and safe, and you are sharing the service you are performing in your communities. The District 27-D1 GAT team has been busy preparing for the District cabinet meeting, as well as for Regional meetings. I look forward to seeing you at club visits and sharing the service.

The District Cabinet Meeting will be held on October 16th at the Sun Prairie Lions Club starting at 11:30 a.m. The Region 1&2 meeting will be held October 24th at Rex’s Innkeeper in Waunakee; the Region 3&4 meeting will be October 27th at the Albany Clubhouse in Albany; and, the Region 5&6 meeting will be held at the Crossroads in Arthur. Please help the District Governors schedule a club visit.

It will soon be time to attend the District convention. The committee has started to meet to prepare for your 27-D1 convention – if you have a program you would like to see as part of the convention, or would like to help with this event, or have any convention questions, please contact Committee Chairman Lion Mike Vraniak. The next committee meeting is October 11th.

Service reporting is ongoing, but please include your Leo Clubs in this reporting. The Growing Happy Lions program has started with a survey that I hope you have taken time to complete.

The search for some new leaders in the District is getting started for next year. If you have some interest in a Leadership position, contact a member of the executive team. There is District Leadership training coming up and informational meetings are being planned.

And as the holiday season approaches, please remember that especially for Wisconsin Lions, it is better to give than receive: Please consider donating some money to LCIF.

“Together We Can”

SUN PRAIRIE LIONS –Past District Governors Randy Harrison and Bill Clausius from the Sun Prairie Lions Club mixed up a batch of chicken chili to compete in the Deerfield Lions ChiliFest on Saturday, Sept. 24. It was the first time the Sun Prairie Lions competed in the event. Cambridge and Edgerton Lions Clubs also competed in the event.

EDGERTON LIONS CLUB – Lions Diane Johnson and Mike Dallman manned the chili booth at the Deerfield Lions Chili cookoff on September 24. A good time was had by all.

BURGERS IN THE PARK

WESTBY LIONS’ CLUB – A dedication ceremony was held at Davidson Park after the purchase of two benches placed in the park in honor of Lion Gary Daines and Lion Ed Klos. Lion Ed, a carpenter by trade, was instrumental in construction and repair of many buildings in Westby, especially in the park like upgrading the bathrooms.

Lion Gary was instrumental in organizing the Thanksgiving Dinners, Burgers in the Park and The Food Pantry and was District Governor for 27-D2 in 2015-16.

Lion Gary was also a pastor who spoke at many of the churches in the area and was an inspiration for us to help others. Lion Wayne Sherry from Viroqua Lions Club was the emcee for the dedication. Father Michael Klos, son of Lion Ed, gave the invocation and final blessing of the benches. Pictured is the family of PDG Gary.

the Lions Club International Chevron Award for being a 40 year Lion member on July 27. A delicious meal was provided by the 1895 Rebel BBQ in downtown Wonewoc. District Governor Tom Knudtson presented Ed with the Award. Ed’s Club members, family, and surrounding town Club members attended the milestone celebration.

Visit wisconsinlions.org/events for a printable version of this form.

SPARTA LIONS CLUB – Two events were held: Stuff the Bus and serving food at Concert in the Park.

WONEWOC AREA LIONS CLUB – The Club is busy working on a new project of helping raise funds for new playground equipment for Baker’s Field in downtown Wonewoc. They have teamed up with the Wonewoc American Legion Hall Post 206 to hold several fundraisers and kicked it off with a Community Dinner in April. In June, they held Wonewoc Family Fun Day that closed off the main street to traffic to accommodate vendors, Village organizations, food stands, children activities, and Wonewoc Firemen’s famous chicken. A percentage of proceeds were donated to the Fund from all that participated. We also started selling tickets for a Meat Raffle with the drawing to be held at the upcoming Community Auction. In July a Community Auction was held with donated items from the Community and 100% of proceeds went to the Fund. Along with several larger donations from businesses, area citizens, and organizations we have collected just over half of the funds (approx. $40,000 out of $75,000) needed. We will continue to raise funds and inquire about grants to make the new playground a reality. Check out the funds raised thermometer located at Baker’s Field in Wonewoc.

