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Learn how Lions became “Knights of the Blind” at the October Lions Quarterly and become a member of the Fort Collins Lions Club today.

Fort Collins Lions Club
2015 – 2016
Student Speech Contest

TOPIC:  “Volunteerism in America is declining” how can your generation contribute to share the burden of charitable service through service organizations?”

WHO:  Any High School Student.  The High School Contestant must submit a written manuscript of the Speech of the one they used at their High School Contest.  This can be given to me at the Fort Collins Lions Club Contest if I do not receive it before.

CONTESTS:  The Fort Collins Lions Club will hold their Contest on February 25, 2016.  The place will be at Mid Town Arts Center at 11:45 AM.  The contestant and parents or guests (2) people are invited for lunch that day.

AWARDS:  The Fort Collins Lions Club Awards $200 for the 1st place winner, $150 for the second place winner and $100 for the 3rd and 4th place winners.  Other Awards can be won as the winner advances to the Zone Competition, District Convention Competition and the Colorado State Contest.  The District Winner will receive the amounts are the same as our Club Awards.  The State Awards are:  $500 for 1st, $400 for 2nd place and $250 for 3rd and 4th place.

For more information  Download brochure here

Or contact us at Contact Page

President’s Message

Happy Independence Day!

Those words are spoken thousands if not millions of times each year here in the United States.  As I said them to my wife this year, I thought about the great sacrifices that were made so that I could live in this country now.

I know that many of the soldiers who fought and died during our war of independence were fighting because they believed in the cause.  What they didn’t know then is that the United States would become the greatest superpower that the world has ever known. The actions of a relative few made possible the outcome, and that outcome is truly amazing.  The ideals of freedom and democracy that spread throughout the world were not necessarily born in our revolution,  but that, I submit,  is where they blossomed and became real for many, if not most people in our country and then throughout the world.

Perhaps the greatest reason to admire the founding fathers is the tenacity they showed.   Even when faced with overwhelming odds, starvation, and a lack of needed supplies, they continued to fight for what they thought was right.

And they prevailed.

I was thinking about this prior to writing to you this time.  I thought about all of our challenges as a club.  Most of the challenges come down to a simple, basic challenge:  Can we recruit enough people, willing to work, so that all of our work will be done?  I believe that yes, we can.  Just as the generals needed commitment from every soldier during our revolutionary war, we need help from each and every member of our club.

I know that many of our members come because of the comraderie, and the interesting programs.   There is nothing wrong with that.   If we think back a bit, we realize that someone who enjoyed the meetings invited us to visit,  and then for our own personal reasons,  we stayed.  The vision that I have for the club is that each member could invite someone to come, and that some would stay.  To do this, it must be a personal decision on the part of the guest, and also a personal decision on the part of the existing member.  It starts with the decision of the member.

You may think that you don’t know enough people to invite someone. You might think that people may refuse to come. You might remember when it was expensive to invite a guest.  You might even think that I am speaking to another member, not you at all!  The truth is that it is free to invite a prospective member, and although some will refuse,  some will not.  As far as knowing someone, you do.  Your church is full of people that you know.   Your neighborhood is full of people that you know. If you need help, then ask, and we can help you invite people you know. It is this type of activity, speaking with people you know, that will make our club strong into the future.  And just to be clear,  I am speaking to you.

The soldiers in the Revolutionary War didn’t know what would happen if they won.  They only hoped for what happened, and they tried anyway. Let’s emulate them, and fight this battle for the future of our club.  It is worth it.

David Lambertson, President

NEW MEMBERS

2015 – 2016 Club Officers installed at the May 14 meeting

RECOGNITION

Monarch Awards are given to Lions in recognition for their long-term service, beginning at 10 years and continuing in five year increments until 75 years of service.

