33 Y District Bulliten Number 55 Volume 1
District Governor Greg Prentice 2004—2005
To the Lions of 33Y:
It has been a very busy and rewarding four months for CST Beverly and me. We started out for Canada with Kathy and
DG 33N Steve, following his GPS driving software instructions, and the end of the first day crossed the border into
……nothingness. We were making our own road. All the way to Dearborn. And did so all through DG school as part of the now
famous and infamous Group 16, Thor's Thunder named after PID 5M Ross Thorfinsson. With our VT, NH, Michigan, Florida,
Fillipino, and Hungarian Brethren and Sistren, we won best music for our Supremes and Temptations in the Talent? Show. It
was a very good CD. We would not have won best ensemble. We graduated Very Laude as we sent our Hungarian DG to
accept our diplomas shouting "It's a Great Day" in Hungarian at our fellow 715 Governors.
The incredibly early Tuesday morning New England Breakfast is the oh-fishul beginning of the International
Convention. It was over in Windsor where Lions became International 80 years ago. The usual purpose of meeting 2VP and ID
candidates, or their surrogates, gave way to the controversy about the vote to rescind the agreement made when dues went to
$24 and also provided that one annual Board Meeting take place at Oak Brook. The Parade found us twenty plus MD33ers, #34
or so in the line of march from the Tigers' Baseball Park to COBO Hall. Three hours later our two Brothers from New Hampster
staggered across the finish line. Luck of the draw. Luckier's better'n good. By Friday we'd gotten used to freedom again and
went our separate ways. Friday morning's the last session when we can enjoy the pagaentry of the International Flag Ceremony
and endorse the Board's nominations for 2nd VP and IDs. Texas MD2's Jimmy Ross will be our President in two years. Then our
respective spouses removed our DG-Elect ribbons and we're it. The MD33 crowd gathered one last time for pictures, then
separated at noon. By one pm, Kathy, Steve, Beverly and I were in Windsor en route to Niagara Falls for overnight. By seven
pm we were doing margaritas next to the Horseshoe Falls cell phoning our respective DGs to say they were off the hook.
Breaking more traditions, DG Jim and I combined Breakup and First Cabinet Meetings July 17th, so these wonderful
volunteers serving the District wouldn't have to give up more time. Our thanks to Janet and Jim for hosting this event again
reflecting their high standards of decorum. That was my first opportunity to present my suggestions for this year to the Cabinet
of how I hoped the Cabinet and I could help each Club raise their profile and relevance:
-----Share the Magic of Lions Success Serving our communities; we can tell our towns…..
---We do Lions Eye Health by covering all the bases of Lions Eye Health. We need to do the whole job:




We cure it by supporting Massachusetts Lions Eye Research and Lazarus Organ Donor; FIRST BASE !
We'll find it more efficiently when we operate our own Eyemobile; SECOND BASE !
We treat it by operating our own state of the art Orthoptic Clinic; SHORTSTOP !
We pay for it and find the best care with our Emergency Sight and Hearing Fund; THE HOT CORNER !
and WE CONQUER BLINDNESS, by crossing HOME PLATE, which is our Lions mission.
We can tell our towns that we Share the Magic of Lions Success by SPONSORING a LEO CLUB.
A Leo Club in a school can help that school find the 40 hours of community service that all high school students need to
graduate. A Leo Club needs a Lions Club Advisor, $100 to charter, a school advisor, and the dedication of all to recruit and lead.
The Leos will perform brilliantly given that dedicated leadership. What's in it for the Clubs? More Community Service and within
a year or two, new forty-something Lions, the parents of the Leos, come to us to discover what it is that motivates their
egocentric kids to help others. The Club may choose to endow their investment in a Leo Club with a Club Banner, Gong and
Gavel, costing an additional $500 approximately. The school manages the Leo Club monies raised as a school account. More
than one Lions Club may sponsor a Leo Club. This works well with Regional Schools and small Clubs. We have four talented,
trained Region Chairs to act as Extension Directors to help with starting Leo Clubs. Do you have an educator among your
ranks? Ask them to help you make this investment in your Club's future.
Both of these suggestions may help to raise the profile of a Lions Club within their communities because we'll prove
how relevant and effectively WE SERVE.
Lately, it has become apparent that there is a third half of what WE do to SERVE. I call it LIONS YOUTH SERVICES.
