A Monthly Publication of the Grafton Lions Club

Lions’ Gazette 2017-2018 Issue 05 November

2017

Grafton Lions Club P.O. Box 0211 Grafton, WI 53024 www.graftonlions.com John Gassert – President 262 375-1395 jdgassert@gmail.com

Collin Schaefer – Secretary 414 801-1542 collin.schaefer@gmail.com John Gassert – Treasurer 262 375-1395 jdgassert@gmail.com Dan DeLorit - Membership 414 236-1361 drdelorit@gmail.com Bob Hoffman – Newsletter 262-377-9325 bjhoffmanwi@hotmail.com Lions International www.lionsclubs.org Wisconsin Lions www.wisconsinlions.org District 27-A2 www.lionsdistrict27a2.org WI Lions Foundation www.wlf.info

Prez Sez

November is a month of thanksgiving as well as the holiday of

Thanksgiving. Ralph Marston said “Make it a habit to tell people thank

you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of

anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find

many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have

more of it.”

I challenge all of you to think about what we should be thankful for and

give thanks to those around you. Thank you for allowing me to be a

member of a group of individuals who are willing to help others and live up

to the Lions moto “We Serve.” Thank you all for your friendship and

kindness. I have made many new friends thanks to all of you. Thank you

everyone who helped this past month in our many service projects, the

Vision Screening, the food drive for Family Sharing, and other projects.

Please give your thanks to the chairs and co-chairs of those great projects. I

know that I will.

Oh, by the way, did you know that November is Diabetes Awareness

Month? So why is this important to the Lions? Well, as Helen Keller’s

Knights of the Blind, we should know and learn more because the leading

cause of blindness in the United States is diabetic retinopathy. As I learned

from WebMD, an actually reliable internet source, diabetic retinopathy

affects the vision of more than half of the 18 million people diagnosed with

diabetes age 18 or older. Think about that. That means that about two in

every one-hundred in the US are at risk of becoming blind as a result of

diabetes. Diabetes and blindness are two of the five major service areas of

the Lions Club International. So, I am challenging all of you to think of

ways we can address this dreaded affliction. How about the Diabetes

Awareness program that we sponsor in the spring? John Krueger has done a

wonderful job in getting the program started. Let’s help John and make it a

great program and help as many people avoid the terrible effects of diabetes

with early detection and referral.

Thank you for being a Lion and happy Thanksgiving,

Lion John Gassert

Your 2017-2018 Club President

2

Meetings

October 3rd Membership Meeting

During the meeting, several committees met, as part of the first “Committee Night” of the year.

October 17th Membership Meeting

First Vice-President and Membership Chair Dan DeLorit gave a presentation highlighting the

activities of many of the fund raising and service committees of the Grafton Lions.

October 3rd Board of Directors Meeting

Treasurer John Gassert reported the following account balances as of September 30, 2017:

Activity Account $33,311.90

Administrative Account $ 8,350.57

Savings Account $10,006.58

Minutes of all Grafton Lions Club Board of Directors Meetings are posted on the

Grafton Lions Club website www.graftonlions.com.

Future Meetings

November 7th Membership Meeting

Committee chairs will have an opportunity to hold a committee meeting.

November 21st Membership Meeting

Grafton Village Administrator, Jesse Thyes will give a presentation on the status of Village

projects as well as plans for the future.

November 9th Region Meeting

The Grafton Lions along with neighboring Lions clubs from Belgium, Cedarburg, Fredonia,

Newburg, North Milwaukee Central, Port Washington, Saukville, Thiensville, Wauwatosa, as

well as the Fredonia Lioness club will be attending the annual Region Meeting on November 9th.

The meeting this year will be hosted by the Grafton Lions and held at the Rose Harms Post.

3

WE SERVE

It is that time of the year when the Grafton Lions demonstrate to the community, that We Serve.

We have completed vision screening for Grafton’s public elementary and middle school

students, as well as the community’s Our Savior Lutheran and Saint Joseph Catholic students.

We are in the process of scheduling vision screening for the home schooled students in the

community.

We collected food donations for Family Sharing from customers of the Grafton Pick N’ Save. In

December, along with the Grafton Leos, we will distribute Christmas gifts to the clients of the

Interfaith Caregivers of Ozaukee County.

The Grafton Lions will participate in several community Christmas events. We have again

volunteered to decorate a Christmas tree in Paramount Plaza. Susan Schnappup’s team took first

place last year in the decorating contest, so the pressure is on this year for a repeat. Our manger

scene will be brought out of storage and set up in the downtown area.

We will participate in two community events on November 25th, the Saturday after

Thanksgiving. The day starts with Breakfast with Santa at Circle B, an event sponsored by the

Grafton Area Chamber of Commerce. The Grafton Leos will join us as they serve the food. In

addition the students put on the Disney costumes to entertain the children eating breakfast. After

breakfast, we will be marching in the Grafton Christmas parade where thousands of people will

be anxiously awaiting our candy.

Lions Camp Deer Hide Collection

A money maker for the Wisconsin Lions Foundation is the sale of deer hides donated by

Wisconsin deer hunters. The hides are sold with the proceeds used to support the Lions Camp in

Rosholt, Wisconsin. There is a hide collection site at Heinz and Sons 57 Auto Body, 1327

Wisconsin Avenue, in Grafton. Contact Grafton Lions Dick or Bob Rieck at 377-4190 for more

information about where to drop off the hide.

The Lions Camp, which provides a free week of camping for special needs youth each summer,

completed another successful year. Dan Montaine reported that of the 1,293 campers that

attended camp this year, five of them were from Grafton – three campers with intellectual

disabilities or educational autism, one was diabetic, and one was visually impaired.

