June 1, 2010

  The sound of the bell today served to bring our members to order and also signaled that "June's Bustin' Out All Over".

( The weatherman certainly doesn't recognize the season. At this writing, a January-like storm is forecast for tomorrow?) However we Washingtonians can not let a little rain and wind deter us from our fun-loving way of life.

  First on the agenda was the recognition of the June birthday Lions: Greg Grun, Joan Smiley, Paul Dean, and Helge Erickson. Lion Helge is celebrating his 99th birthday. In his honor there is an afternoon gathering at the Hoquiam Methodist Church on June 10th. from 1-3:00 PM. Everyone is urged to attend to wish Helge the best.

  Under "Reports of Committees", it was announced that the fireworks stand is tentatively scheduled to be set up after the meeting on June 29. This year the stand will be open one less day than it historically has been. (sadly, staffing problems have dictated this action).....Rain Derby Chairman Roger Smith announced the awarding of the bid for ticket printing to Dunsire Printing in Aberdeen. This year's tickets will be in books of  5  rather than the customary 6.  Times they are a changin' and this move was necessary to keep the ticket book price at $5 (which it has been for over 60 years) and still make a little profit. Due to escalating overhead costs, lately we have had to really "get with the program" to keep our head above water.

  Lion Mel Thompson introduced our speaker for this day - Gordon Williams, Postmaster for Hoquiam.

  Gordon's appointment as Postmaster was not - as in times past - a political plumb. He started as a "dog-dodging" route carrier ( his experience as a US Marine without a doubt served him well in this regard) and worked his way up through the ranks.

  A few facts regarding the Hoquiam postal service: There are 20 full time employees (down from 26), and two contract route carriers....This Post Office, and route carriers, serve 10,000+ customers and handle approximately 75,000 pieces of mail per day....Only ONCE has the Hoquiam Post Office failed to adhere to the un-official Postal motto, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds", and that was during a major winter wind event. Even then several of the carriers were going to do their routes only to be curtailed by the Postmaster fearing for their safety.

  Gordon answered many questions regarding everything from postal rates to mail theft.  As we are a Country in the fell clutch of electronics, most people today no longer write letters, send greeting cards, or make payments (or receive payments) by documents handled by the Postal Service. Gordon stated that most post offices, including Hoquiam, are in the red every year. Only by spreading the income throughout the Postal Service, can individual Post Offices survive. A very interesting and timely program.

  As Jones hit the big pot last week, today's attendance pot was a tad scrawny, however Jerry Erickson was pleased.

June 8, 2010

( King Lion Ken reporting )

 We had a very short meeting and very little business was conducted.  Once again Lion Pete V's grandson - Jason Lackey - was our guest. ( a really nice guy who would make an excellent Lion ) The sign-up sheet for the fireworks stand was passed around. 

The boy & girl of the month awards were presented (girl was present – boy was absent).    

The honorees as Students of the Month for May 2010 are:

Our program featured a very, very attractive young lady named Lauren Kuhn.  Mel Thompson introduced her, and claimed that she was his granddaughter.  Several of the members raised their eyebrows at that statement (including me).

  She gave us a summary of her accomplishments over the past few years.  She is the immediate-past Miss Grays Harbor, current Miss Tahoma, is running for Miss Washington, is on the honor roll at her school (Gonzaga I think), and has based her whole life on a program of volunteering and asking others to volunteer – for any worthwhile charitable endeavor.  After a very interesting talk, she moved over to the piano and gave a rousing 90 second rendition of a song that she is playing in the Miss Washington contest (performances are limited to 90 seconds).  She was very good. 

  After the meeting I was approached by three members who asked if she was really Mel’s granddaughter.  I told them that I did not have any reason to doubt what Mel had told us.  One of them suggested we pay for a DNA test.

Whether they are related or not, I hope that Mel can get her back again next year for a program.  Spell-binder.

Lion Steve Mihovilich's name was drawn for the attendance pot.

June 15, 2010

  Beware the "Ides of June"!! This ominous message had little effect on the attendance today as we had a fairly good turn-out. There were no visitors and no business to discuss.

  Lion Secty Jerry made the following announcements:

Aberdeen Lions Charter Party June 21 at the Country Club starting @ 6:00 PM. He asked that we have representation and he will be out of town.......Central Park Lions Charter Party June 23 at Ocean Palace Restaurant in Aberdeen starting @ 6:00 PM.......We will erect the Fireworks Stand after the meeting on June 29. Volunteers are needed. The assignment sheet for the manning of the stand also made the rounds again. And again - Volunteers are needed.

