Jungle Jargon
A Monthly Broadcast to
THE
LIONS CLUB OF CRANBURY, NEW
Contact us at: http://cranburylions.org
“A Country Club Trying to Serve Its Country”
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Ideals in
Government |
Mutual
Helpfulness |
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Social Progress |
Understanding |
Civic Betterment
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Fellowship |
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President |
Rick Burke |
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Directors – 1 year |
Frank Brennan, Jr. |
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1st Vice
President |
Mike Kaiser |
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Dave Cook |
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2nd Vice
President |
Andre Mento |
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Ray Dickey |
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3rd Vice
President |
John Kobland |
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Jeff Grundy |
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Secretary |
George Smith |
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Treasurer – Operating/Projects |
Glenn Johnson |
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Directors – 2 Years |
Walt Caldwell |
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Assistant Treasurer - Projects |
Elaine Homoky |
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Jon Goldstein |
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Tom Reilly |
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Immediate Past President |
Alex Johnson |
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Peter Turner |
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Information Technology
Chairman |
Dave Shaffer |
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Publicity |
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Lion Tamer |
Paul Hayden |
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Jargon Editor |
Bob Virgadamo |
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Tail Twister |
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Membership Chairman |
Mike Kaiser |
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March, 2007
March 6 – Board of Directors Meeting –
March 7 – Regular
Meeting –
Speaker: Rick
Alcantara will speak to us about the Eden
Institute’s program for Autistic Adults – W.E.R.C. (
March 14 – Joint Regular
Meeting with Hightstown Club –
A buffet dinner will be
provided by the Hightstown Lions Club and this will be an interactive meeting,
in lieu of a speaker.
April, 2007
April 3 – Board of Directors Meeting –
April 4 – Regular
Meeting –
Speaker:
TBA
April 25 – Lion of the Year Meeting –
In lieu of Speaker – Joint
Zone meeting and Presentation of the Lion of the Year
This is an “Early” Edition
The editor will not be able to put the Jargon out at the
regular time this month (first Wednesday), and begs your indulgence for this
week early edition. Every attempt was made to make the information content
complete. The normal schedule will resume in April.
Something New About the 75th Celebration…
Lion Frank Brennan III has offered us the loan of some appropriate
Lions historical pieces that are in his private collection to display at the 75th
Celebration. We are asking all members who have ANY memorabilia, regardless of
how old, to loan us the item or items to display during the Celebration – we
will take good care of them and return them to you immediately following the
Gala. We have just had the first run through of the photo loop which will be
shown at the event, and it is impressive – even though it only goes back to
2000. Anyone with photos from the 30’s through the present should contact Lion
Things To Know
Even
though we have begun sending 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 to attend
all meetings, but are wholly encouraged to attend “Spouse Night”
meetings.
Due to the efforts of Lion Mike Kaiser and his staff, this year’s Valentines Day Roses FUNdraiser was a great success! This year we sold 48 dozen roses – 18 more than last year, and we raised a total of $903.00 Unfortunately we had to turn away 12 late orders, but hope to be able to accommodate the latecomers next year. We also had a number of complaints about quality this year; everyone should be aware that as a “living commodity” some items may not last as long as others, and there is no guarantee to this, whether they are purchased through our Club, or if they are purchased through a commercial florist. However, we will make a concerted effort next year to try to minimize “quality problems”. Many thanks to all those who supported this FUNdraiser and special thanks to Lion Mike for a job well done.
In the true spirit of Lionism, Meghan Hayden – daughter of
Lion Paul Hayden – has started a charitable organization in
Our annual Boy Scout
Meeting was held on February 21, and President Rick presented two checks
representing our annual donation; one to Scoutmaster John Kirknir and the other
to Cubmaster
President Rick has accepted a position on this year’s 16D Charity Ball Committee.
Congratulations President Rick! This year’s Charity Ball Dinner Dance will be
on March 24 at the Forge Restaurant in
Nice segue…at the State
Convention, which will be held at the Clarion Conference Center in Cherry
Hill from May 17-19, Vice District Governor Bob will become District Governor Bob. With 74 members,
the Cranbury Lions may send 7 Delegates and 7 Alternates to the Convention.
Lion Bob is also asking for the support of any Cranbury Lion that can attend the
Friday Night Hospitality Room. Delegate forms, Banquet reservations and reduced
hotel rate information is available from Lion George Smith. As District
Governor, Lion Bob is required to fill both his cabinet positions and some 30
or 40 State Committee Chairperson positions (many of which are “figurehead”
positions and require little or no action). Any Cranbury Lion who may be
interested in serving on the Governor’s Cabinet or as a Committee Chair is
asked to speak with VDG Bob as soon as possible.
Mark your
calendars – The Annual Joint Zone Meeting for Lion of the Year will be April 25th. The Lion of the
Year Dinner is also our Spring Spouse Night. The meeting will be held at either
the East Brunswick Chateau or Pierre’s in
As listed above, our Annual Cranbury Lions – Hightstown
Lions Joint Meeting will be hosted
by Hightstown this year, and therefore, will be on their schedule. The meeting
will be at the Mom’s Diner on Route 33 on March
14. Please note that our first scheduled meeting on March 7 will
be at Cranbury Station; our second normally scheduled meeting on March 21 is
cancelled, and being “replaced” with the Joint Meeting.
