Volume 11, No. 2 • August 2007 Check out the District web site - www.lionsof5m9.org On July 6th, newly elected Lions Clubs International President Mahendra Amarasuriya administered the oath of office to the 2007-08 Governors. 2006-07 Governor Carroll Kukowski pulled the ribbon from Annette’s name tag and she became Governor Annette Contos. On the 90th anniversary of Lions Clubs International, over 15,000 Lions and guests attended the convention in Chicago, Illinios, the birth place of Lions. There were many crowning achievements at this convention. The first being over $100,000 raised for Campaign SightFirst II. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter spoke about the Carter Foundation and the tie with Lions Clubs International working together to fight against penventable blindness. Honorable Mr. Carter is a Past District Governor from Plainsview, Georgia. Singer Ronnie Milsap shared his experiences about his life and thanked the Lions for being there. His last song said it all, “Without you.” Another highlight was the International parade on the 4th of July. All the nations of Lions Cubs International were dressed in their native outfits. It was exciting to shake their hands and wave hello as they walked by. The Winona Cotter High School marching band repre- senting MD5M tied for First Place in the Marching Band competition. The Fergus Falls High School marching band (last year’s winner) also participated again is year. They marched for the state of California. The Winona Cotter band also played at the Second Plenary Session. They played the Star Spangle Banner, plus other songs. Another winner at the convention was the Wadena Lions Club. They received Honorable Mention for their 85th Anniversary Club pin in the International Friendship Trading Pin Contest. Dr. Timothy Shiver was the winner of the 2007 Lions Clubs International Humanitarian Award for his work with the Special Olympics. There were a lot going on in town of Chicago also, the Taste of Chicago, the Navy Pier, museums, food, shopping, parks and a lot of fun. It was fun watching the baseball game at U.S. Cellular Field and the fireworks after the game on the 4th of July. The most fun at the convention was seeing old friends from other countries and making new friends. Congratulations to Governor Annette Contos and best wishes on your coming year. Governor Annette Contos takes oath of office District Governor Carroll Kukowski pulling the ribbon on Annette Contos name tag. Thus mak- ing Annette District Governor of 5M9 for the year 2007-08. Power of One
12
Embed
Governor Annette Contos takes oath - Lions of 5M9 · Governor Annette Contos takes oath of office District Governor Carroll Kukowski pulling the ribbon on Annette Contos name tag.
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Vo
lum
e 11
,N
o.
2 •
Au
gu
st 2
007
Check out the District web site - www.lionsof5m9.org
On July 6th, newly elected Lions
Clubs International President
Mahendra Amarasuriya administered
the oath of office to the 2007-08
Governors. 2006-07 Governor Carroll
Kukowski pulled the ribbon from
Annette’s name tag and she became
Governor Annette Contos.
On the 90th anniversary of Lions
Clubs International, over 15,000 Lions
and guests attended the convention in
Chicago, Illinios, the birth place of
Lions.
There were many crowning
achievements at this convention. The
first being over $100,000 raised for
Campaign SightFirst II. Former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter spoke about
the Carter Foundation and the tie with
Lions Clubs International working
together to fight against penventable
blindness. Honorable Mr. Carter is a
Past District Governor from
Plainsview, Georgia. Singer Ronnie
Milsap shared his experiences about
his life and thanked the Lions for
being there. His last song said it all,
“Without you.”
Another highlight was the International parade on the 4th of July. All the nations of Lions
Cubs International were dressed in their native outfits. It was exciting to shake their hands
and wave hello as they walked by. The Winona Cotter High School marching band repre-
senting MD5M tied for First Place in the Marching Band competition. The Fergus Falls High
School marching band (last year’s winner) also participated again is year. They marched for
the state of California.
The Winona Cotter band also played at the Second Plenary Session. They played the Star
Spangle Banner, plus other songs.
Another winner at the convention was the Wadena Lions Club. They received Honorable
Mention for their 85th Anniversary Club pin in the International Friendship Trading Pin
Contest.
Dr. Timothy Shiver was the winner of the 2007 Lions Clubs International Humanitarian
Award for his work with the Special Olympics.
There were a lot going on in town of Chicago also, the Taste of Chicago, the Navy Pier,
museums, food, shopping, parks and a lot of fun.
