Governor‘s Comments...

I want to thank all who have participated in making this year a success.  With 1/4^th of the year gone I would like to report to you that there are a lot of positive trends.  Our strength is beginning to increase, our contributions are starting to come in and many of our clubs, some for the first time, have contributed to content in this newsletter.  I want to challenge you all to continue the good work and don’t let up.  It is only with your help that our goals can be realized.

I hope that you all are making plans to attend our District Convention in Hinesville this year.  It will be February 24-25^th.  The banquet will be at Club Stewart so we will have plenty of room, excellent company, and world class food.  You should have already received your information packet.  If you have not please contact PDG Lil Shurtleff, my convention chair, or myself.  You need to make hotel reservations pretty soon because of the anticipated return of our troops to Fort Stewart.

Don’t forget we are looking for High School talent to award a certificate and scholarship as our young Ambasador for 2005-2006.  We will have the final competition and award the scholarship at the convention.  If you need more information contact me and I will get it to you.

Finally don’t forget to check your calendar for the latest training event from your MERL team.  They are doing a fantastic job of getting the word out to our clubs.  Please participate in this excellent training event.  I guarantee you will learn something.  Something that will make you a better lion and something that will better enable you to serve your community.

DG Lew Waldrop

DG Lew’s Schedule

Alma– MMR filed with LCI, Average attendance is 19.

Baxley– Reports received by mail. Club worked 35 hours on club administration and 85 hours on community betterment.   Published one article in the local paper honoring Lion  Nina Wigley

Bellville– Reports received by mail. Sent DG Newsletter announcing the Farm City Breakfast, and welcoming their 2 new members Lions Mark and Grace Anners.

Brantley County- Report received by mail.  No activities reported.

Bloomingdale– Reports received by mail Club worked 91 hours on club administration and 91 hours on community projects.  Spent $138 on eyeglasses.  Sent 63 pairs of glasses & 17 cellphones to the Lighthouse.

Clinch County– Received MMR by mail, no activities reported.

Cobbtown– MMR received by mail. Club held a very successful Pancake Supper.  Preparing for Christmas Cobbtown Style on Dec. 3^rd.

Collins– Reports received by mail.  Club worked 2.5 hours on club administration and 56 hours on community service.  Club hosted “Trick or Treat” in the park.  11 people worked a total of 30.25 hours.  Raised $1937 selling cokes, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, pickles, brownies and cookies during the Autum Festival

Douglas– Reports filed on-line. Club worked 75 hours on club administration. Club spent $3,520 on local eye services.  Sent Charter application for new Leo Club with 28 charter members.  Big Buck was a huge success raising the most funds in 6 years.

Folkston– Reports filed online. Club worked 350 hours on club administration and 850 hours on community betterment. Club had a very successful pancake breakfast. Started their food drive for Christmas Baskets

Garden City– MMR received by mail. Gave 2 pair of new glasses to deserving community people.

Georgia Southern University Campus Club – Report filed onlilne.  Club spent 76 hours on club administration and 100 hours on community betterment.  Held a successful Campus Club Bake Sale.  The GSU Charter Night was featured on the front page of the Georgia Lions Newspaper.

Golden Isles– Reports received timely on-line. Club worked 38 hours on community projects.

Hazlehurst– Filed MMR report online. No activities reported.

Hinesville -  Reports filed online. Average attendance is 32. Club worked 90 hours on community betterment.   Helped with hosting 12 Russian Scouts from St. Petersburg, Russia.  Placed Lions Marker at Memorial tree for SFC Hollar of the Pike County Lions Club.  Tree is located on Warriors Walk at Ft. Stewart, GA.

Jacksonville– Reports filed online. Average attendance is 14. Club worked 5 hours on club administration and 100 hours on community betterment.  Club sent $25 to Gaeorgia Lions Camp for the Blind in memory of Lion Charles Jones.

Jekyll Island– MMR filed with LCI, no activities.

Jesup– Reports filed online. Club worked 10 hours on club administration. Average attendance is 13.

Kingsland-  MMR received by mail.  Inducted four (4) new members.  Congratulations

Liberty Coastal – MMR received by mail.  No activities report.

Lyons– Reports received by mail. Club worked 18 hours on club administration and 100 hours on community projects . Club spent $80 for local eyeglasses and $100 on community projects. Club participated in Lyons Better Home Town Event during October.  Club lost a lion with 48 years as a lion with the passing of Lion Harold Rhoden.