FROM THE 27-D2 DISTRICT GOVERNOR TOM KNUDTSON tknudt12@gmail.com 608-792-5700

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

Every Lions Club has certain people that usually lead their Club from what they have learned in the past and are currently learning, as Lions you will find out that you never truly stop learning, no matter what level you are at. I bring this up so I can talk about future learning opportunities because not everyone is a natural born leader and needs either some mentoring or the chance to attend one of our Lions Leadership training sessions.

E.L.L.I. or Emerging Lions Leadership Institute

This learning opportunity is a State Lions Leadership event held at our Lions Camp in Rosholt, not only would you be learning from our State Lions Faculty, but also have the opportunity to see Lions Camp in Rosholt.  This training session is a 3 day learning event for Club members that have not been a President yet. Anyone from being a new Lion to the seasoned Lion who is looking to be the President may attend. This training focuses on topics like “Conducting Effective Meetings”, “Change Management”, “Mentoring”, “Supporting Lions Teams”, Diversity”, “Creative Thinking”, and “Ensuring Club Success”.  This is free for all attendees, but unfortunately by the time this article is printed this opportunity will have already taken place, so please think about attending next years learning experience.

R.L.L.I. or

Regional Lions Leadership Institute

This learning experience is open to all Lions at any level to help their Club and to be able to better serve their community. This is also a good learning opportunity for Lions looking to move up to be a future District Governor. To be eligible these Lions need:

• To be in good standing and want to better support the Multiple District or their District initiatives

• Have not attended RLLI within the last 5 years

A.L.L.I. or

Advanced Lions Leadership Institute

This is considered an International Training event held anywhere in North America and open to any member that has been Club President and have not yet attained the position of 1st Vice District Governor. However, this is not an event you can just sign up for, you would be expected to send in your qualifications and then wait to hear if you have been accepted into this learning event. This Leadership training is a little different you would meet over 100 Lions from North America all looking to better themselves and learning more about the leadership skills that will help he/she achieve their future goals.

I attended ALLI back in 2018 and it was a great learning experience, you will be set-up with a team before going to this event and you will be working on a new project that you will all lecture on once you arrive. ALLI is one of those learning events that will get you prepared for whichever next step you are prepared to make.

PATTISON PARK LIONS CLUB – The Club had a busy first week of August. On the 2nd, they joined local volunteer fire departments, an area car racing family, Paw Patrol character, Marshall, and hundreds of community members at the Four Corners Store, whose owner, Rachel Hansen, offered up the store, lawn, and parking lot area to host National Neighborhood Night out. While store employees treated the crowd to free popcorn and cotton candy, Lions volunteers cooked up brats and hot dogs and served them up with chips, beverages, and a cookie to over 300 folks. The donation-only meal raised a good amount of cash, and will be put toward the usual community causes that the club supports. While folks enjoyed the tasty food, they tried their hand at dunking a couple of the Douglas County Sheriff’s candidates. The night was an over-the-top success, and no doubt, will become an annual event.

Then on that Saturday, August 6th, the club hosted the 38th Annual Golf Tournament. Hosting 115 golfers from around the state, including Lions from Dresser and Hayward as well as folks from around Minnesota, the event has not diminished in either its popularity or participation. While the day was a little damp, all golfers and volunteers had a great time. Over the course of the day, folks golf nine holes, take chances on great hole prizes (including a hole in one chance for cash), and are treated to a great made-to-order steak dinner at the end of their round. In the meantime, everyone has chances to get on prize-winning boards, purchase 50/50 drawing tickets, check out the Chinese auction, and wait with baited breath to hear who the annual lawn mower and cash prize raffle winners are.

