The Jungle Jargon

MEETING SCHEDULE

September, 2009

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

September 2 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken & Broccoli

Program: Marilynn Mullen, Cranbury Library Director

September 16 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Lump Crab Cakes

Program: Tail twister Peter Turner will lead an Interactive Club discussion regarding Service Project and Fundraiser Ideas

October, 2009

October 6 - Board of Directors Meeting - 7:30PM, Boy Scout Room (Town Hall)

October 7 - Spouse Meeting - 7PM, The Grape Escape; Dinner: Beef Stroganoff

Program: the first of three meetings held at TGE for the Club Wine Project - "The Crush"

October 21 - Regular Meeting - 7PM, Cranbury Station; Dinner: Chicken Parmigiana

Welcome To Our Newest Members...

Lions Tim Demarest and Fay Kobland were inducted into the Club at our August meeting; Lion Fay joined under the Family Membership Initiative. Both Fay and Tim have already been assigned projects as the Club's LEO Club Advisors; Lion Fay was also placed on the Jamesburg Committee as the representative from 16-D.

Things To Know

Summer is over, so "Standard Dress Rules" are back in effect. We ask that you attend meetings in business attire, which may include "Business Casual".

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 the 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 October 7, at The Grape Escape.

VIP - VIP - VIP - Treasurer Dean Koehler has brought a problem concerning Member Dues to the Board of Directors. Apparently, we have a number of delinquent members; some by only a quarter (3 months), some by much, much more! Our Club dues are invoiced and payable, in advance, each quarter, so that we may pay International, State and District dues which are based on our membership numbers; we also need to pay our normal, as well as any special, administrative costs as they occur. We can only do that through the prompt payment of dues. The BOD would like to remind every member that dues are due and payable upon receipt of your quarterly invoice. If you have not yet received you Membership Card for 2009-10, it is an indication that you are at least two quarters delinquent in the payment of your dues. The Board requests all delinquencies be settled by the end of September, so that no further action need be taken. The Club would like to thank all members who have paid their dues in accordance with their membership agreement.

The Finance Committee met and completed the Budgets for the 2009-10 (Fiscal) Lion Year. In accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws, the budgets were distributed and discussed at the August meeting; a second presentation will be made at the September 2^nd meeting, and a vote will be taken, on budget acceptance at that first September meeting.

On Friday, September 11, the Cranbury Lions will host a PorchFest at the home of Lion Andre and Rosemarie Mento (1 Chamberlin Ct, in Cranbury Green). The purpose of the gathering is to have Cranbury residents meet the members of the Cranbury Lions in a social situation, and hopefully to enlist a few new members. Not only is every Lion is encouraged to attend, we ask that you bring a friend or neighbor with you. This will be a social situation only - not a "hard-sell" recruitment meeting.

Cranbury Day will be on September 12 this year, and preparations are being made by Co-Chairs Jeff Grundy and Pat Meehan. Volunteers are needed for Set-Up, the Food Stand (Preparation, Grilling, Serving, Cashier), the Ice Cream Cart, and Clean Up. A Sign up sheet has already begun circulating at the meeting, or contact Lions Jeff or Pat to volunteer directly.

As we have for over 50 years, the club will host the September Golden Agers Luncheon. The date of the luncheon is Saturday 19. Unfortunately, after so many years as the Chair for this event, Lion Mahlon Thompson has found it necessary to retire as Event Chair. But keeping it in the family, our new Program Chair is Lion Christine Thompson. As always, we are in need of a half dozen or so volunteers for wait-staff duty and a few donated baked goods. Volunteers should contact Lion Christine directly or use the sign-up sheet circulating at the meetings.

The Annual Baseball Outing, on Saturday, August 22, should have been the beginning of a good series against the NH Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays), but the game was called on account of rain; it poured down so hard that right field was under water! The "replacement" game was played on Sunday August 23, and ticket holders were advised they could go to any remaining game throughout this season. Although we only sold 31 tickets, the Club would like to thank PDG Bob for once again arranging the annual game. Hopefully, next year will be drier!

On August 12, Membership Chair Jon Goldstein, and his Membership Committee, held an "Open House" at the Clubhouse in the Four Seasons for the residents of at the development. Unfortunately, the meeting was not well attended, but Lion Jon is undeterred and has advised that he and his committee will try again in the near future. Membership is the life blood of our Club, and Lion Jon can use a helping hand from every member to help increase our membership. Have YOU tried to bring in a new member lately?

The Board of Directors and the Membership have approved another Wine Making Club Project at The Grape Escape (TGE) in Dayton. 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. Please note that at this writing the barrel is already half sold; a case of wine (12 bottles) 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. Tentatively, we will hold our October 7 meeting at TGE for the Grape Crush. Case sign-ups are being accepted. There is also a sign-up sheet for the meeting; this is a regular meeting - you do not have to purchase wine to attend! We need the reservation (sign-up) because it is a catered meeting. For wine reservations, or more information, please speak with IPP Mike Kaiser or PDG Bob.

The New Jamesburg LEO Club at the Jamesburg Home for Boys is still "in process", but hopefully 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 this proposed LEO Club. This 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. A LEO Club must be chartered by a Lions club, but due to security precautions, most, if not all, of the Club's advisory work will be done off-site, with an on-site employee/advisor who will work with a "Contributing Club Contact". Our newest Lions, Fay Kobland and Tim Demarest, have volunteered as the LEO Advisors, so that we can "hit the ground running" when the project finally comes to fruition.

Our new LEO Club advisors have asked if they could try to start additional LEO Clubs in both the Cranbury School and the Princeton High School. The Board of Directors has approved this project, and asks that members - especially members with school age children - offer their assistance in these projects.

It is not too late to register for 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", you are invited to join President John, PDG Bob and Past President Mike at this year's Forum in Memphis, TN ...especially since it is expected to be one of the best Forums on the 33 year list of great Forums. For more information and an application, see PDG Bob.

Please Note Your Calendars. Our Annual Golf Outing has been changed. The new date is Thursday, October 15. It will still be at the Peddie Golf Course. All Members are being asked to promote the Golf Outing and to try to bring in as many golfers as possible. For an application, go to the link on our website (www.cranburylions.org), or see Lion Ray Dickey.

White Cane Days are coming! The Board of Directors has approved a White Cane Collection Drive on October 23 & 24. The BOD would like to remind all members 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. Our last White Cane Collection, under the direction of Lion Jeff Grundy, netted over $900. Jeff is asking for two hours of your time on either Friday or Saturday - more if you can spare it. We always 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 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 to complete our mission. Lion Jeff Grundy has a sign-up sheet going around at meetings, so please sign up for a date and time. If you are unable to make the meetings, please contact or phone (609) 655-4999.

The new fundraising effort at Gil & Bert's Ice Cream Shoppe, is scheduled for Saturday, October 10. We will set up at the back of their (side) patio, and sell homemade brownies and cookies, and all proceeds will go toward local projects. There is a sign-up sheet going around at the meetings, or, if you can't make the meeting, contact or phone (609) 409-9656.

REMINDER: the September 16 meeting will be dedicated to an interactive discussion among the membership, led by Tail Twister Peter Turner, on new ideas for new service projects and fundraisers. Everyone is encouraged to attend to provide your input to this important topic.

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, anyone interested in working on the is fundraiser should contact PDG Bob or IPP Mike Kaiser, ASAP.

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.

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. 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

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.