It was fun watching the baseball game at U.S. Cellular Field and the fireworks after the
game on the 4th of July.
The most fun at the convention was seeing old friends from other countries and making
new friends.
Congratulations to Governor Annette Contos and best wishes on your coming year.
Governor AnnetteContos takes oath
of office
District Governor Carroll Kukowski pulling the
ribbon on Annette Contos name tag. Thus mak-
ing Annette District Governor of 5M9 for the
year 2007-08.
Pow
er o
fO
ne
page 2
Lions, Lioness, and Leos,
It is official; I am your District Governor
for 2007-2008. It is a tremendous honor and I
pledge to serve all the Lions of 5M-9 to the
best of my ability.
Thank you to IPDG Carroll for the good
job she did leading 5M-9 in 2006-2007. She not
only did a good job of leading 5M-9, but with-
out her help I never would have been able to
follow in her footsteps this year. Thanks,
Carroll, for a job well-done.
Chicago was an opportunity for personal
growth. My class consisted of three Districts,
MD5 Canada/North & South Dakota 9
Governors, MD5M (us) Minnesota & Canada
12 Governors, and MDA Canada 10
Governors. Our group leader was PID Bill
Moody from Ontario, Canada. PID Bill was a
very good instructor—had a pleasant sharing
manner of teaching and is easily approachable
with questions.
I was impressed with our new International
President, Mahendra Amarasuri from the
Republic of Sri Lanka. He is a pleasant man,
with a good sense of humor and a nice smile.
He challenged us to extend new clubs’ thinking
more of the karaoke generation than the Lions
meetings of the 1950s. Tradition is good, but
we must accept the younger generations and let
them make their own traditions.
Another Lion I was impressed with was the
Seminar Chairperson, PID A.P. Singh from Kolhata,
India. He is a powerful motivational speaker.
Just in case you are interested—I did man-
age to pack everything in one suitcase.
However, it was so heavy I couldn’t lift it and
had to repack in two suitcases.
PCC Brian Sheehan, sent out a notice saying
MD5M is the third largest Multiple in North
America, behind Pennsylvania MD14. At the
rate we are going, gaining 50 members a year
on Pennsylvania it will take us 40 years to be
#2. If we can stick to the plus one method of
growth for each club we would be in second
place in two years. Do your best Lions of 5M-
9—provide someone with an opportunity to
join the Lions.
FYI the primary means of communicating
this year will be via e-mail. The first major
communication is the Cabinet Notice. The first
Cabinet meeting will be on August 19 in
Elizabeth.
Until next month,
DG Annette
The 5M9
Power of 1
District GovernorAnnette ContosPO Box 1058Fergus Falls, MN 56538-1058H (218) [email protected]
EditorBert Nelson (Pamela)40606 Co. Hwy. 67New York Mills, MN 56567H (218) 385-3956W (218) 346-5900C 218-298-0599Fax (218) [email protected] submit stories, photoswith Captions), ads and othermaterial to the editor before the15th of the month. SubscriptionsThis is a publication of, by
and for the Lions, Lioness, &
Leos of District 5M-9.
McGregor Lions Hold Open HouseSeveral guests attended the McGregor Lions Open House, Monday
evening, June 11. The open house was hosted by the Membership
Committee and the main purpose was to promote Lionism and obtain
information as to what being a Lion is all about. Lions Penny Olson and
Anita Jackson put on a little skit. While Anita read a story about what
being a Lion is all about, Penny had to be very creative in sketching the
various symbols on a portrait of a Lion. There was quite a bit of laugh-
ter when she put on her ideas on the sketch.
Pictured left: Lions Symbol, Anita Jackson read a story to the
guests of the McGregor Lions Open House, while Penny Olson
sketched in the various symbols of Lionism on a portrait of a
Lion.