LAKE HOLCOMBE LEOS CLUB –

The LEO’s held a school supply drive and collected server supplies along with several financial donations which will be used to purchase supplies needed throughout the school year. Many of the supplies were taken to the food pantry and the rest were given to the school to help students that needed additional supplies to start the year off right. Pictured is one of the LEO members with their supplies. The LEO club also helped during the recent car show held by the Lake Holcombe Lions. Pictured are two of the LEOs selling soda at the event.

LADYSMITH LIONS CLUB – The Lions agree, Life is Great on highway 8 as they recently built an 8 foot Adirondack chair as a tourist attraction in Memorial Park in Ladysmith with a sign that says “Life is Great on Highway 8”, Ladysmith WI.

CLEAR LAKE LIONS CLUB –

$1471 was donated to Clear Lake Elementary School Backpack Program. These funds were raised from the raffle ticket sales at the Lions Annual Charity Golf Scramble on August 6. Pictured are (l to r): Jami Donath (Elementary School Guidance Counselor), Lion Cheryl Paulson, Theresa Anderson (Elementary School Principal)

RICE LAKE LIONS CLUB – The Rice Lake Lions Club sold Norske Nook pies and “pie-shakes” at the Barron Count Fair. Pictured are: Peter and Marty Gallagher, Steve Dahlgren, Jack Haines, Nancy Zabel, Bunee Schultz, Dave and Kris Schilling. Profits went for community projects.

DRESSER, SIREN, & AMERY LIONS CLUBS – One of our district goals is clubs helping clubs. Here three clubs team together to grill burgers for a community celebration. Pictured are: Scott Weyand and Steve Young (Siren Lions), Larry Kresl and Dave Nelson (Amery Lions), Boyd Dosch (Dresser Lions).

Lions members Deb Curley, Kim Lagro, Lisa Larsen, volunteer Shelly Kochevar

Paw Patrol character, Marshall with his handler and a fan.

Nico Hernandez taking aim at Douglas County Sheriff’s candidate, Matt Izzard

Lions Sandy Heifner and Barb Oswskey, keeping the auction organized

CADOTT LIONS CLUB –

One of the newly installed swings enables a parent and young child to swing facing each other, while the second swing allows someone in a wheelchair to roll onto the platform without leaving their wheelchair. Pictured are Lion members John Dugal, Bob Starck, and Terry Licht mixing cement (top) and DG Brian Dulmes and his grandson trying out the new Expression Swing (bottom).

Pictured is PDG Bill Anderson receiving a Knight of Sight from PDG Larry Bradley. PDG Bill also received a plaque of appreciation from DG Brian Dulmes. PCC Robert Bayerl and Lion Dianne are thanked by DG Brian for installing the cabinet members at the last cabinet meeting.

FROM THE 27-E1 DISTRICT GOVERNOR BRIAN DULMES bldulmes@gmail.com 715-829-1454

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

With hurricane Fiona recently impacting Puerto Rico and other areas along the eastern coast of North America and hurricane Ian battering Cuba and the south eastern part of the United States, it is good to know that we are helping those areas recover. LCIF’s disaster relief grants help so many people in this time of despair. Even though Barb and I are thousands of miles away from the devastation, we are glad to know that our donations to LCIF are being put to good use and that our Lions organization is there to help. Now is a good time to consider a personal donation or a club donation to help in this time of need. Your donation directed to the Disaster Relief Fund is used solely for that purpose and no donation is too small.

The unrest in Ukraine and Iran remind us of the importance of thinking about changing attitudes to that of peace. The Peace Poster Contest and Peace Essay Contest are two means of getting young people to really think about world peace. The stories behind the peace poster ideas show that these youth are thinking deeply about peace, likewise those who write the essays are deeply connected to the idea of world peace. If your club sponsors these two initiatives, keep up the great work. If your club has not participated in these, take a look at them and consider getting involved in the next cycle.

