Bulletin

Club News:
Our Club had scheduled two days for Adopt-A-Highway pickups in early October, but the first was so successful, there was no need for a second! Actually, the refuse was lighter than expected, perhaps due to the road construction. About 10 Lions participated in Journey for Sight on the 11th, and a good time was had by all. There was also a work party at Camp Badger on the 25th, where six Lions and one non-Lion logged a staggering 52 1/2 hours of work. They were Lions Don Williams, Al Draht, Gene Herber, Charles Easterbrook, Gary Bernhardt, Tom Rhodes and son Ed. Thanks to all Lions who participated in these projects.

We had a wonderful speaker at our first meeting in October. Rhonda Gerardi is a Rehab Teaching Assistant at Southern Tier Association for the Visually Impaired (STAVI), and she discussed the challenges of her job. Her talk was particularly interesting because she became totally blind in adulthood, and she had many stories and insights to pass along. When asked how Lions can be of more assistance with hearing/sight projects she suggested that we continue to educate the public on how to deal with these conditions and to keep up the good work helping people who are in need of eye exams/glasses.

At our second meeting, Michael Blatt, CFA, spoke to us on Trusts and general economics as related to interest rates. He came prepared with some highly understandable graphs in the form of handouts, and these helped to put the current economic times into a much larger perspective.

Board Action:
Membership: Lion Marshall Updike recapped the findings and concerns of the Committee, including retention, possible attendance changes from the previous year, and posed the question whether it was due to the cost of the dinner, or programs, or something else. Committee recommends periodic phone calls to missing members, and a survey to solicit ideas for programs, general ideas, and to assess membership satisfaction. The Committee also wished to address confusion over whether the member or the Club would pay for dinners for prospective members / guests. On a motion by Lion Al Redner and seconded by Lion Merrill Lynn, the Board voted to split the cost of such dinners with the sponsoring member. Publicity: Lion Bim VanEtten noted that our Club is represented in both local newspapers each month, but that newspapers have a general aversion to reporting "old news". Fundraising: King Lion Steve set a March target for World Service Day.

* BF Town Comm. (Volunteer) - 2 Lions, 4 hours
* Boy Scouts - 3 Lions, 42 hours
* Clemens Center - 1 Lion, 2 hours
* Food Bank - 1 Lion, 5 hours
* Food Pantries Hhds/Big Flats - 3 Lions, 16 hours
* Historical Society - 1 Lion, 16 hours
* Meals on Wheels - 1 Lion, 4 hours
* Nutrition Site - 2 Lions, 32 hours
* Prison Volunteer - 1 Lion, 6 hours
* Scouting for Food - 1 Lion, 2 hours
* Steele Memorial Library - 1 Lion, 61 hours
* Tanglewood - 1 Lion, 25 hours

Club Activities:
* Camp Badger - 10 Lions + 1 guest), 52.5 hours
* Adopt-A-Highway - 5 Lions, 10 hours
* Journey for Sight - 10 Lions, 15 hours

TOTAL HOURS 292.5 hours

Two dinner meetings were held at the Hilton Garden Inn with a 26 +3 guests and 23 + 1 guest in attendance.
One Board Meeting was held at the Big Flats Post Office. Twenty-two perfect attendance pins were awarded for 2002-2003.

Lion Suzanne Brinthaupt, Secretary

Birthdays in November:
Happy Birthday wishes go out to Lions Stephan Connors, Nov 13th, Merrill Lynn, Nov 20th, and John Farr, Nov 26th.