Lions of SW Idaho and E Oregon

 I visited the Twin Falls Lions in early April. It was fun to connect with PID Floyd, president Nicki, and other TF Lions. They had an interesting speaker who talked about affordable housing and the homeless population in Twin. There are certainly opportunities there for Lions to serve.  Of course, I had some challenge coins with me. They were presented to Gloria Harmon, long-time treasurer and super active in the club projects, Tom Behm, VP and another one who keeps the club going, Barbara Delmore, a busy Lion, and Neil Cross with 60+ years of service. PID Floyd had received a coin at Midwinter, and he passed in on to Kathy, not a Lion (yet), who makes sure that Neil gets to all the meetings. Twin Falls was a costly trip-I found a great shoe store there with lots of brands and excellent customer service. 

 Early April I traveled to Rupert for their charter party, celebrating almost 80 years of service. No snow on the fields this trip to the eastern edge of our district-fields were green where they had been white when I visited Burley and Declo just a few weeks before. Speaking of Declo, several of the Declo Lions attended this party and cleaned up on raffle prizes. But with two tables over flowing, there were plenty for everyone. Although they needed a truck to haul everything home.  I really love seeing clubs visiting and helping out other clubs. Lion Zone Chair Peggy had already received a challenge coin (as zone chair) and had passed it on to her hubby Jesse. Club president Jesse nominated his brother Gaylan and Mary and George Brisbin for coins for everything they do for the club and community.  This club is so busy! 

 True to form, the Nampa Lions had a smallish meeting when I visited last week. They always tell me, oh, we had 25 at our last meeting…Luck of the draw. Anyway, it was nice to see old friends and meet a couple of new people and give some challenge coins. They also had an interesting speaker. Congrats to Lions Del, pin trader extraordinare, Randy, club president for the past couple of years, Allan, club money man, Tim, secretary and district cabinet member, and Dana (Leos) and Robbie (eye exams and glasses). Missed seeing Dana and Robbie-maybe next time!

 The Council Lions, are super active in their community. Their main fundraiser is breakfast in August at the music festival and a raffle that culminates at the same time. They do vision screenings in the schools, provide a scholarship to a high school student, host the Easter egg hunt and participate in other community activities.  I was impressed with the efficient meeting led by President Jim with participation from the group.  One new member joined; his second time to attend a meeting. And two other guests were there that I hope to see join soon.  It was a beautiful evening for the drive to Council. The club meets at the American Legion building. All the Lions banners, plaques, photos, etc. adorn the walls.  President Jim selected Scott, current and long-time secretary to receive a challenge coin. I thought Pres. Jim should have a challenge coin, too. He’s continuing for another year in that office.  (We’re a little fuzzy; it’s not you.)

 I attended the Boise Vista Lions Club meeting last night. They met at the Envision office and brought in some pizza and chocolate cake. They’re looking for a new restaurant meeting spot, but will be at Envision until they do.  Several members received challenge coins. These were all Lions that I knew - so definitely the Lions serving out in front in the club. First up PDG Laura. She sends out a newsletter after every meeting, keeps up with the secretary duties, and participates in projects. Lion Mary Rockrohr chairs the casinos and gets everyone working hard. She’s a great organizer and how about that hat? Lion Ray Hansen has been a Lion since 1969 and has pretty much done it all for the club at one time or another. He’s still an active member.  Two more Lions received challenge coins, but they are still wintering in Florida. Theirs will have to wait until next month.  And why Boise Boise Vista? That is how the club is listed in LCI. I think they must have wanted to be listed first al

 Perhaps you landed here from the newsletter link. Perhaps not. At any rate, here are two additions/corrections. The first link for the first aid kits for Camp Hodia did not work. These things happen. Here’s the link. Just a bit late for inclusion is this information from Eagle 616: Mental health issues are rising. Most of us will do all that we can to help our friends and family get through their darkest times. However, sometimes our family or friends lose hope. They don’t want to live any more. They think they can end the pain by taking their life. How can we help them in this dark time? what are some warning signs? This 2 hour conference will help give you some skills on what to do if you find yourself in that situation. These tools could help save someone’s life. If you would like to learn more please contact the Eagle 616 Lions Club.  Thanks for understanding the human element.

 After several phone conversations with Declo president Clint and secretary Mike, I was able to join them Saturday night for their charter party. I was made to feel welcome before I even got through the door and those guys are some really good cooks!  Several Rupert Lions were there along with Twin Falls president Nickie. I didn’t count Lions, but the room was full with Lions and spouses and everyone was having a good time. I inducted four new Lions and gave out chevrons to several Lions for their years of service. This new member missed the party. Clint thought we could photoshop him in later. After the new member inductions, I gave out a few challenge coins. Clint wanted to honor a few of the “more experienced” Lions who have been serving for a few decades as well as a couple of more recent additions. So this group of five Lions received coins for their Service from the Heart.  This was a fantastic trip to Burley and Declo. Two clubs doing tons of service their way. 

