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Quarterly Newsletter

Issue 10

 April 2003

Charter Night Memories

When the Emmitsburg Lion’s Club celebrated our Annual Charter Night on January 10th, it was with many friends; two special people, in particular. District Governor Rodney Welch presented Lion Jim Wivell, Jr. with a Distinguished Service Award for his years of friendship with and service to the club. Lion Jim joined in August 1984 and served in the following capacities:

  • Director from 1985 – 1986

  • Secretary from 1986 – 1992 & 1998 – 2001

  • President for two terms, from 1992 – 1994

  • Community Day Chair 1985 – 2002

  • Co-chair White Cane Day 1997 – 2002

Lion Jim, left, shown at one of the

recent chicken barbecues, with Lion John Kile.

The District Governor also installed new member Anne Kulceski (shown to the right in the picture singing Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild with Lion Dianne Walbrecker).

Left, Clara Mae Shindledecker, was a special guest

of the Lions Club. She is shown with Lion Dale Shields.

               Right, Denny and Elaine Ebaugh, Classic Karaoke,

               provided the music.

District Governor Visit

In his second visit within a month, a surefire validation of the delicious food served at the Carriage House Inn, District Governor Rodney Welch visited our club again on February 13th. During his visit, he described the following as his wish list for the District. "Remember, this should never be a competition among groups," he emphasized, "but a striving to improve Lionism."

  • Promote Liberty Day, maybe by bringing community leaders to the schools and moderating a discussion between the leader and the students, especially those in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. "It’s amazing how few amendments the Bill of Rights has. It has held up wonderfully through the years and we ought to promote that kind of information about our country."

  • Find a common thread between all members of your club

  • Implement and promote pre-school vision screenings (Thurmont Lion’s Club has done some of this already with the Freedom District Lion’s Club)

  • Create more involvement with the past District leaders. "Who better to ask a question than a past District Governor?"

Lion’s Leadership Institute

Lion Dianne Walbrecker attended the Multiple District 22 Regional Lions Leadership Institute, held February 21-23 at the National Emergency Training Center. Although the seminar was held less than one mile from her home, she stayed on campus with the other 75 students. "Part of the experience was attending meals and social events with Lions from around the District," she said. "Besides the great ideas I got in the sessions, I picked up a lot of wonderful advice and knowledge about Lionism from the extra-curricular activities during the weekend. As a new Lion, it was a fantastic experience to learn what Lions do in the national and international levels."

Picking Up the Trash

Yes, if you were driving slowly enough on April 16th, you could tell which of our hard-working Emmitsburg Lions were out picking up roadside trash on Route 15 from Creamery Road to South Seton Avenue. In case you were driving fast enough to miss their faces, it was Lion’s President Rich Kelly and Lions Jim Hahn, Willis Johnson, Dave Martin, Dale Shields, John Sanders, Mark Zurgable, and Joe Ritz. The Emmitsburg Lions Club adopted the stretch of road through the State Highway Department’s Adopt a Road program and cleans it twice a year. As Lion Mark reported after the event, "You definitely get your exercise."

Health Fair another Success!

The Emmitsburg Lion’s Club served 251 people from the Emmitsburg, Thurmont, and Fairfield areas at its 20th Annual Health Club. In fact, Chair Joe Ritz, reported that people also came from as far away as Rockville. Next year, Thelma Richardson will help Joe with some of the planning and implementation tasks. Lion Joe said, "This year, there were hardly any bottle-necked lines as we've experienced in the past. The exhibitors were wonderful and provided a lot of useful information to the people who came. It went well." A collage of photos from the day are shown below.

New Lion Thelma Richardson

New Emmitsburg Lion Thelma Richardson, sponsored by Lion Hope Mahony, was voted in at the March 31st meeting and was sworn in on April 9th. Thelma, a life-long resident of Silver Spring, said she moved to Emmitsburg for "its serenity and beauty." She is a printing broker and works out of her home on West Main Street. "I wanted to join the Lion’s Club because I saw that they were involved in the community and I wanted to be a part of that."

