Visalia mayor Brian Poochigan giving his program today at club. 

Todays Meeting

With Lion President Tony leading our meeting today, Lion Pat led us in the pledge, Lion Dee led us in singing God Bless America, and Lion Pete did the invocation.

Lion President Tony won the no-fine badge today.

Lion Aaron was our secret greater today; only Roar Editor Lion Roy did not shake his hand.

Announcements

Lion Dee announced that his Barbershop Group, the Mighty Oak Chorus, is having its Broadway and the Silver Screen event on April 29th featuring guests, The Newfangled Four. Click the link for tickets and details.

Lion Tony announced the board meeting this coming Wednesday at 5:30 at Quail Park Shannon Ranch.

Lion Tom Link announced that our adopted Huston School is doing well with its attendance goals this year.

Auction Items 

Lions Betty and Aaron had been to Hawaii and brought back two boxes of Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts; one was scooped up right off the bat by Lion Steve, whose offer of $10 was quickly accepted, and the other was procured by Lion Mark for $12. It pays to be quick. 

Lion Tom Link had been to the coast for a few days and brought back a $10 bill as an auction item.

Happy Bucks 

Lion Pete was happy baseball season was in full swing.

Lion Pat was happy because he had seen the movie Moneyball and they had mentioned Visalia in that movie.

Lion Bob Line was happy to be back with us after a bout of shingles. Not fun, he reported and noted that we should all make sure our shots were up to date. 

Lion John Parker was happy that he was finally going to go on a Cruz that they had booked back in 2019, and that had been postponed because of that little detail called Covid.

Lion Aaron was happy that he and his wife, Lion Betty, had spent two weeks in someplace called Hawaii.

Lion Tom Gaebe was happy the Dodgers had a winning record.

Fines

Lion Roy fined Lion Betty because she had her badge on upside down.

For some reason, Lion Tony fined Lion Karen. I did not make readable notes about the reason, so we shall leave it at that.

Lion Dee announcing the Mighty Oak Chorus  Event on April 29th

Drawings 

The $5 drawing went to Lion John Parker, who donated it to the Leo Club. 

Lotto ticket: Lion Karen 

The marble drawing went to Lion Bob Line, who picked a nonwhite marble, winning nothing but that nonwhite marble.

Mayor Brian Poochigian was in our program today, and he gave a short overview of the city’s projects and goals and then turned it over to questions. We had enough to take up the rest of his thirty minutes. From why Great Wolf Lodge backed out of their project to street repairs and, of course, the recent rain (there has been no flooding in the city because of careful monitoring of the channels by city staff) and the fact that the rumor that high 198 was going to be used as flood control. (not true, fake news).

Next week we will have Kevin McClusker from Cal Water to talk about—-Water.      Water-Water everywhere. 

Lion Pat draws a non-white marble and comes up empty. 

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tony led our meeting again today and called on lion Pat to lead us in singing My Country Tis of Thee, Lion Leigh for the flag salute, and lion Dee to do the invocation.

Secret grater: Lion John Parker; only Lion Elaine didn’t shake his hand.

Guests

We had two guests today, Lion Allen’s son Travis and our program today, Jill Gearin from the Visalia Rawhide.

Announcements

Lion Pat had a “sort of” announcement about an Ozone spray bottle for sanitizing.

Lion Allen reminded all of us about the Lions MD4 convention at the Windom here in Visalia: May 4-7th.

Lion Dee updated us on the Leo club formed at the La Sierra Charter School in Visalia. They had their second meeting recently. Lion Dee, along with Lion Leigh and District Govoner Falguni Patel, were there. The governor gave a nice speech to the twenty or so students about what it meant to be a Lion. Their first service project is helping the Tulare county Special Olympics on April 28th. 

Auction Items 

Lion Tom Link had been on a trip to Montray for a Cementary conference and had not brought back anything, so he donated $10

Lion President Tony had been to Colorado to visit his wife Nancy’s dad, who is 94. He also failed to bring back anything to the auction so he donated $25.

