Lions Clubs International District 105EA - News and views including those of District Governor Derek Prior

Transcription

1 Issue 11 June 2018 LiONS ROAR Lions Clubs International District 105EA - News and views including those of District Governor Derek Prior TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH MD Convention in Basingstoke was an unusual mixture of success, failure and more success. EA's efforts in increasing membership to 1270 were recognised by our International President, Dr Naresh Aggerwal who joined us for the Council of Governors meeting and the Convention itself. He recognised that the additional members recruited by EA will help us deliver even more service to our communities in the future. The job done by PDG Paul Martin and the GMT Team, along with help from most clubs in the District, has been very successful and was rightly applauded by our International President, and we all owe them our DG Derek s Diary for June Sat 02-Jun Billericay Bookstall Sun 03-Jun Incoming Officers Day Tue 05-Jun Felixstowe Lionesses CV Fri 08-Jun Saffron Walden CA Sat 09-Jun Lioness District meeting Sat 16-Jun Billericay Bookstall Sat 16-Jun Billericay Volunteer Day at Library Sun 17-Jun CoG Meeting on-line Fri 22-Jun Billericay Beer Festival Sat 23-Jun Billericay Beer Festival Sat 23-Jun MD GDPR Meeting MDHQ Sun 24-Jun Billericay Beer Festival Mon 25-Jun Billericay Fellowship meeting Thur 28-Jun Chernobyl Children to Southend DGE Mandy s Diary for June Sun 03-Jun Incoming Officers Day Sat 09-Jun Lioness District meeting Sun 10-Jun Taverham Lions CA Lunch Fri 22-Jun Fly to New York Sat 23-Jun New York Sun 24-Jun New York Mon 25-Jun Fly to Vegas Tue 26-Jun DG School Vegas Wed 27-Jun DG School Vegas Thur 28-Jun DG School Vegas Fri 29-Jun DG School Vegas Sat 30-Jun International Convention. VDGE Ujjal s Diary for June Fri 01-Jun VDG Training Birmingham Sat 02-Jun VDG Training Birmingham Sun 03-Jun VDG Training Birmingham Sat 09-Jun Lions Road Show. Sun 10-Jun Taverham & District Charter Lunch Wed 27-Jun Royal Norfolk Show thanks. We do need to keep the pressure on Membership and the next step is to get us over Can I ask each club to please think about making recruitment one of the things you do at all your events this summer? On a less successful note, the EA Resolution to have Obituaries re-instated in the Lion Magazine was amended, so became something very different from what we intended, but this amended version was carried, so Obituaries will be held on-line in the MD Website, with only a single line in the Lion Magazine. However, as most Lions don't ever visit the MD Website, EA has decided that we will publish Obituaries in the Lions Roar and on a special section of the EA Website as of today. So if you want to publish an obituary please let the Editor of Lions Roar (John Fox) and / or District IT guru David Large know. The more successful aspects saw PID Phil Nathan endorsed as a candidate for a future role as International President. Congratulations Phil. We expect even greater things from you. Dr Aggerwal also personally presented an International President's Leadership Medal to EA District Officer Simon Smith for all his great work nationally on Special Olympics. Congratulations Simon! Also, VDGE Mandy was welcomed to the stage on Sunday morning to the regular EA cacophony, led as usual by Matty Bungard. This year, District E joined in the welcome for Mandy and EA joined in the welcome for DGE Steve Scall of District E, increasing the friendship between the Districts. On the merger of Districts E and EA, we will be having our next meeting with E in Peterborough on Saturday 26th May, too late to include the usual report in the Lions Roar, so please watch out for a special update . Soon after you read this, DGE Mandy and Paul will be on their way to Las Vegas, via New York, for the completion of the DGE Training and our International Convention. Sheila and I wish them a safe journey and look forward to welcoming them back as District Governor and partner. That's all for this month, and I look forward to meeting you on my travels. Thur 28-Jun Royal Norfolk Show District Governor 105EA June

2 I need your help as this year the response to our annual Youth Exchange Program from MD105 Lions has been very disappointing. Despite the good efforts of the District Youth Exchange Officers we still have 20 young people coming to the British Isles with no hosts to go to. Please arrange to assist the District Officers by immobilising your full youth teams to solve this problem. If the five districts listed below find 4 hosts each then we will have the required number. Many hosts do in fact host two and find then it makes it easier as the young people can work together while being hosted. On your behalf I have invited 40 young people to MD105 and the British Isles need to find hosts for all of them. (DG Derek has a list of those visiting the Multiple District.) Districts