Our district’s Youth Service Award is a great way to recognize the volunteer efforts and community dedication of the youth in our district. For more information and how to apply visit the district website (district27e1.org) and click on the District Information drop down menu. This is open to any youth organization in your community and all clubs are encouraged to reach out to these youth organizations and have them apply. You can even have a club level contest to select the club’s entry for the district award. Let’s recognize and promote the good things that our youth are doing.

Pictured attending the Sturgeon Fest are Jim Falls President Frank Foiles and his wife Lion Sue, ID Lee Vrieze and his wife Lion Mary and Lion Barb and DG Brian Dulmes.

TURTLE LAKE LIONS CLUB –

A great time was had by all at the annual District Governors Night at the Celebrations at the Gables Event Center in Turtle Lake. Eight new members were inducted and current members were celebrated. A community award was presented to Ricky Anderson “the Can Man” for helping out at the fair over the past few years. Pictured are the new members and their sponsors as DG Brian Dulmes welcomes the members.

SHELL LAKE LIONS CLUB –Friday of Labor Day weekend Shell Lake held their annual fish fry of white fish. Members were kept busy preparing the potatoes and frying the fish. The event is held in conjunction with their community celebration held all weekend long.

As Barb and I continue to meet you and your clubs, it is great to see the various ways that clubs go about helping their communities. That is what is nice about being a Lion Club, you mold it to what your community needs. There are so many ways to provide help. There are some clubs that do not do a lot of hands on work, but donate to worthy causes in their community. There are those clubs that provide all or almost all the physical activities of help themselves with the money they have raised. And then there are clubs that do a combination. No one way is the correct way and the way a club operates may evolve over time as new members, new community needs, and new ideas come forward. Whatever way your club operates, keep up the good work and keep an open mind and eye out for new opportunities to serve and to give back to our local and worldwide community.

Lion Thomas Shervey and his partner Patty recently participated in Hustle S’more. Not only did Thomas run in the 5K but he also received enough donations from friends and family that he raised enough money to cover the cost to send a camper to camp for the week.

JIM FALLS LIONS CLUB –

WLF HEARING AID APPLICATIONS

Information and applications for assistance with obtaining hearing aids for financially needy individuals in our District through our WLF Hearing Aid Project can be easily downloaded from the WLF website, wlf.info, under the Hearing Project tab. The application is also available from our District website, md27e2.org, in the District Organization tab.

The Sportsman’s Golf Scramble at the Spring Valley Golf Course was attended by 18 teams of four golfers on August 6th. The course started out wet with a nice warm rain, but this did not stop the the10am shotgun start. During the event Spring Valley Lions Burgers were available throughout the day. At the end of the day the golfers gathered in the club house dining room for a buffet dinner prepared by Hurtgen's Catering Service, and raffles were drawn for prizes. The funds raised will be used to benefit a variety of local organizations and projects supported by the Spring Valley Lions Club.

MONDOVI LIONS CLUB – The Lions Club Park recently received an infusion of additional shrubs and trees when Club members added nearly one hundred new plantings as part of the Park’s continued enhancement and development. The City-owned and maintained 3.2 acre park includes a section of the meandering Peeso Creek just before it joins up with the nearby Buffalo River. Lion Ed Mahlum, with nearly 60 years as a Mondovi Lion, said the idea was for the Club to curate a park for children who lived on the south side of town. The easily accessible park includes a multi-station children’s playset and plans to include a small pavilion and year-round benches in the future. Pictured are Randy Crank, Mike Bruning, Mary Quarberg, and Barb Wright

70 Years of Independence

The Independence Lions Club was chartered in 1951. They have come a long way with a 50 plus membership roster. Independence Lions participates in approximately 30 service projects annually and in the past 2 years have won the highly recognized Club Excellence Award. This year their club received Top Dog Club from Leader Dogs for the blind ( only 1% of Lions Clubs achieve this level). They are very proud to serve their community, country and world.

