The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

March, 2009

March 3 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

March 4 - REGULAR MEETING SUPERCEDED BY ANNUAL JOINT MEETING WITH HIGHTSTOWN, BELOW

March 11 - Annual Joint meeting with Hightstown LC - 6:30P (cocktails); 7PM Dinner: TBD, at the Apollo
Masonic Lodge, Main Street, Hightstown.

Program: Guest Speaker from and discussion about the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey

March 18 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Corned Beef & Cabbage

Program: Lions History - Some of our Past Presidents will speak about the club during their time in office.

April, 2009

March 31 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

April 1 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Portobello

Program: Past Presidents II: Lions History - Some of our Past Presidents will speak about the club during their time in office.

April 15 - Lion Of The Year Meeting - 7PM, Location to be determined; Dinner: TBD

Program: Presentation of the Lion of the Year Award (and Melvin Jones Fellowes, if any); as always this is a "Spouse Night" meeting, and members are encouraged to bring their spouses as we present this prestigious award to one of our members.

Things To Know

Even though we send a revised "Calendar of Events" with each dues mailing, we'd like to remind all members to PLEASE,share the Jargon with your Spouse, so that our events may be better scheduled on your personal or family calendars for better attendance. Please Note that Spouses are invited not only to attend the meetings, but to become Members under the Family Membership Initiative. In any event, Spouses are wholly encouraged to attend "Spouse Night" meetings. Our next "Spouse Night" is our Lion of the Year" Dinner on April 15.

SPECIAL NOTE: As noted above, our annual joint meeting with Hightstown alternates schedules - this year we are on their schedule; Please Note - our FIRST March meeting will be on March 11, in Hightstown.

Nominations are now being accepted for the Cranbury Lions Club Board of Directors for the Lion Year 2009-2010. All interested Lions should contact 1VP John Kobland or Director Andre Mento.

As Lions,We Serve the Community. We hold meetings to promote camaraderie so that we may hold fundraisers to raise money for charity and perform service projects that help our town and the community-at-large. But, as Cranbury Lions we also serve our town in Government, on Boards, Committees and other organizations. In that vein, Lion Don Jo Swanagan has been a member of the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society since its inception, and to honor Don Jo for his many years of service to CHPS will be holding a reception in his honor on Saturday, April 4, from 2-4 PM, at the Cranbury Museum.

Once again, due to the efforts of Event Chair, Lion Joe Carroll, New Jersey Lions Night at the NJ Devils was a smashing success State-wide, but more importantly, Joe sold the most tickets in the state, allowing our Club to benefit from a donation by the Devils of $840 to our Projects Account. Thanks, Joe, and the other members of our Club who enjoyed the evening at "the Rock", and allowed us to raise this money in a year when it is so desperately needed.

Lions Frank Vesci and Christine Thompson Co-Chaired our Biennial Mid-Winter Art Auction, at Fellowship Hall in the Cranbury Presbyterian Church on February 21. And due to their efforts and the efforts of their crew, we enjoyed a fairly successful fundraiser. We would be remiss if we didn't mention that in spite of the relatively poor attendance, Kathie Morolda and her people made every effort to find a way to help us raise the money we did. We would like to thank all the local businesses who supported us by purchasing an ad in the Ad Journal, the members of the public that came and took advantage of the excellent pricing for so many incredible art pieces, and the Club Members who actually sold or purchased tickets. Finally, we'd like to thank all the local artists who donated pieces of their work and the members of the business community who donated gift certificates to our Tricky Tray Table. Giant Attaboys to Lions Frank & Christine for all your efforts.

The District 16-D Charity Ball will be held on Saturday, March 21, at the Pines Manor in Edison; Cash Bar Cocktails at 7PM; Dinner at 7:45PM; Dancing until Midnight. The cocktail hour will include International cheeses, crudités, marinated vegetables, fresh mozzarella with tomato and basil, shrimp, mussels and calamari marinated in lime juice and olive oil; Dinner will be Orecchiette pasta with baby spinach, pine nuts and pesto, followed by a choice of roast breast of chicken with artichokes, tomato and prosciutto in white wine sauce; or, braised Asian short ribs; or, sliced roast sirloin with caramelized onions; or, grilled salmon with mango salsa; or, baked shrimp with tomatoes; or, fried calamari marinara; accompanied by seasonal vegetables and rosemary Yukon potatoes; followed by pastries, coffee, and/or tea. And this sumptuous meal and dancing until Midnight is only $60 per person. This is our 16-D Charitable Foundation's ONLY means of income for the year, so we have been asked to be generous. We would like to thank the 18 Members who took the $5 Patron Ads; the Club took a Full Page Ad. There will be raffles and a 50/50 at the event, to help raise funds. There are already 3 couple going from the Club, but we would like to put together at least one table (of ten). Anyone who would like to attend, please contact PDG Bob, ASAP.