that have not come up with any hosts at the moment are: BN; C; D; E; EA. As you are probably all aware District SE are putting on the Youth Camp from 31st July to 9th August. Hosting is from the 23rd July to the 31st July. Time is now getting short as the 40 young people coming to the British Isles need to buy their flight tickets. Please remember that hosts can claim reasonable expenses from their Clubs as this is an International Service Activity. Youth Team leaders can either contact their own District Officers or myself MD Youth Exchange Officer Lion Keith Mates mobile number Please action this request as soon as you can so MD105 is not embarrassed by failing to meet our obligations. Kind Regards Lions seen on local Southend Beaches On a late April Sunday four Lions Clubs worked on a joint initiative to clear the beaches of Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea and Chalkwell. The focus was on clearing up plastic items, and also collecting refuse from the beaches. The Lions Clubs that took part were. About 30 Lions were involved. The weather was great, and this was an excellent PR exercise for Lions. We were even offered complementary drinks, at a local hotel!! (Devised by VDG Mandy Hawksley) Answers on page 3 1. Which District won the Young Ambassador Final in Dudley? 2. Which EA Club held a Diabetes awareness day? 3. Which EA Club donated to the Sandra Chapman Centre? 4. Which Club in the MD is producing a video with the help of a primary school for Sight Week? 5. Who was presented with an MJF at Buckingham Palace? 6. Which Club in the MD has been providing holidays for needy families for 25 years? 7. What year did LCIF give its first grant? 8. What are the four key areas LCIF give grants in? 9. Where did Aberystwyth Lions travel to too contribute to the new LCI Forward plan? 10. Which Lions Club travelled back to Gambia to celebrate the opening of the new water supply? June New Members - April 2018 Stowmarket & District Mark Holtom Swaffham & District David Elsom Swaffham & District Roberta Elsom Whittlesey Kathy Hughes Whittlesey Susan Roberts

3 Swaffham & District Lions Rug Raffle Following the generous donation, by Ray Buckley Stevens, of the handmade rug he made to celebrate the Lions Centennial, decided to raise money through raffling the rug amongst the Lions clubs of East Anglia. The raffle raised 300, after expenses, for the East Anglia Children s Hospice (EACH) and it continues the theme of supporting young people. L-R Belinda Brown EACH manager, Ray Buckley Stevens, Lion President Pam Tallon PR THOUGHTS This month I d like to talk about the power of radio. There are local radio stations covering just about every part of our district and, just like our local newspapers and magazines, they are always on the look out for content. The radio is a great place to promote you club, and what s more it doesn t cost anything. The first thing to do is make friends with you local radio station. The BBC local stations are a great place to start. Give them a call and find out which programmes and presenters look at local community news stories. Start by sending them your events they all carry events listings. Next get involved in programmes. This does mean that you have to listen to the station But don t be afraid to give your opinion in phone ins or text ins the presenters and staff will soon get to know you and your club. For example if a station is doing a phone in on food wastage, call them and say that you Lions Club collects for the local food bank. Follow you local stations Facebook pages, and comment on their posts when appropriate. Before you know it, they ll be contacting you when they need a guest or somebody to start a phone in. Now, I know that some people are worried about talking on air, and that s understandable if you ve never done it before, however every club has that member who is confident with public speaking just be sure to get you message across, always mention you club, and if possible how listeners can contact you. Radio is a fab way to get the message across, and yet many clubs don t include their local stations when sending out Press Releases. Please do, as if the local reporter or presenter picks up on your story you could reach a whole new audience for your club, event or presentation. As always if you need help with putting press releases together, you require more information about how to get in touch with the local Radio station or you need help with social media you know where to find me. Lion Wendy Cook (Press Officer 105EA) wendy@fizzwigdesigns.co.uk C; 2. New Century Lions Club; 3. Beccles Lions Club; 4. North Notts Lion Club; 5. The Countess of Wessex; 6. Newquay Lions Club; 7. 9th June 1972; 8. Sight, Youth, Disaster, Humanitarian needs; 9. The Philippines; 10. Bracknell Lions. How did you get on? If you scored 5 or fewer enjoy reading the LION! If you scored 10 out of 10 - how were you cheating? June