Independence Lions most certainly put on a wonderful 70th celebration with a Chicken dinner served up curbside/drive-up style. A canoe race and All School reunion. A bean bag tournament, food tent, and Music. With all that going on the Independence Lions had a very unusual event in a very unusual place. A Art show up for silent Auction held in a Opera House, yes that’s right an Opera House. The Opera House is still within the community and looking wonderful. The Independence Lions helped restore this building and it was absolutely beautiful with satin red curtains throughout, complete with a balcony and stage. Congratulations Independence Lions on serving as Lions for 70 years.

Visit wisconsinlions.org/events for a printable version of the E2 Convention Registration form.

GLEN HILLS LIONS CLUB –Flipping Pancakes and "serving" them up!

SPRING VALLEY LIONS CLUB –

Roberts

Eau Claire Seymore Elk Mound

Plum City Ellsworth

Officially Officers

PDG RONDA BIERBRAUER, MD27-E2 DISTRICT EDITOR

I decided it was time to take the time to recognize some of our officers. Without the officers who step forward to lead our Lions Clubs we would not have the clubs. So I ask you to stop and thank your officers for all they do. Let them know you appreciate all they do to make your club function and maintain. Tell them they are doing a good job. Send the District Editor photos of your officers and make sure they are officially Installed into their positions. Make it special. Plain and simple tell them “Thank you.”

COLLECTOR’S CORNER

Value is in the heart of the Collector!

BY LION REID MEYER, ELLSWORTH LIONS CLUB

We’ve all heard the saying ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ The phrase has a literal meaning: the perception of beauty is subjective - people can have differing opinions on what is beautiful. So what one person perceives as flawless and captivating might be ordinary or unappealing to another. From my perspective, ‘value is in the heart of the collector.’ Collectors collect things of interest, things that are special, things that can be invaluable. In the May/June 2022 installment of Collector’s Corner, I mentioned one aspect of collecting included acquiring, where you might find or buy, or even trade for that special something of interest. I prefer finding or trading vs buying and acquiring items from good friends are extra special! A few years ago, I found a battered little box while cleaning at my parent’s home – opened the box and found this beautiful Appreciation Award given to my Dad, Lion Del Meyer with the Cadott Lions Club. How this glass plate survived for 50 years, I’ll never know…but I’m fairly certain my Dad thought this was pretty special and had to have taken good care of it in his own way! To me, it’s priceless! Reid would love to hear about your special finds! reidmeyer69@gmail.com. Happy Collecting!

FROM THE 27-E2 DISTRICT GOVERNOR MARCIA HAGEN hagen.rjmk@gmail.com 715-896-0421

Hello Friends!!

DISTRICT GOVERNOR

Many of our clubs are now in full swing with Lions projects and meetings. Having attended the USA/CALGARY forum I have a new appreciation for the work our Lions do! Commitment to helping others is what brings us together and through our clubs and our Foundation, we can accomplish anything. As Lion International President Brian Sheehan says “TOGETHER WE CAN-TOGETHER WE WILL”

I’ve been out visiting clubs and getting to know you and you are doing some excellent work!

Be sure to work on your club excellence award qualifications. Review the qualifications in the application lionsclubs.org/en/resources-formembers/resource-center/club-excellence-awards

In OUR district we will be rolling up our sleeves to do some reflecting and planning for the short-term and long-term and your input will be important. Opportunities to impact the service we provide and the quality of our clubs will be planned with the general membership and at the Zone levels. We will plan for serving in our clubs –OUR way!

Can you believe our district convention is just around the corner? This year we will have motivational speakers, time to spend with friends old and new, fun, good food, the opportunity for you to show off your project in the “Toot Your Horn” displays and also to check out displays of other clubs’ exemplary work. There will be opportunities for officer training and also the chance to work on your officer skills or just check out what an officer position would be like. We will do service projects. You can bring in your used eyeglasses, get training on vision-screening, tissue transport and so much more AND RAFFLES! AND PIN TRADING!

