Jungle Jargon
A Monthly Broadcast to
THE
LIONS CLUB OF CRANBURY, NEW
Contact us at: http://cranburylions.org
“A Country Club Trying to Serve Its Country”
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Ideals in
Government |
Mutual
Helpfulness |
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Social Progress |
Understanding |
Civic Betterment
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Fellowship |
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President |
Mike Kaiser |
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Directors – 1 year |
Walt Caldwell |
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1st Vice
President |
Andre Mento |
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Jon Goldstein |
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2nd Vice
President |
John Kobland |
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Tom Reilly |
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3rd Vice
President |
Dave Cook |
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Peter Turner |
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Secretary |
George Smith |
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Treasurer – Operating/Projects |
Glenn Johnson |
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Directors – 2 Years |
Ray Dickey |
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Assistant Treasurer - Projects |
Elaine Homoky |
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Pat Meehan |
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Dave Shaffer |
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Immediate Past President |
Rick Burke |
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Bob Virgadamo |
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Information Technology
Chairman |
Dave Shaffer |
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Publicity |
Rick Burke |
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Lion Tamer |
Frank Marlowe |
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Jargon Editor |
Bob Virgadamo |
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Tail Twister |
Peter Turner |
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Membership Chairman |
Jon Goldstein |
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October, 2007
October 2 – Board of Directors Meeting –
October 3 – Regular
Meeting – Spouse Night –
Speaker: Tom Petrino, an
Antiques Appraiser, will talk to us about antiques and will do one appraisal for
each person who attends
October 17 – Regular Meeting – Spouse Night –
Speaker:
Annette Lockette, a
Nutritionist, will discuss nutrition
and how we eat.
November, 2007
November 6 – Board of Directors Meeting –
November 7 – Regular
Meeting –
In Lieu of Speaker: The
Club Wine Project will meet and do the Wine Press and barreling.
November 21 – Regular Meeting – 7:30 AM , Teddy’s Restaurant; this Breakfast meeting is a one-time attempt
to “try something different”, and
to support Teddy after all these years of him supporting us. There will be no
speaker at this “networking” meeting
Things To Know
Even though we have begun sending 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 to attend all meetings, but are wholly encouraged to attend “Spouse Night” meetings.
President
As part of the Cranbury Lions acceptance of the international program, the Challenge to Change, we are trying a few new things, which we hope will revitalize and strengthen our Club.
For one, we are attempting to have fun as a Club, by
promoting venue changes whenever feasible. President Mike and Lion Bob V have
arranged for a Club Project
with The Grape Escape in
As a change, and to support Teddy for all the support he has
given us over the past 30 years, we will hold a Breakfast Meeting at
Another thing that has come up is the Mid-Winter Get-Away. Governor Bob has discovered that not only does nearly every district in the country do a Mid-Winter Get-Away at the beginning of February, our District 16-D did one until about 18 years ago. The Mid-Winter Get-Away is a family oriented gathering of Lions in the District for a weekend, where no Lions business is conducted…just a whole lot of fun with people getting to know one another! It is too late for District 16-D to make their own arrangements this year, but two other New Jersey Districts have invited Governor Bob and District 16-D to participate in their Mid-Winter Get-Aways. At Governor Bob’s request, President Mike is asking every Cranbury Lion to answer three questions:
- First, would you and your family like to go?
- Second,
would you like to go to
- Third,
would you like to go to
Please send your “poll” results to President Mike or Lion
Bob V, either by e-mail or telephone; we must have poll results by October 20.
It would seem that our two Cranbury Day “Co-Chairs-In-Training” got the hang of it
right away; under the watchful and guiding eyes of Lions Walt Caldwell and
Lion Mahlon Thompson tells us that the Golden Ager’s Luncheon on September 15 was one of the best
Luncheons we’ve ever hosted. The Club would like to thank Lion Mahlon and his
volunteers, including Lions Alex Johnson, Frank Marlowe and Tom & Mary
Reilly, for their continued Service to the Community.