4 Irish Jiggle 32 PDG Jim and Jennifer had an IRISH Adventure Having had a few adventures in our privately owned original 35-year-old Royal Mail Van, complete with the 1983 livery, we felt the need to complete our Trilogy of Fundraising Trips around the British Isles. The JOGLE in 2016 fired everyone s imagination and saw us travelling from Wymondham to John O Groats on to Land s End and back home to Norfolk, raising 4,500 for East Anglia s Children s Hospices nook appeal. The following year a low key E2W trip from Lowestoft Ness in the East to St David s Head in the West raised 1040 for Chapel Road School. This year Chapel Road School moved to their excellent new Chapel Green School, purpose built for the complex needs of the pupils, but in need of lots of equipment. The Friends of Chapel Green School have raised 30k already, of the estimated 80k required, so we thought a Sponsored Trip to Ireland may be able to help their efforts. Lion Jim and Jennifer are always up for an adventure, so when EA District Governor Derek Prior challenged the pair to visit all 32 Counties on their travels, they accepted the Challenge with their usual enthusiasm and JIGGLE 32 was on! The route planning was an interesting experience to ensure we didn t miss a County in the centre!... It really was a long way to Tipperary!! The Ferries were booked, and the route charted, Wymondham to Dublin and return via an anticlockwise tour, gave us 16 days from start to finish to cover Northern Ireland and Eire. It is always a challenge to the van, which is a Norfolk vehicle so not used to hills,..and to us. as it isn t the most comfortable or luxurious vehicle, but we love it! On Day 3 of the Adventure, Jennifer had a very uncomfortable experience when the passenger seat collapsed, which seems to have amused everyone! Resourceful as ever, she called into an Irish Cancer Charity Shop to buy extra cushions!! No problem! Everyone who saw the van as we went from County Antrim to County Wexford, smiled and took photos. We even appeared on an Irish Lions Club Website, following a chance encounter with some Lions members in a car park in their town of Dungarvan, in County Waterford. Should you wish to give us a donation that would be brilliant and will be very much appreciated by Chapel Green School. Our Donation site is - Or you can send a cheque payable to Friends of Chapel Green School, to PDG Jim Cawte THERE IS A PRIZE! If you can guess our total mileage Wymondham to Holyhead, Dublin-Dublin via 32 Counties and return Holyhead to Wymondham. Thank you so much for supporting our adventures, for some pretty special children. June

5 WROXHAM & HOVETON LIONS PRESENTATION EVENING At their recent Presentation Evening, members were joined by guests from 24 local organisations, who received cheques in support of their activities. In all, some 28 organisations, ranging from the local First Responders to Parish Magazines, benefited on the night to a total of 5,500. Each recipient was given a couple of minutes to describe the work of their organisation and all expressed their admiration of the work Lions Clubs do. Club President, Lion Mick Holden said that the Club were proud to be able to support those receiving cheques. After the formalities, members mingled with guests to participate in a sumptuous buffet. TAVERHAM and DISTRICT LIONS CLUB How often do we sit at home wringing our hands with the hopelessness at the disaster in Syria and just wishing we could in some small way offer help? have teamed up with a charitable organisation called Dental Mavericks who go into disaster areas offering help with something that we all treat as part of normal health care. Dr Sharma from the organisation is going to Lebanon and, with some of the supplies provided by the Lions, will be treating Syrian refugees and helping to enhance their lives, particularly in dental hygiene. We like our readers of the Taverham & District newsletter to hear about the lovely Dr Sharma because once again it is not congratulations to our local club but a MASSIVE thanks to you for all the donations given to us that allow these wonderful things to happen. In the picture Dr Sharma is in front of Lions David, Malcolm (President), Sue & Glenys. Nine students from DPA Performing Arts Academy in Gorleston won the right to represent England in the Dance World Cup in Barcelona, which will be held from 22nd to 30th of June, DPA is charity in Gorleston that offers a variety of classes in dance, drama and singing for children aged between 2 and 18. The group have to raise approx 1,000 each to cover all expenses, currently they are well on their way to reaching their targets. were pleased to support the six students who live within the Borough. The three others have been treated in a similar way by other Lions Clubs in the district. Picture shows Lion President Lyn, presenting 300 to some of the Dance Team. Over 30 Lions attended the first event at Downham Market in the towns Conservative Club. The event organised by Region Chairman, John Potter, and Zone Chairman, Paul Southerton, brought together members from the Region s clubs with the view to having fun and enjoying the camaraderie of Lions. With a wonderful barbeque of ribs, sausages, burgers and chicken together with salads the evening proved a huge success with everyone enjoying the event. The evening was rounded off with a challenging quiz which was one by Pam Wallworth. The team will be holding another social in the near future when it is hope that even more Lions from the region will be able to attend. Watch this space for details. June