WE SERVE by sponsoring Peace Posters for middle schoolers, WE SERVE by sponsoring Lions Quest drug awareness, WE
SERVE by sponsoring young musicians to play in our MD33 All State Band, WE SERVE by sponsoring YOUTH SPEECH, and
WE SERVE by sponsoring YOUTH EXCHANGE.
All these things we do because we have discovered we can do them well. No one Club should feel that it must do all of
them. But we should feel proud that we can do some of them, most suited to our Club needs as we grow and work more
effectively in our communities in the 21st Century. These are what we do. Feel free to tell your town about all of them. These
services are the MAGIC of LIONISM !
Can do is what Lion Dave Shields has created and achieved for Lionism in 33Y. With the help of Lion Bev Greenough,
he got us a tabletop display about What Lions Do? into the Massachusetts State Building at the BigE this year, fees courtesy of
the Greenfield Savings Bank. A great achievement complemented by the many volunteers, especially Chris Waller who Served.
Thank you for your Service to 33Y and thank you for this opportunity to Serve 33Y
as Governor.
33Y MEMBERSHIP REPORT
VDG Jean W. Martin, PDG 33Y Membership Chairperson
We all know that June
and July are slow months for many
of our clubs, and it is not
uncommon to lose members
during this time. (In July 2003 we
recorded a -9 net loss at year end,
which was the smallest decrease
in many, many years of continuous
losses—we are down from 2500
members to 1340).
However, the Lions in
33Y have prevailed!!!!!!!
The
Cumulative membership report
from International from July 1,
2003-June 30, 2004 showed 33Y
with a net increase of +17. Now
the Cumulative membership report
for July 04 just arrived from
International. From July 1 to July
31, 2004 we are at a +1. This
positive increase for July 04 is the
8th month in a row that 33Y has
shown a positive increase in
Membership. And the reason we
have this increase is because of
YOU!!!!!!!!!
Although the 33Y
membership committee held 3
training classes last year, one this
year, and a new member
orientation, the final outcome on
membership is because of your
hard work!!!
Congratulations to every
Lion who invited someone to join
our ranks in work and play.
Remember our recent training--Who, What, When, Where, Why
and How!!!
When there are
answers for prospective members
(or for yourself) to these questions,
they'll better understand what we
do and be happy to commit to our
cause
of
eradicating
and
preventing blindness in the world.
Your
membership
committee consists of: Jim Allen,
IPDG Jim Gracia, Alice Reeves
Liebenow, PCS Chris Waller, ZC
John O'Rourke III, PCT Dennis
Waller, Adele Corcoran, Diane
Daley, and PDG Jean W. Martin.
We are here to serve you, along
with the Leadership, Extension,
and
Retention
committee
members, and to help strengthen
your clubs.
Please ask any of us to help---that's what we are here for.
Let us know how we can help—a
rousing talk to your members, as a
speaker at a Membership night,
helping to organize a membership
night, installing new members, or
providing
you
brochures
to
distribute to your members! Or,
maybe your club has specific
problems and you need someone
to help your members discuss the
issues to come to a resolution that
works for all? Our job to help you
will be so much easier if we know
how we can help. Please email
me (jwmartinhl@yahoo.com), snail
mail me (172 Hope St., Greenfield,
MA
01301), call me (413-7745925), or talk to any committee
member. But be sure to let us
know what we can do to assist
you in obtaining new members,
and retaining those that are too
valuable to lose!!!!! Anyone can
be a Lion, Lioness or Leo,
BUT ONLY IF WE ASK THEM
neighborhoods to collect unwanted
eyeglasses during trick-or-treat.
International Missions –
LensCrafters
Foundation
and
Lions Clubs International sponsor
missions to developing countries.
The local Lions in mission
countries are instrumental to its
success in publicizing the clinic,
selecting
a
site,
organizing
volunteers and arranging other
logistics. Currently, there are ten
two-week missions a year and at
each approximately 15,000 people
are helped.
groups may obtain a limited
number of pairs of glasses for
people in need free-or-charge. Eye
exams
are
not
included.
Lions Special Price Lions clubs are able to purchase
an unlimited number of pairs of
glasses for needy individuals at a
special price of US$50 per pair in
the United States and US$70 per
pair in Canada. Prepaid Lions
Special
Price
vouchers
are
available in a book of 10. Eye
exams
not
included.