page 3
Annette’stravels
August5 Classic Vehicle Show & Parade -
Parkers Prairie
9 Travel
10 LCI, Oakbrook
11-12 Leader Dog, Rochester, MI
13 Travel
19 Cabinet Meeting, Elizabeth
23 Zone 7 , Lake Park 6:30 mtg
27 Baxter 30th Anniversary
29 Zone 6 Menahga
September6 Backus visit6-9 USA/Canada Leadership ForumGrand Rapids, Michigan8 Menahga Golf Tournament13 Zone 5 Bluffton15 Parkers Prairie Pride Charter Night!!24 Cass Lake & Cass Lake Lake Country27 Zone 2
October8 Wadena visit10 New York Mills visit14 Mini-Forum - Parkers Prairie17 Pine River, Crosslake/Ideal, Whitefishand Pequot Lakes/Breezy Point Lions visit19-20 CoG, Mahnomen22 Bluffton visit24 Garrison visit26 Travel27 Thanksgiving for Vision28 Josh Confirmation29 Campbell & Breckridge visit
November15 Zone 5
18 Cabinet meeting, Bluffton
29 Zone 2
January4-6 5M9 Mid Winter Convention
28 McGregor visit
February11 Nisswa visit
April28 Baxter visit
MayMay 2-4 MD5M Convention, Mahnomen
My first official business as the Vice District Governor of 5M9, my wife, Lion Margaret is driv-
ing us home (while I’m writing this article) from the Parkers Prairie steak fry and meeting where I
had the pleasure of inducting four new members into their Lions Club. The steaks and the social
made for a very enjoyable evening. Thanks Parkers Prairie Lions.
As the new officers of our clubs and District have taken their place in the role of leadership
and are starting to cultivate their minds, let all of us look deep within ourselves to see where we
can make our service grow to better our communities.
Now would be a good time to review your membership growth plan as I’ve noticed in some of
the Monthly Activity reports that some clubs dropped a few members at the end of the Lions year.
Don’t wait until October, November or December to invite new members of your community to
visit your club to see what the Lions do for a community, state or country. Invite a guest to the next
meeting and sign them up.
Zone meetings will be starting. This would be a great time to bring your new and old members
to listen and share with your fellow Lions from your Zone as to what each club has done or will
be doing to serve their communities. Each club, especially the President, Secretary and the board
of directors should attend your zone meetings. Let’s make each Zone meeting a success and con-
tinue to cultivate our minds.
The Parkers Prairie Lions Club installed four new members July 12th at their steak fry.
Pictured left to right are installing officer Vice District Governor Pete VanErp, new mem-
ber Dick Konrad, new member Doug Skoglund, new member John Zimmerman and new
member Kelly Mesker.
Menahga Gateway Lions
4-person Sramble Golf TournamentSaturday, September 15 • Noon start
$60 per player (includes golf, cart, lunch & prizes)
For more information or to register contact
Jim Carlson 218-564-4653 or 800-652-4940
Cultivating our Minds...
Let our Service Grow
VDG Peter Van Erp
page 4
Frazee Lions Club President Karlene Negen (right) recently pre-
sented Linda Livingston Weidewitsch with $500 towards training
of her leader dog puppy, Gundy. The club also recently donated
$1,000 towards the electronic scoreboard on Frazee’s girls’ softball
field and $1,000 towards installation of a new electronic commu-
nity billboard.
Frazee Lions give financial support
Planes and pancakes mingled together on Sunday morning together
on Sunday morning July 1 at the Pine River Airport for the Pine River
Lions Fly-In Pancake Breakfast. The Fly-In Breakfast has been a long-
standing tradition of the Pine River Lions for many years and people
flew in from as far as California Sunday morning. The Lions use this
event as a fundraiser for one of the many projects that they sponsor.
Pine River Lions Fly-In breakfast
Gary Moser slides some golden brown pancakes onto a plate held
by Doug Zaske to be served hot and, literally, right off the grill.
Francis Anderson’s job is to scoop a dollop of butter onto the pan-
cakes of those who want their pancakes buttery.
Ready to cook for a big crowd, the Lions have three grills set up
for pancakes, a fryer for sausage, and a member to man each sta-
tion.
Bay Lake Area and Deerwwod Lakes Lions Club
23rd Annual Auction& Rummage Sale
Saturday, August 18 • 10 amBay Lake Marine - County Rd 14 and Battle Point
Food and Beverages available
Proceeds from this auction are used to fund community
projects and help provide assistance to needy families in
the area.
For more information call the
Bay Lake Lions at 218-678-9090
page 5
Oscar Maron, a longtime resident and com-
munity leader, passed away on Monday, July 2,
at age 94. He contributed to many organiza-
tions, from Savannah Golf Club to the
McGregor school board, and continued
attending school athletic events into his 90s.