Joint Emmitsburg / Thurmont Lion’s Club Events

Empty Bowls Banquet. The two local clubs teamed up to set up an information table at the Empty Bowls Banquet held at Catoctin High School on March 19th. Members from each of the clubs discussed services offered by Lions locally, nationally, and internationally and answered questions.

The Empty Bowls Banquet is held each year to illustrate hunger and need that exists, even in our own communities, to collect canned food and donations for Catoctin Community Agency School Service (CASS), and to distribute Service Learning Awards to deserving students. All the elementary and middle schools whose students will eventually attend Catoctin High School participated in various ways to make the event a success. Following the dinner was the Art and Choral Festival.

CASS is a community-based interagency program that provides services to families and children in the local area. The program, located in the Emmitsburg Community Center, includes counseling, health care, parenting workshops, academic support, and recreational programs. Donations and collections from the Empty Bowls program will be used by the Catoctin CASS program to assist local families with emergency needs.

Joint Meeting, also known as Lion Herb and the Bird. "We have a great speaker for our Joint Meeting with the Thurmont Club for March 27th. Lion Dale invited a man from Thurmont to talk about the birds of prey he raises. But don’t worry," Lion Herb Gingell broadly assured the rest of the members, "he’s not bringing the bird, just the slides. Can you imagine a huge bird at the Carriage House Inn," he said as he chuckled. 

Well, perhaps Lion Dale Shields, who had arranged for the guest speaker, did not give Herb ALL the details, because Paul did bring the bird. Mitzy, a Peregrine Falcon (meaning the wanderer) came as a living example, while Paul and Collin told the fascinated crowd of more than 60 Lions how falcons can dive at speeds up to 300 feet per minute and fly 60 miles per hour. Mitzy, and her kind, can see a mouse or sparrow up to two miles away. He explained how he trains falcons and then offered to let anyone hold her.

Never afraid to make a fool of herself, Lion Dianne stood up as the first volunteer. "I was nervous at first, but it was interesting to hold her. The glove is heavier than I initially thought."

President Rich Kelley and other members of the capacity crowd, 29 guests, also warmed up to Mitzy.

Left, Lion President Rich Kelley tries out his hand with Mitzy as Falconer Paul holds the rope.

Right, Master Class Falconer Paul DuBois and his son Collin pose with Mitzy at the joint Thurmont, Emmitsburg Lion’s Club Meeting held at the Carriage House Inn.

Plans Underway for 21st Annual Community Day!  July 5th

This year’s theme, "Support Our Troops – Freedom for All," expresses a hope that people worldwide will one day be able to enjoy all the freedoms that we do. The Lions have been running the event for so many years that the day runs smoothly without organizational charts and massive lists of tasks. Everyone just knows their place and handles their jobs. So come one and all and join us for games, music, food, and the fabulous fireworks.

Busy April

  • April 23, several members of the Lion’s Club attended the Leader Dog dinner at the New Midway fire hall hosted by Middletown

  • April 27th, members of the Lions Club visited local churches soliciting funds to be provided to the Wilmer Eye Institute

Upcoming Events

  • Support Our Troops – Freedom for All on July 5th

  • May 17th – Deadline for Scholarships (Interested high school students may check with their Guidance Counselors or apply through the Community Foundation Fund of Frederick)

  • May 31st – Chicken Barbecue across from Getty’s and Yard Sale at 17212 Mountain View Road; All money from the Yard Sale will be contributed to support of the Vision Program

  • August 28th – Family picnic

Miscellaneous

  • Lion Hope was honored at the December 12th meeting with a membership Key for bringing in two new members last year, Lions Dianne and Willis

  • The new officers were voted in - Joe Ritz will serve as the President, Herb Gingell as Secretary, Hope Mahony as Treasurer, and Dave Martin as Membership Chair; New terms become effective in July.

  • Several eye exams were arranged, as well as transportation to the appointments

  • 50 pair of eyeglasses were collected in the last quarter

Newsletter

Photos used in this newsletter were taken by Lion Jim Hahn. Newsletters will be published quarterly and distributed at the second meeting of the month. Members not at the meeting will be mailed a copy. If you have any articles or information for the newsletter, call Dianne Walbrecker at 301-447-6962 or e-mail her at getwrite@aol.com

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