6 CLACTON S COMMUNITY EFFORTS Six members and one dedicated daughter of joined forces with members of the Holland on Sea Residents Association, in one of their regular Beach Cleans on Saturday 21st April. On a lovely warm sunny morning with a cool breeze, conditions were ideal and around 2 miles of beach and promenade were scanned and a surprising amount of litter was collected. Fortunately not much plastic, which is the source of ruination of sealife and habitat, was found. There was quite a bit of driftwood and a section of a surfboard though no signs of a Great White shark. Past President Liz and now Vice President Jim Godden were away on a break in Paphos, Cyprus when Clacton Lions were assisting with the beach clean in nearby Holland on Sea. Not to mss out on their colleagues day out in the sunshine they did their duties over there, although according to Liz the beaches were spotless and nothing was found. 39 members and friends of met at a local Chinese restaurant for a Fellowship Meal recently. Each couple were able to choose 2 starters and 3 main dishes, along with accompanied rice, washed down with typical Chinese tea. There was quite a variety of those selected dishes and many several different samples were tasted! In fact over 100 meals were served. Everyone enjoyed themselves and thanks were given to the restaurant staff for the service and quality of varied food served. Even more thanks were given to the Presidents wife Lynda for sorting out the menus. VDG Elect Lion Ujjal Kular and his wife Manjit made a visit to and attended their Business meeting. Items on the agenda included the dreaded, but necessary GDPR. Various changes to the Constitution were also hotly discussed. Two guests also attended - potential new members. They were attending a wedding reception at the Convention hotel in Norwich and noticed that we were all having a great time. Past family members had been Lions in the Dagenham and Barking Club, and so rekindled fond memories. Strange as it seems, but they joined us at 2.45am when the fire alarms went off, and remember distinctly a certain gentleman in a bath robe!! What is unusual about the 4.33 minute piece of music by composer John Cage? That was one of many questions asked by, Adrian Robinson at one of his quizzes held recently in association with the Inner Wheel, the ladies section of the local Rotary Club. There were 21 teams taking part, which included Nil Points, Loose Screws and the Clacton Pot Hole Rescue Team. No matter what your team was called, we were all out done as usual by the Bright Sparks. Despite that, 593 was raised during the evening for CRY, Cardiac Research in the Young. This was the 2nd quiz of the year for Adrian and already over 1300 has been raised. Message in a Bottle plays a big part in the community. We have been fortunate to receive a grant for the distribution of a complete pallet of bottles, approx 1800, with thanks to the local NHS and Tendring District Council for funding this project. This may appear to be a tough task, but with a rapidly aging local community and district overall, a task quite achievable. 255 bottles were sent out to 5 various doctor surgeries around the town. There will be a Diabetes Awareness PR event in June at the local large shopping outlet. Charter Nights are an important time of year for each club, but it becomes difficult when two Charters clash. members, Zone Chairperson, Liz Godden and VP Jim made the short journey to attend celebrations. The same weekend, three other Clacton on Sea members and wives, travelled some 150 miles to attend celebrations in another region, 105E, those of. Clacton even assisted in providing the evenings entertainment, Lion Trevor Grimsey s daughter Tracy Moorhouse, a popular vocalist from the Clacton area, had also been invited to attend and provided approx 100 attendees to almost non stop dancing for one and a half hours. Members from also attended Spalding Lions evening. In photo President Peter Luckhurst with Spalding Lions President Sally Sneath. June

