The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

January, 2010

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

January 6 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Marsala

Program: The USA/Canada Leadership Forum and what YOU can get out of it; presented by three of this year's attendees PDG Bob Virgadamo, President John Kobland, and Immediate Past President Mike Kaiser

January 20 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Broiled Swordfish (market conditions)

Program: Ms. Carmen Catanese and Mr. Jim Deneen on how Trenton is among the highest spending and lowest achieving high schools in New Jersey The magnitude of this tragedy for students and taxpayers, its causes and suggested cures will be discussed.

February, 2010

February 2 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

February 3 - Boy Scout Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Broiled Pork Chops

Program: Frank Brennan III will summarize and describe the many contributions, by current and past Scouts, that the Cranbury Boy Scouts have made to Cranbury. He will explain and show pictures of structures around the township built by Scouts and of activities surrounding their construction. Scouts who were involved and are present at the meeting will comment in their own words about their projects.

February 17 - Annual Joint Meeting with Hightstown LC and Spouse Night - Reservations Required for seating purposes - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Portobello

Program: Ms. Peggy Brennan is the co-author (with her husband, Frank Brennan, Jr) of two history books about Cranbury and one about Hightstown-East Windsor. She will talk about what is involved in writing and publishing a town history book and describe selected topics from the books that will be of interest to the Lions from both towns.

CORRECTION

In the December issue, under the "Reminders" section concerning the Directory, the second of the two pass codes was shown with a hyphen (8-0). Please Note: that was incorrect. Use the pass code shown without the hyphen. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you.

Things To Know

For what appears to be the first time in 77 years, the Club's Annual Christmas Dinner Dance was cancelled. While we didn't get the required number of people to meet the minimum requirements at Charlie Brown's Restaurant and for the DJ, we still had our Meeting and Holiday Party. In order to maintain the traditions of the Club, Lions Neile Wright and Mike Kaiser invited Club Members to attend a Holiday Meeting/Cocktail Party at their home on North Main Street; 19 members and guest attended. Everyone brought a dish and a beverage, and had a good time with the Secret Santa.

We recently ordered Lions Vests From LCI, and they have arrived. Any Member who pre-ordered a vest should see PDG Bob at the January meetings. Pre-ordered vests will be charged to your dues account and will appear on your next dues bill.

In an effort to remain current and constant with Lions Clubs International, changes have been recommended to our Constitution and By-Laws. At the December Board of Directors meeting, the BOD approved certain changes to Article IV - Membership, Section 2 - Types of Membership, which were printed in last month's Jargon, and will be voted upon, by the Membership, at the January 6 meeting.

An Addendum to the Constitution, concerning the use of Membership Lists, had also been submitted for the Board's approval at the December meeting, but wording changes were required; this Amendment was approved for submission to the Membership at the January 5 Board Meeting, and this proposed amendment, in accordance with Articles VIII and X of the Constitution & By-Laws, is submitted hereunder, and attached at the end of this newsletter, for review by the Membership. A vote is scheduled be taken at the January 20 meeting.

Our new LEO Club advisors, Lions Tim Demarest and Fay Kobland, have continued talking to both Cranbury and Princeton school officials in an effort to get a LEO Club started in our community. The Board of Directors asks that members - especially members with school age children - offer their assistance on this LEO Club project. We will keep your informed of their progress.

Our Winter Coat Collection was quite successful and through it we were able to distribute 176 coats to those who were in need of physical warmth. The Board of Directors would like to commend Lions Dave Shaffer, Alex Johnson, and Christine Thompson for coordinating this effort, and to all those Lions and non-Lions who brought in those gently used coats which will make someone a little more comfortable this Holiday Season and through the winter. Special thanks to Library Director Marilynn Mullen for keeping our collection box in the library.

