June 2004

Multiple District MD5M Newsletters

Download your copy of the newsletter as a pdf file and print it as it was originally intended.  Click here to download.

June 2004 Volume 1, Issue 11

Dear Lions, Lioness & Leos,

     This has been a very full and eventful year and I will cherish the friendships that are new and renewed in our district. PDG Harley and I are most appreciative of the  hospitality that was shown in the visitations of the clubs.  We were able to visit almost all.  We also had so much fun attending the many fundraisers.  ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE was stressed, which I truly believe is essential to having a good club and a growing club.

                Here are some of our accomplishments and highlights during the year 2003-2004  ~

·   We chartered Mpls. North Lions Club, are in the process of chartering a Latino club, chartered Rogers Royals Leo Club, started a Campus club at the UofM.  However, we did lose one club, but most of the members transferred to other clubs.

·   At the Mid-Winter Convention attendance was up for all events.  We had the new Women in Lionism Seminar, a Leo Club forum, had fun with the Hat is Back.  The donations given at the Parade of Green was up.  Several new resolutions were passed at the business meeting.  We also had the honor of endorsing Lion Maynard Rucks of 5M-2 as our candidate for International Director.

·   We had the honor of offering a new award in honor of PID John Lutter, with Lion Jim Ebert of Brooklyn Park Lions being the first recipient.

·   Our July 2003 Lions membership count was 1637 and we dropped to a low of 1605 and up to 1614 as of March 2004.  Since then we have taken in many new members.  Wouldn’t it be great if the Lioness were in our membership count?  Membership is the backbone of every club and we need a strong backbone.

·   The longevity of clubs is great.  Just this year we had the Booklyn Center Lioness celebrate 25 years, Dayton – 30, Golden Valley – 50, Minnetonka 50, New Hope – 50, with Hopkins Evening and Robbinsdale celebrating 65 years each.

·   With our clubs ranging in size from 8 to 107 members, many clubs join together to work for a cause, such as Eden Prairie, Bloomington and Edina purchasing a van for Camp Edenwood; Hopkins Noon and Hopkins Evening hosting an evening with the Metropolitan Boys Choir and the Apollo Mens Choir; Minneapolis North and adjoining clubs screening eyes for glasses at Pilot City, along with Lens Crafters; South Shore and South Tonka having a Super Bowl Pancake breakfast and inviting the Senior Citizens to eat free; Minneapolis Central being a sister club with a club in Japan and hosting exchange students.

            Well, Lions, Lioness and Leos, I again want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your District Governor.  I hope I see lots of you at the Multiple Convention in Mahnomen – and again in Detroit/Windsor!!               

                    Yours in Lionism,

                        Dist. Governor Jackie Morlock

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LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ~ JULY 5 - 9, 2004
DETROIT, USA / WINDSOR, CANADA

Planning to march in the Lions International. Convention parade in Detroit?  Attire for the parade will be black pants, black shoes, white 5M shirt and a hat that is to be purchased at the Multiple Convention.  All convention attendees are invited to march in the parade.  It’s a fun experience!

        After an absence of two years, the huge MD5 Snowman balloon will be making his appearance. Strong arms are needed to keep the rowdy fellow “in line.” 

        Another reason for wanting a big 5M delegation is to support our candidate for International Director – Lion PDG Maynard Rucks.

      Our delegation will be accompanied by the outstanding Lions Band Ambassadors – the Sauk Rapids Marching Band.  By the way, if your club hasn’t already done so, please urge them to send a donation in support of the band to MD5M Executive Secretary Bob Harmes right away.  Participating in the Lions International Convention parade is a good, wholesome activity for the young band members – one they’ll remember for years, and they will be grateful for your club’s support.

        .Remember to bring the snowman pins along for trading.  Other nations love to trade.  See your Zone Chair or District Governor Jackie for additional pins.

