May 2008 Minutes
The Arlington Lions Club
Arlington, Minnesota
We Serve
May 7 Meeting of the Arlington Lions Clubs
Draft Minutes
Lion President Paul Wiemann called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. at the Arlington Haus with six members present.
Pledge of Allegiance
There were no guests present
Secretary’s report was read and approved as read.
Lion Secretary Hislop was asked to summarize the minutes of the Joint Board meeting of April 24. Details as follows:
1. Cubmaster Keith Herd met with the board to discuss the scout’s relationship to the Lions Club, which is the sponsoring organization.
• The responsibilities of the chartering organization were discussed in detail and are now listed on the website:
• He pointed out that the Cub Scouts are basically self-sufficient.
• The Cubs have been making steady progress on paying their debt to the Lions, and their obligation is now under $4,000.
• The fairgrounds building has been offered to the Boy Scouts for their use, but they have thus far declined. He intends to offer it to county scouts for use at the fair. The building now has heat and is air-conditioned. It remains in need of insulation and it needs to be marked as a scout building. It also needs to be marked as a Lions Club project. The club was not asked to contribute toward either need.
• He suggested that the board meet with the Boy Scout’s leadership for a similar discussion. The board will do so at its next meeting
• The board asked Keith if the Lions could once again be Pinewood Derby judges. He said he would look into it.
• The Cub Scouts were again offered a subsite on the Lions website. They will consider it.
• He provided a roster of scout leaders for the board’s review and approval.
2. The board informed Keith that the board might recommend that the waffle breakfast continue to benefit the Cub Scouts until the debt is paid. At that time, the board may recommend that the proceeds be distributed more equally between the various Boy and Girl Scout troops. He supported that concept.
3. Keith was thanked for his excellent report and scouting service.
4. The two clubs will be working on a budget in the near future.
5. The proceeds of the Taco Feed for the JHS sound system totaled $200. The board recommended that a check be sent to the school district and credited jointly to the two clubs.
6. The merger paperwork is progressing as expected.
7. It was suggested that the joint board look at apparel items for the new club.
8. The board recommended that the club consider offering a GPS campership to Megan Bening. The board was advised that the new club continue needs to continue to be aware of Megan’s special needs, including a possible leader dog.
9. The board recommended that the Arlington Lions pay the remaining $5,000 donation to the SMC prior to July 1, 2008.
10. The board tabled a recommendation to consider an additional pledge to Campaign Sight First II until after the merger takes effect.
11. The board will provide information as it becomes available to the club regarding the upcoming International Convention in Minneapolis.
12. The SEA Lions representatives stated that their club should be noted on the website History page only with no other references on other website pages.
13. It was decided not to place the board minutes on the website or to mail the minutes to the membership at this time. A decision to provide future access to the membership was deferred.
Treasurer’s report was approved as read. It was noted that the $250 donation to the Firehouse Restoration project and $200 donation to the JHS sound system had been mailed. Treasurer’s report will be emailed to the membership. It will not appear on the website.
Old Business
1. The Robert Major memorial statue was approved with 17 yes votes and 0 no votes. Lion Hislop suggested that the club visit with the VFW representatives to see what alternatives are available to letter the memorial plaque so it would not inclined to be used for scrap metal. Lions Mathwig and Hislop will work with the VFW on this issue.
2. The Lions Track Meet has been rescheduled to Monday, May 19.
3. The club recently presented a $50 check to Journey for Service representative Lion Jack Webster.
4. VDGE Lion Darwin reported that the Multiple Convention went very well for 5M2.
• The Multiple Convention will be in Mankato April 29, 30, and May 1, 2011 and should not conflict with the Lions Track Meet. Further, an outstanding well-known speaker may address the convention. The individual’s identity is not yet available.
• Lion Debra is now the endorsed candidate from MD5M for International Director. She is likely to run unopposed.
• Lions approved a proposal to start a Diabetes Foundation at the University of Minnesota to compliment the existing Sight and Hearing Foundations.
• It also approved the Spring Point project in Wisconsin, which may lead to a cure for diabetes.
5. Five members attended the recent officer training in Mankato.
New Business
1. Lion President Paul Wiemann discussed the additional Campaign Sight First II pledge and mentioned that the club could still donate after the merger, as it was unlikely that International would decline to accept a donation. This will be discussed after the merger.
2. The campership for Megan was for GPS. The GPS system would be used to help Megan locate her position and allow for more independence. Unfortunately, the admission period had expired by the time the club knew of the opportunity. Megan will be contacted to discuss the possibility of attending next year’s camp.
3. Lion Darwin provided more information regarding a possible leader dog for Megan. Leader dogs are provided at age 18; however, a pilot program provides dogs at age 16 to a select few. Due to Megan’s capabilities, she may be an ideal candidate for the pilot program. The family will be contacted soon to discuss leader dog possibilities for her.
4. Lion Hislop discussed the need for apparel items. Lions International now has few clothing items available. We may need to go to a third party supplier. There is a supplier in Henderson. Would they be willing to come to a board meeting to show us the possibilities? Lion Hislop suggested standardizing color, logo size, and logo placement but not the style of clothing. In this way, the membership would be able to find clothing that was appropriate for each member. Lion Darwin disagreed. He felt that we should have a standardized look that would include the style of clothing. Lion Hislop stated that we would have a standardized look in color and identification. It shouldn’t matter if the cut of the clothing was somewhat different. He felt this would be an issue especially for the female members. Lion President Paul pointed out that this would go to the joint board for review and that they would provide a recommendation to the club.
5. A summer barbeque meeting at the new Cub Scout building was discussed. It would allow the membership to see the building and meet the scouts. This will be referred to the joint board for discussion.
6. It was suggested that no regular meeting take place in July. This was referred to the joint board for discussion.
7. The Lion Secretary was asked to arrange for appropriate Lion markings for both the Cub Scout building and JHS middle gym.
8. Lion Steve Harter asked whether the club’s philanthropic work extends beyond Arlington. The membership discussed how the club donates to many worthy causes beyond Arlington. He asked if a “low sight” reader donated for public use and housed in the new Gaylord library would fit our giving policy. The policy was reviewed and the reader donation was found to fit the geographical limitation of being within the Sibley East School District and one of the primary Lion Club interests in the area of sight. It was mentioned that there had been some very informal discussion at the Good Samaritan “Tables” event that such an item would be a good addition in the Arlington community as well. Perhaps a donation of a low sight-reader in each community would be appropriate. Lion Harter will look into options and report back to the club.
9. Lion President Paul Wiemann discussed the present joint board recommendation not to email the minutes of the board meetings to the members. Upon further reflection, he felt this was not in the best interests of the club. He felt the secretary should submit draft minutes to the board members, solicit comments and corrections, provide a final copy to the board members, and then, if there are no further corrections, email the minutes to the club members and report out those minutes at the regular meeting. He stated that the board minutes should not be on the website. The club expressed support for this procedure.
Announcements
Lions Day with the Twins on Wednesday, June 18th. Contact President Wiemann or the 5M2 newsletter for additional details:
Page four
Meeting adjourned
