The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

November, 2009

November 3 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

November 4 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Broiled Salmon

Program: David Stewart of Cranbury is a research engineer at Ocean Power Technologies. He will talk about the generation of electricity from ocean waves, a promising source of non-polluting energy. Dave will explain how power is derived from waves, describe the electricity-producing buoys that have been developed and discuss the status of prototype power generating systems that have been installed and the future of the technology.

November 18 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Roast Turkey

Program: Marie Lockhart of Puppy PALS 4H Club, will describe the foster home aspect of raising the dogs and how these foster "parents" train the puppies in a way to prepare them to "go to school" at the Seeing Eye Dog School in Morristown; she will bring a puppy (or two) to show the levels of skill, and she will ask if anyone would be willing to become a "foster parent".

December, 2009

December 1 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

December 2 - Peace Poster Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Steak Orleans

Program: President John & PDG Bob will present Awards to the Peace Poster Winners. In addition to the Peace Poster Winners, our special guests will be the Cranbury School Art Teacher, Mrs. Tamara Woronczuk and Chief School Administrator, Lion John Haney.

December 11 - Holiday Meeting - 7PM, Charley Brown's Restaurant, Kingston; Dinner: Choice

Program: Interactive Meeting; dancing in lieu of speaker.

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 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 quarterly "Spouse Night" meetings. Our next Spouse Night is scheduled for December 11, at Charlie Brown's in Kingston.

The Wine Making Club Project is underway. The Club met at The Grape Escape (TGE) on October 7 for "the Crush", and again, informally, on Sunday the 18^th, for "The Press". Mark Your Calendars: "the Racking" will take place on January 7, 2010 and the bottling and labeling is scheduled for June 2, however we are attempting to reschedule that last date. We will produce a barrel of Suisun Valley (California) Cabernet, which promises to be a rich Cabernet Sauvignon, with full fruit notes of blackberry, currant and cassis. It will be "drinkable" within a year of bottling and will improve with age over the next 5-7 years, if cellared properly. At this writing there are a few cases left to be sold; a 12-bottle case of wine is priced at $120 each ($10 per bottle); $60 for a half case. This is a direct cost; there is no fundraising for the Club. Members may split a case with other members; if you wish to purchase the wine, please contact IPP Mike Kaiser or PDG Bob.

The Gil & Bert's Ice Cream Fundraiser held on Saturday, October 10 was a huge success! Co-Chairs Jon Goldstein and Tim Demarest pulled together a crew, procured donations of fresh baked goods and obtained the services of (Cranbury School Phys Ed teacher) Sean Cox, who sang and played guitar for a little over an hour. The volunteers sold the baked goods and worked inside the shop, scooping ice cream, and generally had a good time together, raising over $380! Congratulations to the winners of the raffles for a quart of ice cream and a bouquet of flowers to Pat Gavenda and Lisa Boekhout, both of Cranbury. Thanks go to Chris & Rob (Gil & Bert's) for giving us this opportunity, Sean for his music, and to Kathy Burke at the Cutting Garden for her donation of the bouquet for our raffle. A giant Attaboy to Lions Jon and Tim and their stalwart volunteers for an excellent job.

Event Chair Lion Dave Cook worked with the PTO and helped pull off our third annual Pumpkin Carving event. According to Lion Dave, the event was the biggest we have had in recent years: over 200 people attended. We went through about 45 of the 60 pumpkins that were delivered by Lion Roy Reinhardt, and a total of 93 were carved. Julie of 'Clown Around' was dressed as a scarecrow and painted monster and animal faces on children for a solid 2 hours. There were prizes for the Pumpkin Carving Contest: $15 for First; $10 for second, and; $5 for third, as well as other small gifts for several runners up. Of course a laurel and hardy handshake also goes to Co-Chairs Monty Hagerty and Alex Johnson and their crew for proving eight gallons of cider, 12 dozen doughnuts, and 200 "munchkins" to a cafeteria filled with children!

Our new LEO Club advisors have been talking to the School Administrator in an effort to get the new LEO Club started in the Cranbury School, and will be contacting the necessary administrators at Princeton HS, shortly. The Board of Directors asks that members - especially members with school age children - offer their assistance on this LEO Club project.

Cranbury Lion Fay Kobland is the new District Chair for the Jamesburg School for Boys. Congratulations, Lion Fay! After attending the last meeting at the facility, she has advised that the Jamesburg LEO Club, a project that our Club agreed to oversee and support, seems to be moving along in a positive direction. We'll report more information, as it becomes available.