The fee waivers for new charter clubs, campus clubs, Women in Lionism, will be eliminated as of June 30, 2004.  This incentive was for only one year under the current International President, Dr. T. S. Lee

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Clubs needing a copy of the Lions of MN Charitable Foundation Grant Application form, Grant Application Guidelines, and the Operating Procedures may contact Lion Bill Nelson, the 5M-5 Gambling Chair.

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As of May 14^th clubs in 5M-5 have not contributed anything in support of “our” Sauk Rapids Marching Band.  Please, send a contribution from your club to MD5M Executive Secretary Bob Harms, 72530 CSAH 27, Dassel, MN 55325.   The Sauk Rapids band will do us proud in the International Parade. 

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Contact Brenda Reeves 612-819-1662 for  information on hosting a youth from another country for the summer.

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In the course of one week in May, the Lyn-Lake Lions & Lioness – perhaps the smallest club in our District – held an awards night, worked at the Jefferson School Carnival,  collected 969 lbs. of food and $57 cash for Joyce Foodshelf  (with help from 5 non-Lions), and bagged groceries for $235 in tips.  OUTSTANDING!

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GOV’S CALENDAR & UPCOMING EVENTS

June        5   Mpls North Pancake Breakfast

               12   Champlin Annual Car Show         

            7-19   Special Olympics Opening Eyes   

          25-27   All Star Baseball Tournament

July       5-9   2004 Lions Int’l Convention

               10    Maple Grove Corn Feed and Maple Grove Days

          16-18   New Hope Duk Duk Daze           

               23   N.E. Lions Golf Tournament

August   11   New Hope Lions Corn Feed

      Remember to check for a listing of up-to-date events at our website www.5M5.org.

 The 30^TH Annual Minnesota Lions All-Star Baseball Tournament is scheduled for Friday, June 25^th at 4:30 pm and Saturday, June 26 at 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.  Come and watch Minnesota’s best graduating high school baseball players compete in the tournament at the Chaska Municpal Stadium.  Over the years, seventeen participating players have gone on to play professional baseball, including Kent Hrbeck, Terry Steinbach, Tim Laudner and Jim Eisenreich. 

        The Tournament brings in 80 players and 12 coaches from across the state. Cost is only $3.00 advance, or $4.00 at the gate.  The MN Lions  Eye Bank and the MN High School Baseball Coaches Assn. sponsor this event, with proceeds going to the Children’s Eye Clinic. 

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      Thanks to the Eden Prairie Lions for spearheading the drive to fund a new mini-bus!  The Eden Prairie Lions Club hosted their 6^th annual golf tournament in August 2003 with the intention of raising the seed money for a new vehicle purchase.       

      Thanks to the ambition of the group, they were able to secure the support of the Bloomington Lions and Edina Lions Club as well!  The seed money quickly turned into the entire amount needed to purchase the mini-bus in December 2003. 

      Through the generosity of these clubs, Friendship Ventures can now transport 15 people in luxury with this beautiful new handicap-accessible mini-bus. 

      Go online at www.5m5.org to view a picture.

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It is great to welcome these new members that have joined our organization.  Do your best to make them feel welcome!  Sorry if someone from your club is not included.  The names of new Lions are the ones I receive from the Membership report or the club Newsletter.   – Governor Jackie

Lion Kurt Zellars                                Maple Grove

Lion Phil Stegora                                Maple Grove

Lion Ken Kumpula                            Maple Grove

Lion Mike Parks                                 Maple Grove

Lion Vickie Parks                               Maple Grove

Lion Jason Zowin                               Maple Grove

Lion Chuck Vossen                            Maple Grove

Lion Mark Gorski                               Maple Grove

Lion Bruce Bonafield                         Maple Grove

Lion Ken Thoma                                 Bloomington

Lion Mike McCormick                                Rogers

Lion John Wilsey                      Transfer to St. Boni

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                        by Roger Badenhop, 5M-5 Coordinator

                           Special Olympics MN Opening Eyes

      In a few months we will have the warm sun of June and the Special Olympics of Minnesota summer games.  In the past two years the Lions of 5M5 have work with doctors and opticians in a program called Opening Eyes.