McRae– MMR filed with LCI, no activities reported.

Milan– MMR received by mail.  No activities report.

Odum–  Reports received by mail. Club worked 180 hours on community projects, 20 hours on club projects.  Sent 31 pairs of glasses and 21 lenses to the Lighthouse.

Okefenokee –  Reports received by mail.  Club worked 465 hours on club administration.  Inducted 4 new members.  Published 4 news paper articles and donated 535 pairs of glasses, 550 lenses,  390 eyeglass cases, 3 hearing aids and 31 frames to the Lighthouse.

Port Wentworth-  MMR received by mail.  Club worked 100 hours for community service.  Proveded Ball park for community softball leagues.  Worked 40 hours on clubhouse and ball field.

Richmond Hill-  MMR Received by mail.    No activities reported.

Reidsville– MMR filed with LCI.  Purchased 4 pair of eyeglasses. Collected and turned in 284 pairs of glasses, 14 lenses and 107 cases to the Lighthouse.  Club sponsoring first annual Golf Tournament.  Club co-sponsoring 2^nd annual Wiregrass Festival.

Rincon– MMR filed with LCI .  Club worked 25 hours on club administration.  Average attendance is 12.

Savannah Port City– Reports submitted online. Club worked 15 hours on club administration and 48 hours on community betterment.  Sent 7 cell phones to the lighthouse.  Sent 2 members to the combined Camp/Lighthouse meeting.  Lion Evelyn Kennedy presented a program on Leader Dog.  She gave a key chain to the club as a present and it was auction off for $13 which was forwarded to Leader Dog for the Blind.

Statesboro Noon-   Report filed online.  15 members worked at Ogeechee fair doing security.  Celebrated World Sight Day doing 45 Vision Screenings at Wal-Mart Vision Center.  Put together and distributed 3960 bags for Sight Night project.  9 members attended cabinet meeting on Oct 3, and 6 members attended the Zone meeting on Oct 8.  Turned in 131 pairs of glasses, 304 lenses, 64 cases 8 hearing aids and 9 cell phones to be sent to the Light House.  Provided 14 pairs of new glasses this month.  Had 9 members attend the MERL training meeting on Oct 30^th.  Continue to have 2 public Service Announcements on two different radio stations.

Wilmington Island– Reports filed online. Club worked 66 hours on club administration. Average attendance is 15.  PDG Jerry Kaiser spoke to the club on the Georgia Lions Camp for the Blind.  He asked them to increase their donations and the club responded with a check for $500 from Scanna Energy.  Club participated in “Speaking of Women’s Health forum at Wal-Mart on Oct 22.  Displayed Lions info poster, Club Banner, and handed out 100 copies of Women’s Eye Health Task Force Eye Care Checklist

Woodbine– Reports filed online. Club worked 27 hours on club administration and 83 hours on community projects. Average attendance is 22. Club contributed $200 to the LCIF and $75 to the Georgia Lions Camp for the Blind.  Hosted Zone meeting on Oct 10^th.

PAST DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S HALL OF FAME

It’s that time of the year when club presidents and/or Past District Governors need to prepare nominations for the 2006 Hall of Fame nominees.  Applications must be submitted and received by December 5, 2005,  to be eligible for the nomination process.   Each application must also have a $35 check accompany it made out to the Past District Governors Association to cover the cost of the plaque.  If your nomination is not chosen for this year’s induction, the check will be returned.   A letter and nomination form has been mailed to each club president.

Mail all complete materials to:  Lil Shurtleff, PDG, President, 18-B Past District Governors Association at:  1107 Kelly Drive, Hinesville, GA  31313. 

Cornelia Broom Co., End of Year Broom Specials.

Cornelia Broom Co. will offer 5% off the current 2005 broom prices through December 31, 2005.

Orders must be received by December 31, 2005 & brooms shipped by January 31, 2006. Please take advantage of this special because the broom prices will be increasing on January 1, 2006. The discount will be good on one order only. For more information call:1-800-228-2551. We wish each of the Lions a Happy Holiday and Prosperous New Year.

Hometown Day is December 5

All year, through a variety of programs, LensCrafters stores and affiliated doctors donate free eye exams and new glasses to people who can’t afford them. In 2004, Give the Gift of Sight in store programs provided new glasses to more than 69,000 North Americans in need.