Happy Bucks 

Lion Roy was happy he had run into Lion Vickie last week and reported that she was doing well. She says hi to all of you. He was also happy because on opening day, Thursday the 30th, the Dodgers had won, and the Giants had lost, meaning that so far, the Dodgers have won all their games, and the Giants have lost every one of theirs.

Lion Dee was happy about all the snow we have in the Sierras this year.

Lion Craig was happy that he got to see and ski with his daughter this past week at China Peak, where he had to walk down the snow to get into the buildings, and getting on the lift was a little tricky.  He was also happy that he would be skiing at Tahoe soon.

Lion Pat was happy because he didn’t realize that the Dodgers were doing so well.

Lion Steve was happy that his granddaughter, who goes to Clark Intermediate in Clovis, was in the Play Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as Willy and is quite the actress.

Lion Allen was happy that he would be playing a Willy Wanka slot machine on his week-long trip to Vegas next week; he was also happy that our Guest, Jill, has been a lifelong Red Sox Fan and that baseball is back.

Lion Elaine was happy that she has had no flooding at her house, which is close to the St. Johns River.

Lion Tom Link was happy he had a birdie and a Par in his Friday morning golf game.

Fines

Lion Pat fined Lion Leigh for the special Olympics polar plunge and the fact that Leigh was doing it in Lindsay at a “heated” pool. 

 Drawings 

The $5 drawing went to Lion Steve, who donated it to the Leo club. 

Lotto ticket: Lion Allen

The marble drawing went to Lion Pat, who picked a nonwhite marble, winning nothing but that nonwhite marble. 

Jill Gearin from the Visalia Rawhide was our program today. She is the Rawhides on-air game announcer and media rep. Her journey was from Boston, where she went to school and got to work in the broadcast booth at Fenway park, to her work in Visalia since 2019. Her goal is to be an announcer for a major league team. 

Our Meeting of March 10th, 2023

Todays Meeting

Our meeting was lightly attended on this very rainy Friday, with flash flood warnings popping up on our phones all morning, but those of us who were there had a good time. Lion President Tony led the meeting and called on Lion Roy to lead us in the flag salute, Lion Pat to lead us in singing My Country Tis of Thee, and our returning member, Lion Mark Olson, to do the invocation.

Guests

Our guests today were also our program, Joe Ross and Isabela from the Visalia Rawhide.

Announcements

Lion Leigh announced his annual Polar Plunge to benefit the Special Olympics of Nothern California would talk place on March 25th at the Lindsay Wellness Center. You can make a donation at TulareCountyPolarPlunge.org
Make sure to note Leigh’s name in the box or give a check or cash to Leigh at a club meeting.

   Murder Mystery Dinner to Take Place September 16th.
Theme: The 80s 

At our monthly board meeting on Wednesday, March 8th, we voted to go ahead with our first fundraiser since 2020 with another Murder Mystery Dinner at the Visalia Convention Center on Saturday, September 16th. This event is expected to raise about $20,000 for the club, but in order to do that, it will take the effort of all club members. We have started to organize a committee. Lion Lauri will be working on getting the committee together and needs people to volunteer for the committee.  Please contact her at laurimaguilar@gmail.com.

Our planned visitation with the Visalia Pride Club on Monday, March 6th, was canceled. Lions Allen, Craig, and Roy showed up only to find out the meeting had been canceled because of some power issues at St. Pauls’s Church.

Lion Allen announced the Vision Screening at the Tulare County Office of Educations STEAM Expo ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) on Saturday, March 4th.  Lions Allen, Tony, Rick, Karen, and Roy were on hand to help screen 94 kids and two Adults. We are hoping to make this an annual screening event.

Lion Pat had $5 to announce his barbershop group concert at the Neighborhood Church on April 29th at 2:00. Guests will include the Newfangled Four quartet from Sothern, California. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children, and $40 per family.

