Lions Club International
June 2008
Calendar of Events E-mail Newsletter
With District Governor Joe Rizzo
“CHALLENGE TO
CHANGE”
Please print out a copy for those in your
club without a computer, thank you.
Monthly Message from
District Governor Joe Rizzo
As
we enter the final month of the year, we tend to think of where we’ve been and
what lies ahead. For this month, I would
urge you to read my report to the Members of District 33S. It’s a bit lengthy, but we’ve come a long way
this year and it’s a year to be proud of.
With one month to go, we have the opportunity to reach a positive number
in terms of membership. With each club
striving for that one new member we can reach this goal. Here are some upcoming events for June.
PAWSOX Game for
Campaign Sight First II, June 8th
Mark your calendar for this date as all districts in
Club Officer Training,
June 9th
Celebration Night
(formerly Award), Holy Ghost Hall,
This meeting
once again is being planned to be interesting, fun and informative. This marks the end of the District meetings
etc. and it is a time to recognize those who have contributed their talents to
the District and but also a time to celebrate the accomplishments of all the
clubs in our District. I am asking all
those clubs that plan to attend to prepare a poster board with pictures of some
of their significant events during the year and to be available to discuss them
with other members during the social hour of 6-7 pm.
Donations: The final major
collection of donations will be conducted at our Cabinet Celebration on June 16th. I am hoping you will consider an additional
5% donation for the MLERF over last
year’s donation. If we all pull
together, we can achieve a major goal in eye research. Also, Lasarus has been added to the list
again. The MD-33 and New England Organ
Donor Bank have entered into a one year agreement to provide 1.5 million flyers
to be used by the Registry promoting organ donations.
Reminder of Tax Year Ending June 30 -Tax Guidance for Clubs
with Gross Income that is less than $25000
If your club’s annual gross receipts are $25000 or less, you
must file the e-postcard also known as 990N. If you have gross receipt over
$25000 you must file the long form. For
those under 25,000, this can easily be done by going to the IRS website. As our Lions year is July thru June, you must
file with IRS before the 15th of November. The following information is required by your
club to file on-line:
n a legal
name and mailing address and any other names used
n a Web
address if one is used
n employer
identification number (EIN)
n organization’s
annual tax period (July 1-June 30)
n the name
and address of a principal club officer
n a statement
confirming the organization’s annual gross receipts at normally $25000 or less.
If you club does not file, you risk losing you tax-exempt
status! Any Lions Club that fails to
meet its annual reporting requirement for three consecutive years automatically
loses its tax-exempt status under the new law.
Yours in Lionism,
Joe Rizzo
District
Governor
DISTRICT GOVERNOR
REPORT OF THE LIONS OF DISTRICT 33S
My year started as Governor in
Visitations - As of May 20th, visits have been made to 52 of the current 55 clubs. Final visitations will be conducted in May and June.
On the eyeglass side of the equation,
visitations have been made to the NJ Eyeglass Recycling Center, Barnstable
County Sheriffs Office, NE College of Optometry, and private businesses. In addition, I have spoken at the Sturbridge
Rotary Club and at Rotary’s Annual Publicity dinner in
2007-2008 Theme - This year’s International theme “Challenge to Change” reveals that the greatest challenge we face as Lions is adapting to a changing world and society, remaining relevant, and determining how to attract and retain new members with different lifestyles. I am encouraged by the fact that many clubs are buying into the theme of “Challenge to Change” as they see the need to adapt to a changing world and the benefit of remaining relevant. I continue to encourage everyone to “reintroduce” themselves to their communities and let them know of the fine and notable work that Lions do and the benefit that others receive from our efforts.
District 33S Clubs Recognized at the State and International Levels - On an exceptionally positive note, the Easton Lions Club has been selected as one of the Three Worldwide Finalists for the Club Challenge to Change Award!! The Easton Lions Club was also recognized by the Council of Governors for this achievement and was presented a citation for their accomplishments at this year’s State Convention.
In terms of
club awards at the state level, the following District 33S clubs were cited at
the State Convention as being best in the state:
Medium Size Club –
Large Size Club –
Extra Large Size Club –
There are many deserving clubs in our district that were considered for award nomination and the hardest part was being restricted to only being able to nominate one club for each category using the State Committee’s Criteria.
On another positive note
there have been many successful projects completed during the past eleven months. These were only accomplished through the hard
work and dedication of Lions committed to serving. For example:
Regional Meetings – The meetings themselves addressed topics such as “Challenge to Change”, membership and retention, as well as affording zone chairs the time to meet with their respective clubs and begin dialogue among the clubs in each region. Regional meetings were conducted in all regions in the fall and spring of this year.