Based on visual and financial need, local agencies, charities and schools select recipients. Then, we help the recipient through a Gift of Sight voucher. Many recipients are helped on Hometown Day, our biggest day of giving in North America.

On Hometown Day, held annually the first Tuesday in December, LensCrafters stores across the United States and Canada partner with our affiliated doctors of optometry to create a special day of giving. Stores open early to welcome recipients, and volunteers create a party atmosphere with entertainment, refreshments and gifts. Each Hometown Day, we help a minimum of 20,000 preselected recipients on a single morning. For more information go to www.givethegiftofsight.org

Diabetes Awareness Month

It is estimated that more than 200 million people have diabetes. They are at risk of losing sight due to diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy affects the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that transmits visual messages via the optic nerve to the brain. When this delicate tissue is damaged by diabetic retinopathy, the result may be visual impairment or blindness.

Diabetes awareness was adopted as a long-term commitment of the association in March 1984. The primary objective of the Lions program is to reduce the number of new cases of blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy through diabetes education, early detection and treatment, and support of research.

Lions are especially encouraged to conduct awareness activities during the month of November--Lions Diabetes Education Month. The Lions Diabetes Activity Guide (IAD163) features suggested diabetes service projects.

Why is it important to know how diabetes affects the eyes?

If you have diabetes--or if someone close to you has this disease--you should know that diabetes can affect the eyes and cause visual impairment.

Fortunately, there are ways to prevent or lessen damage to the eyes caused by diabetes. That is why it is so important for people with this disease to have a professional eye examination as soon as their diabetes is diagnosed, and at least once a year thereafter.

Annual eye examinations are especially important for people who have a high risk of developing eye complications from diabetes. These include persons with diabetes who have had their disease five years or longer, and those who have difficulty controlling glucose levels in their blood.

In addition, pregnancy is known to be a factor in the development or worsening of diabetic eye disease. There is evidence to suggest that high blood pressure and smoking may cause diabetic eye disease to worsen.

Camp for the Blind:

This past month has been kind of a whirl wind time for me.  I presented to the executive committee of the camp a complete re-write of the camp’s personnel manual.  I have worked with the personnel committee for the past 18 months on this very worthy project.  The dust still hasn’t cleared on the entire project but with a few areas’ to be addressed again and we will go back to the executive committee in February. 

I had the honor to represent the camp and present three (3) plaques of appreciation to Claxton Poultry Farms for fifteen years of support to our camp.  Claxton Poultry president Mr. Jerry Lane, accepted for the plant, vice president of sales, Mr. Tom Scarborough and sales coordinator Mr. Stan Brantley were also presented plaques for at times expediting the impossible to assist our camp needs.  This past year Claxton Poultry donated over 500 pounds of chicken to the camp during our camping sessions. 

A special thanks goes out to Lion Joe Bill Brannen of the Statesboro Noon Lions club for donating the plaques.

Rincon Noon Lions club had me return for a second visit within thirty days to be handed a $1,000 check for the camp.  Wilmington Island presented the camp with a $500 check from a local corporation to “Send a Kid to camp”! Please clubs that have completed the selling of truck raffle tickets, please send ticket stubs and money to me.  Camp can really use the money at the present time!

Our camp for the blind just received two pieces of "good news"!  First, our matching grant from LCI for $75,000 has been approved, so now we can pour the slab and get started on our new building .  Secondly, the camp has been approved by the American Camping Association.  And finally, we have hired a maintenance and ground manager, his name is Herschal Morgan.

If you would like a program on the camp, please don’t hesitate to call me at (912) 964-4518 or e-mail me: [email protected].

 District Convention

The 18-B Convention is scheduled for February 24, 25, and 26 in Hinesville.  All club presidents were sent a packet.  Activities include a Hospitality Room both Friday and Saturday nights, Golf or a historical tour Saturday morning, cabinet meeting Saturday afternoon, and banquet Saturday evening.  Our guests are International Director Terry Graham and his wife, Jean, from New Castle, Ontario, Canada.

