“A Country Club Trying to Serve Its Country”

July, 2003

 

July 3 – Board of Directors Meeting – 7:30PM, Ray Dickey's House

July 16 – Regular Meeting – 7PM, Cranbury Station, Dinner: Lump Crab Cakes

                     Speaker: Trudy Ringwald – owner, Black Forest Acres Natural Food Market in East

Windsor and Vice President of Clymer Health Clinic in Quakertown, PA.  She will talk about Nutrition & Health.

August, 2003

 

August 19 – Board of Directors Meeting – 7:30PM, Tom Gambino Room

August 20 – Regular Meeting – 7PM, Cranbury Station, Dinner: Baby Back Ribs

                        Speaker: Charley Devany – will discuss second careers, in open forum.

 

Message From The Past President

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors, and the entire Membership, for all the support they have given me during these last two years, especially when it came to all the new – and thankfully, successful – projects and fundraisers that we have put in place during that time. I would like to remind all Lions that “We Serve” more than pancakes, and thank you all for your efforts in coming out to sell the Annual 50/50, as well as the new Trenton Thunder 50/50; thanks for your help, assistance and personal donations toward the Beamer Memorial, Toys for Tots, and the Coupon Collection Project; thanks for your support for our many efforts to help children with such programs as Quest, the Stan Thomas Award, the Beamer and Tudor Scholarships, the World Affairs Seminar, our semi-annual student exchange, and the Halloween Party.   Thanks for your help on all the programs and projects, large and small, old and new, that we have worked side by side on, for the last two years. Yes, we have come a long way in these last two years, but, let’s not forget that whatever strides we are perceived as having made, they were only possible through the unity, service and volunteer spirit that comes to the Cranbury Lions from our Members..

 

On behalf of the entire Club, I would like to thank our new President, Ray Dickey, for stepping up when he was needed, and wish him, and this new cabinet, the best of luck at the beginning of what I know will be an exciting, and rewarding year.

 

Things To Know

 

Please welcome our newest member, Jerry Hanson

 

The Summer Dress Code is in effect during July and August. Members may wear appropriate summer attire to meetings, including shorts.

The Board of Directors voted at the June Meeting to experiment with the Meeting Program. Beginning September 2003, we will have only one formal speaker per month at one   of our regular meetings. The second meeting will be a series of informal, no pressure discussions, among the members, on a topic that will be chosen at the monthly Board of Directors meeting, and reported here. Possible topics may include hobbies, careers, or any other interesting possibilities. This will be an opportunity for any member to speak about the topic, and for all members to get to know each other better, through these discussions. In view of the diversity that our Club has in age and career categories, this will only help to solidify what is already a strong Club.

 

The Coupon Collection Project is a very worthwhile project that  would only cost each of us a mere 10-15 minutes each Sunday morning. As explained before, this project has been organized by a South Jersey Lions Club, through the military and the National Manufacturer’s Coupon organization. All manufacturer’s coupons are being collected and sent to APO’s and FPO’s worldwide, for use in the Post Exchange, by military families overseas who don’t have the benefit of coupon supplements in the Sunday paper. The coupons can be expired up to six months. We appeal to all Lions to (neatly) clip every manufacturer’s coupon from the Sunday paper, put them in an envelope and either bring them to the meetings or drop them (temporarily) at Lion Bob Virgadamo’s house. He will act as temporary Chair person and make the arrangements to get them to the staging area in South Jersey. If a fellow Lion can take the time to Chair this project, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

As one might expect, considering the leafless, lifeless vertical log in Heritage Park, the Beamer Memorial Committee has received numerous inquiries about the tree. If any Lion is asked about the tree, please explain that the tree has not been replaced because we went from a freezing winter into the one of the wettest springs in history; there was too much water to dig the tree out without damaging the donor’s property. We were told we’d need five successive days of no rain before the tree could be moved. However, we went from monsoon rains to desert temperatures, and now, we are informed that the tree cannot be moved in this excessive heat. A replacement for the Beamer tree has been selected, and the tree WILL be replaced, when the weather permits.