MLER Visit - On November 19th, a district visit was made to the Center for Ophthalmic Research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Over 40 Lions attended this informative event.
Activities for Special Children - Once again two events were held for the
children; (1) a summer fun-day and (2) a Holiday Party where families and
children were treated to fun activities and food. These are truly heart-warming well-received
events.
Peace Poster Contest – The Theme was “Peace Around the World”. Twenty-one clubs participated and submitted 26 posters.
Youth Speech Contest – “How Can my Generation Contribute to the World We Will Inherit?” Twenty clubs participated and regional winners competed at the Mid Winter Conference.
Mid Winter Conference
– This was the year of change where we added a meal and entertainment on Friday
Night. Our guest ID, Dr. Harold Ott and
his wife Barbara were really great people and were overwhelmed by the
hospitality of District 33S. Special
thanks go to the PDGs Jim and Kathy Amaral, PDG Paul Schliecher and Lion Linda
Schleicher and the Acushnet Lions Club for taking our conference to new
heights.
Youth Exchange Program
– This program is being actively promoted and
several families have volunteered to host exchange students. The number of students coming to MA is still to be determined.
Walk-A-Long for MLER Fund – This event was again a major success. A check for over $28,768.33 was presented to the Donations Chair at the State Convention. You’ve got to love Ken Corti and his precision for including pennies. Al Barr co-chaired the event and according to Ken, this was the most we’ve ever made for MLER. It was a great team effort and this year promises to be even better.
Carnation Days – This project was sponsored by the Taunton Lions Club and was a great success with the club raising approximately $3300 for MLER.
Collection
for the Troops – Over 1000 pounds of items were donated. To date, 60 boxes have been sent to units and
individual soldiers in
Campaign
Sight First II – We have reached the last year of CSFII with two months to
go. About seventy percent of the clubs
have participated to date. There is still time to make a pledge and, as they say, get
a “two for one” - a donation to address reversible blindness and a Melvin Jones
for your club. I think PDG John Cobb who
has led this project will be happy when it is finally over.
Lions Eye Heath Care Program – Pamphlets and brochures were procured and distributed to all clubs for local health information purposes and to act as a publicity vehicle for the clubs.
Eye
Hearing Foundation and Screening
Satellite Unit for Cape Cod – Discussions have been ongoing throughout the
year to establish a Hearing Screening Satellite Unit on
The eyeglasses collected are also being used to
participate in a joint District 33S and Rotary International project that
supports the development of an eyeglass clinic in
District
Reorganization - There have been a number of changes made within the
District Administration arena. For
example, the CST position has been made into three positions – Secretary,
Treasurer, and Donations Chair. Addressing the challenge to better serve the
clubs, the MERL Team has been restructured with region and zone chairs acting
as an extension of the Team. To date, the team has been working with two clubs
and will be expanding its efforts over the latter part of the year. In addition, the District has been
restructured to reduce the number of regions from 5 to 4 and the number of zone
chairs from 13 to 11; over 50% of these positions are being filled with new
Lions to that position. This restructure
has led to better efficiency and opportunities for future leadership. We have also added some positions in the hope
of better assisting clubs such as, publicity, eye health care, a writer/editor
to assist in developing news articles, and an advocate for the hearing
impaired. In addition, we held two Club
Officer Training sessions this year – one in June and one in September for
those unable to attend the June session.
Three training sessions have been held for region and zone chairs. This training has been extensive, is ongoing
and includes an emphasis on club visitations, communication, and identification
of clubs that could benefit from MERL assistance. We also initiated a District CORI policy for
working with youth that was adopted on November 1st.
Club Additions: At the beginning of the year we lost two
clubs. To date we have regained those losses and
added another club. In an effort
to counteract the two club losses, we applied for an International Club Extension Program. PDG Wayne Meacham from
Joyce and Martin
Middleton in addition to their personal work and Lions commitments pursued
their vision of having a family oriented club in
Membership hopes and retention remain a top Lions priority. For the first time in many years, we have an opportunity to finish the year in the plus category in membership. The addition of new clubs has brought us to the point where we are about even for the year in terms of pluses and minuses. During the month of June the clubs of District 33S will determine whether we achieve this goal. I continue to encourage each club to keep going for new members and reporting those additions in a timely manner – if filing by paper by the 20th of the month and if filing on line by the end of the current month.