Our Annual Toys For Tots Drive, in association with the U.S. Marines, began in mid-November. PDG Bob made the rounds and picked up a total of 519 toys from the various collection points. We would like to thank the Main Office and Branches of the 1^st Constitution Bank, the Management and Employees of Arcadis, and the Cranbury Post Office for volunteering as collection sites and helping us collect the toys for needy children. We would also like to thank all the people in and around Cranbury who donated toys for this annual drive.

As we have on the first Sunday in December for the last 62 years, our Annual Pancake Breakfast was held on December 6. Unfortunately, another organization in town scheduled a luncheon that day and may have cut into our fundraising efforts. Despite this scheduling snafu, the Club made approximately $4250 (net) including ticket sales, Santa photos, the 50/50, and poinsettia sales (see below). A laurel and hardy handshake goes to Lion Jerry Hanson and ALL the Lions who did their part to make this a successful event.

Lion Rick Burke headed up Poinsettia Sales again this year, and the first quality, late growth plants were nothing less than spectacular! Through Lion Rick's efforts, we had a substantial number of 'pre-sales', and sold nearly all of our remaining allotment at the Pancake Breakfast; the few plants left over were donated. We had a net profit of $642, and the Club would like to give a Giant Attaboy to Lion Rick and his committee of volunteers (Lions, Andre, Bob, Pat, and Peter) for all their efforts, this year.

The judges for our Annual Holiday Decoration Contest, headed by Lion Andre Mento, drove around the Township on Monday, December 14, and, as is our custom, chose the winning house in each section of town. Lion Andre would like to personally thank this year's judges - Lions and non-Lions alike - Rick Burke, Dave and Brenda Schaffer, Fay Kobland, Bobbie Marlowe, Jon Goldstein, and Rosemarie Mento. This year's winners, in no particular order, are: M&M G. Conley, 33 Maplewood Rd; M&M L. Guidi, 8 Stites; Mr.M. Rowe, 15 Stockton Dr; Don Herr, 6 Station Rd; Mr.G. Hornyak, 8 Cubberly; M&M G. Geier, 5 Applegate; M&M J. Halliday, 47 Washington; M&M A. Lampert, 17 Washington; Mr.W. Klausmann, 21 Scottsdale; M&M R. Volente, 7 Scottsdale; M&M M. Debiase, 7 Mershon; Mr.J. Simone, 3 Trowbridge; M&M J. Lecky, 97 North Main; M&M W. Wittman, 97 South Main; Neil Wright & Mike Kaiser, 165 North Main; Karen Wunderman & Richard Cusworth, 13 Bunker Hill; M&M M. Floyd, 29 Liedtke Dr; M&M R. Powell, 62 Petty Rd; M&M D. Copeland, 3 Nicola Ct; Kelly Lehman, 60 Cranbury Neck Rd; M&M S. Reifinger, 20 Silvers La; M&M K. Shaw, 128 North Main St; Mr.P. Ostergaad, 119 North Main St; Sui & Biyun Wu, 78 South Main St.

Each winning home was given a beautiful 8" poinsettia Plant for the Holidays; the poinsettias were delivered on Saturday, December 19. Many thanks for your time and effort, Lion Andre and crew.

The Lions of New Jersey have been invited to participate in the Lions Clubs International Photo Contest. If you take pictures, enter your best. You can enter Black & White or Color Photos, unaltered (No Photo Shop, etc), with no people in the photo(s), in any of the following categories:
● Animal Life ● Landscape (Urban or Natural) ● Plant Life ● Weather Phenomenon ● This year's "Special Category": "Lions Move to Grow Green" - photos of Lions in action implementing a Lions environment project. Despite the rule regarding "no people in the photo", it is believed that this does not apply to the "Special Category". For more information, check the LCI Web Site.

Although all winners in each category (in MD-16) will be listed in the District Newsletter, only one photo per Multiple District will be sent to International. All entries must be 8" x 10", on photo paper with the Official Entry Form, which can be downloaded from the International Web Site. Deadline for all submissions is the Council Meeting at the East Brunswick Chateau on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. Those who cannot make the Council Meetings may give their completed entries President John or PDG Bob Virgadamo.

