Lions NEWSLETTER
District 5M7 Coon Rapids Lions Club 89th Lions International Convention
We arrived in Boston on Wednesday, June 28, 2006, to attend the International Convention which began on Friday, June 30, and ended on Tuesday, July 4. We stayed one extra day to do some more sightseeing and came home on Wednesday, July 5. We stayed at the NEW Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel (Pin Traders hotel along with other delegations and Lions International staff) which was connected by a walkway to the HUGE Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (the size of 20 football fields and capable of holding 44,000 people). Being that close to the Convention Center made it very convenient for the Pin Traders. This was the first time ever that a Lions Club International Convention was held in Boston. They did a GREAT job to put it all together in only eight months! There were approximately 15,000 members of Lions Clubs International and their families in attendance. 5M7 had approximately 180 members there. Presiding over the convention was International President Ashok Mehta of Mumbai, India. Saturday, July 1, was the parade starting at 9:30 AM. Approximately 10,000 people marched along with floats and 25 marching bands. For the bands marching in the category — High School Band — 1st prize went to Multiple District 5M — MN/Manitoba/Western Ontario — the Fergus Falls High School Marching Band from Minnesota!! They were good and helped to keep us entertained while waiting the two hours before we started to march!! From 6-7:15 PM that night was the International Show which featured Ann Margaret. She remains beautiful, has a great sense of humor and a wonderful voice!
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August 2006
Reminder — Next Dinner Meeting is on Wednesday, July 26, 7:00 p.m.
Views from Our President
The Club year 2005 -2006 has come to a close. Thanks Lion John for a great and successful year. John is taking on the task of Zone Chairman for next year. Let’s all support him by attending the first Zone meeting on August 28th, hosted by our Club at the VFW. As in past history, the month of July starts off with a Big Bang — the 4th of July celebration, change of Club Officers and Committee Chairs, and even some change in Club Projects. I look forward to the coming year as President of the Club and will do my best to lead the Club forward toward a productive and fun-filled year. We still have some Committee Chair positions open. If you have a special interest in any of our projects, please step forward and volunteer to help. The 4th of July celebration was very successful with 80% of the Club members working the Parade, Concession Stand and Beer Wagons. The Lioness did a fantastic job of helping as always. Without their help, the job would have been very difficult. Thanks Lioness! Thanks to all other volunteers too! The total number of hours spent on the celebration was approximately 1000 hours. Thanks to ALL of you for your interest in this project. Don’t forget to let Lion Jerry know if you will be attending the Dinner Meeting on July 26th, so he can get an accurate count to the VFW. Looking forward to a GREAT YEAR! Lion President, Wayne Johnson
Rules to Live By...
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
August 2006
Coon Rapids Lions Club Newsletter
Sunday, July 2 was the Opening Plenary Session followed by many seminars from Campaign Sight First II to Lions Quest to Extension to Diabetes and many more. That afternoon there was a Lions Environmental Photo Contest Awards ceremony and in the Best Plant Life Category — MD5M Lion Jan Cariveau of Maple Grove Lions WON with her beautiful flower picture! Monday, July 3 was the second Plenary Session with again more seminars. We attended the Melvin Jones Fellow Luncheon from 1-3 PM. That evening we were invited to the British Isles and Ireland Reception held at the Hyatt in Cambridge — very nice! Tuesday, July 4 was voting from 7-10 AM followed by the Final Plenary Session. Lion Al Brandel of New York was voted in for 2nd Vice President. Some of you may remember Lion William Hansen from Leader Dog — he was elected an International Director — one of 16 new directors for 2006-2008. The new International Lions Clubs President is Lion Jimmy M. Ross from Texas. Lions Clubs International now has a membership of 1.35 million with 45,000 clubs in 197 countries and geographic areas. If you are interested in reading more details of the convention, be sure to check out the website at www.lionsclubs.org July 2-6, 2007, the convention will be held in Chicago, Illinois. Lion Ross Thorfinnson needs MANY Lions to be in Chicago from 5M to support him in 2007 for his running for 2nd Vice President. June 23-27, 2008, the convention will be in Bangkok, Thailand and of course, July 6-10, 2009, the convention will be HERE in Minneapolis, MN. This was our 4th International Convention. It is a great place to meet so MANY wonderful people from around the world who all have the common goal of helping those in need. Lions Bill and Marcia Guthrie
Chicago or Bust...
As you know, Lions Bill and Marcia Guthrie attended the International Convention in Boston. Next year the Convention will be held in Chicago, IL. Already a few Lions are talking about going as a group via train to Chicago -- if this interests you, see Lion Liz or Lion Joel.
Ice Cream Social at Camp Friendship
If you’ve never attended the Ice Cream Social at Camp Friendship -- now is your chance! On August 15th we will be taking RISE vans to Camp Friendship. We will be serving ice cream to the campers. This is a very heartwarming event and a good time to see the facility, including the cabin our club sponsors.
LCIF Facts
In the 50 years that the Coon Rapids Lions Club has been serving this community, we have given out numerous awards. Did you know that we have issued 64 Helen Keller Awards and 131 Melvin Jones Awards? That averages out to almost four awards for each year. We will continue to have many awards to hand out, but we need your input. Be sure to attend the LCIF meetings to vote on recipients. Watch for details!
August 2006
Happy Birthday to...
• Darcy Brandenburg -- August 18 • Dan Galbraith -- August 27
Happy Anniversary to...
• Lyle Goff -- 2004
Coon Rapids Lions Club Newsletter
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Coon Rapids Lions August 2006
Sunday Monday Tuesday 1 Wednesday 2 Community Needs Mtg 7:00 Fire Station #1 6 7 8 9 Board & General Mtg CR VFW 7:00pm 13 Clearwater Lions Chicken & Corn Feed 11-6pm 20 14 15 Ice Cream Social -Camp Friendship 21 22 16 Gambling Mtg 7:00 Gambling Office 23 Dinner Mtg 7:00 - CRVFW 27 28 Zone Meeting 6:30 pm CR VFW 29 30 24 Park River Men’s Club 10:00 a.m.-25 26 10 Park River Men’s Club 10:00 a.m.-11 12 Thursday 3 Friday 4 Saturday 5
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August 2006
Coon Rapids Lions Club Newsletter
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