We have proved that we can recruit, but are still having problems retaining members. Retention needs to focus on involving and caring for members through interesting meetings, maintaining relevant projects, and implementing new ideas. Supporting new members by getting them immediately involved and actively participating results in their becoming an integral part of the club and reinforces the premise that they are making a difference in their community. By following this retention formula, we can turn this year into an incredibly positive year of growth.
Final Comments: We, the members of the cabinet, the region and zone chairs, the MERL Team and I, have worked hard this year in the hope of serving our district well. I would like to recognize and thank them for all their hard work and dedication to the Lions of District 33-S.
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish DGE Nolan Rozzelle and VDGE Ray Hebert the best wishes for a productive and successful 2008-2009 Lions Year.
Finally, thank you for the support and hospitality you have shown Cynthia and me throughout the year. I consider it an honor and privilege to serve as your District Governor and am proud to be a part of District 33-S. Thank you again for your support and for making my role as Governor such a memorable experience.
Yours in Lionism,
Joseph Rizzo
District Governor
FACT OF THE DAY
The Chinese invented eyeglasses. Marco Polo reported seeing many
pairs worn
by the Chinese as early as 1275, 500 years before lens grinding became an
art in the West.
District 33S
2008 EYE GLASS COMMITTEE
REPORT
We have met the goal of
30,000 pair of eye glasses to send to Sirlanka.
At present we have 40,000 pair of glases washed, read, boxed and ready
to ship.
We have a program in
place to wash all glasses and for some inmates at the Barnstable Prison to read
glasses. They do approxzimately 500 pair
a week.
We are still accepting
glasses. They do not need to ne washed,
but we would appreciate only glases, no cases.
Respectfully submitted,
Lion Ed Olney, Dighton
Lions Club
DISTRICT NEWS
District 33S
EYEMOBILE
DRIVER & TRAINING
The Eyemobile Training is open to all Clubs and
Club Members.
If interested in learning please call to set
up an appointment
Dave
Perry at 508-947-2675
or E-mail dip1946@gmail.com
Or
Earl Servant at 781-293-6772 or E mail earlservant@hotmail.com
District
33S
District 33S EYEMOBILE MEETING
Next meeting is June 9th – 7:00 pm
Lorenzo’s Restaurant, Rte 28
Middleboro OPEN TO ALL
District 33S
EYEMOBILE SCHEDULE
2008
June 7 Chatham / Nauset
June 14
June 21
June 22 So.
July 19
Mattapoisett
July 26 Dennis Harwich
July 30 So.
Aug
10 So.
Aug 17 Dennis
Harwich
Sept 5/6/7 Lower
Sept 28 Raynham
Oct 3-4 Walk-A-Long
Scheduler: Earl Servant 1-781-293-6772 or e mail earlservant@hotmail.com
DISTRICT 33S
WEB SIGHT
Lions District
33S (
THE
LIONS WEBSITES
Lions International ……….www.lionsclubs.org
Lions Multiple District 33……… www.Lions-md33.org
Lions District 33S……… www.lions-33s.org
View this newsletter in three
versions: MS Word, Web Page, and Adobe PDF.
If you have any questions
about how to send information.
You can contact: LionsMike@aol.com
or LionsMike@verizon.net
June 1st Somerset Lions Club
ARE PLEASE ANNOUNCE
THEIR 9TH ANNUAL
GOLF TOURNAMENT
Place:
Date:
JUNE 01, 2008
Time:
1:00pm --- Check in: 12:00 Noon
Player Cost: $100.00 per player
(includes 18 holes, golf cart and dinner)
Also – best ball
scramble. Must use each person’s
drive-in group, once per nine holes.
Play will be from Blue
Tees. Ties will be decided by match
cards.
Registration deadline is May
25, 2008
Contact: Mike Correia:
508-673-6117 - (e-mail: crocketttwins@comcast.com)
Carl Monroe: 508-675-1356
(e-mail: mrcarlhair@aol.com)
June 7th
40TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION
The East Bridgewater Lions Club is
planning a
40th Anniversary
Celebration
along with the
Installation of Officers
For the Lionistic Year, 2008 – 2009
on the 7th of June, 2008.
This special celebration and the
important installation ceremony will be held at
Bernado’s Restaurant on
RTE 27 in Hanson.
June 7th
SPRING
INTO SUMMER RALLY
At Martys USRV
Rte 79,
Serving lunch from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm
The Berkley Lions will be serving burgers, dogs and chips to all his customers whom are camping for the weekend. He is expecting