The New Jersey Lions Night at Prudential Arena with the Jersey Devils is scheduled for Saturday, March 20; the Devils will play the St. Louis Blues; The Regular Price $56 ticket is only $45 for Mezzanine / Balcony Seating. But, not only is the ticket price discounted, once we reach 100 tickets (state-wide), the Devils will donate $10 back to each participating Club for every ticket sold! This is a GREAT opportunity to fundraise, and what could be easier - or more fun? Buy a ticket, go to a very exciting hockey game, get back $10 for the Club! For tickets contact Lion Joe Carroll or PDG Bob. Reserve your tickets today!

With regard to our Club Wine Making Club Project, "the Racking" will take place on Thursday, January 7, 2010; this is NOT an official Business meeting; the bottling and labeling is scheduled for June 2, however we are attempting to reschedule that last date.

As you all know the LEBDV sent us tickets for their Calendar Raffle; we have sold all the tickets, so with the $5 donation back per ticket, the Club's ticket cost nothing. Now all we have to do is "get lucky" to raise a few more dollars by winning the daily raffle. We'll let you know if the Club wins anything.

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 and participation. Please Note that Spouses are not only invited to attend all meetings, but to become Members under the Family Membership Initiative. In any event, Spouses are wholly encouraged to attend our quarterly "Spouse Night" meetings. Our next Spouse Night is the Annual Joint Meeting with the Hightstown Lions Club, featuring an historical program by Peggy Brennan, Co-Author of three Histories books about Cranbury and/or Hightstown.

Coming Soon...

Unfortunately, it has become necessary for the Club to postpone the planned Casino Night Fundraiser, which you have seen under this heading for the last few months. Committees will be formed in July or August 2010, and the event has been tentatively scheduled for February 2011.

Mark your Calendars:

The Annual Golf Outing - Monday, June 7, 2010 at Peddie Golf Course.

The Annual Trenton Thunder Super 50/50 will be held Saturday, June 12, 2010; the Thunder will be playing the Binghamton Mets which usually insures a packed house and better sales.

We have also made arrangements for the 11^th Annual Trenton Thunder Baseball Outing on Saturday, August 7, 2010; the Thunder will be playing the Mets. Tickets will be $10 and will be available in January.

Membership - Membership - Membership

As we've said so often, membership is the key to our survival! New members will rejuvenate existing members and help to keep us ALL young-at-heart, active, and viable! President John is asking ALL members to assist Membership Chair Jon Goldstein in attracting and bringing in new members. Some of our members have said that the reason it took so long to become Lions was that no one asked! Ask your friends and neighbors if they would like to give a little of their time to serve and to give back to the community, while having a good time doing it with new friends. If every one of our 66 members asked just one person to join and only 25% of those people joined this year, we would increase our membership by 17 people! To get information about membership options or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair Jon, Secretary Bob, or President John. In any event, we MUST begin a proactive campaign to bring in new Members and keep our Lions Club from being Cranbury's "best kept secret".

...And Attendance...

President John is asking EVERY Cranbury Lion to provide suggestions on how we might be able to make the meetings more appealing to a broader range of the membership, in an effort to build a stronger Cranbury Lions Club. Since attendance is such a problem, there must be a reason or reasons; please provide your suggestions to President John directly. We can't fix it until we know what's broken!

Reminders

As a reminder, the Club requires that all Members wear a Lion Vest when we are at a fundraiser or Service Project. If you do not have a vest please contact Club Secretary Bob to obtain a vest. You may also order a baseball cap; these items are at "cost" to our members. Vests @$40 (S-M-L) or $45 (XL, 2X); larger size vests (to 6X) are available as a special order; hats are $12. Ladies Cut for vests are available, same pricing.=

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 to 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 John as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you cannot make a meeting.