 

The Trenton Thunder Super 50/50 was held on Saturday, June 14^th, and through the efforts of five Lions and two non-Lion volunteers, the Club made $569. That’s not bad for a fundraiser that requires no outlay, no preparation, and no clean-up – all we have to do is just showing up and yell “50/50” for three hours! A laurel and hardy handshake to Lions Greg Overstreet, Dave Shaffer, Dave Stout, Bob Virgadamo, and Bob Wood, with a special thanks to Mary Ellen Larson and Renate Overstreet.

 

Our Club Tail Twister, Lion Joe Carroll, has run a fishing excursion at work for a couple of years, and has suggested this as a new, and additional, Club Outing for Lions, their families and friends. Using this as a poll, any Lion who might be interested in such a fishing trip, should contact Joe, via e-mail at jcarroll@ariproducts.com, or by phone at (609) 409-9682, and provide him with you’re comments, including your preference for a time slot during the summer or early fall

 

The 3^rd Annual Cranbury Lions Club Picnic will be on Saturday, July 26, at the Cranbury Swim Club. A reservation sign-up sheet will be circulating at the July meeting, or contact Lion Joe Carroll to make your reservation.

 

And speaking of Lion Joe…. since we found out, last year at the USA/CanadaForum, what a modern, 21^st Century Tail Twister is supposed to do at meetings and other gatherings to promote camaraderie and good natured fun, Lion Joe has been doing an excellent job by trying to come up with all new methods of fun-raising for Administrative fundraising. All members are reminded that it’s not about “not wearing your pins” anymore, and that these new methods will change at virtually every meeting. So, think purple socks, red noses, and ugly ties… or, the lack of purple socks, red noses and ugly ties. And, by the way the 25¢ fines of the 1960’s are just like the 60’s…a thing of the past; let’s try to remember that money folds, please, and so should the “fines”.

 

The 4^th Annual Trenton Thunder Baseball Outing will be on Saturday, August 23^rd, at 7:05 PM, and is between the Thunder (NY Yankees) and the Binghamton Mets. Tickets are $10 each and are available to all Cranbury residents and guests. We have been advised that the game is completely sold out. At this writing, we have 9 tickets left; seating is limited, and we must notify the Thunder how many seats we will be using before the middle of July, so reserve your tickets now!

 

Reminders

 

Frank Marlowe has been our Program Chair for a few years now, and has done quite an excellent job lining up speakers for our bi-monthly meetings. You can all imagine how difficult it can be, finding 20 speakers per year that will be of relative interest to all our Members!  We all come in contact with someone interesting on a regular basis. When you do, or if you have any suggestions for speakers, please give Frank a call, or e-mail him at marlowe@cranburynj.com .

 

It is important that we increase our fundraising capability without requesting money from our small community over and over again. With over 300 commercial locations in our immediate area, the website is one of the easiest and best fundraisers we have. We ask every member to please try to bring in at least one advertiser per year. Refer all advertising leads to Lions Gene Buckley, Dave Shaffer or Bob Virgadamo.

 

Any member who learns of the sickness or death of another member, or in a member’s family, or any other similar incident or emergency, should contact Lion Dave Cook to activate the “phone tree”, so that all members may be notified.

 

Don’t forget about our new Eyeglass Collection Box, at its new location in front of the Library.

 

Member Pick-Up

Ed Lawson (5 S. Main) – Max Mesner (Rossmoor)

 

7/16 – Walt Caldwell; 8/20 – Jon Goldstein

 

Please remember that Lion Max needs to be picked up in a full sized sedan. Any volunteer that doesn’t have a large car can utilize Max’s large sedan for the pick-ups. If you cannot make your pick-up, and/or if you switch (or need to switch) with someone else, please notify Rick Cusworth (655-2426 ) as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you are unable to make a meeting.