The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

June, 2009

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

June 3 - Student Affairs Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Alfredo

Speakers: School Administrator John Haney and Mayor Pari Stave.

Program: The Club will host the winners of the Stan Thomas Award and our Scholarships, and their families; the Mayor & Lion John will address the Students.

June 17 - Charter Night Dinner - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Choice: Crab Cakes.

Program: Installation of the 2009-2010 Officers and Board of Directors.

July, 2009

June 30 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:00PM, President-Elect John Kobland's House

July 15 - Regular Meeting - as recommended by the Board and approved by the membership, this meeting

will be held at Trenton Thunder's Riverside Stadium in Trenton, before the All Star Game; attendance is by pre-reservation only. The game starts at 7:05PM; it would be wise to arrive by or before 6:30.

August, 2009

August 18 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

August 19 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Baby Back Ribs

Program: TBA

Things To Know

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 Installation of Officer, scheduled for June 17.

There will be no dinner dance this year to celebrate the installation of our Officers and Board of Directors for 2009-2010. We hope that all members will make the effort to attend the Installation of Officers to show support for the commitment of these volunteers; as noted above, the Installation of Officers will take place on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

The Officers and Board of Directors for the Lion Year 2009-10

The Drug Free Fair was held on Saturday, May 16, and Lion Alex Johnson and his crew had a good time handing out prizes to the kids. Our water game is still a favorite with the kids; for playing the game the kids received a snack and juice or water. Additionally, we gave some of the younger children toys which were donated by the Russ Berrie Co. (With thanks to Lion Pat Meehan for following up on the donation!).

After a few years delay, we finally participated in the West Windsor Lions Club Renaissance Faire, which was held the weekend of May 16 & 17. With thanks to Lion Andre Mento and his stalwart band of volunteers, who braved the cold and rain, and sold fresh baked cookies, packaged snacks, and soft drinks on both days; unfortunately the weather was somewhat uncooperative and the fundraiser was not as successful as had been hoped. The Board of Directors will review the event and decide if we should do it again in the future. Special Thanks to Joanne Meehan for her help during the event.

This year's Spring Raffle Super 50/50 was the most successful raffle we've had in a few years, raising $6200. The BOD would like to thank all those members who sold their minimum allotment of (5) tickets, and would especially like to thank those members who sold ten or more, but special thanks go to Don Herr, Walt Caldwell, Alex Johnson, Don Jo Swanagan, John Goldstein and all the Lions who sold tickets during the parade! We would be remiss, however, if we did not give extra-special-credit, a Giant Attaboy!, and a laurel and hardy handshake to Lion Mahlon Thompson (and his small band of merry men) for the sale of 260 tickets! Thank you all for making this a success! The winners of this year's Spring Raffle Super 50/50 were: 1^st Prize - Bob Virgadamo; 2^nd Prize - David Behnke; and, 3^rd Prize - Dave Shaffer.

The Memorial Day Parade was better than ever! The day could not have been more perfect, and Parade Master Lion Dave Cook added an additional 40 yards of marchers. In addition to a few new floats, we saw that traditional "riders" (bands, etc) decorated their transport vehicles more than they had in previous years. Hopefully this will be a trend. Lion Dave gave the title of "Honorary Parade Marshall" to 83-year old World War II Veteran Fred Ritter, who rode in the first car. As always, we provided prizes for "Best Float", and for the "decorated Bikes, Trykes, and Wagons": the Best Float prize went the Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society; the "Decorated Bike" prizes went to: Nora Devine - 1^st; Danielle Davis - 2^nd; and Kayla Volante - 3^rd. Thanks to all the Lions who came out to help as starters, traffic coordinators, and ticket sellers, but especially to Lion Dave for giving us another fantastic parade!!

The Lions of New Jersey Multiple District 16 State Convention was held at the beautiful new Bridgewater Marriot on May 15 & 16; due to the many things going on that weekend, the Club only sent 5 Delegates. The results of the District 16-D elections were as follows: District Governor Jim Dougherty (Metuchen) and Vice District Governor Michael Hsing (Bridgewater); with no candidate for 2^nd Vice District Governor, the position remains open and available; if any qualified member of the Cranbury Lions would like to apply for the position, please see PDG Bob. The Reception and Banquet was nicely attended by the delegates and their spouses, and a good time was had by all.

The New LEO Club at the Jamesburg Home for Boys is still "in process", but moving forward! The Lions Directors of the Jamesburg Board have been able to develop a project that may be acceptable to School; Jamesburg is considering a program whereby dogs will be brought into the institution for training as assist dogs. The dog training could serve as a service project for a Leo Club. his program has not been finalized, as Jamesburg needs to get approval from the State. We will be kept informed as to the status of this proposal. However, because it looks like the project will be approved, and move forward, we have been invited to attend the next meeting of the Jamesburg Committee on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at Jamesburg at 7:00PM. This is the moment of truth - we need one or two youth oriented Lions to act as Advisors and attend the upcoming meeting (along with a few Board Members). Due to security precautions, 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 immediately, 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.

The 11^th Annual Cranbury Lions Golf Classic will again be held at the Peddy Golf Club in Hightstown, on July 23^rd. Registration Fees are: $125 per golfer for "Early Bird" Sign-up by June 23^rd ($150 After June 23rd); Foursomes are $500 for "Early Bird" Sign-up by June 23^rd ($600 after June 23rd). Included in the registration fee is: a cart, greens fees, lunch, post game Cocktail Hour (open bar), Dinner and prizes. It will be a shotgun Start, 4-man teams - scramble; Registration and lunch at 11A; tee time at noon. See the application attached. In addition to players, we are looking for sponsors; Lion sponsors, or Lions with a sponsor should contact Lions Ray Dickey at 609-655-2000 or email . The Golf Committee is also seeking donations for prizes. Non-golfers are welcome to attend the dinner for $35 per person. An Application for Play is attached.

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 see the article in the April issue of "The Lion" Magazine; for an application, see PDG Bob.

Baseball Season is here! Mark your calendars for our Trenton Thunder 50/50 on Friday, June 12, Thunder v. Mets; as always we need a minimum of 6 people to sell tickets in the stadium, but the more of us that are out there, the more tickets we will sell. We have always had a great time together doing this event, and we have always done well, and why shouldn't we - we don't have to do anything but be present, walk around, watch a baseball game, and make money for charity! [For informational purposes, the best "non-celebrity" night for the 50/50 was well over $1000; a "celebrity night" example would be the night Derek Jeter played - the non-profit walked away with almost $3000!] The Club will pay for a hot dog and a beverage for each seller; sellers do not have to be Lions, but must be over 18. A sign up sheet will continue to circulate at meetings.

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. Please don't let that happen - order your tickets today - contact PDG Bob.

Coming Soon...

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 shortly.

Habitat For Humanity is preparing to begin a new "project house" in Hightstown, the BOD has discussed having a warm weather "Service Day" to help with this project. We are waiting for additional details.

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...

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 ASAP.

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