No fine badge: Lion Karen won that coveted prize today.

Secret Greater was Lion Pete, who nabbed Roar editor Lion Roy and one other member for not shaking his hand.

Happy Bucks 

Lion Pete was happy he was getting a free meal that evening because his wife and her two sisters were singing at Quail Park Shannon Ranch and getting free dinners for themselves and their spouses as payment for the music.

Lion Leigh was happy because he brought the Tulare County Special Olympics Athletes to the annual basketball tournament in Fresno last Saturday. They took home two of three first-place trophies.

Lion Mark Olson (welcome back Mark), who just rejoined the club, was happy he had just turned 62. (it’s good to have those younger members)

Lion Karen was happy they had recently got new heating and cooling units in their home after the heater had gone out.

Lion Steven was happy for his grandson, along with Pete’s grandson recently had a baseball game that got rained out, and both kids played well, but most of them ended up playing in the mud at the end.

Lion Karen was happy that she and Lion Rick were headed to spring training in Scottsdale, AZ, later this week.

Given the rain, Lion President Tony was happy for those of us who showed up today.

Lion Allen was happy that the Murder Mystery Dinner was going to take place.

Fines

Lion Leigh fined lion Allen for making fun of Lions Roys ability to hear; Lion Roy replied “what” 

Lion Pete draws for the white marble but comes up with something else. 

Drawings 

The $5 drawing went to Lion Roy, who donated it to the Leo Club. 

Lotto ticket: Lion Leigh

Our Program: Joe Ross with the Visalia Rawhide.

Joe Ross and Isabella from the Visalia Rawhide were our program today. The team is a single A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and thus are at the start of a process to bring players to the majors. The Rawhide has no control over what players they will get, nor when they leave. They are there to be conditioned for the bigs.

The team begins the season this year on the road April 6th at Lake Elsinore. Opening day at the ballpark is Tuesday, April 11th.  He noted that major league baseball took over all the minor league teams in 2020, whereas in the past, there were operated by each team independently. With that, many changes have occurred, one of them being that the players now have to live in housing approved by MLB and can not live with host families, as was the case previously. That has changed the dynamic of the experience for both the players and the Rawhide organization. The players are also given special diets, and he said when the dodgers organization came to town, they bring their own chief.

Free Add

Lion Karen won the free ad.

With Joe being with us today, Karen decided to advertise the Rawhide instead of that other team. 

1st Vice District Governor Christy Kroell draws for the marble.

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tony led our meeting today and called on lion Lion John Parker to lead us in saluting our flag, Lion Dee to lead us in singing God Bless America, and Lion Bob Line to do the invocation.

Our president, Lion Tony, won the no-fine badge today.

Guests 

We had many guests today, starting with our district governor Lion Falguni Patel, 1st vice district governor Lion Christy Kroell and her husband, past district governor Al Kroell, along with Past District governer David Beeman and his wife. Also, a past district governor, Lion Vicki Beeman. Our current zone chair Lion John Ward was with us, along with two Hanford Lions. A former member of our club, Mark Olson, was here today and back after a long absence was Lion John Parker. 

Announcements 

Lion Dee announced there would be a meeting to get the Leo club at La Sierra school organized Monday, March 6th, at noon at the school, located at 1735 E Houston Ave.

Lion Pat announced that the Mighty Oak Chorus, the singing group that Dee and himself are members of, would be having a concert at the Neighborhood Church in Visalia on April 29th at 2:00.

Lion Allen announced the Monday night visitation at the Visalia Pride club at St. Paul’s church, Center and Hall in Visalia. The meeting starts at 6:30, but Jon Ward said to arrive at 6:00 if you want to eat.

Happy Bucks 

Former member Mark Olson was happy to be back at club and plans to join again.

Lion Pat was $3 happy because his sister-in-law was back home after being in the hospital.

Lion John Parker was $20 happy to be back at club.

1st Vice district governor Christy Kroell was happy to be with us also.

PDG Lion Al Kroell was also happy to be with us today.

District Governor Falguni Patel was also happy to join us and give the program today. 

Lion Pete was happy because the SF Giants are undefeated this year. 

Lion Karen was $10 happy, one dolor for each of our guests and one for Mark and Lion John, who were with us after long absences. 

Lion Roy was happy for all the guests we had today and also for having sat next to Lion Tom Link the previous Saturday evening at the Ruth Woods open arms house fundraiser at the country club. 

Lion Tom Link was happy because he was headed to Moro Bay after the meeting today. 

Lion President Tony had a happy $5 for everyone here today. 

Fines

Lion Tom Link was fined for being late.

Lion Betty fined Lion Allen for elbowing her out of the way in the food line.

Lion Elaine fined herself $5 for having to leave early.

Lion Karen also fined herself for having to leave early.

Our club secretary, Lion Steve, was awarded his pin.

Drawings 

The $5 drawing went to Lion Steve. 

Lotto ticket: Lion Allen

The marble drawing went to Lion 1st  Vise District governor Christy Khroll won the drawing but did not win the white marble. 

Our district governor Lion Falguni Patel was our program today. She gave an inspiring speech about moving forward and getting things done as Lions for the communities we serve. 

The whole group at today’s meeting (except photographer Roy) with the district governor Falguni Patel

Lion Pete, who organized the speech contest with Lion Bard, awards our speaker, Eira Rodriquez, with a check for $100

Todays Meeting

Lion President Tony led our monthly evening meeting at Quail Park Shannon Ranch. He called on Lion Rick to lead us in the pledge, Lion Bob Line to lead us in singing God Bless America, and Lion Aaron to do the invocation.

Roar editor Lion Roy was our secret great today and was able to avoid a few members and garner some dollars for the club.

Guests

We had several guests today; Johnathan Ward was with us from the Pride club; our speaker, Eira Rodriquez, her dad Jose and her teacher Susan. Also, with us, Dave Pruit and Nancy Loliva, who were judging our speaker today.

Happy Bucks 

Lion Pete was $2 happy for Judges Dave Pruit and Nancy Loliva

Lion Rick was with us today, and as he noted, it had been a year since he had been able to attend a regular meeting, so he gave $50 happy dollars.

Lion Pat also had $50 happy bucks for Rick being able to attend.

Lion Johnathan from the pride club was happy to see the speaker today.

Lion Brad was happy to be the timer today.

Lion Roy was happy to see the speaker today and was able to relate to her move from the east coast to California when he was young. 

Lion President Tony was $6 happy today, one dollar for each one of our guests.

Lion Pat had a thank you buck for Lion Karen helping out and taking money, as he was a little late getting to the meeting tonight.

Lion Roy had a thank you buck for Lion Betty taking notes for the Roar at last week’s meeting.

Fines

Lion Roy fined Lion Bob Line for making a crack about still working at growing up. It reminds me of the license plate on my wife’s car, “growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.”

Lion Lauri draws for the white marble. 

Our program tonight was our annual Lions student speaker contest. We had only one participant, Eira Rodriquez, from El Diamonte High School. The topic was social media, and she gave a well-thought-out speech about the pros and cons of social in today’s world. Does it bring people together and push them apart? She was keenly aware of how it has helped her keep in touch with family and friends because she had moved to Visalia from the east coast a few years ago, and being on social media platforms allowed her to keep up with what was going on in her hometown. But she also talked about how social media has divided us:  people will say things on those platforms that they would never say face to face.

Being the only contestant, she won the contest and received a check for $100. She will now go on to the district level; we wish her luck.

Drawings 

$5, Lion President Tony’s wife Nancy won and donated it to the Leo club. 

Lotto: Lion Rick: We’ll see if he won back that $50 happy buck. 

Marble: Lion Lauri won the ability to draw, and she came close; it was a whitish marble, but not the winner.