Li0n Melinda announces the slate of officers for the 2026-2027 year. 

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tom led our meeting today and called on Lion Dee to sing “God Bless America.” He also called on Lion Rick to do the Pledge, and Lion Mark did the invocation. We drew for the no-fine badge, and Lucky Lion Steve won.

Today’s secret greeter was Pat Harrison: Tom Link, and Bob Line did not shake his hand 

Announcements

Lion Melinda announced that she was going over the members’ list to ensure it was accurate and passed it around for members to update their contact information. If your contact info has changed, just reply to the email where the Roar is sent from, and the changes will be made. 

Lion Melinda also announced that this past Wednesday, there was a past president’s meeting at Mountain Mike’s Pizza on Mooney, and new officers for the 26-27 year were proposed.

– President: Lion Colin Franey

– Past President: Lion Tom Gaby

– First Vice President: Lion Roy Dressel

 – Secretary: Lion Melinda Blankenship.

– Treasurer: Lion Karen McVey.

– Tail Twister will be Lion Dee Baughman.

– Lion Tamer will be Lion Amy Comi.

– Two-year directors: Lions Mark and Geoff.

– One-year directors: Lions Roy and Allen.

– Past president directors: Lions Tony and Pat.

Lyon Allen announced that a vision screening was held at Goshen Elementary School last Friday. Thirty-six kids were screened, and six were referred for having their eyes examined 

Auction items

There were no actual auction items today, but Lion Rick gave $10 because he had gone fishing at Mammoth Lakes, caught several large fish, but did not bring anything back to auction off. 

Lion Melinda announces the slate of officers for next year.

Happy Bucks 

– Lion Amy was happy that her parents had celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary this past week.

– Tom Link was happy that he survived an altercation with a goose at the Exeter golf course. He fell over backward, and the goose ended up on top of them. Lion Tom was thinking of suing the goose, but he found out the goose had no assets. 

– Lion Roy was happy to be back after three weeks of photo shoots. He was also happy to have ridden his motorcycle today.

– Lion Mark was happy that he talked to his daughters, and was happy that his son-in-law had run a half-marathon.

– Both Dee and Pat were happy to have had a great barbershop show this past week.

– Lion Pat was also $20 happy that Valley Life Charter was doing The Music Man. Those kids were in their barbershop show and did an excellent job.

– Lion Roy was also happy that Lion Rick had volunteered to take notes for The Roar this week. Thanks, Rick.

– Lion Karen fined Rick $5 (but paid that fine for him) because Rick had gone fishing for a few days, and she was stuck at home babysitting.

– Lion Pete was $20 happy because he was headed to his house in North Carolina for three weeks. He was going to do some work and watch his grandkids playing baseball.

– Lion Pat was also happy that Lion Amy had brought a friend to the barbershop show.

Dee’s Trivia

-Dee called on Lion Rick and asked him what presidents had died in the White House in the actual house itself. Rick did not know that the two who had died were William Henry Harrison and Zackery Taylor. 

– Dee then called on Tom Link and asked him who the first president to meet the Pope was. Tom did not know that it was Woodrow Wilson.

– Dee asked Pete what state capitals were named after presidents. How many state capitals were named after presidents? Pete’s guess was incorrect. It was four. Jackson, Mississippi, is named for Andrew Jackson (the 7th president) Jefferson City, Missouri: Named for Thomas Jefferson (3rd president) Lincoln, Nebraska: Named for Abraham Lincoln (16th president) Madison, Wisconsin: Named for James Madison (4th president)

Drawings 

– Lion Dee won the lotto tickets today.

Lion Tom Link won the $5 and gave it to the Leo Club.

– Lion Steve once again won the right to draw for the marble, but he picked a marble that was very close to white; very close is still not a winner.

– Today’s program: Today’s program featured Miss Tulare County, Elliana Hendrickson, and Miss Tulare County teen Jocelyn Sanderberger. Michelle French headed the group, and the girls talked about stuff.

Drawings 

– Lion Dee won the lotto tickets today.

Lion Tom Link won the $5 and gave it to the Leo Club.

– The free ad went to Lion Amy, and she wanted to advertise The Music Man at Valley Life Church.

– Lion Steve once again won the right to draw for the marble, but he picked a marble that was very close to white; very close is still not a winner.

– Today’s program: Today’s program featured Miss Tulare County, Elena Hernandez, and Miss Tulare County teen Jacqueline Schneider. Michelle French is the executive director of the group. 

Jacqueline Schneider, Miss Tulare County Teen

Lion Amy won the free ad today.

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tom presided over the meeting on Good Friday and called on Lion Pat to sing the song, Lion Roy to do the Pledge of Allegiance, and Lion Dee to do the invocation.

Lion Tony won the No Fine Badge today and gave a dollar for delivery. 

Lion President Tom also called for the secret greeter to show himself; it turned out to be Lion Bob, though he was unaware he was the secret greeter. Luckily, his memory was good enough to note that three people did not shake his hand.

Announcements

Linon Melinda was unable to attend the club meeting today, but she had Karen make an announcement about our club’s 100th anniversary party. It will be July 18th at the Hyde, beginning at 5:30. Note that we have Terry Oman, the Visalia historian, who will be speaking that evening and sharing a bit of Visalia’s history. Also, Melinda noted that if anyone was interested in helping plan the 100th anniversary, let her know. 

Lion President Tom noted that he did not have a list of April birthdays for the club, and no one in attendance had a birthday, so we did not sing “Happy Birthday.”

Lion Allen announced that we have a vision screening on Friday, April 24rd, in Goshen, and that anybody who would like to help should show up from 3:00 to 5:00 at Goshen Elementary School.

Lion Pete tells the story of Lion Bob’s April Fool’s joke. 

Happy Bucks 

Lyon Rick had a happy buck because when he went to spring training in March, he saw a great game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers started out with a 7-0 score, and it ended up with the Brewers winning 19 -7 after the Dodgers pulled their starting pitchers. 

Lion Roy had a happy buck because NASA is returning to the Moon with the Artemis II mission. He also had a short little joke: A duck went into the old Main Drug store owned by former club president Roland Marr.  The duck asked for some lip balm. Roland got it, turned around, and said, “Will this be cash or charge?” The duck replied, “No, just put it on my bill.” Ha ha.

Lion Mark was happy to be back at our club meeting today after being away for a few weeks. He noted that his kids, who lived in Clovis, were expecting a child whom they would name Clara. He noted that several of them in that family were born on the same day.

Lion Dee had a happy buck, but first, reminded by what Lion Rick had said about the spring training baseball game,  remembered a couple of baseball games the cub attended several years ago.   In the first year, the group went down to Dodger Stadium to see the Dodgers play the Giants, and the Giants beat them 20 to 3. The next year, the club went up to San Francisco to see the Giants play the Dodgers, and the Dodgers beat the Giants in the same lopsided way. 

Lion Dee was also happy to play golf in Exeter the day before, and he did very well, posting some three pars. 

Dee also noted that, if members of the club wanted to go to a Rawhide game, he would get it together. 

Lion President Tom had a happy buck because he had gone to the symphony last Saturday night and Tom Link was there. It was a memorable experience. When asked if that memorable experience was because Tom Link was there, he said no, that fortunately, Tom was sitting several rows away.

Lion Tom also said that while he didn’t want to get political, he was happy we no longer had our Attorney General, Pam Bondi.

Lion Pete had a happy buck because he told a story about Lion Bob, who has a family breakfast once a month with his daughters, their spouses, and some nieces and nephews. This month’s breakfast took place on April 1st, and Bob commented that he was going to move out of Shannon Ranch and move in with each of his daughters for a month at a time. They were pretty shocked until he said, “Just kidding, April Fools.”

Fines

Lyon Roy fined himself because he will not be at the club meetings for three weeks. While he was not going anywhere special, he had three fairly big photo jobs on the following Saturdays, and he had to pack up for those jobs on Friday.

Lion President Tom fined several members for not having their badges, including himself.

Trivia

 Because this was Easter weekend, we decided to do Easter trivia

For Lion Pete: According to the song “Peter Cottontail,” what is the bunny bringing for Tommy? Pete’s answer of a dollar was incorrect. The correct answer, which nobody could come up with, was that the Easter bunny is bringing jelly beans for Tommy.

For Lion President Tom: instead of Easter bunnies, Swedish kids dress up as what? Even after a minute, Tom could not come up with the correct answer. Pat tried to answer “turkey,” and that was incorrect. Dee said that he was a turkey and that Swiss dress up as Easter wizards.

For Lyon Mark: Dee noted that we had not gotten a buck out of Mark in a long time. Mark, how much do U.S. households spend on average for Easter? Mark was not able to answer correctly. It is $131.

For Lion Allen: In what country did the Easter Bunny originate? Allen’s answer of Switzerland was incorrect. Karen said Germany, which was correct.

For Lion Roy: When was the first Easter egg roll at the White House? Roy’s answer of 1947 was way off; it was 1878 under the world-famous president Rutherford B. Hayes. (I photographed weddings for forty years, never had a groom named Rutherford)

For Lion Pat: Who introduced the Easter bonnet into American popular culture in 1933? His answer of Gershwin was incorrect. It was Irving Berlin.

For Lion Karen, Easter always falls between which two dates? Her answers on March 15 and April 15 were close but wrong. The answer is March 22 and April 24.

Lyon Rick had a couple of trivia questions. (No speaker today, so we had some extra time.) His question went to the group: “What was the smoggiest day in the United States history?” He noted that the governor called out the National Guard to stop potential travel. The answer occurred in Los Angeles on September 13, 1955.

Rick’s next trivia question was: What year was the smoggiest day in the San Joaquin Valley? It was 1989.

Drawings 

The $5 drawing went to Lion Bob, who gave it to the Eye Foundation.

Lion Karen won the drawing for the lotto tickets.

Lion Steve won the drawing for the marble, but did not draw the white marble. He drew a yellow marble.

Lion Pat ended up giving his last dollar to the club because he didn’t want to put it back in his wallet. Too much work.

Because we had no speaker today, we left early. Happy Easter!

Lion Pat won the free ad today and says 

Go Rancho Bernardo Wolverines 

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tom led today’s meeting and called on Lion Pete to lead us in saluting our flag, Lion Bob Line to lead us in singing “God Bless America,” and Lion Dee to deliver the invocation.

Lion Dee won the no fine badge today.

Lion Tony announced Reggie Ellis from the Sun Gazette, who was also our speaker.

Lion Karen was our secret greeter today, and she noted that while Lion president Tom had asked her to be the secret greeter, he did not shake her hand, along with several other club members, so she did a great job on avoiding people.

Announcements

Lion President Tom announced that we have a date for our 100th-anniversary party.  July 18th at The Hyde (formerly the Lampe Liter). This was approved by the board at the end of the meeting, and we have lined up local historian Terry Oman for that evening.

Lion Dee going over trivia today. 

Happy Bucks 

Lion Karen had a happy buck because she had been in Arizona to watch some spring training games and didn’t bring anything back, so she gave $20.

Lion Dee was happy to get to play golf this past Monday in Exeter for the first time in a long time. He didn’t do well on the first two holes, but he settled down a little after that, and the rest of the course went well.

Lion Pete was happy to get home earlier in the week after finding out that his truck’s right-front tire was down to 13 PSI. Turns out he had a bolt in it, and he was happy because the tire shop was able to fix it, and he didn’t have to buy a new tire.

Lion Geoff was happy that, in a crowded field, he got a promotion at work.

Lion Link was happy to have played well last week in a tournament hosted by the cemetery district, and while his team did not win, he played with a scratch golfer who made par on almost every hole. He put $10 in because he missed last week’s meeting because of that golf outing.

Lion Roy was happy that the Dodgers won their first game and that it took only one game for the Giants to lose their undefeated record.

Lion Steve needed change, but didn’t realize why he needed it.

Fines

 Lion Tony fined himself because he had to leave early. 

Lion Link was fined for playing on his phone earlier in the meeting. 

Dee’s Trivia

For Lion Allen: What happened in Visalia on January 9th, 1857? His answer- a No Kings Rally was not correct; it was an earthquake.

For Elaine: What took place in Visalia in 1857: she was not able to answer correctly; it was the construction of Tulare County’s first Courthouse, School, and cemetery.

Lion Bob: In 1859, what was established? Lion President Tom quickly shouted out an answer, but his name is not Bob, so he had to pay a dollar. However, his Answer was correct, the first Newspaper was printed, known just as The Delta.

For Lion Roy: What was the highest temperature ever recorded, and what year? My guess of 117 and the year of 1913 was incorrect; the answer was  115 in three different years, none of which was 1913.

For Lion Pete: What was Visalia’s coldest temp and what year? His guess was 9 degrees and 1960. It was 15 degrees in 1913.

For Lion Betty: Greatest snowfall and when:  Her guess of 2 inches was correct, but her date was off; she said 1954 was not correct. Lion Roy came up with the specific date, January 26, 1999.

Drawings 

$5 drawing went to Lion Allen, who gave it to Lions Eye.

The Lotto tickets went to the Lion Roy, who forgot to take the ticket home.

The Marble went to Lion Betty; that’s a three-pete for her. But this week she won no money.

Our program today was Reggie Ellis, from the Sun Gazette newspaper.

Lion President Tom Won The Free Ad. 

Lion President Tom presents Lion Alvin with his new member paperwork and badge. 

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tom called on Lion Leigh to lead us in saluting the flag, Lion Dee to lead us in song, and Lion Bob to do the invocation.

Lion Tony introduced our guest today, Fabian Cisneros from FHCN, who was our speaker and drew the no-fine badge ticket; the badge recipient was Lion Tony.

Lion Alvin was the secret greeter and did a great job on his first time doing it. 

Announcements

Lion President Tom presented new Lion Alvin with his badge and paperwork for his new membership.

Lion Bob thanked the club for the nice sympathy card sent for the passing of his wife, Norma Kay. Her memorial will be on Monday, March 30th (her birthday) at The Presbyterian Church at 2:00.

Lion Alvin announced that the Valley Center for the Blind, where he works, was having their annual Beeper Egg Hunt the next day, Saturday the 21st.

Lion President Tom announced that the Board meeting that took place just before our regular meeting, and topics of discussion were where and when to have our club’s 100th anniversary party this summer, and some ideas for fundraisers, including a Pizza night at the Planning Mill Mall, where 25% of the proceeds from people who ID as coming for the Lions event would go to the club, and also a unique golf tournement, a simulated golf game at Mulligans Sports Bar & Golf Club, located in the old Visalia Plasyhouse Theater on Main St. 

Fabian M. Cisneros from Family Health Care Network

Happy Bucks 

Lion Betty was happy she won the marble drawing last week and gave the club 10%.

Lion Roy was happy to celebrate his 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday.

Lion Leigh was happy that last Saturday, he took his Special Olympics Basketball team to Fresno for a tournament, and they won several games.

Lion Pete was happy that spring training was almost over and the Giants were still undefeated in the regular season.

Lion Allen was happy that Fabian was here to talk to us today and noted that on April 23, we have a vision screening at Goshen Elementary School from 3:00-5:00, which is part of a health fair hosted by Family Health Care Network, where Fabian works. Lion Allen was also happy that baseball season was about to start.

Lion Brad was happy it’s been so warm outside, getting us used to the summer heat that will be here soon.

Lion Dee called out Lion Roy for not hearing him calling him with a happy buck; he was later fined for his instance. He did have a happy buck because he recently went to his two-year-old grandson’s birthday party and was amazed by the kid’s ability to tear into packages.

Lion Tom was happy that his new muscle car (a 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner) got a clean bill of health from the state. 

Fines

Lion Brad fined himself for having to leave early.

Lion Bob fined Lion Brad for insurance companies that are charging such high prices for freighters going through the Strait of Hormuz. Lion Brasd did say he wished he had the premiums for that insurance, but maybe not the payouts. 

Trivia

For Lion Roy, what is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet? Roy had no idea, saying he didn’t even like Greek food, much less letters of the alphabet (do they have Greek alphabet soup?)  Lion Steve came to the rescue with the answer:  Delta.

For Lion Allen: How many dots on a pair of dice? He answered correctly:  42.

Drawings 

$5 drawing went to Lion Betty, who gave it to the Leos.

Lotto went to Lion Tony.

Marble drawing: Went to Lion Betty again this week, but, unlike the Dodgers in 2025,  she did not go back-to-back.  She picked a green marble.

Lion Bob says,  Go, Oaks.

Todays Meeting

Lion president Tom led the meeting, and after the flag salute, we sang the springtime song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and Lion Link delivered the invocation.

The no-fine badge went to Lion Link today, but it was not worth much, as President Tom made an executive decision not to impose any fines due to the high cost of Gas.

Announcements

We had two guests today: our district’s Central Region chair, Lion John Ward, and our speaker, Wes Rowland of Cruise Experts.

Lion John Ward announced that the Zone student speaker contest was held last Monday, the 9th, and our girl, who won our club’s contest, was not the winner, a shock to many of us, including Lion Melinda, who was in attendance. The next contest will be the region contest on March 23rd at St. Paul’s church, at 5:30. If you show up, Lion John may just put you to work. Lion Melinda noted that he doesn’t even ask; he just hands the stuff to you.

Lion Allen noted that last Saturday, we had a vision screening at the TCOE office, where they screened 60 kids and referred 8 for further testing. Thanks to Allen for arranging this event, and to Lions Rick, Tom Link, Roy, and Geoff for helping out. Also, thanks to Lion John Ward and Visalia Pride for letting us use the vision screening machine.

Lion Tony announced that several items from past golf tournaments and the murder mystery dinner that were in our storage were on a back table; members could have them if they wanted. We will assume they will be at the next few meetings. 

Our guest speaker today, Wes Rowland from Cruise Experts

Happy Bucks 

 Lion Pete put in a happy $10; he was happy to be back from North Carolina. 

Lion Dee was happy to celebrate Lion Links 86th birthday and treated him to a birthday lunch at Colimas, and spared no expense, anything he wanted on the menu he could have: of course, Colimas paid for it, so Dee was only out the money he left as a tip. 

Lion President Tom noted that Lion Link should be happy because his cell phone went off and he had the No Fine badge. 

Lion Betty was happy because Lion Aaron is doing very well in his heart recovery. 

Lion Roy was happy he got to ride his Goldwing to the meeting today, a great day for a motorcycle ride, even if it was just down Highway 99. 

Lion Allen was happy that Lion John was here today. He also passed along a happy buck from his son, Travis, for Lion Brad, because his car insurance went down in price. 

Lion president Tom was happy to hear that Lion Aaron was doing so well, that his first tax deadline was on Monday, and that he would meet it. 

Fines

No fines today, by executive order.

Trivia

For Lion Pete, which US state borders only one other state? His answer of Maine was correct.

For Lion Brad: In 2015, which country started thanking people after they donated blood via text message? His answer, “Portugal,” was wrong; the correct answer was “Sweden.”

For Amy: What color are the arches at the McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona? She answered Red, and that was wrong; they are turquoise.

For Lion Leigh: What is the driest place on Earth? His answer of Death Valley was wrong; it is Antarctica.

For Lion Tony: What is the only US State that doesn’t have a flag that is a rectangle? His guess of Hawaii was wrong; it’s Ohio.

Lion John: Of the cities in California, with a population of more than 500,000, the northernmost?  He guessed Sacramento was correct.

For Lion President Tom: What is the northernmost National Park? He didn’t know; it’s the Gates of the Arctic.

Drawings 

 $5 Drawing went to Lion L:eign who gave it to the Leos. 

Free Add: Lion Steve Dodgers

Lotto: Went to Lion Steve also. 

Marble: $49 went to Lion Betty, who picked the white marble. 

Lion Steve won the free ad this week.