This year awards were given to three members:
Bill Brenner – 55 years
Rozella Friedrich – 25 years
Dan Fahrlander – 25 years

Calling all Lions – Active and Affiliate – HELP WANTED

Did you know that our Lions Club runs two Bingo sessions a week? Did you also know that all of the money raised from those Bingo sessions is what funds our charitable activities? Did you know that we raise about $100,000 a year from those Bingo sessions? It takes 8-10 people at each session to make that happen and we are short workers. If you are able to donate 4 hours of your time, at least once a month, it would really help us to continue this fantastic fund raising opportunity. No experience necessary – training provided onsite!

Tuesdays, 5:30 – 9:30 pm                              OR                          Fridays, 10:00 am – 2 pm

Please let Harold Hartman know which day works best for you so he can get you on the schedule. This is a great chance to get to know other Lions and help with our fund raising efforts.

On June 10, 22 people attend the Rockies game in Denver. Thank you to Neal Hopkins for arranging the Salvation Army bus to take us to the game! We played Bingo on the way to the game and had CASH prizes! Make plans to join us next year at this fun event.

by Carole Kitchell

 

Your KidSight team added four new schools this year – Highland Child Development, Little Lambs, Primrose Academy, and T.R. Paul School.  In total, we screened at  21 PSD schools, 3 private schools, 24 preschools, and 6 home daycare sites. Many of the schools required two visits.

KidSight’s work with the North Fort Collins Business Association (NFCBA) in Project Smile/Project Vision resulted in the vision screening of 58% of the student population in the target schools (1264 students); last year’s total was 1268.  The schools screened were the same as last year – Irish, Laurel, Linton, Putnam, and Tavelli. In each of these schools, over 50% of the student population participates in the free-lunch program. The aggregate referral rate for this group of students is 11% as compared to over 30% last year!  This translates into 143 children referred to an eye care professional for further evaluation.

GRAND TOTAL OF STUDENTS SCREENED

PSD schools, private, church, in home day care 1780
ROJECT SMILE/PROJECT VISION                           1264
GRAND TOTAL                                                            3044

Committee Members: Lois Atwood, Alex Chapman, Wayne Crownhart, Denise Clynes, Jack Freshwaters, Bill Funke, Harold Einarsen, Carole Kitchell, Faye Lockner, Vic Meline, and Susan Yadon. Dave Mendenhall of the Poudre Valley Lions also assisted us. Committee Chair, Carole Kitchell qualified as a “Certified PlusOptiX Screener” at our convention this year.

UPCOMING PANCAKE BREAKFASTS

July 18 – Search and Rescue
Larimer County Emergency Services Building
1303 N. Shields St.
OPEN HOUSE 8-12
BREAKFAST HOURS – 8AM – 10AM

 

August 29 – Library Summer Reading Program
More details to come

Sign up to volunteer with Bill Funke. It is a lot of fun and provides a good service to the community!

O’Dea Elementary Pancake Breakfast – May 23

Rocky Mountain Raptor Program Pancake Breakfast – June 20

 

 

 

 

Tail Twister Fun             

Tail-Twister Reid Jacob gave notice that he was going to fine anyone that came to our June 11 meeting with matching socks. Some of our members would rather comply than pay the fine … can you identify those who participated???

International Visitor

International Convention – Honolulu, Hawaii – June 26 -30, 2015

Five members of the Fort Collins Lions Club, Bob and Carole Kitchell, Faye and Ron Lockner, and Rusty Holsten, joined 20,000 Lions from around the world at the International Convention held in Honolulu in June. District Governor, Bob Kitchell, carried the banner leading the Colorado delegation in the International Parade. Next year’s convention will be held June 24-28 in Fukuoka, Japan.       For more information: http://lcicon.lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php

 

 

 

President’s Message

Hello fellow Lions!

Great news!

We are volunteering wonderfully.  This last weekend we completed the 9 Health Fair, and still had people willing and able to do a pancake breakfast at the reservoir in Timnath.  Our club is really a powerhouse among clubs.  Of course it would have been better if we had known ahead of time who would be working at both places, but we got it done.  That is what our club is about, getting it done.

