The year 2013 [has closed], and Lions Club Members extend a sincere thank you to all the many supporters of the club’s fundraisers for the year. The recent Holiday Ham Sale was very successful, and we hope all of you have enjoyed your hams. Without your support, we could not keep our motto of “We Serve.”
Lion Jim Bosma presented the Tuesday, December 3, program. He provided interesting details and experiences on his RAGBRAI rides. He got into biking in 1998 and experienced his first RAGBRAI in 2000. He has taken several trips since the initial ride. The presentation included the conditioning and equipment needed for the long ride . He emphasized the wearing of a helmet. Conditioning means being in shape, or the ride will not be much fun. Equipment needed uses space-age technology. His discussion included the monetary value to the starting and ending points for the ride, as well as the boon to the towns where the riders camp overnight. He displayed all his equipment, including his six-pound bike, wearing attire, extra tire, tubes, and other items. Members engaged him in conversation after the meeting, to find out more about his experiences and to gain some biking advice.
Below, Lion Jim Bosma, far left, discusses biking apparel with, left-to-right, Larry Olson, Ken Jansma, and Keith Hamstra.
The Lions Club is providing another means of recycling throughout the year by collecting keys no longer used. A donation container with a sign “Unlock Your Heart” has been placed at the local Morrison True Value Hardware Store. If you have brass, steel, aluminum, or tin keys that are no longer used, please recycle by taking them to True Value. The keys are taken to Lions of Illinois Foundation. Proceeds from the metals help fund vision and hearing screening for infants.
Below, Lions Clarence Harridge, Flora Stralow, and Keith Hamstra are shown with the many caps, scarves, gloves, and mittens given by members to be distributed by the Helping Hand group, to those in need of warm apparel.
During the business meeting held Tuesday, December 17, members voted to send the annual donation to the Leader Dogs for the Blind and to the Odell Public Library. The library uses the donation to purchase large-print books and audio books, to aid our local residents with vision disabilities. A donation was also given to the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois.
Our next meeting will be a program meeting on Tuesday, January 7, 2014, at noon at Happy Joe’s, 109 W. Main Street, Morrison, IL. Flora Stralow is in charge of the meeting. The speaker will be Dr. Johanna Hager, a Forensic Psychologist, with April House here in Morrison. We cordially invite anyone interested in learning more about our club to come to any of our meetings. Also, visit our website to learn more about the clubs’ projects at www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/morrisonil.