The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

April, 2009

March 31 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

April 1 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Portobello

Program: Glen Fannick, Habitat For Humanity - this Past President of Habitat in the Millstone Basin Area will speak to us about how we can help with a local Habitat for Humanity project.

April 15 - Lion of the Year Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: TBD

Program: Presentation of the Lion of the Year Award; as always this is a "Spouse Night" meeting, and members are encouraged to bring their spouses as we present this prestigious award to one of our members.

May, 2009

May 5 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

May 6 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Sliced London Broil

Program: TBA

May 20 - Breakfast Meeting - 7:30AM, Teddy's Restaurant; Breakfast: Choice

Program: No Speaker - Social Meeting - General Discussion

Things To Know

Even though we send a revised "Calendar of Events" with each dues mailing, we'd like to remind all members to PLEASE, share the Jargon with your Spouse, so that our events may be better scheduled on your personal or family calendars for better attendance. Please Note that Spouses are invited not only to attend the meetings, but to become Members under the Family Membership Initiative. In any event, Spouses are wholly encouraged to attend "Spouse Night" meetings. Our next "Spouse Night" is our Lion of the Year" Dinner on April 15.

As Lions, We Serve the Community. We hold meetings to promote camaraderie so that we may hold fundraisers to raise money for charity and perform service projects that help our town and the community-at-large. But, as Cranbury Lions we also serve our town in Government, on Boards, Committees and other organizations. In that vein, Lion Don Jo Swanagan has been a member of the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society since its inception, and to honor Don Jo for his many years of service to CHPS will be holding a reception in his honor on Saturday, April 4, from 2-4 PM, at the Cranbury Museum.

The following Slate of Officers has been prepared, and will be read at the April meetings. Write-In Nominations may be made at the meetings, and voted upon from the floor. All Cranbury Lions interested in becoming a member of the Board of Directors (BOD) for the Lion Year 2009-2010 should contact 1VP John Kobland, Director Andre Mento, or Secretary Bob V. to be added to the slate; all nominees must be at the meeting to accept their nomination.

Between 1999 and 2002 our Membership increased by 30+/- to 86 members. At that time the BOD added a fourth Director position. Since Membership is now down to only 71 Members, and the Board feels that we may now efficiently and effectively guide the Club with three Director positions, as was customary in the past. A vote was taken at the BOD meeting and the reduction in Board personnel was approved; a Membership vote will be taken at the April 1 meeting. Barring any challenge to the reduction of one Director, the Slate of Officers is as follows:

Slate of Officers - Lion Year 2009-10

White Cane Days are coming! The White Cane Drive is the quintessential Lion's Fundraiser, and this year's White Cane Days will be April 17 & 18. The BOD would also like to remind you that the White Cane Drive is the quintessential Lion's Fundraiser, and in addition to raising charitable dollars, provides us with much needed visibility in town. Every year we hear the same "complaint", but all we can say is, no one likes shaking a can, but if there are two or three of us at any given location, we can still enjoy ourselves while we raise a few bucks...and, Lions, we need the money this year! Donations are down and every dime counts! Unlike most clubs, our White Cane is only once a year, and we are only asking for two hours of your time - if you can give more, that would be great and thank you - and while it's true that your two hours might only bring in $20 ... it could also bring in $100. And the more of us that are out there, the more visible we are to the public, which in turn, helps us raise the money we need to raise...not just during White Cane Days, but all year long. Event Chair Jeff Grundy has arranged for a number of additional sites for collection, including two of the area supermarkets. A sign-up sheet going around at meetings, and at this writing only 15 Lions have volunteered; we can use quite a few more volunteers, so please sign up for a date and time. If you are unable to make the meetings, please contact Lion Jeff at or (609) 655-4999.

The District 16-D Charity Ball was held on March 21, at the Pines Manor in Edison, and we can be proud that we had a table at the event to show Cranbury's support to the Foundation. The BOD would like to thank the Members who attended on the Club's behalf.

Our Spring Raffle Super 50/50 Tickets will be handled out at the April 1^st meeting; if you are unable to make the meeting, your tickets will be mailed to you. Each Member will be responsible for the sale of at least five tickets. As always, we are selling the tickets for $10 each, and the drawing will take place immediately following the parade on Memorial Day. If you need additional tickets, please contact the Event Chair, Lion Henry Behnke or Secretary Bob.

The Lions of New Jersey Multiple District 16 State Convention will be at the Bridgewater Marriot on May 15 & 16; the Golf Outing is on Thursday, May 14 at the Bunker Hill Golf Course. The Club is allowed 7 Delegates and 7 Alternates. Delegates (and Alternates, as necessary) are the only Members allowed to vote at the Convention on Saturday morning, but all Lions are requested to attend the Sub-District Session in the afternoon to vote for District 16-D Constitutional Changes, the election of the District Governor, Vice District Governor and Deputy Vice District Governor. The Club will pay for a Delegates Badge, We are also looking for a group to fill at least one table at the Saturday Banquet. Anyone attending the banquet may wish to stay at the hotel on Saturday Night and a special rate is available until April 23. A convention application is attached for your convenience. Anyone planning on attending any portion of the Convention should advise President Mike or Secretary Bob.

The New LEO Club at the Jamesburg Home for Boys is still on hold, but we still need one or two youth oriented Lions to act as Advisors when the project is finally approved. Most, if not all, of the advisory work will be done off-site, with an on-site employee/advisor who will need a "Contributing Club Contact". Any member who would like to volunteer as a LEO Advisor should contact President Mike or PDG Bob, so that we can "hit the ground running" when the project finally comes to fruition.