The Board of Directors at the Jamesburg Home for Boys, an MD-16 State approved organization and an organization that the Cranbury Club has closely supported throughout our 76 year history, has requested our assistance in forming a new LEO Club at the facility. The Club will be open to (rehabitable) non-violent offenders, who wish to render service to the community; our Board of Directors has approved this Club Service Project, and, VERY IMPORTANT, is seeking at least 2 members who would be willing to serve as LEO liaison advisors to this Club. Information regarding the Advisor and Leo Clubs, in general, can be downloaded from the LCI website at: http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/pdfs/leo65.pdf; a hard copy booklet is available from PDG Bob for the Advisor Volunteer(s). It should be noted, however, that the Leo Club will not be "up and running" too soon; the "School Officials" have not approved the service project between the facility and the NJ Lions Eye Glass Recycling Center, for security reasons, and there is a minor snafu /major inconvenience to the Advisor(s) concerning "regular entry" to the facility. Until these items are worked out, this project is "on hold". However, since most of the Supporting Club's Advisory work can be done off-site, with an on-site employee/advisor who will need a "Contributing Club Contact", we may still be able to move forward if an Employee Advisor is found. Notwithstanding the logistical problems, any members who would like to volunteer as Leo Advisors should contact President Mike or PDG Bob, so that we can "hit the ground running" when the project comes to fruition.

Since we already have a few volunteers from Cranbury, we should follow through on our commitment and plan to sponsor a New Club in Plainsboro. To accomplish this, we need a few committed Lions to contact local businesses, local government employees, and perhaps run a membership drive in the shopping plazas and the new "downtown" area to gather local residents as members. This would not be unprecedented; the Cranbury Lions sponsored the Hightstown Club, as well as the (now defunct) Hamilton, Jamesburg, and (former) Plainsboro Clubs. There's no doubt that this will be a large undertaking, but the satisfaction obtained at the completion of this project will make every Cranbury Lion proud! As it is with all our projects, the more volunteers we can get, the easier the task! Time is becoming of the essence - Interested Lions should contact President Mike, Membership Chair Jon Goldstein, or PDG Bob, ASAP.

It has been recommended that a member of the Club be totally familiar with the Lions Clubs International Insurance Policy, which covers us under its umbrella, and be available to inspect our event sites and complete a form as it may apply to any particular event or fundraiser, as the new Club "Safety Officer". It is interesting to note that, other than being familiar with the policy, and completing any form that may ever become necessary (but only if necessary - in the last 76 years, no one can remember ever having to fill out a safety form!), this Club Position is about as easy as anything could be. Anyone interested in this position - especially members with insurance-related backgrounds - should contact President Mike.

A quick notation about the USA/Canada Leadership Forum this coming September 24-26. If, in addition to learning more about our Association and how to become a better Lion, you'd like to ride a Mississippi Riverboat, visit the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll, catch the Blues at a hot club, see Graceland, visit the National Civil Rights Museum, check out pandas at the zoo, or just have the World's Best Barbeque, this year's Forum is in Memphis, TN ... and it is expected to be one of the best Forum's on a never ending list of great Forums. For more information or an application, see PDG Bob.

It feels like winter, but baseball season is coming! Mark your calendars for our Trenton Thunder 50/50 on Friday, June 12, Thunder v. Mets; and our Annual Baseball Outing on Saturday, August 22. We are looking to sell at least 50 tickets and urge you to attend this game, with your family and friends; the Trenton Thunder has been our friend and loyal supporter for more than a decade, but if our ticket sales don't increase for this one game, (due to the severe economic climate) we may be in danger of losing our preferred 50/50 night in future years.

Coming Soon...

The Board has approved Saturday, April 25 as "Service Day" for the Club. The plan is that we will meet in the morning and, as a group, serve on the line, or wherever needed, at TASK for approximately 2 hours, after which we will go to the NJ Eyeglass Recycling Center and help sort, fix or otherwise recycle eyeglasses at the center for a few hours. More detailed information will be available shortly. This will be a Club Service Project, and it is expected that we would have a large turn out since, as Lions. We Serve!

Our next White Cane Collection will be April 17 & 18. Lions Jeff Grundy will Chair the Event, and is working on a schedule as we speak! A sign-up sheet will start circulating shortly. Please be generous with your time.

Habitat For Humanity is preparing to begin a new "project house" in Hightstown, the BOD has discussed having a warm weather "Service Day" by helping with this project. Discussions will continue after we have obtained additional details.

Membership - Membership - Membership

Last year's theme was "the Challenge to Change", and, through change, we can increase our Membership while rejuvenating existing members to help to keep the Club young-at-heart, active, and viable! Cranbury Lions Club President Mike will continue to accept the Challenge to Change, and is asking ALL members to assist Membership Chair Jon Goldstein in attracting and bringing in new members. To get information about membership options or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair Jon, Secretary Bob Virgadamo, or President Mike. In any event, we MUST begin a proactive campaign to bring in new Members! Let's try to keep our Lions Club from being Cranbury's "best kept secret".

...And Attendance...

Using the tag-line, "If you build it, they will come", President Mike is asking EVERY Cranbury Lion to provide suggestions on how we might be able to CHANGE the meetings to appeal to a broader range of the membership, in an effort to build a stronger Cranbury Lions Club. Please provide your suggestions to him directly.

Reminders

Do you know of an interesting speaker? You may be an interesting speaker! Please advise Program Chair Frank Marlowe with any and all suggestions for speakers at our meetings.

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 Lions Frank Marlowe (Chair, H&W) and/or Dave Cook ("phone tree"), and/or Bob Virgadamo (e-mail notifications) so that all members may be notified as soon as possible.

Member Pick-Up - Ed Lawson (5 S. Main)

Lion George Smith has volunteered be the "permanent" pick up driver for Lion Ed; Lion Frank Marlowe has volunteered to be the "permanent" back-up driver. Drivers: if you cannot make your pick-up, please notify President Mike as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you cannot make a meeting