We should all be proud that we were willing and able to do both events in a single weekend.  What a great testament to our club, and Lions in general, that we could do both.  This is something to brag about when you talk about our club at church or with friends elsewhere.  Who knows, maybe some of those friends might be willing to come to our club, eat lunch, watch a program, and perhaps even join!  The vast majority of us were invited to the club by other members.  And, if you invite someone who doesn’t join, but just really enjoys lunch, there is no penalty.  Alan invited me twice just like that. The third time, of course, I joined.

I truly believe that the reason most people join is that we are a great group of people.  We are fun to be around.  We have a good time.  Of course, some people join because of the good things we do.

Either way, invite someone after telling about this last weekend.  Tell them how we ran the 9 Health Fair… again.  Tell them how we did a pancake breakfast in Timnath for the first time.  Tell them how we could use some help doing these things.  Tell them how fun it is to be a part of something larger than yourself.  Then ask them to lunch.  Many people will come, nearly all will really enjoy it, and some will join.

Who knows?  Perhaps next time we’ll have too many volunteers, and will be almost forced to just talk among ourselves even more, laughing and joking, and having fun.  Sounds good to me.

Your president,
David Lambertson

2015 CONVENTION DISTRICT 6-NORTHEAST

The Lions of District 6-Northeast held their annual convention on April 10th and 11th at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Loveland. Over 100 Lions and guests attended, to include Lions from District 15 in Wyoming, other Districts in Colorado, and MD-6 leadership. In keeping with this year’s District theme, “Serving our Communities”, the convention focused on service programs and activities of Clubs around the District. It also included presentations on statewide programs, such as the Colorado Lions Camp, the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank, the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute Foundation, the Ensight Skills Center, Advocates for Blind Children, and Colorado KidSight. A special treat was the presentations by representatives of Leader Dogs for the Blind and International Hearing Dogs.

Our International Guest, PID Dr. Patti Hill, of Edmonton, Alberta, delivered inspiring remarks at the Saturday evening banquet, to include emphasizing key aspects of International President Joe Preston’s theme, “Strengthen the Pride”. We very much appreciate the visit of PID Dr. Patti to our convention, given the difficult travel conditions she encountered, as she is a great leader in Lionism.

A highlight of the Convention was the presentation of the International President’s Medal to Lion Denny Moyer, Executive Director of the Ensight Skills Center. This award is the second-highest award in Lionism. Congratulations Lion Denny, it was richly deserved!

My sincere thanks to the Convention Committee, led by PDG Dave Mendenhall. Also, thanks to the Fort Collins Lions Club for being the host Club. Special thanks are due to Lions Tobey Yadon, Wayne Crownhart, and Carrie Graves for their hard work before and during this successful convention. In addition, many thanks to PDG Irene Toliver for her support and conduct of the speech contest.

DG Bob Kitchell

SPEECH CONTEST

Jessica Ward from Poudre High School in Fort Collins was the winner at the 6NE Convention. She will go on to represent our district at the state convention. This year’s topic was “How can we apply our American Spirit of Innovation to solve the world hunger crisis?”

We’re Cookin’ up Pancake Breakfasts!

Seven club members: Bill Funke, Dan Fahrlander, David Lambertson, Aida Raider, Carrie Graves, Judith Coker-Blaa, and Nancy Walther cooked and served pancakes for about 200 participants on Saturday, April 25, at the Timnath Reservoir for the Timnath Elementary Fun Run to kick off our pancake breakfast season. The school was very appreciative of the club’s involvement in making it a fun day.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming breakfast events!
May 23 – O’Dea Elementary School
June 20 – Rocky Mountain Raptor Program
July 18 – Search and Rescue
August 29 – Library Summer Reading Program

RECENT PROGRAMS

wildanimalsanctuary.org/       rmrp.org/

April 24-25, 2015

The 9Health Fair was held April 24 and 25 at the Christ Center Community Church. Club members, along with volunteers from Harvest Farms set up the fair on Thursday, transforming the empty church into a venue for the fair which served about 1375 community members.