Since we already have a few volunteers from Cranbury, we should follow through on our commitment and plan to sponsor a New Club in Plainsboro. To accomplish this, we need a few committed Lions to contact local businesses, local government employees, and perhaps run a membership drive in the shopping plazas and the new "downtown" area to gather local residents as members. This would not be unprecedented; the Cranbury Lions sponsored the Hightstown Club, as well as the (now defunct) Hamilton, Jamesburg, and (former) Plainsboro Clubs. There's no doubt that this will be a large undertaking, but the satisfaction obtained at the completion of this project will make every Cranbury Lion proud! As it is with all our projects, the more volunteers we can get, the easier the task! Time is becoming of the essence - Interested Lions should contact President Mike, Membership Chair Jon Goldstein, or PDG Bob, ASAP.

We have been asking for a volunteer to become the Club "Safety Officer" since the start of our year in July 2008, and to date no one has come forward. This is a fairly simple position (which has been done this year by a member with other duties to the Club), simply requiring a Member to be familiar with the Lions Clubs International Insurance Policy (a simple booklet!), which covers us under its umbrella, and be available to inspect our event sites and complete a form as it may apply to any particular event or fundraiser. Lions, we are proud of the fact that we have a roster of 71 Members, but it is rather disconcerting that with that many Lions in our pride, we can't get a volunteer to take a job that merely requires the completion of a form at or after each of our fundraisers. We need a volunteer, hopefully one that has no existing "jobs" with in the Club! Interested Members should contact President Mike.

A quick notation about the USA/Canada Leadership Forum this coming September 24-26. If, in addition to learning more about our Association, learn new methods for increasing Membership, and, generally, discover how to become a better Lion, you'd like to ride a Mississippi Riverboat, visit the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll, catch the Blues at a hot club, see Graceland, visit the National Civil Rights Museum, check out pandas at the zoo, or just have the World's Best Barbeque, this year's Forum is in Memphis, TN ... and it is expected to be one of the best Forum's on a never ending list of great Forums. For more information or an application, see PDG Bob.

It feels like winter, but baseball season is coming! Mark your calendars for our Trenton Thunder 50/50 on Friday, June 12, Thunder v. Mets; and our Annual Baseball Outing on Saturday, August 22. We are looking to sell at least 50 tickets and urge you to attend this game, with your family and friends; the Trenton Thunder has been our friend and loyal supporter for more than a decade, but if our ticket sales don't increase for this one game, (due to the severe economic climate) we may be in danger of losing our preferred 50/50 night in future years.

The approved April 25 "Service Day" for the Club has been cancelled. Unfortunately, those organizations which we were to serve became unavailable on the planned date. Due to the fact that we have a rather busy schedule between now and the end of the year, and since the summer months are not ideally suited for this activity, we will make attempt to schedule another effort to help next autumn.

Coming Soon...

Event Chairman Alex Johnson will need a few Lions to help with games and prizes at the Drug Free Fair on Saturday, May 16. A sign-up sheet will begin circulating in April, or just call Lion Alex.

Parade Chairman Dave Cook will need all the help he can get before and during the Memorial Day Parade. A sign-up sheet will begin circulating in April.

The Board has approved our Club's participation in a new fundraising effort, to which we have been invited, in Cranbury, tentatively scheduled for October; more information will be provided as it becomes available.

Habitat For Humanity is preparing to begin a new "project house" in Hightstown, the BOD has discussed having a warm weather "Service Day" by helping with this project. Discussions will continue after we have obtained additional details.

For the information of our Membership: The Cranbury Emergency Services Picnic will nor be held this year; our Emergency Services people have decided to hold the picnic every other year; the Board has advised them that the Cranbury Lions will be available if and when they schedule the picnic.

Membership - Membership - Membership

Last year's theme was "the Challenge to Change", and, through change, we can increase our Membership while rejuvenating existing members to help to keep the Club young-at-heart, active, and viable! Cranbury Lions Club President Mike will continue to accept the Challenge to Change, and is asking ALL members to assist Membership Chair Jon Goldstein in attracting and bringing in new members. To this end, we are planning a Membership Drive at Four Seasons; details will be available shortly. To get information about membership options or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair Jon, Secretary Bob, or President Mike. In any event, we MUST begin a proactive campaign to bring in new Members! Let's try to keep our Lions Club from being Cranbury's "best kept secret".

...And Attendance...

Using the tag-line, "If you build it, they will come", President Mike is asking EVERY Cranbury Lion to provide suggestions on how we might be able to CHANGE the meetings to appeal to a broader range of the membership, in an effort to build a stronger Cranbury Lions Club. Please provide your suggestions to him directly.

Reminders

Do you know of an interesting speaker? You may be an interesting speaker! Please advise Program Chair Frank Marlowe with any and all suggestions for speakers at our meetings to: .

Any member who learns of the sickness or death of another member, or in a member's family, or any other similar incident or emergency, should contact Lions Frank Marlowe (Chair, H&W) and/or Dave Cook ("phone tree"), and/or Bob Virgadamo (e-mail notifications) so that all members may be notified as soon as possible.

Member Pick-Up - Ed Lawson (5 S. Main)

Lion George Smith has volunteered be the "permanent" pick up driver for Lion Ed; Lion Frank Marlowe has volunteered to be the "permanent" back-up driver. Drivers: if you cannot make your pick-up, please notify President Mike as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you cannot make a meeting