The Designer Show
House turned out to be a phenomenal fundraising opportunity, thanks to
the forethought and generosity of President Mike, who is donating the net gate
proceeds of $3750 to Campaign SightFirst II, on behalf of the Cranbury Lions
Club. Cranbury Lions were asked only to stand at the door to collect the “suggested
donation” of $5 per person. A laurel and hardy handshake to project Chairperson
Our annual White
Cane Days are coming and we need volunteers for this quintessential
Lions fundraiser. We know that “no one like to ‘shake a can.’” And we know that
some Members feel like they’re “begging for bucks”, which of course, no one enjoys. But, the Board is
asking that you Challenge to Change your thought process. Part of our problem
is being the “best kept secret” in Cranbury. We need visibility, and that,
Fellow Lions, is what White Cane can do for us. Instead of thinking how it will look, consider that
our vest and hats will be seen, and that people may, once again, come to
realize we are here. Consider that someone may ask what we do, or how they can
become a Lion. Consider the positive aspect that we are advertising WHAT we do
for the community and the world. The more Members we have out there collecting
for White Cane means the more visible we become and, to a lesser degree, the
more we can raise. White Cane Days will be October 19 & 20. Please contact
the White Cane Chair, Lion
Due to a severe lack of attendance by the children over the
past few years, the Children’s
Halloween Party is being temporarily suspended. However, we will be
combining our resources with the PTO and the Mother’s Club for a Pumpkin Carving Contest on
Friday, October 26 from
The Valentine Day Roses Sale has
worked so well for the last two years that the Board has discussed and approved
a Holiday Poinsettia Sale.
Like the Roses, the members of the Committee will market and pre-sell
poinsettias during the pancake breakfast as a supplement to the
fundraiser. The Board would like to
thank Lions
Lions
Membership – Membership – Membership
As always we are looking for new members. However, this year’s theme from International President Mahendra Amarasuriya is “the Challenge To Change”, and how, through change, we can increase Membership while rejuvenating existing members to help to keep the Club young, active, and viable! Cranbury Lions Club President Mike has adopted this theme, and is asking ALL members to assist Jon Goldstein, our new Membership Chair, in attracting and bringing in new members. With so many new homes in Cranbury, there are many opportunities for new members. For more information about Family Membership, or membership in general, or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair Jon Goldstein, Secretary George Smith, or President Mike. Let’s try to keep our Lions Club from being Cranbury’s “best kept secret”.
…And Attendance…
On the flip side of the membership coin, we also seem to be
having a problem with attendance. Over the last couple of years meeting
attendance has diminished from an average of 45+ members per meeting to an
average of plus or minus 25 members, per meeting. Our core volunteers have
always come from sign-ups at the meetings, and with meeting attendance down,
so are the number of volunteers. While we would love to see “a
packed house” at every meeting, it is understandable that many of our Members can’t
make every meeting due to the demands and obligations to their jobs and
families, however, the Board of Directors is asking every member to try to
attend at least one meeting per month. 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 broader range of the membership, in an effort to build a
stronger Cranbury Lions Club.
Reminders
Frank Marlowe has been our Program Chair for a few years now, and has done quite an excellent job lining up speakers for each of our meetings. You can all imagine how difficult it can be, finding speakers 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 Lion Frank a call, or e-mail him at marlowe@cranburynj.com .
The Cranbury Lions Club is always in search of additional new projects and fund raisers – different, entertaining, and most importantly, fun. Any member who has a FUNdraising idea should share the idea with President Mike, or bring it up at one of the meetings. The list of potential fundraisers, and the input from interested Lions, will be discussed at a Board of Directors meeting, and presented to the general membership at a regular meeting.
While it is important that we increase our fundraising
capability, it is equally important that we do it without continually
requesting donations from our small community on a too frequent basis. 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 new advertiser per year.
Refer all advertising leads to Lions
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
Member Pick-Up – Ed Lawson
(5 S. Main)
Lion
Lion Frank Marlowe
has volunteered to be the “permanent” back-up driver.
Drivers: if you cannot make your pick-up, or need to switch,
please notify Lion Rick Cusworth (655-2426)
as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you’re not
going to make a meeting