February 2005

Multiple District MD5M Newsletters

February 2005 Volume 2, Issue 6

Governor Ole and Lion Karen’s Travels Through

Service & Membership: 

            What kind of a day is it?  IT IS A FANTASTIC DAY and we are proud to be your District Representatives.  Lion Karen and I have reached the half-way point of our leadership year.  The year is flying by.  We have completed half of our official club visits and we wish to thank the clubs for the hospitality, mementos and gifts we have received. We still have some clubs yet to visit. So, if you have not as yet scheduled a visit, we will be stopping by at the convention or giving you a call to set one up.

            Just this last weekend, January 7-9, Lion Karen and I were at the 5M6 convention in St. Paul. We had a wonderful time visiting with District Governor Wes and Lion Carol Ann Sideen from 5M6, District Governor Bob and Sally Thoma from District 5M3, District Governor Brian and Lion Lori Sheehan from District 5M4, Council Chair Keith and Marion Johnson from 5M4, District 5M Secretary Lion Bob and Lion Deb Harms. We were also introduced to their guest for the weekend International Director Randy and Lion Kathy Heitmann from Cambridge, Nebraska. It was a great time renewing old acquaintances and meeting new friends.

            This Informer should be getting to you just before the convention, so you should have your convention plans in order to join us for a weekend of education, fun and reflection.  Remember the changes that have been made known in the last couple of issues of the Informer regarding the Memorial Service, Seminars, etc.

At the Business Meeting, Saturday afternoon, there will be a vote taken for the Hall of Fame Award that will be given at the Multiple District Convention in Brandon, MB in May; there is also the voting on Vice District Governor, dues increase for our District along with some housekeeping resolutions. Delegates, come and vote! 

            Our visiting International Director, Ernest Young, will also be recognizing Lions who have made a difference in our organization.  I truly wish I could give every Lion in our District an award, if for no other reason than being a Lion and serving your community. You demonstrate every day the true meaning of Lionism, We Serve.   To the Cabinet for doing a marvelous job keeping our District on the right track, to the Zone Chairs and Region Chair for the endless hours of work and support to this District Governor, I thank you . I am very fortunate to work with you all. No one person can do this alone!

            We are looking forward to see all clubs represented at the convention.  Remember, there will be some Saturday evening entertainment after the Governors Banquet…..PID Ross and I will be sharing the spotlight!  See you there!

                        Yours in Lionism,

DG Ole

The Next BIG Thing

 Submitted by Roger Badenhop, Hearing Foundation Co-chair

      The Lions Newborn Hearing Screening Program has been fantastically successful. In 1999 when the program started only 8 hospitals routinely screened newborns’ hearing. Currently, 109 birthing hospitals in the state are screening nearly 70,000 babies each year.  Approximately 3500 of these babies (5%) fail the screening and need follow-up diagnostic hearing testing.  In 2003, 50 babies in Minnesota were confirmed to have permanent hearing loss.  As follow-up programs improve, we anticipate this number will rise to 200 babies per year. This is one very important half of the coin – the detection half. 

      The other critical half of the coin is effective, early treatment.  Without treatment, detection does little.  In Minnesota, treatment programs are scattered throughout the state, and there is no “Center of Excellence” that provides all of the resources that families need to make treatment decisions.  The University of Minnesota Department of Otolaryngology is in a unique position to develop an interdisciplinary center devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of newborn hearing loss.  Amazingly, there are no such centers in the upper Midwest.  The closest similar center is located at Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska.

      Mission Statement of the Lions 5M Children's Hearing Center:  To provide a family-centered, state of the art facility that brings together in one location all of the necessary resources families need when their child is identified with permanent hearing loss.  From detection of hearing loss to assessment of associated health and genetic conditions, to education of families, to helping families formulate plans, the Center will provide state of the art, compassionate care for children and their families.  In the spirit of bringing research to the bedside, the Center will also integrate the research and education missions of the Department of Otolaryngology with our clinical missions.

        Children can be seen by all of the following specialists in one location: 

·         Pediatric Otolaryngology                       

·         Pediatric Audiology

·         Developmental Pediatrics

·         Genetics

·         Pediatric Ophthalmology

·         Habilitative Audiology

·         Speech-Language Pathology

·         Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Advocacy

·         Other specialty medical services as needed

New facilities will allow a comprehensive place for families to learn about hearing loss, and what can be done, including: Family counseling, playroom, a library of written materials, video and audio tapes and computer facilities with internet access.

      Research and education programs will provide the specialists of tomorrow with:

·         State of the art diagnostic equipment

·         Yearly conferences for professionals

·         Website providing information about hearing loss, and describing the clinical, research and education endeavors of the Center

·         Infrastructure supporting new research grants

      Goals of the Lions 5M Children's Hearing Center will be to: 

1. Enhance and coordinate existing clinical services at the University of Minnesota to provide comprehensive, inter-disciplinary care for hearing-impaired infants and children in the upper Midwest region;

2. Educate families and other professionals concerning the diagnosis of hearing loss and habilitative options including prosthetic devices, speech and language therapy, and alternative forms of communication

3. Coordinate follow-up services with educators and local health care professionals;

4. Provide a teaching clinic for otolaryngology residents, audiology students and and medical students;

5. Initiate new research on congenital hearing loss;

6. Provide information to the public on childhood hearing loss through written materials, development of a website, and annual conferences on “Recent Advances in the Treatment of Hearing Loss in Children.”