      The objective of the Opening Eyes program is to check the vision of the Special Olympic athletes and provide free glasses were needed.  LCIF has established a $2 million Core 4 grant to help with the cost of the program worldwide.  This is a substantial amount of money but only cover 50% of the cost of the program.  LCIF wants local participation and is asking the local clubs and districts to fund the balance and provide volunteers for the Opening Eyes program.

      There are approximately 6,000 Special Olympic athletes in the state of Minnesota and in the past, 1,000+ athletes have participated in the summer games.  Last summer we did vision screening on 223 athletes.  In Minnesota we still have a large task ahead of us.

      At this years Mid-Winter convention the district cabinet approved the Special Olympic Opening Eyes event as a 5M5 project.  The district needs to raise $5,000 to cover the portion not cover by LCIF and we need volunteers to work the project.  The dates for this year’s event are Friday June 18^th and Saturday June 19^th  Each day will be split into two shifts of 4 hours each.  You will be receiving more information re-garding volunteer opportunities in a few months.

      Let us partner with LCIF and Special Olympics Minnesota to help these athletes achieve their personal best.  Special Olympic Minnesota is a non-profit 501C3 organization and their federal ID# is 41-1228157.  If you are able to support this program financially please make your check payable to Special Olympics Minnesota Opening Eyes?

      Please call (612-721-1625) if you have any question. Thank you very much for you time and support.

WOMEN’S RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE

      The goal of the Women’s Initiative is to substantially increase the number of women Lions.  While women comprise 52% of the world’s population, they only represent about 14.7% of Lions club members.  The number of women Lions members in Minnesota is below the national average of 14%.  For 5M-5, only 12% of Lions members were women while 16% of the Multiple 5M were women.  Targeting women members offers an enormous opportunity to strengthen the association.

Women's Waiver  - To aid in President Lee's Inter-national Program of recruiting women into Lions Clubs a new tool was approved at the October 2003 board meeting. Women who join a Lions Club between the period of November 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 can have their induction fees (US$25 entrance fee, US$30 charter fee) waived.  To receive credit for the fee waivers between November 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 one of the following forms must be submitted: 

New Member - Women joining an established club during the 11/1/03 and 6/30/04 period must fill out the "Membership Incentive Program for Women Joining an Existing Lions Club" form (ME-41) and return it to the Statistical and Membership Department with the club's Monthly Membership Report in order to have the US$25 entrance fee waived.

Charter Member - Women joining as charter members in new clubs during the 11/1/03 and 6/30/04 period must fill out the "Membership Incentive Program for Women Joining as Charter Members of a New Club" form (TK-700) and return it to the New Clubs and Marketing Department along with the new club's Charter Application or when reporting additional charter members prior to the end of the new club's charter period in order to have the US$30 charter fee waived. 

      The necessary forms are available from the Membership Programs Department at International Headquarters by calling (630) 571-5466 x390; or by email at memberprog@lionsclubs.org. They can also be downloaded by clicking above links or from the resources section of the Lions Clubs Int’l. web site.

FROM THE EDITOR ~

      The following was sent to me in an email.  I don’t know the author of the opening paragraph.  I was moved by the appropriateness’ of this prayer from fifty years ago to our country’s mission today in the battle against terrorism  ~

        “One of the most striking prayers a commander-in-chief ever uttered before the American public occurred during World War II.  President Franklin Roosevelt addressed the nation at the start of that war’s greatest military offensive.  In the first hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, FDR went on the radio and offered words that speak to our present challenge:

        In this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

      Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor …

        Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness to their faith.

      They will need Thy blessings … They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest – until the victory is won.  The darkness will be rent by noise and flame.  Men’s souls will be shaken with the violence of war.

      For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace.  They fight not for the lust of conquest.  They fight to end conquest.  They fight to liberate.  They fight to let justice arise, and for tolerance and good will among all Thy people.  They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

      Some will never return.  Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

      And for us at home – fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas – whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them – help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice…

      Thy will be done, Almighty God.  Amen.*

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