November Birthdays

Jim Becker 7th Dave Strachota 23rd

Marko Musich 9th Dan Hubacek 24th

Jeff Nelson 14th Terry Machut 27th

Steve Janssen 20th Ken Kasprzak 29th

Don Deetjen 22nd

4

2017 Grafton Outstanding Citizen, John Gassert

The Grafton Chamber of Commerce announced recently that it has selected John Gassert as the

Grafton 2017 Outstanding Citizen. John was cited for his involvement with several community

organizations. He is a regular volunteer at River Edge Nature Center, and serves as Chairman of

the Village of Grafton Community Development Authority (CDA). John is a long time member

of the Grafton Lions, currently serving as both Treasurer and President.

Caterer for Meetings

Our Board of Directors has been discussing a possible change in the caterer for the meals at our

meetings. The discussion is ongoing, and no final decision will be made until the first of the year.

Nut Sale

The second annual Holiday Nut Sale is on. Tim Kohlwey, Sean Fahey and Dan McKelvey are

co-chairing this fund raiser. There are five packages of nuts to select from:

Roasted Whole Cashews either in a decorative gift tin or in a bag.

Deluxe Mixed Nuts (no peanuts) either in a decorative gift tin or in a bag.

Salted and roasted Pistachios in a bag.

The order deadline is November 13th. The order form is attached. Orders can be placed either at

the November 8th Lions meeting, or at the Investment Center of Grafton, 1019 Cedar Street,

Grafton. Orders will be ready for pickup on December 5th.

Christmas Party

The annual Grafton Lions Christmas Party for members and guests will be held on Tuesday

December 19th at the Rose Harms Post. Social at 6:00, dinner at 7:00. See the attached flyer for

more details.

Vision Screening

Remember getting your vision checked as a youth? You held your hand over your eye and tried

to read the letters on a paper chart hanging on the wall several feet away. Times are changing.

Mobile Optic Scanners have been developed to replace the paper charts. These hand held devices

eliminate the paper charts and reduce the testing time to under a minute. The club is considering

joining with other nearby Lion clubs in the purchase of a mobile optic screener. The clubs would

schedule their vision screening dates so that they could share the Mobile Optic Scanner.

LOOKING AHEAD

November 2 14th Annual Beer and Wine Tasting

Circle B Recreation

November 7 Membership meeting preceded by board meeting

Program: Committee Meetings

November 9 Lions Region One Meeting

Hosted by Grafton Lions, Rose Harms Post

November 15 Grafton Lion Christmas tree decorating

5:00 Paramount Plaza

November 19 2017 Grafton Outstanding Citizen Award to John Gassert

4:00 Atlas BBQ

November 21 Membership meeting

Program: Grafton Village Administrator, Jesse Thyes

November 25 Breakfast with Santa

7:30 AM Circle B Recreation

November 25 Christmas Parade

11:00 AM downtown Grafton

December 5 Membership Meeting preceded by board meeting

Program: Committee Meetings

December 19 Christmas Party SPOUSES AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS INVITED

Rose Harms Post

December 22 Deliver Interfaith Caregivers packages with Grafton Leos

January 2 Membership meeting preceded by board meeting

Program: Committee Meetings

January 16 Membership Meeting

Program: Grafton High School Citizenship Awards

If you have questions or would like to add to the calendar, contact Bob Hoffman

Lion Member Name ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Order due

Nov. 13th for pick up on Dec. 5th

At Investment Center of Grafton office

Return this form with money collected to

Lions Tim Kohlwey, Sean Fahey, or Dan McKelvey

Or

drop off at 1019 Cedar St. Grafton WI 53024

(Investment Center of Grafton office)

Roast

ed W

hole

Cash

ews

1 l

b.

/ In

gif

t ti

n

Roast

ed W

hole

Cash

ews

1 l

b.

bag

Del

uxe

Mix

ed N

uts

n

o p

ean

uts

1 l

b. /

In g

ift

tin

Del

uxe

Mix

ed N

uts

n

o p

ean

uts

1 l

b. bag

Natu

ral

Pis

tach

ios

roas

ted

& s

alte

d

1 l

b. b

ag

Thank you for

your order!

Make checks payable

to:

Grafton Lions Club

Name Phone E-mail $17.00 $14.00 $17.00

$14.00 $12.00 Total

Due Paid

Totals

Call Sean or Dan at 262-376-2220 with any questions

GGrraaffttoonn LLiioonnss CClluubb

AAnnnnuuaall GGoouurrmmeett NNuutt SSaallee 110000%% ooff aallll pprrooffiittss ggoo ttoo GGrraaffttoonn LLiioonnss CChhaarriittiieess

Grafton Lions Christmas party

Tuesday December 19thth

Rose harms legion post

SAVE THE DATE

With the help of Prime Minister we have put together a great meal to

include a prime rib carving station, shrimp dijon, chicken parm,

vegetable, salads and fruits. Dessert will be a cheese cake and

chocolate mousse.

RESERVATIONS WILL BE NECESSARY AND CONFIRMATIONS SENT TO

THE CHAIRMAN BY DEC. 8th. Watch for your personal invitation along

with and RSVP to the chair

We will need help with Silent Auction Prizes as well as raffles. Please

contact Lions Dorothy or Jack if you can help.

We will not have the gift exchange as in the past. This will give you

more time to socialize with your fellow LionsChairpersons: Dorothy and Jack Reindl

(jador71@att.net) W63N1050 Holly Lane, Cedarburg WI 262-377-4967, or cell phone is 262-227-5013