Please SAVE THE DATE March 17-18th at the Lismore Hotel in Eau Claire, WI.

ELK MOUND AND PIGEON FALLS LIONS CLUBS – Two of our smallest district clubs, went out and stuffed the bus. OK maybe it was a vehicle, but in any case it was stuffed. Many children will receive the needed school items to help them learn and thrive in the area of education. I truly believe Lions has a special place in their service for children and these two Lions Clubs showed this with smiles and school items. DG Marcia Hagen assists Pigeon Falls (left) and President Scott from the Elk Mound club (right) helps stuff (can you see him)?

In Memory / In Honor of…

LIONS PRIDE ENDOWMENT FUND DONATIONS

MEMORIALS

JANELL BARDON

PDG Steven & Jean Groene

PDG JORDAN CHADWICK

PDG Dave & Darlen Hempel

JOYCE GILBERTSON

Lions Bob & Arvill Blunck

PDG GLEN SPRING

John & Laurie Thill

DENNIS A. BELSNER

PDG Dennis , Judeen & Kate Knott

LORTEN BERCHEM

Myra Schneider

HARRIET BOETCHER

PDG Dennis, Judeen & Kate Knott

PETER TABOR

Paula & Daniel Steele

Michael & Mary Bottcher

Anthony & Sharon Krueger

Barbar White, Jeff & Mary Priem

Michael & Jud Healy

Scott & Turena Gilbertson

Daniel & Carolyn Steele

Patricia & Michael Stuhr

Marla Peterson

John & Jean Paulson

WISCONSIN LIONS FOUNDATION DONATIONS

*Donation to Birch-Sturm Fund

MEMORIALS

RICHARD “RICK” ALTHAUS Tammy Rockenbach & Greg Clark

Friends & Family

Lee & Mary Vrieze*

ROBERT ANDERSON Whit tlesey Lions Club

GEORGE BALL

Theresa Ness

MARION BENZSCHAWEL

PDG Larry & Doris Bradley

ADAM BERG Grand Chute Lions Club

HARRY BERNHOLDT

Howard Woodbridge

CHARLES P. BOODLE

Charles P. Boodle Family

GEORGE BORCHARDT

Jane Borchardt

KAY BRUMMEYER

John Feiten Richard Werner

JACK BUBLITZ Pauline Morrison

CRYSTAL CALLOS Ed & Dolores Prohaska

PDG JORDAN CHADWICK

27-A1 Past District Governors Organization

PDG Walt & Eileen Althaus

Big Bend-Vernon Lions Club

Richard & Peggy Daluge David & Tracy De Angelis PDG Don Drew

Jerry & Denise Gibbons

Mark & Jayne Hintzmann

Michael Meyer & Connie LeCleir-Meyer Muskego Lions Club

Larry & Patti Redlin Tamra Rockenbach Lee & Mary Vrieze*

MARIAN CHEREK Bevent Lions Club

CAROL CLAUSIUS Tamra Rockenbach

ELIZABETH “LIZ” DAVIES Lancaster Lions Club

LEROY DEHNEL Mike & Linda Carter Falton & Donna Fischer Bernard & Colene Stuttgen Duke & Marlene Thurs

LINDA DOBBE American Family

BRIAN EGGEBRECHT Colby Lions Club

TERRY FELTZ Ed & Dolores Prohaska

RALPH FRITSCH Mc Caslin Lions Club

MICHAEL GANNON Oakfield Lions Club

PAUL GLASL Wabeno Lions Club

LAURA GOEDEN Don & Win Biernacki The Dochoff Family Eve Kaczkowski Amy Mayer Navico Group-Rebecca Rebholz Related Midwest-Donald Biernacki Jay Rowell David Waldoch Sarah Wick

