April Phurst, 2008

  What a turnout we had today, every seat in the room was filled....APRIL FOOL!  Actually, only 19 Lions attended this important meeting. Many of our regular attendees are on spring break vacation with their families and the balance of the regulars are still at their winter habitats in the South.  We acknowledged the only two Lions with April birthdays - Ed Wayman and Roger Smith. Both were absent due to the aforementioned spring break vacation. (They have to come home sometime and we will get'um.)

  Lion Secretary Jerry announced a few upcoming Lion events:  April 11-12 Lions spring conference at Kelso....May 17 Central Park Lions charter party at the GH Country Club....May 22-24 is the 87th annual Lions MD19 convention at the Yakima Center in Yakima. All Lions planning to attend one (or all) of these functions, please contact Lion Jerry.....Lion Ray Pumphrey announced that he will be recruiting volunteers very soon for White Cane Days assignments.

  This brought us to the "main event" - the discussion with regard to the money from the sale of Lions Park. There were three proposals: 1) Override the Board's decision to give the Grays Harbor Community Foundation $10000 to manage for us and, as the Hoquiam Lions Club, manage our own funds as usual. 2) Accept the Board's decision as a one time investment. 3) Give all of the sale proceeds to the GHCF.

  After much discussion, the 19 present (together with two proxies) voted overwhelmingly that our Club manage our own funds. The general consensus was that our Club needs to have liquidity of our funds in order to meet the immediate needs of the Community as they arise. Further, by investing in sound - commercial bank insured - savings plans, we will at some point have an account that will provide funds for our scholarships in perpetuity.

  It was also mentioned - quite passionately - that our Club must to get more involved financially (and physically) with the needs of our Community.

Wes Harris' name was drawn for the attendance pot.

April Ate, 2008

 The Northside Club - our ranks thinned by vacationing members - allowed Lion Paul to call the meeting to order with a minimum amount of grief. Had we known just how lousy our singing was going to be, we would not have allowed the meeting to be called to order. Oh well, that's life in the Hoquiam Lions Club.

 We had two visitors (prospective members) Mike Folkers and Alissa Thurman. Both took membership applications so let's stay in touch with them as both would be great Lions members.

 Lion  Secretary Jerry announced that our Installation is tentatively scheduled for June 5. Mark your calendars accordingly. (but be tad flexible)

  Ray Pumphrey introduced our speaker for today - Brian Shay. Brian's message today was to make us aware of the economic changes that are happening now and future changes for our fair City. After briefly touching upon the efforts of the Hometown Hoquiam group, he told us of businesses that are going to site in Hoquiam.

 1) The 520 Bridge pontoon project is a "go" and is expected to break ground next summer. This project will bring approximately 300 workers to our town during the construction phase. When the manufacturing starts it will provide full time employment for about 159 people and is expected to last for many years to come.

 2) The City has signed a 10 year (with option for another 5 years) lease with the State Department of Licensing for the use of the refurbished train station. In this new building, the License Department will be capable of issuing the new "Enhanced" drivers licenses. (when they become available)

 3) The newly constructed Rite Aide store is now on the proper side of Myrtle Street and will be contributing approximately $40K per year into the City's coffers.

 4) Seattle Hardwood flooring will be opening their manufacturing facility in the Oval Strapping building in the near future

 5) Arbys restaurant is looking very hard at Hoquiam to build it's new facility. The property that they are considering is now owned by Rick Burgess and is located between Dominos Pizza and Kathy's House of Roses.

He mentioned a few other businesses that are considering Hoquiam as their base of operation. Brian also touched upon nuisance abatement stating there are currently 200 violations that have been given compliance notices.

 A informative, upbeat overview of the our City's economy.

The winner of the attendance pot was not present to pick up his loot.  He is currently basking in the sunshine, playing golf, and pestering Bowie. You guessed it - Ken Miller was the name drawn.

April 15, 2008

( The Day That Lives In Infamy )

  As King Lion Paul is away on another medical mission with his church group, VP Ken Johnson called the meeting to order. (at least as much order as the Northside Club allows)  His first order of business was to inform the Club that he will be unavailable next week and - after dusting him off and medicating him heavily - Lion Kogin will be at the helm at the next meeting. He was quick to add, Lion Kogin - being the sedate, sober person that he is - will not tolerate any tomfoolery from the membership.

  Lion Pete Hegg, chairman of the nominating committee, announced the preliminary slate of Club Officers for the ensuing Lion year. The names to be promulgated when the list is firm.  [ Note: Any Lion who desires to be an officer in our Club, please contact Lion Pete as soon as possible. ]

  The Principal at HHS, Mark VandenHazel introduced the Hoquiam Lions Students of the Month for March. The honorees are:

 Ray Pumphrey introduced his speaker for today - Jeff Myers, Hoquiam Police Chief.  None of the normal, good-natured ribbing was heard when Jeff was introduced. (The main reason being that he is a man who carries a TASER and a gun.)