And speaking of the Hightstown
Lions, they have a big anniversary coming up this year, too – 70 Years! For
the benefit of our newer members, the Hightstown Lions Club was the first of
five clubs sponsored by the Cranbury Lions. This is only one of the reasons
that we have had such a close and enduring friendship with the Hightstown Club
over all these years; in years past not only did we have an Annual Joint
Meeting, but, among other events, we had an annual picnic (at which there was
the ‘annual softball game’ of true rivalry); our Clubs played basketball
“against” each other, and there were Bowling Tournaments. The Board voted to
take a full page ad in their Ad Journal and for our 70 years of friendship and
camaraderie, the Board of Directors would like to see the Membership fill at
least two tables at this black tie optional dinner dance Celebration on
April 28, at Theo’s Lakeside Tavern (Main St, Hightstown).Tickets are $60 each.
A sign-up sheet will begin circulating at our first March meeting.
The Barn Project…no,
it’s not a dead issue… Members may recall that in 2002 the Club voted to
restore the Updike barns and that the town would let us store all our equipment
in one of the barns. This project has been “on the books” for nearly 5 years,
and has been delayed due to one problem or another along the way, not the least
of which was the collapse of one barn and the further deterioration of the
others. Lion
Get ready for our 9th
Annual Golf Outing, which will be held at the Peddie Golf Club on
…More about the 75th Anniversary…
Reminder…Hold the time and date for the Cranbury Lions 75th Anniversary Celebration –
Fundraising efforts
are underway through the Promotions and Ad Journal Committees by trying to
obtain both goods and services for a Silent Auction (at the Celebration) and
cash donations (as Journal Ads)…but they need the help of every member.
Remember that the cost of the ticket is the cost of the event – we make NO
money on the ticket; all FUNdraising will be via the Ad Journal, the Silent
Auction, and the evening’s 50/50. Please do what YOU can to procure
goods, services, or ads for the event.
The Regular meeting on February 7th was held at
the Grape Escape and our Members and a few spouses, bottled and labeled the
wine we made as a Club Project. The wine, a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, has
strong coffee notes, with a hint of chocolate and a little black cherry on the
back; as it sits over the next few months, the coffee notes should diminish as
the chocolate, and especially the fruit, gain in complexity. In other words,
our wine will not be disappointing to those who receive it at the 75th,
regardless of the level of wine appreciation.
All Members have received their tickets for the 75th Anniversary Celebration
in the mail. Additional tickets are available. The Committee and the Board are
hoping that every Member will attend this momentous event in our Club’s
history, and now is a good time to start planning a table; tables will be set
for 8, 10, or 12. If for any reason a Member can’t use the tickets sent to him
or her, we ask that you try to sell them; if you are unable to purchase them or
sell them, please return them to either Lion Glenn Johnson or Lion Walt
Caldwell.
Membership – Membership – Membership
As
always we are looking for new members. New Members help to keep the Club young,
active, and viable! This year’s theme from International President Jimmy Ross
is ‘Renewal’, and President Rick has adopted this theme. With so many new homes
in Cranbury, there are many opportunities for new members. Additionally, there
is a new Initiative from LCI called “Family
Membership”. For more information about Family Membership, or membership in
general, or to obtain membership applications contact Membership Chair
…And Attendance…
On the flip side of the membership coin, we also seem to be
having a problem with attendance. Over the last couple of years meeting
attendance has diminished from an average of 45+ members per meeting to an
average of plus or minus 25 members, per meeting. Our core volunteers have
always come from sign-ups at the meetings, and with meeting attendance down,
so are the number of volunteers. While we would love to see “a
packed house” at every meeting, it is understandable that many of our Members can’t
make every meeting due to the demands and obligations to their jobs and
families, however, the Board of Directors is asking every member to try to
attend at least one meeting per month.
Reminders
Frank Marlowe has been our Program Chair for a few years now, and has done quite an excellent job lining up speakers for each of our meetings. You can all imagine how difficult it can be, finding 20 speakers per year that will be of relative interest to all our Members! We all come in contact with someone interesting on a regular basis. When you do, or if you have any suggestions for speakers, please give Lion Frank a call, or e-mail him at marlowe@cranburynj.com .
The Cranbury Lions Club is always in search of additional new fund raisers – different, entertaining, and most importantly, fun. Any member who has a FUNdraising idea should share the idea with President Rick, or bring it up at one of the meetings. The list of potential fundraisers, and the input from interested Lions, will be discussed at a Board of Directors meeting, and presented to the general membership at a regular meeting.
While it is important that we increase our fundraising
capability, it is equally important that we do it without continually
requesting donations from our small community on a too frequent basis. With
over 300 commercial locations in our immediate area, the website is one of the
easiest and best fundraisers we have. We ask every Member to please try to bring in at least one new advertiser per year.
Refer all advertising leads to Lions John Kobland,
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 Lion
Member Pick-Up
Ed Lawson (5 S. Main)
Lion George Smith will 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, or need to switch, please notify Rick Cusworth as soon as possible. Riders: please notify the assigned driver if you’re not going to make a meeting.