 The past weekend I put a few miles on the truck-just a few. First stop, Morey’s Steakhouse in Burley for the Burley Lions Charter Party. They had a big turnout of Lions, spouse, and Leos. Cade and Keith were great MCs with Lion Kent handling raffle duties. A long-time Spudman participant spoke about her many years as a triathlete, starting in the team division, learning to swim the river at age 47, and eventually competing in a couple of Ironmans.  It was great to see so many Leos there and I learned they have had a Leo club since the 80s. I sat with one of their newest Lions, one who was inducted at the meeting I attended earlier in the year.  Saturday I met Lion Nickie, the Twin Falls president, for lunch. It’s always nice to catch up with Lions outside of meetings and events.  Next stop, Declo. But maybe they deserve a post of their own.

 Today I was back on the road, this time visiting the Mountain Home Lions Club. They have missed a few meetings through the pandemic and are now working to get back full force.  One project I hadn’t heard about was their annual Turkey Shoot. In the fall they sell spaces on a giant card which they then take out and SHOOT, literally, to determine the winners. Prizes include money off turkeys and ham for Thanksgiving, with many donating their winnings back to the community.  Challenge coins were the theme of the day, celebrating service from the heart. These are the Lions that always participate, always volunteer, and always serve their club and community.  Kim Sykes and Kim Leircke (Me in the middle with eyes closed again. Promise I’m not sleeping.) President Courtney with me and Zone Chair Curt. Bryan Straw Not pictured, yet anyway,Marty and Moira Beach Jodi Sobalski, and Rich Sykes.  Congrats, and thank you all for serving from the heart.

 I am incredibly grateful to my Midwinter Convention Team! The convention is definitely not a one person job! I asked the Star Lions (my home club) to be my committee and four Lions stepped up to the task. Sharon McNally was the hotel liaison. She initially researched and visited area hotels to find a venue. Throughout the next few months, she communicated with The Grove team (Nathan and Samantha), asking all the right questions and relaying answers. Her organizational skills are outstanding! Jennifer Weeks also doubles as Cabinet Secretary. Jennifer and I go back a ways, and she told me she would do whatever I needed. Little did she know...Jennifer also excels in organization and her computer skills were invaluable. She did spreadsheets, programs, agendas, name tags-all the printed materials, plus coordinating sponsors and stepped in last minute to run the game night.  Maria Anderson worked with Sharon on initial planning. Family matters kept her sidelined for some of the planning, bu

 I made an early morning visit to the Meridian Lions Club meeting. I had visited them at their summer picnic, but didn’t have my challenge coins yet, so visit number two.   Dan Ollivant is club secretary, MD secretary, Zone char. He leads the club with Rake Up Meridian, Meridian Food bank project, club food drive. Volunteers a rodeo grounds and is always ready to help.   Jerry Healy volunteered to be club treasurer when the previous treasurer stepped down. He did a great job throughout the biggest fundraiser. Talk about learning on the job! He also volunteers at most events.   Steve Geiseke volunteered to serve the district and MD as Patriotism Essay co-chair. His goal was to increase participation-looking forward to see the results. Steve was super organized.    Larry Hansen is always a ready volunteer. He organized the roadside clean up, work days at the rodeo grounds, and Salvation Army bell ringers.  Helen Johnson missed the meeting so I will have to find a photo of her. She spent

 My visit to Grand View Lions really made me smile. Small club doing some huge things. They’ve done so many projects in their community. Zone chair Curt Kelley and I visited the Lions park after lunch and Doug showed us the concession building that the community can use for events. It has covered tables and storage for more tables and chairs. Oh, and a view of the river. Their late winter online auction raises thousands.   Doug Thurman was presented a challenge coin as club treasurer, auction chair, and pretty much every project volunteer. He was instrumental in remodeling the building at the park, building the fence, pouring concrete at the Library, and is a Scout leader.  Doug passed on his coin to Lion Bob.     Club president Verla Robinson received a coin. She’s been president for a number of years, participates fully in keeping the club going, and was super inspiring. 

 We have a tradition in MD 39- well, maybe more than one. But I’m talking about the gifts that are given to the International Directors who come to our conventions. The Past District Governors Association provides a hand beaded belt buckle or coin purse, made by a local Native American.  I’ve been to many conventions, but I had never seen the gift, or really even been aware of it. So when I was sitting next to ID Hunt in Idaho Falls at the 39E Midwinter, I asked him if I could take a photo. The photo doesn’t do it justice. It’s really beautiful and a nice keepsake for the International Directors. 

 And we’re back from the 39E convention in Idaho Falls! What a weekend! VDG Betty, Envision president Lois, and I were chauffeured to Idaho Falls by Council Chair Jim. You can just imagine being in that car full of Lions who are excited about being Lions and all that means. Not a moment of silence! The folks in 39E were super nice and welcoming and it was fun to attend a convention where all you had to do was show up. They did give me impromptu time to tell what we are doing over here in the west and tell them about our convention, which several of them will attend.  We had some time to chat with International Director Allen Hunt from Canada. He had an understated and dry sense of humor, something that didn’t come across so well on Zoom last year at Sun Valley.  What else? They had a band and a dance Friday night, a business meeting Saturday morning, a panel discussion in the afternoon, a couple of service projects, and a banquet. Saturday was packed! District 39E is half the size  of

The Boise Bench Lions have 60+ members and President Tom gave me 4 names of Lions he wanted to honor with challenge coins for their service from the heart.  The first photo is Lion Dar, Darlene Storck. She volunteers with the Sprouts program and the Veterans. The second photo is Lion Curt Kelley. Curt serves this year as club marketing chair and program chair. He takes care of photography, Facebook, website, and videos. Next photo is Lion Sharon LoSasso. She has been setting up Zoom meetings the past couple of years.  And last but not least Dan and Patti Frison. They do so much-pretty much every project in the club-Sprouts, building ramps and bunk beds, fundraising-two hearts serving together.     