      Lions and Leos from 5M-5 will cross the river and join hands with their counterparts in District 5M-6 to sponsor a concert benefiting LCIF (Lions Clubs International Foundation). 

      The event will feature the Augsburg Centennial Singers in concert at Augsburg College.

      There are only 500 tickets available, 250 for each  district, and tickets cost $40.00 each.  Flyers will be available at our Mid-Winter Convention

which will contain an order form.  When you order your tickets, enclose a check and self-addressed stamped envelope and the tickets will be mailed to you.  Tickets will be available on a first come first served basis.

      Sponsorships to underwrite expenses of the concert will be available to clubs in 5M-5 & 5M-6.

      At of this writing, Immediate Past President and LCIF Chairman Dr. Tae-Sup Lee has agreed to attend the event and will accept a check on behalf of LCIF.  We are hoping to raise $20,000 that night.  Let’s have a great response from the Lions and Lioness of 5M-5 for LCIF.

      If you have questions in regard to the singers, the event or the program, you may contact VDG Jack Hines, or DG Wes Sideen from 5M-6. 

DISTRICT 5M5 CALENDAR

AND GOV’S SCHEDULE

Jan 21,22,23   5M-5 Mid Winter Convention

Jan 21,22,23      5M-7 Mid Winter Convention

Jan 25                Crystal Lions Official Visit

Jan 28,29,30      5M-4 & 5M-11 Mid Winter

Jan 31               Membership Committee Meeting

February 2        Rogers Lions Official Visit

Feb 4                Hopkins Noon Spaghetti Dinner I

Feb 4-6             5M-1 & 5M-10 Convention

Feb 5                Lyn Lake 40^th Anniversary

Feb 5                Lyn Lake Nostalgia Show

Feb 6                Brklyn Ctr Super Bowl Pancake Bkfst

Feb 6                So’Tonka Super Bowl Pancake Bkfst

Feb 12              Corcoran Lions Official Visit

Feb 10-13         5M-2 Convention

Feb 17              Brklyn Park Lady Lions Official Visit

Feb 18-20         5M-3 and 5M-13 Convention

Feb 27              Edina Lions/ABC Pancake Breakfast

Feb 28              Chanhassen Lions Official Visit

March 11          Hopkins Noon Spaghetti Dinner II

May 15             Hopkins Eve Belgium Waffle Bkfst

Member                   Club                           Sponsor      

Gregg Fishbein        Plymouth Lions       Bonnie Deters
Jill Hadler               Plymouth Lions       Bonnie Deters
Arlene Moehring     Plymouth Lions       Bonnie Deters
Jesse Ploessl           Plymouth Lions          Merv Bjerke
Orlan Thorbeck       Plymouth Lions          Merv Bjerke
Dave Elliot              Plymouth Lions           Gene Miller
Ron Moore             Plymouth Lions           Gene Miller

Jim Barber              Plymouth Lions            Ron Moore

·         Deadline for the March issue of The Informer is Friday, February 11^th.  Send articles or pancake breakfast ads to me at informer@dfti.net  Please put LIONS in the subject line of email so I’ll know it’s not junk mail. 

·         Opportunity Partners (the beneficiary of the Hopkins Noon Spaghetti dinner 2/4) supports people who have disabilities and special needs in their effort to improve their self-sufficiency at work, at home, and in life.  Lion Bridget Kohl, a member of Mpls Central is VP Human Resources and Volunteer Services of Opportunity Partners. 

·         Many thanks to PDG Tom Shinnick for posing for the drawings of the cupids in The Informer!

·         Please note:  If you have yet to scheduled your club’s visit from District Governor Ole, please do so as soon as possible in order to schedule a time convenient to your club.  Call Ole or Karen at 763-566-4925 or email them at oknelson@usfamily.net. 

·        If your Lion or Lioness Club has lost a member through death, you must notify your Zone Chairman immediately. 

      As I think about December, I hope each and every one had a beautiful holiday season.  This newsletter will come out in January, and our Lions year is half over.  This is the time of year for all the Club Presidents and Secretaries to pull out the goals you made at the begin-ning of the year to see if you are on schedule.  It is so important to set goals, but it is more important to check your goals to make sure you accomplish all you set out to do.

      This past weekend Carol and I went to 5M6 Midwinter in St Paul.  They had a beautiful memorial service on Friday night.  On Saturday we drive to Mahnoman to attend 5M9 Midwinter.  Both districts had good turnout and good seminars.

      In December we went to a Diabetes Awareness Symposium at the International Diabetes Center in St Louis Park.  Dr Roger Mazze talked about the different types of diabetes, and what age groups are affected.  Thanks to the 5M Lions, we can be proud of the money we donate to IDC for research. 

      The Hearing & Service Dogs of Minnesota had an impressive graduation ceremony which I attended.  It was conducted by Lion Al Peters.  I also had the opportunity to work with the Maple Grove Lions and Maple Grove Fire Department as they packed food baskets for 150 families.  That kind of activity is what Lionism is all about … working together to help the less fortunate.

      As I talk to Lions through out 5M there is one common theme.  Lions everywhere are talking about the Tsunami disaster that took place in East Asia.  The Lions are not only praying for the victims & their family, they are opening up their wallets and making donation.  Isn’t it great to belong to an organization like Lions that will help people all over the world!

      I look forward to seeing  you all at the Midwinter on January 21,22, & 23 2005.              Lion VDG Jack

International Convention 2009 website

FEEDBACK?

Send mail to 5M5 with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: July 24, 2008