  While he was on his feet, Jerry reported on his granddaughter, Mackenzie Sherman.  Mackenzie - whom you will recall is the twin of Taylor - is a member of the Long Beach Rowing Club in California.

  The Club participated in the National Youth Rowing Association tournament Cincinnati Ohio recently. Jerry gave us a complete (as only Jerry can) overview of the rowing venue...including the weather. Bottom line: With 165 teams competing, Mackenzie's team won a silver medal (2nd place) in the double (two rowers) event and the Gold medal in the quad (four rowers) event.

    [Note: This is just a brief edition of Jerry's report. We all know, Schaefer is not given to brevity.]

  The normal fine for proud parent/grandparent reports is usually $.50-1.00, however today Jerry was really excited and it cost him $3.00. (and he was reaching for more cash when we stopped him) Mackenzie's feat should be a lesson that Jerry can apply to his shooting competition...It takes PULL to win.

  Lion Wes "Short-timer" Harris introduced our speaker for today, the new Editor of the Daily World - Chris Rush.

  Chris stated that he has worked for several small-town newspapers and when the Daily World became available he was pleased as he is a small town boy at heart. Chris and his wife have two children; a son 16 and a daughter 13.

  Chris prefaced his presentation by reading a few humorous newspaper captions that he's certain that the Editor of these papers would like not to have printed. (There were a few "knee-slappers") 

  He then proceeded to make us aware of the trials and tribulations of the printed news in this age of television and internet, and how it has effected the Daily World in particular. Sadly, in an attempt to control expenses, the World has been forced to curtail one day's publication per week. Sometime back, they made the paper physically smaller in an attempt to save the cost of newsprint paper. Like all businesses today, the World must control expenses to survive.

  The Daily World has a circulation of 20,000 and covers an area of some 400 square miles. The rural areas are serviced by contracted carriers, and rising gas prices obviously has increased the cost of delivery. On a more personal level, in recent years, the Daily World employed 100+ people, now the number of employees is 50.

  As bleak as the economy is, Chris really enjoys living and raising his family in Grays Harbor County and is planning to remain here until retirement.

The attendance pot was won by Steve Mihovilich - TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS!!! (call the Auditors)

Candid Camera

(click on picture to enlarge)

June 22, 2010

  The first meeting after the Summer solstice 2010 was fairly well attended. There were no visitors and other than a few announcements and correspondences, there was no business.

  The sign-up sheet for manning the fireworks stand made the rounds once again. Once again this writer is simply bewildered by the number of members who are reluctant to volunteer 3-4 hours per year to their Club??

Button, Button - Who's Got The Button

  For our program today, Lion Mel Thompson shared his huge collection of political campaign memorabilia, including buttons, bumper stickers, and yard signs. (He refused this writer's offer of a 4x8' plywood campaign sign - go figure.) He also has a collection of banks (the piggy bank size obviously) numbering between 6-700 that he has a amassed over the years.

 When asked how he became interested in political memorabilia, he stated that he had used some of these items as teaching aids for the civics classes he had taught. He didn't say where, in his house, that he keeps this collection, but I'll wager it's in a room that Dixie refuses to clean. 

The attendance pot went unclaimed as Ray Pumphrey is away on vacation. (Those firemen sure seem to get a lot of vacation)

Candid Camera

(click on pictures to enlarge)

June 29, 2010

Today's "get together" was June's end-of-the-month business meeting.  The problem was - we had no business? Other than getting the fireworks stand set up today and the list of workers throughout the sales period, we had nothing.  Nothing is not true; we had the normal banter amongst our members that we as a Club are noted for. It can be said without fear of contradiction, there are no dull moments at the Hoquiam Lions Club meetings. As the old Lions song goes, "All our troubles we have left at the door."

Ray Pumphrey returned from vacation and - for some apparently shady "goin's on" - his name was called again this week for the attendance pot.

This will be the last Nozey Lion until September. I will pass on all important information and announcements by phone, email, snail mail, carrier pigeon, pony express, smoke signals, or a knock on your door.

As for me? - I'm goin' fishin' with my buddy.

(Click on pictures to enlarge)

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