7 Lion Lynn Palmer of, has received three awards in three weeks because of her charitable work in the community. The first photo shows Lynn receiving an International Presidents Appreciation Award from Past International Director Lion Clifford Heywood from New Zealand and District Governor Derek Prior. The International President is Lion Naresh Aggarwal. This was presented at the Lions Convention in Norwich in March 2018 The second photograph shows Lion Lynn receiving Whittlesey Citizen of the Year Award from Whittlesey Mayor, Councillor Ralph Butcher. Then Lion Lynn received from Whittlesey Lion President Steve Palmer (and husband) his President s Appreciation Award for all the hard work she has done for the community and Whittlesey Lions. Whittlesey Citizen of the Year Dear Whittlesey Council. On behalf of myself, as President and all members of Whittlesey and District Lions Club. I would like to nominate my Secretary, (and wife) Lynn Palmer for an award. Lynn joined the Lions in 1994/5 and has held most positions within the club, President on 3 occasions. Secretary twice, Fund Raising, Social and Welfare Chairman's. She has also been Zone Chairman. Lynn has yet again organised our largest fund raiser. The Santa Float. She has been the driving force behind this for the last 15 years at least. We regularly raise in the region of 4500 to 5000 on this event alone. This going to help local groups and individuals. Lynn sends out the routes to our members and helpers, organises replies so we have enough collectors per night. Also amends the routes as Whittlesey and surrounding areas are getting larger due to new developments. Lynn also tows the Santa Sleigh, and has been known to dress up as Santa. Then that night or following morning count the collecting tins. I am not saying Lynn does this on her own as other Lions help. There is nothing more Lynn loves than helping people. She once raised 600 for EACH by jumping out of an aeroplane to skydive. Every year Whittlesey has a Christmas Extravaganza. Last year the organising committee all resigned. Not wanting to see the event fold, Lynn volunteered to be Chair Person and formed her own committee. A lot of hard work was put in by all. Thus the event went very well and was said to have been as good, if not better than previous years. Plans are already being made for this year, which hopefully will be better than last. One of our Lions who is 80 years old. She at present is in a care home because of dementia and loss of mobility. The daughter lives in Australia and a sister who lives 20 miles away who does not have the knowledge of how to deal with the situation. Lynn has stepped in and has sorted out her care packages, social workers banks and shopping. Pretty good as she has just finished doing the same for her mother and both my parents. Lynn is also Vice Chairman of Whittlesey Christmas Lights committee What is even more remarkable is that Lynn suffers from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Fatigue Syndrome (ME). If she over does things, she will get seriously tired and have to spent 3 or more days in bed to recover. Lynn is always going that extra mile for Lions and the Community in general. Please look upon my request favourably. Steve Palmer, President, Whittlesey and District Lions Club. The decided to do a litterpick as a thank you to The Almonry Ely who allowed us to hold our Easter Event in their wonderful gardens. It was decided to extend the litterpick to include the Cathedral grounds, a local park and the river bank. Lots of bags of rubbish were collected and we finished off with a pint in a local pub. June

8 held their annual St Georges Quiz in Swaffham Assembly Rooms; with over sixty people attending competition for the first prize was intense. The winning team, from Castle Acre, The Billabongs were presented with six bottles of wine, whilst the wooden spoon team, the Pride of Swaffham, received a 2018 Guinness Book of Records each. The evening raised over 600 for Lions good causes. The Mayor of Swaffham, Jill Skinner, decided to change the format of the Mayor s Civic Reception to include a charity fund raising element. With running a paying bar and the holding a very popular raffle a donation of 700 was raised for the Mayors charity ESCAPE. The ESCAPE project, which is overseen by Family Action, operates at the Tumbler Hill Allotments and is run by a small team headed by Katie Fullilove. The project has over sixty clients who are encouraged to get involved with all aspects of allotment work as well as making items from wood, keeping chickens and cooking using the clay ovens fuelled by Birch twigs. During the cheque presentation event the ESCAPE team made pizzas and vegetarian burgers using the clay ovens. Following a busy few weeks, 38 took time out for a meal at the College of West Anglia in Kings Lynn. The evening was themed as a steak night, with the meal being prepared and cooked by the students under supervision as part of their training. All agreed that the evening was a great success and sent congratulations to the students in the kitchen for a wonderful meal. A cheque was presented by President John Groom to Victoria Framingham