LISA GRAF Jerry & Judie Zais

LOWELL GREEN Cleghorn Lions Club

JOHN HARINGS Jerry & Judie Zais

CEIL JEZIOR Chuck & Michelle Lindemann

JEANETTE KAMPS Dennis & Mary Dettmering

KEN KOEHN Judith Johnson William Thornburgh

CAROLYN SUE LINZMEIER Raymond Linzmeier & Lisa, Lana, Lynn & Leslie

BUDDY MARTIN Dennis & Mary Dettmering

TED MERTENS Tamra Rockenbach

THOMAS MIRON Diane Wolf

JAMES “JP” PENN David & Tracy De Angelis

LORETTA PEPIN Crivitz Lions Club

DIANNE G. RIESE Richard J. Ziemann

PDG NORM ROWE Eric & Lynette Ender Gary & Charlotte Stewart PDG Virgil & Rita Thompson

JOHN F. SCHMIDT PDG Virgil & Rita Thompson

DONALD “DON” SCHRACK Lynne I. Jossart Susan & Michael McCarthy

BONNIE SMITH Tamra Rockenbach

PDG GLEN SPRING Tamra Rockenbach

JERRY “SIX” STAEHLER Michael Crowe Tichigan Lake Lions Club

MARY STANEK Avoca Blue River Muscoda Lions Club

PDG MERLE A. STRELOW PDG Tom & Rose Berendes

PCC Barry & Lisa Boline

Janice Christiansen

Thomas & Betty Clausen Gary & Elaine Colton

PCC Sue & Eugene Doell

PDG Joe & Mary Fisher

PDG Butch Hale

PDG Rick & Joyce Koch

PDG Dave & Susan Lee

Kay Quinn Tamra Rockenbach

PDG Dave & Linda Schaefer

PEG Jerry & Pat Spies

PDG Rick Steinberg

Bonnie Strelow

PDG Neil & Jan Winchell

BRUCE STURZL

Dennis & Mary Dettmering

PDG DIANE WASNIEWSKI Kronenwetter Lions Club

DONALD WENDELBORN Rick Stautz Barb Trierweiler Laverne Wendelborn

RICHARD WENGELSKI Lake Dubay Lions Club

LINDA WINTER

Allenton Lions Club

Geraldine Marquardt Darlene Werkmeister

Peter Winter

TED WYSOCKI

David & Tracy De Angelis

HONORARIUMS

DG BRIAN DULMES

Clear Lake Lions Club

DG TOM KNUDTSON New Lisbon Lions Club

LA CROSSE LIONS CLUB’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY Hillsboro Lions Club

MAINE LIONS CLUB Town of Texas Lions Club

NORWALK LIONS CLUB’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY Cashton Lions Club

MARY PORTER’S 80TH BIRTHDAY PDG Walt & Eileen Althaus

MIKE QUIGLEY Thomas & Anna Quigley

TIMES

February 25th April 22nd, 2023 (No Bowling April 8th 9th)

Visit

Congratulations!

HEMPEL

CHUCK BENDER

Sturm

LINDA CARTER

BILL ANDERSON

Park

BRAD GEHRING

Jones Grand Chute

BRAD MCCONNOHIE

Jones Belgium

LOUISE MINISAN

Sight Mercer

KATHY OLSON

Sturm Greenville

GARY KING

Jones Nekoosa(C1)

RALPH GROENE

Ray Hempel

Dam

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! The Thiensville-Mequon Lions Club (A2) became stronger with the addition of three new members: Perry Kallas, Brad Klitsch, Ryan Mueller, and one transfer member, Gil Rohde, from Brad Klitsch, BJ

ED HAGEMANN 40 Years Wonewoc (D2)

RON KIEKHAEFER 50 Years Wayside Morrison (B1)

Experiencing the Leader Dog Program First Hand

BY PATTY HOLLIS (C1)

The First Vice District Governors recently got to visit Leader Dog in Detroit, Michigan. When we first started out, we thought we were going to just learn a bit about the place, the dogs, and where all the donated money goes. What happened when we got there, will forever change our thoughts about guide dogs, people who are not only legally blind, but deaf, and the Leader Dog program. It was an amazing experience that we will be forever grateful that we got the chance to go on.