The high school has a spirit award named after
him.
Oscar MaronOscar F.C. Maron, 94, of McGregor, died
Monday, July 2, 2007 at Aicota Health Care
Center, Aitkin.
Funeral services were held July 6, at Our
Saviors Lutheran Church, McGregor, with
Rev. Henry Koopman officiating. Burial was in
Woodland Cemetery, McGregor.
He was born January 12, 1913 in Medina,
ND to Reinhard E. and Karoline S (Abel)
Maron. His family moved to Finlayson in 1915
and then Tamarack in 1923. He attended
school at Tamarack through eighth grade and
graduated from McGregor High School in
1931. He was united in marriage to Edith Viola
(Vi) Broselle on June 28, 1936 in Aitkin. He
worked at Bachellor’s Store as a meat proces-
sor for twelve years. He then worked for O.L.
Johnson at the McGregor Telephone Co. In
1950 he went to work for General Minnesota
Utilities power company and then for Mille
Lacs Electric Coop. He retired as McGregor
area supervisor in 1976. He was confirmed
June 10, 1928, at the McGregor Lutheran
Church by Rev. Martin Pope. Oscar was the
first president of Our Savior’s Lutheran
Church when it was organized and served on
the church council for over 44 years. He was a
charter member of the McGregor Lions and
held most of the offices. He received the
Melvin Jones award and served on the cabinet
for four Lions District Governors as Zone
Chairman and Deputy District Governor. He
was chairman of the McGregor High School
Athletic and Academic Banquet, sponsored by
the McGregor Lions Club for over 30 years.
He served on the McGregor School Board for
15 years. He acted as Boy Scout Camp
Counselor, was president of Savanna Golf
Club. He was a board member of the Aitkin
County Development Achievement Center for
almost 20 years. He was a charter member of
McGregor Fire Department and served for
many years retiring in 1967. He was a union
member of I.B.E.W.
McGregor Lions loses leader and friend
Oscar Maron
We are getting closer to being “Hooked on Grand Rapids” and the
registration is continuing to grow. The Host Committee under the direc-
tion of PCC Gary Anderson is getting ready to put the red carpet out
for all of you. There are so many events in addition to the Leadership
Seminars for you to see and do while in Grand Rapids. The Friday Night
Event is “The Celebration on the Grand.” There will be bands in sever-
al locations, so many restaurants to choose from and the evening will
end with a fabulous fireworks display. The speakers and seminars are
some of the best we have ever had. They are dynamic and will have you
so inspired that you will want to share all you have seen and heard back
at your clubs and help to rejuvenate all the members. This is what the
Forum does!! Inspires Lions, Lioness, Leos and guests to share Lionism
with others to help make our membership grow.
We do hope all of you are making plans to get “Hooked on Grand
Rapids” at the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum September 6-8,
2007 in Grand Rapids, MI.
Let’s all make this best Forum ever. Alone we do so little, together we
do so much.
You are encouraged to visit http://usacanadalionsforum.org/ to
learn much more about the Forum in its entirety.
Vision without action is only a dream...so come and be an active part
of this 2007 USA/Canada Lions
Leadership Forum.
In Lions Service
Ed McCormick, PID
General Chairperson
“Making a Difference Through the Challenges of Change”31st Annual USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum
Because of it’s success, we will again offer participation in the “Bring
One Campaign.”
For Lionism and the Forum to grow we need to reach new people
and encourage them to join us. Although most of the seminars will be
geared toward Lions, we want to encourage all Lions, Lioness and Leos
to attend. We especially want to encourage upcoming club leaders to par-
ticipate in this great educational experience. They don’t have to be cur-
rent or past officers, as we want everyone to attend and “Make a
Difference Through the Challenges of Change.”
We hope that all of you who have enjoyed the Forum in the past will
invite a first timer to attend the Grand Rapids Forum with you. Those
of you who attend and bring a first timer with you will receive a special
Forum Pin stating the words “FORUM MENTOR” and includes a dan-
gler with the year “2007.”
Each new attendee must document who invited them on their regis-
tration form in order for the mentor to receive credit.
Thank you for helping us connect with new people. Together we can
make the 2007 Grand Rapids Forum the best ever!
For more information, please visit our website at: