The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

June, 2010

June 1 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

June 2 - Student Affairs Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Sliced London Broil

Program: Wayne Wittman will speak to us on a topic TBA and the Club will present the Student Awards to the "winning" students.

June 16 - Installation of Officers - Spouse Night - 7PM, Cranbury Station Restaurant; Dinner: Beef Stroganoff

Program: Installation of Officers in lieu of Speaker.

July, 2010

July 20 - Board of Directors Meeting - Reorganization Meeting - 7:30PM, President Dave Shaffer's House

July 21 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, The Grape Escape; Dinner: Buffet TBD

Program: The Club Project Wine is ready for bottling and labeling, which will be done at this meeting. Also, Club Treasurer Dean Kohler will review the 2010-2011 budget and ask for a vote.

August, 2010

August 17 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

August 18 - Regular Meetings - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Baby Back Ribs

Program: Dr. Blase Toto was the chiropractor member of the USA Medical Team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and will speak to us about the experience.

Congratulations...

Past International President Jimmy Ross presented a few awards to members of the Cranbury Lions Club at the 89^th Annual New Jersey Lions Convention at the Doubletree Hotel on May 15^th. President John Kobland was awarded the International President Certificate of Appreciation, and PDG Bob Virgadamo was awarded the International President's Award & Medal; District Governor Jim Dougherty also presented Governor's Appreciation Certificates to both PDG Bob and President John. Congratulations Lions John and Bob!

Things To Know

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 and participation. Please Note that Spouses are not only invited to attend all meetings, but to become Members under the Family Membership Initiative. In any event, Spouses are wholly encouraged to attend our quarterly "Spouse Night" meetings. Our next Spouse Night is the Installation of Officers and presentation of Awards at the meeting on June 16.

We ask all members to make a point of attending the Installation Dinner meeting to support those members who have volunteered to lead the Club on behalf of all the membership. We would also like to remind everyone that Longevity Chevrons will be presented to everyone who has had a 5-year (incremental) anniversary within the last 4 years (see below). Please attend to support these Lions who have given 10, 15, 20...55 years of service to the community as members of the Cranbury Lions Club!

The Habitat for Humanity house is now in the construction phase; the house is in Hightstown and volunteers are needed for everything - little to big - from getting coffee to installing windows. Interested volunteers should contact Lion Dave Shaffer to become part of our construction team. Our next Team weekend will be on June 27; a sign-up sheet will circulate at the June meetings.

We sold 736 tickets for our Super 50/50 Spring Raffle! We would like to thank all the members who helped to sell these tickets, especially those Lions who sold tickets on the street during the parade, or were part of the "Mahlon Brigade". Special thanks go to our perennial "top sellers", Lion Don Herr who sold 106 tickets and Lion Mahlon Thompson, who, individually and with a crew, sold 261 tickets! Sadly, not all of our members participated in this all important fundraiser, and it would seem appropriate to send out a reminder that as members of the Cranbury Lions Club, we have all promised to help the Club raise funds for charitable purposes, that this is one of our most important fundraising events, and one of the few where everyone is expected to participate. The drawing was held on Memorial Day and the winners of the Super 50/50 Spring Raffle were: Phyllis Hatala (1^st); Lions Dave Shaffer (2^nd); and, Kanwar (3^rd). Finally, the thanks of the Board and Membership go to Lion Henry Behnke for all the work he puts into making our Spring Raffle happen!

The Memorial Day Parade was once again the high point of nearly everyone in Cranbury, as residents and their families and friends lined the streets to see the spectacular, produced by Lion Dave Cook and his co-chair, Lion Andre Mento, together with their crew of volunteers. The Post-Parade Ceremony, emceed by PDG Bob, began with President John's well spoken and poignant opening speech, followed by short remarks by Congressman Rush Holt, Assemblyperson Linda Greenstein, and a keynote speech by Cranbury Mayor David Stout. Thanks go, as usual, to Jerry Yochelson and the Scout Band, Cheryl Schroeder Blackburn for her rendition of the National Anthem, Boy Scout Bugler Zack Conley and the Scout Color Guard: Wally Allikas, David Valente, Isabella Steir, and Rutha Shivate. The $100 Prize for best float went to The Little Squirts of East Windsor, and the winners of the Best Decorated Bike and Trike Contest were: Nicola Victoria Pagano (1^st), Ashley Zimmer (2^nd), and Ryan Zimmer (3^rd).

The Drug Free Fair, sponsored by Lions Quest, took place on May 8 at the Cranbury School, and a laurel and hardy handshake goes to Lion Alex Johnson and his crew of volunteers for working the game booth and distributing prizes to the children.

It is not too late to sign up to play in the Club's 12th Annual Golf Outing will be on Monday, June 7, 2010 at Peddie Golf Course. Registration and Lunch will begin at 11AM; Shotgun Scramble at Noon; Open Bar Cocktails from 4:30PM to 6:30PM; Awards Dinner from 6PM - 7PM. Individual Golfers are $140; Foursomes are $500. Fees include 18 holes, carts, grounds fees, BBQ Lunch, snacks, beverages, door prizes, and Awards. There will be a 50/50 in addition to other prizes. If you don't play, you can still attend the awards dinner and take part in the prize raffles; a sign-up sheet will be at the June 2 meeting.

The 11^th Annual Trenton Thunder Super 50/50 will be held Saturday, June 12, 2010; the Thunder will be playing the Binghamton Mets which usually insures a packed house and better sales. This is truly a fun night: sell tickets, collect donations, watch a ball game...build camaraderie. And, we can bring friends (and potential Lions) to help us sell tickets, just so long as they're over 18. Ticket sellers get in the stadium for free and the Club will provide each volunteer with a hot dog and beverage. A sign-up sheet will circulate at June 2 meeting, or contact PDG Bob, directly.

In an effort to thank Members for their continued years of service to the Club and the community, the Board of Directors has voted to bring back Longevity Award Chevrons for our Members with ten or more years. According to LCI rules, Longevity Awards are given starting with ten years of continuous service and we will be giving these Chevrons and other awards to our members at the Installation Dinner in June. Since the awards have not been given for the past few years, we are awarding the chevrons (or other awards) to all members who have had a "5-year anniversary", within the last 4 years. By way of example, a 15 year member may get an award this year for his/her anniversary 4 years ago, and will be eligible for a 20-year award next year. The Board of Directors are requesting the presence of ALL these members to the Installation Dinner, but particularly ask that Members who don't usually make meeting to attend - especially our more Elder Members - to meet and greet newer Members. Longevity Awards shall only be given to members in good standing, but, in alphabetical order by year, have been ordered for:
10 Year Lions: Bartoletti, Behnke, Carroll, Cook, Hasselbach, Jost, Kaiser, Reilly, Shaffer, Stannard, Stout, Virgadamo;
15-Year Lions: Caldwell, Homoky, Jackson, Keller, Marlowe, Reinhardt;
20-Year Lions: Frank Brennan III, Hankin;
25-Year Award: Herr;
30-Year Lions: Alan Danser, Demarco, George Smith, White;
35-Year Lions: Lawson, Mahlon Thompson;
40-Year Lions: Monty Hagerty, Swanagan;
45-Year Lions: Gilbert, Stults;
50-Year Lions: Eller, West;
55-Year Lion: Bub Danser (NOTE: the Club honored Judson Hagerty, last year on the occasion of his 65^th anniversary)

Our new LEO Club advisors, Lions Tim Demarest and Fay Kobland, have been doing all they can to get the word out about the start of a new LEO Club in our community. Posters or other advertising medium will be placed in Teddy's and Cranbury Pizza; articles are being run in the Cranbury Press. The Board of Directors asks that members - especially members with school age children - offer their assistance on this LEO Club project. We will keep your informed of the progress.

If you have been thinking of going to the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum, now is the time to get Early Bird pricing, the hotel of your choice, and cheaper airline fares. The Forum is one of the most interesting, informative - and yes, exciting! - events during the Lion Year, and can be enormous benefit to all those who attend. Better yet, the more members from our Club who attend the Forum, the better, stronger and more progressive the Club can become. The seminar topics over the course of the two days (Friday & Saturday) are varied and helpful in such areas as Club or District positions. The motivational speakers are as good as can be found anywhere, and will leave you feeling that you can be a better person, as well as a better Lion. The Pin Traders and vendor areas are always interesting - and you get a chance to see part of Lion Judson Hagerty's massive pin collection!). This year's Forum is in Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Home of Harley Davidson, some of the country's best beers, "Laverne & Shirley", and of course, "The Fonz". And, there will be a Motorcycle raffle drawing (a very cool, hot orange Harley). Don't miss out on this GREAT event! Contact PDG Bob Virgadamo for information and Registration, or see the Forum Newsletter on-line at https://usacanadalionsforum.org/forumnewsletter012010v1a.pdf and for an updated Seminar List go to https://usacanadalionsforum.org/2010seminarspeakerspreadsheet.pdf. Check it out!

Let's Get Together As Friends This Summer...

The Cranbury Lions will host PorchFest; it will be on Friday, July 9, at the home of Lion Andre & Rosemarie Mento. All Members are being asked to participate, in this "passive" recruiting forum.

The Annual Club Picnic will be held on Saturday, July 24, at the home of Lion Joe and Suzanne Carroll.

We have also made arrangements for the 11^th Annual Trenton Thunder Baseball Outing on Saturday, August 7, 2010; the Thunder will be playing the Mets. Tickets are $10 and are available now. Contact PDG Bob.

Membership - Membership - Membership

As we've said so often, membership is the key to our survival! New members will rejuvenate existing members and help to keep us ALL young-at-heart, active, and viable! President John is asking ALL members to assist Membership Chair Jon Goldstein in attracting and bringing in new members. Some of our members have said that the reason it took so long to become Lions was that no one asked! Ask your friends and neighbors if they would like to give a little of their time to serve and to give back to the community, while having a good time doing it with new friends. If every one of our 66 members asked just one person to join and only 25% of those people joined this year, we would increase our membership by 17 people! To get information about membership options or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair Jon, Secretary Bob, or President John. In any event, we MUST maintain a proactive campaign to bring in new Members and keep our Lions Club from being Cranbury's "best kept secret".

...And Attendance...

President John is asking EVERY Cranbury Lion to provide suggestions on how we might be able to make the meetings more appealing to a broader range of the membership, in an effort to build a stronger Cranbury Lions Club. Since attendance is such a problem, there must be a reason or reasons; please provide your suggestions to President John directly. We can't fix it until we know what's broken!

Reminders

The Club requires that all Members wear a Lion Vest when we are at a fundraiser or Service Project. If you do not have a vest please contact Club Secretary Bob to obtain one. You may also order a baseball cap; these items are at "cost" to our members. Vests @$40 (S-M-L) or $45 (XL, 2X); larger size vests (to 6X) are available as a special order; hats are $12. Ladies Cut for vests are available, same pricing.

To access the Club Directory on-line, use the case-sensitive pass codes which were printed herein past issues, or contact Lion Phyllis Johnson for the pass codes.

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 Christine Johnson ("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 to 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 John as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you cannot make a meeting.