When we got to the Leader Dog Campus, we were greeted with warm welcomes. As Lions, we could tell that the staff were appreciative of all we do. They had a list of all the top Lion donors. Right at the top was the Tichigan Lake Lions Club from District 27 A-1 as one of the largest donors. Then they told us that we were going to have homemade chili and doughnuts for lunch, which has been a tradition for many years when visitors come. (Watch for the recipes in the next Wisconsin Lion.) After the presentation, we got a tour and a history of Leader Dog. It was an awesome feeling watching these little puppies play, knowing that someday hopefully they were going to grow into guide dogs. If you want a chance in raising a puppy until they are 12 to 14 months old, they are always looking for volunteers. The tour included a look at the vet area where the dogs are well cared for including any surgeries that may need to be performed.

Part of the tour had us walking with a white cane and a leader dog while blindfolded. This alone would have been enough to give us all a new prospective on what it was like to be legally blind. Little did we know they had something else in mind. Later that evening we had a dinner with a twist. We were all blind folded during the whole meal. Most of us made it through the meal with no mishaps. It showed us that how a legally blind person has to learn to maneuver around something as simple as eating.

This program did not become what it is today, overnight. It took a lot of vision, planning, hard work, and the generosity of many organizations such as the Lions, who, to this day, are the single highest donor.

Where did it all begin?

It all began when three men, Charles Nutting, Donald Schuur, and S.A. Dodge, tried to get a guide dog from Seeing Eye organization for their blind friend and were denied. They decided to start their own school. In 1938, they held their first class of blind students and guide dogs.

It was a struggle, even after they incorporated in 1939. As Donald Schuur said “Whenever we had money on hand, we had no dogs. Whenever we had dogs, we had no money. When we had students, we had no dogs and so forth…This was really a trying period.”

In 1948, they became international by welcoming their first student from Mexico. By the 1960’s, there were dogs being placed in Israel, Denmark, and Spain.

In 1951, the policy changed to say a person has to be totally blind to legally blind. This allowed more people who needed a Leader Dog to be accepted into the program. In 1958, the program stopped charging for the dogs and the training. In 1952 the program officially became Leader Dogs for the Blind. In 1992, Leader Dog started training their dogs American Sign Language. This helped place dogs with people who were deaf and blind. Currently, the school is the only one on the western hemisphere that is doing this.

The 2000’s saw big advances at Leader Dog. In 2002, Leader Dog’s Orientation & Mobility Training was started with three clients. This program has two components: orientation - knowing where you are in

your environment and knowing how to get to where you want to go and mobility. This training included how to use the white cane. They also use a talking GPS unit to help them understand where they are at and where they are going. It names the streets and the businesses a person is passing. They now also host a teen camp every summer to teach teens how to use the GPS and the white cane.

The Future

As time goes on, the donations we give as Lions will be help provide the remodel that the residence hall so badly needs. Leader Dog helps those that are legally blind and deaf be able to leave their homes safely and be a part of society.

The teen camp gives teens the confidence to go out and try things they may never have had the chance to. While other programs cost money, this program does not, meaning that people without a lot of financial means can still have the life they deserve. This program is not just about matching dogs to legally blind or deaf people, it’s about the confidence, the freedom, and the safety that is now given to people. It gives their hope back that they can live the life they want to.

Leader Dog is the answer for thousands of people in critical need of services. To find out more information, visit leaderdog.org. When your club is deciding how to spend those hard-earned dollars, please consider giving to the Leader Dog Program.