 Chief Myers - after completing his first full year as Hoquiam's "Top Cop" - voiced his pleasure to be able to serve the citizens of Hoquiam. He further praised the hard work of his dedicated staff of police officers and detectives. Their efforts send the clear message - crime and disorder will not be tolerated in Hoquiam.

 Jeff's presentation today, was to share the Hoquiam Police Department Annual Report for 2007. This report is a very in-depth accounting of  law enforcement (and citizen involvement) efforts and results of his Department. He explained some of the highlights of the report and responded knowledgably to many pointed questions. He further reported on what he and the department are planning for the future and just how important it is to have community involvement.  Jeff praised the citizens of Hoquiam for the cooperation and input they have shown and pledges to keep the citizenry involved in "policing" their City.

 [ Ed note: I am certain that all of the Lions present today were truly impressed with the comprehensive report Jeff presented ]

Mike Sand's name was drawn for the attendance pot, however Mike was not present. Two week carry-over pot next meeting.

April 22, 2008

  In King Lion Paul's absence (and because he was the program) IPP Ray Pumphrey rallied the members today. He also reminded us of White Cane Days coming in May. The volunteer list is fairly complete and he hopes that all who signed-up will indeed fulfill their obligation.

  Lion Secretary Jerry announced the second reading of the list of candidates for Club Officers next year. It was moved, seconded, and voted upon to suspend the rules and close further nominations, and a unanimous ballot be cast for the list candidates. As the result of a unanimous yea vote, the following will be your new Club Officers for the 2008-09 Lion Year.

 Lion Jerry announced that the Installation Dinner arrangements are now firm. It will be held on Thursday June 5 at the Hoquiam Elks. Social hour starts 5:30 PM with dinner at 6:30 PM. This is a "set down" dinner of either Prime Rib or Salmon. The cost is $20 per person.  Mark your calendars.

For our program, Ray Pumphrey gave us a travelogue (replete with pictures) on his recent trip to Israel. He made the trip with a group from his church. His presentation was very interesting and informative, sadly time was not on our side and he had to curtail his presentation about one-third of the way through.  {All in favor of having him back to complete the travelogue signify by saying "Aye". The ayes have it - he will be back soon.]

Jack Shrauger's name was drawn for the attendance pot. Very rarely is Jack absent, however today he was. DANG!

Extra

This just in:  You can take the boy out of Hoquiam - But you can't take Hoquiam out of the boy.

Hankering for fresh razor clams, our honorary Hoquiam Lion Russ Hanson persuaded his brother-in-law, Jerry Erickson to send him a couple limits of razor clams. Here is Russ in his own words.

"Because this was a very special occasion, I am sending proof of the first-ever happening in PA (as far as I know). I doubt that there has ever been a freshly dug razor clam dinner in PA, fixed the way we Harborites know how to fry clams!  Last night's dinner was the best we've had in a LONG TIME!

 Jerry got some beautiful clams last week and he and Jan decided that we really had to increase the level of our cholesterol so, looking out for our best interests, they sent us a couple limits!  One went on the dinner table and the other went straight to the freezer so we can space the dinners out a bit!"

April 29, 2008

( Lion Ray "Scoop" Pumphrey reporting)

  Traveling President Paul was back at the helm again after one of his mission trips.  This time it was a medical mission to the Philippines.    I’m sure we all look forward to seeing and hearing about his latest adventure in the upcoming program that he has promised us.

   Lion Ray passed out schedules for this week’s White Cane Days that will take place on Friday and Saturday.   He thanked all those that signed up this year and was especially pleased that he didn’t have to do any arm twisting to fill the spots.   This is a real tribute to our great volunteer spirit.

   A couple of events to mark on your calendar are the Central Park Lion’s Charter Party on May 17^th at the G.H. Country Club at 6:00 and our own Installation Dinner on June 5^th at the Hoquiam Elks.   I’m sure we’ll get additional reminders for both of these in the coming weeks.

   We were treated to a very informative program about Grays Harbor 2020 by Hoquiam Planner Alissa Thurman and Grays Harbor Paper’s David Quigg.  These two young and energetic members of our community presented a detailed overview of what Grays Harbor 2020 is and what they are trying to do.  We learned that Grays Harbor 2020 is a grass-roots effort to involve the community in shaping its own future and creating a sustainable Grays Harbor.  This will be done through targeted, coordinated investments in infrastructure and economic development, arts and culture, youth and education, environmental preservation and other areas.  Project oversight is provided by a 25-member volunteer Task Force, representing a wide variety of community interests and locations.

  The project has its own website, www.graysharbor2020.com where citizens can submit comments and photos, take a mini-survey and even watch a project video including special messages from Governor Christine Gregoire, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and US Representative Norm Dicks.

  Their presentation was followed by a lively Q and A and all of you are encouraged to go to their web site for more information and to participate in their survey. 

   The winner of this week’s pot was Joanne Frazier, but alas, she was not present to collect the booty.  The good news is the pot will be larger next week as no one has won in the last four weeks.

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