Our Annual Golf Outing, which was scheduled for Thursday, October 15, at the Peddie Golf Course, had to be cancelled due to the severe inclement weather caused by a Nor'easter. Although we still did not have a "full compliment" of golfers, the Event Chairperson advised that we would have made approximately $3000-$3500. The 'Golf Outing Committee' will be returning any checks received, and will be setting up a Golf Outing for next year. Although we can't control the weather, the Club apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused our members, friends and supporters.

The Autumn White Cane Collection was held on October 23 & 24, and thanks to the efforts of our White Cane Event Chairman, Lion Jeff Grundy, and his stalwart crew of volunteers, the Club raised just over $748. Lion Jeff has asked that his thanks be placed in the Jargon to all the Lions who braved the rain for those two days: THANK YOU, LIONS!

Habitat For Humanity is preparing to begin a new "project house" in Hightstown in the Spring/Summer 2010; the BOD and Membership have approved a "Service Day" to help with this project. In the meantime, we will provide a few volunteers to help with their fundraiser at the Mercer Oaks Country Club 725 Village Rd, W.Windsor). If anyone wishes to attend the fundraiser, it will be a Wine Tasting and Silent Auction; the $45pp ticket ($50-door) includes wine, 6 appetizers, cheese & crackers, roasted veggies, and 2 hot entrées.

As a result of the "Brainstorming Session" that was part of our September 16 meeting, the Cranbury Lions Club will be starting a new Community Service Project in the form of a Winter Coat Collection. 3VP Lion Dave Shaffer and Lion Alex Johnson have agreed to Co-Chair this project. We will be placing the information in the Cranbury Press for wider distribution, but we would appreciate if the members of the Club can spread this project information by word of mouth. Coats should be "gently used"; they will be distributed to those in dire need through both TASK and "Jersey Cares" of Middlesex. There will be collection boxes at the Pancake Breakfast; Lions Dave and Alex will provide additional information at the November 4 meeting. Members ONLY may bring their coat donations to the November 18 meeting.

Our Annual Toys For Tots Drive, in association with the U.S. Marines, will begin in mid November. New, unwrapped toys will be collected at points around town, including the Post Office and the 1^st Constitution Bank; members may drop toys off at PDG Bob's house (front porch - please call to advise). There will also be a drop box at the Pancake Breakfast. Like everyone else, the Marines are low on donations, so our help will be invaluable to insure that needy children will have a toy for the holidays.

As we have on the first Sunday in December for the last 62 years, our Annual Pancake Breakfast will be December 6. Lion Jerry Hanson will once again act as Chair, and you will receive your work schedule with your tickets; if you need to "adjust" your schedule, please contact Jerry. As always, you are asked to take responsibility for the sale of at least 5 tickets; however, due to the "fundraising rainouts" we have experienced this year, you are asked to sell as many tickets as possible, to help make up shortfalls.

Looking for a good time? Join us at the Annual Holiday Party! This year, like last, it will be held on Friday, December 11 from 7-11PM, at Charlie Brown's restaurant on Route 27 in Kingston. For those who wish to participate, there will be a "Secret Santa"; $15 (max) for the Secret Santa Gift. If you were unable to attend the party last year, you may be interested in knowing that this truly fun activity kept us all laughing. Bring a couple of friends, fill a table. The more people that come, the more fun we can all have. For reservations, contact Lions Neile Wright, Phyllis Johnson, or Bobbie Marlowe. Members, $40pp; Guests, $60pp; price includes passed hors d'ouvres, dinner and a DJ. Cash bar. See the attached flyer for additional details.

Coming Soon...

The Cranbury Lions are planning to hold a new and exciting fundraising event that we hope will be able to be repeated every year - or at least every other year, for years to come. Our new Casino Night Fundraiser is being planned for February 2010. Details will be available shortly. However, as time and MANPOWER are of the essence here, interested volunteers should contact PDG Bob or IPP Mike Kaiser, ASAP.

Mark your Calendars:
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.

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.

Finally, the date for the New Jersey Lions Night at Prudential Arena with the Jersey Devils is Saturday, March 20, 2010; the Devils will be playing the Penguins; information will be available shortly from State Event Chair, Lion Joe Carroll. Reserve your tickets today!

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 67 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; we have ordered vests to replace our depleted "on-hand" stock for new members. If you do not have a vest please contact Club Secretary Bob to obtain a vest, or place your order. You may also order a baseball cap; these items are at "straight 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 is 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 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.

LION'S CLUB CHRISTMAS PARTY 2009!!