The host hotel for the convention is the Country Inn and Suites which is located at 742 Stewart Way, Hinesville  (near intersection with Oglethorpe Hwy/US 84).  Phone 912-877-7777 for your reservation.  The special rate for room is just $70.00 per night (total $78.40 per night including taxes) and includes a complimentary buffet breakfast.  Mention Lions Club Convention when you make your reservations to get the rate.  Due to the possible return of the 3^rd Infantry Division, the block of rooms will only be held until DECEMBER 30.  YOU MUST MAKE YOUR RESERVATION BY THIS DATE TO RECEIVE THIS RATE.

Banquet tickets are only $20 a person for a delicious buffet meal.  For tickets, please send your reservation form and check to PDG Lil Shurtleff, 1107 Kelly Drive, Hinesville, GA  31313, by February 18, 2006

To make it easier for all to attend the banquet at Club Stewart, we are arranging for gate passes.  If you do not have military decals on your vehicle, you will be required to enter through a separate gate and obtain a one-day pass.  For this pass, you will need your vehicle registration, insurance card and your drivers license.  In addition, each person in the vehicle must have a photo ID.  We can arrange for a one-time pass for the evening.  To do so, please complete the form attached.  A pass will be in your registration packet.

See your club president for more information or contact PDG Lil at [email protected] or 912 876-8324 for more information.

Knight Riders Leo Club

Our newest Leo club is approaching its first birthday and the Lions of District 18-B and beyond should know of the work of these Leos. They just completed the “River’s Alive” River Cleanup. They had 10 participants and was covered in the local newspaper.

They now beginning work on their second annual Christmas Food Drive. Their goal is to serve at least 25 families and include some toys or gifts for children. In addition the club has voted to assist the Savannah Port City Lions with gifts to St. Mary’s Home and the Savannah Lions with their Christmas Tree sales.

Future plans include possible participation with the Health Care Fair with Port City in January.

Sight Night Success

The members of the Statesboro Noon Lions Club decided to participate in Sight Night again this year but this time it was a little different.  The members of that committee really wanted to make it a BIG event.  The local Board of Education was contacted & then 8 local schools were involved in the project.  A total of 3960 “brown” bags were made up with seasonal decorative labels giving out Lions Club Information.  Inside the bags were flyers regarding Sight Night & what the youngsters were participating in with the approval of their school & teachers and what happens to the glasses once they are sent to Georgia Lions Lighthouse. These bags were taken to the schools, distributed to the individual classes & now that October 31 is past and all the candy is being eaten the bags brought back to the schools are being picked up by Statesboro Noon Lions involved in this project. In the past our club had gotten about 100 bags from Sight Night thru LCI but we were hesitant to ask for 4000.  Maybe when we see the count on how many glasses hearing aides, covers, & cell phones we collect next year we can ask for 5000 bags and get them!!!! It took Lions Diane Beasley, Gisele Bolton, Virginia Mixon, Krystal Bragg, Joe Bill Brannon a lot of time & effort to coordinate this project but we think it will be time well spent on public relations for Lionism & service by collecting the used items for the Georgia Lions Lighthouse.

GEORGIA LIONS LIGHTHOUSE SPEAKERS

There are now two speakers available to come to your club and explain the work of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation.

PDG James Ward is the District 18-B Vice President of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation.  He can be reached at 912-764-3233 or 210 Mockingbird Lane, Statesboro, GA 30461.  His email is [email protected].

PDG Lil Shurtleff is a trustee of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation and a member of the Ten Million Dollar committee.  She can be reached at 912 876-8324 or 1107 Kelly Drive, Hinesville, GA  31313.  Her email is [email protected].

We both would like to visit your club.   Each presentation on the Lighthouse and/or the Ten Million Dollar Club would be an informative program for Lions.  Just contact us.

ZONE MEETING NOTES

Region II, Zone II held its first zone meeting on Monday, November 14, 2005, in Hinesville presided over by Zone Chair Dr. David Beatie.  Lions from Hinesville, Jesup, Liberty Coastal, and Odum clubs were invited to attend.  Attendance was low with only the Hinesville Lions Club in attendance.

The recent combined meeting of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse and Georgia Lions Camp for the Blind was discussed.  Also the upcoming District 18-B Convention to be held in Hinesville was discussed.

The next zone meeting will be January 10, 2006, at 6 pm, at Sybil’s Restaurant in Jesup.  The Jesup Lions Club will host the meeting.  All Lions in the zone are urged to attend.  This is one way to make up a regular meeting that you missed.

Click here to sign up for e-mail notification of new Newsletter Issues

Previous Newsletters