 Why report club service hours? What’s in it for me? We currently have less than 1/3 of our district clubs reporting their service. That’s reporting to Lions International, reporting to the DG team, and probably reporting to your club members and community, too.  So why report? A few reasons off the top of my head:  LCI (Lions International) uses these statistics to reach world wide goals of service. The numbers are used when LCIF is partnering with other organizations such as Bill Gates Foundation, Special Olympics, etc. Activities reported can be used for marketing purposes, internationally and locally. (Marketing = members = more hands to serve) Wouldn’t your club members love to see what they have accomplished at the end of the year in a concise document (number of volunteers, number of volunteer hours, funds raised/donated)? How about your community? You’d be able to show your community what you accomplished for a month or a year. So that’s why report. Now why else don’t clubs rep

I ran across this on Facebook, from the president of the Ohio County Virtual Lions Club, Matt Rafa. If we all do this, where will be in in 6 months? “DO ONE thing in the name of your club EVERY DAY. It could be collecting plastic, reading a book online, or donating to our virtual yard sale.  It could be making a phone call to get information about something, reading about different Lions programs during your lunch hour at www.lionsclubs.org, or just checking your Spond app/email and responding to communications.  Find one thing you can do to advance our club in a small way each day. “TELL ONE person or share one post about our club EVERY DAY.  Tell them about a project we are doing, ask someone to join, share a post on Facebook.  Let someone know YOU are a Lion and what we are doing for our communities. “BE ONE.  Be a Lion.  That means looking for opportunities for helping others, rolling up your sleeves to make your community better, and leading by example by showing others that “Kind

Your Midwinter Convention committee has been meeting every few weeks to plan fun, exciting, and informational activities. Our hope is that many will take part and learn and grow. Ideally, I’d like at least one person from each club to attend. Hey, I can dream.  But why should someone attend? Here are just a few reasons: To be motivated and and inspired. To gain new ideas for your club’s service To hear real life ideas that work To learn ways to recruit new members To brag about your club  To meet old friends and make new ones To share To relax To get fired up I promise if you attend, you will  get your money’s worth.  See you there.

 Steve and I visited Marsing Lions back in October. They had a potluck dinner before there meeting (yummy jalapeño poppers!). They are a loud and crazy bunch-it’s so great that they have fun serving together. They recently added 10 new members so I can’t wait to hear what they’ll be doing in the coming months.  I awarded 4 challenge coins to Becky Salome, Jim Briggs, Jolyn Thompson, and Mike Sprinkel. 

 I took DG Spouse Steve along on this trip to Ontario Lions Club in November. They had an excellent program put on by two young men-exchange students from Israel and Indonesia. I was excited that they were inducting a new member who has already taken the lead on the vision program.  Lion Angie Grove received a challenge coin for her service from the heart, nominated by President Mike Pratt. Angie is involved in just about everything in the club as well as in the community, including working with the Stare Departiment Student Exchange Program. (You guessed it-the two students that spoke were Angie and Shawn’s “kids”.) I surprised Mike with a challenge coin (he didn’t nominate himself) for everything he’s done in the past couple of years as club president. It’s not easy leading a club through a pandemic, and all the club presidents deserve an extra pat on the back, or coin, as the case may be.

I admit I have a soft spot for the Eagle 616 Lions. Several years ago now, PDG Stevie (then DG), PDG Joe (then Lion Joe0 and I along with guidance from Paul Baker, LCI, set up to revive an aging Eagle club. We formed a branch which soon combined with the original members to form what is now Eagle 616. We attending a lot of meetings and then the Star Lions partnered with them on a couple of projects. So I know a few of the members fairly well.  That’s why it’s been especially exciting to see the growth in the Eagle club. They are getting their wings! I was pleased to award two challenge coins back in November. Mandi Wright has been involved as club treasurer, chair of Hackers and Slackers Golf Scramble, and a big part of the Easter Egg Hunt. Shane Bauges has been doing an incredible job with increasing membership and marketing. Thank you for your service to your club and community. 

 Challenge coins went to Caldwell Lions Alex Esparza, Mike McKinney, and Lea Martinez. Alex co-chairs the food booth, collects the pull tabs and eyeglasses and is involved in pretty much everything the club does. Mike was treasurer for a number of years, co-chairs the booth, builds ramps, and serves just about everywhere. I know whenever I’ve done anything or been anywhere with the Caldwell Club, these two have been there. Lea is a relative newcomer, but jumped into service with both feet. She heads the Peace Poster and essay contests and is bringing in new members from her sphere.