and her lovely Guide Dog Parker. Victoria is going to do a Tandem parachute jump at Beccles Parachute Centre from 10, ft. The money will be used by Guide Dogs to help pay for training, food, harnesses and vets bills of the dogs in service. Another cheque presented by President John Groom to Sarah Baldock who ran the London Marathon for Sightsavers, a world wide charity who work to eradicate preventable blindness like cataracts. Sarah works for Wigram and Ware so she knows all about eyes and blindness. On Saturday 14th April the District Governor Lion Derek Prior and Thurrock Lions Colin Peckett and Jayne King had the pleasure and honour to present to two members of with very well deserved Melvin Jones Fellowship Awards. Lion President Brenton Allen, on the right of the picture was described by Lion Colin as the life blood of Thurrock Lions and this is so true. A lion for many years, he has been past treasurer and held the position of President too. He is our current President until July. Lion Brent chairs Thurrock Lions Activities and organises the licences/rota for our Christmas Sleigh collections. He even organised his own charter night this year (luckily without knowing he was going to get presented!). Lion David Stubbs on the left of the picture has been a member of Thurrock Lions since the mid seventies, so a member for over forty years. He has held the position of President and is currently a joint youth chair, successfully running a mock interview competition with a local school for their year school leavers. The members of Thurrock Lions would like to congratulate and thank both Lions Brent and David for their achievements within the club. We couldn t do it without you. June

9 OBITUARIES: At the MD Convention it was agreed that Obituaries would no longer be published in full in the Lion magazine. The District Governor and Cabinet of EA have therefore asked that EA connected obituaries be published in Lions Roar and on the EA Website as appropriate. In line with this the Editor has agreed that a piece up to about 150 words in length may be submitted as the family would like to see it printed, along with, if appropriate, a photograph, for publication in EA s Lions Roar in the next available edition. The District website will also show the piece submitted to the Lions Roar and the webmaster would particularly like a suitable picture of the Lions Family Member that has passed to higher service. This will also be used at Convention when all Lions Family Members are remembered. Any questions, or comments regarding the above should be directed to the Lions Roar Editor (lionsroar@lions105ea.com) or the Webmaster (it@lions105ea.com) as needed. Articles for the next issue of the LiONS ROAR should be with the editor before the 20th of the Month Send to ( preferred): John Fox, Lions Roar, 19 Beech Road, Downham Market, Norfolk PE38 9PH Tel: lionsroar@lions105ea.com EA Lioness News Felixstowe Lionesses Although our numbers are sadly depleted, as some members decided to join the Lioness Lions Internet Club, we are still very active and enjoying our Lioness life. We have had several fund raising events, quizzes, clairvoyant evening, table top sales and have plans for more. We have presented cheques to the Blossom Appeal for breast cancer, Riding for the Disabled, Felixstowe Coastal Patrol, St. Elizabeth Hospice, Dementia UK, Walton Parish Nurses, Guide Dogs for the Blind and are collecting stamps for the Guide Dogs, toiletries for the women's refuge and knitting hats for the seamen. Socially we have had a film night, with popcorn, afternoon tea, with sandwiches, a games evening with nibbles and lunch at the Ferry Boat. All food orientated but perhaps we will work it all off with an activity evening? President Jennie Barker attended the Lioness Conference which she thoroughly enjoyed. We are grateful to the other Lioness Clubs for looking after her as she was on her own. This was partly due to Jill's hip replacement and no other members were able to attend. We hope to be there next year. As already mentioned, our secretary, Jill Fahie has had a successful hip replacement and is waiting for the other to be done. We are so pleased that she is now out of pain, albeit only on the one side. We look forward to her helping with the beach clean later in the year!!! met at the Black Horse for a St. Georges Day meal. An enjoyable evening was complimented by good food and service. contact June June 25: Downham Market Lionesses have supported a project run by the Libraries in West Norfolk which provides free sanitary products to those in need. Downham Market Lionesses have donated 50 to Downham Market Library to support the Tricky Period scheme. The donation will go towards the purchase of sanitary products as well as the bags needed to contain these. Photo shows Lioness President Margaret Fox and Lioness Wendy Leaver presenting the cheque to Library Manager Helen Senior. QR Code for