For more
information,
download
"Lions
Clubs
International & Lens Crafters
Foundation - Working Together"
(PR781), contact the Gift of Sight
captain or general manager at your
local LensCrafters store, or email.
PS DG Greg asks VDG candidates
to please stand up!
THE GIFT OF SIGHT
Since 1988, Lions Clubs
International and LensCrafters
have partnered to deliver the gift of
sight to needy people. "Give the
Gift of Sight," is the name of a
family of charitable vision care
programs
sponsored
by
LensCrafters Inc. and LensCrafters
Foundation in conjunction with
Lions Clubs International. The
following programs are sponsored
under "Give the Gift of Sight":
Eyeglass Collection and
Recycling - Lions and LensCrafters
collect and recycle eyeglasses
year-round. Collected eyeglasses
are cleaned, repaired and sorted
by LensCrafters volunteers and
Lions volunteers for distribution on
international missions.
Sight Night® - A unique
twist
to
the
collection
of
eyeglasses. Volunteers across
North America canvass their
Hometown Day - Each
December, LensCrafters stores set
aside a special morning to provide
free eye exams and glasses to
local residents in need as predetermined by Lions and other
charitable groups.
Gift of Sight OnSite
Vouchers - Lions clubs and other
WOMEN'S MEMJBERSHIP AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE
Lion Christine A. Waller
In 1987 the International
Association of Lions opened the
door for woman to join Lions
Clubs. Initially the majority of
women who joined Lions Clubs
were Lioness, and then slowly the
spouses of Lions began to seek
membership. Since 1987 women
have come into Lions but not at
great numbers, and of those who
joined since 1987 many of them
have left Lions.
International
President
Dr. Tae Sup Lee set into motion
the largest recruitment of women
into the Lions Association in 2003.
The initial goal was to recruit 15,
000 women into Lions with the
help and support of the Women’s
Membership Chairperson in each
District. That goal was quickly
surpassed and by June 2004 more
than 55,000 women became Lions.
On July 1, 2003 I became
the
District’s
Women’s
Membership Chair. Last year I
visited clubs and talked about
inviting
women
from
the
community into clubs and also
explored how the world has
changed since most Lions joined
their clubs. The need for flexibility
and finding ways to recruit women
were discussed. This year I will
again visit clubs discussing ways
to increase the ranks of Lions in
our District, exploring how their
community views clubs and how
we meet or do not meet the needs
of the communities. I still have
many dates available to come
speak to clubs. Please contact me
at cawaller73@yahoo.com or 413533-0196.
The biggest focus of
Women’s Membership this year
will be an Old Fashioned Tea Party
in honor of
women
on
Tuesday,
March
8,
2005. There
will be four
Tea Parties
held at the same time in each of
the four counties; Hampshire,
Berkshire, Hampden and Franklin
County on the International Day of
Women. This will be a fundraiser
for the 33Y Eyemobile. We will
need everyone’s help to make this
not only a successful fundraiser
but also a way to reach women to
let them know about women’s eye
health and Lionism. Hopefully we
will be able to recruit a few women
into Lions that evening. You will be
hearing more about this fundraiser
in the near future. Save the date:
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
My Experience As A Volunteer At The Big E
Lion Christine Waller
September 19 started
like any other day in my life only
instead of heading to work I was
heading to the Big E in West
Springfield as a volunteer for the
MD 33 Lions information booth
in the Massachusetts building. I
volunteered for ten days and put
in 71 hours of volunteer time I
have a new understanding of
Lions and how the public
perceives Lions not only in 33Y
but in the world.
David Shields, chair of
Public Relations for 33Y, put
together a wonderful public
relations booth for MD 33 Lions.
For 17 days, over 229.5 hours,
Lions provided information about
the International Association of
Lions. It was a privilege to spend
time talking not only about the
largest service organization of
the world, Lions, but exploring
the public's perception of the
Lions organization.
The overall consensus
was that Lions do a good job.
What they do a good job at is
what I found disturbing. The
majority of people had no idea
what Lions do. But if they could
identify with anything about
Lions, it was that they flip
burgers or make pancakes. It
didn’t matter what age group I
talked to. Older people identified
Lions with recycling eyeglasses
more than any other group. So
Lions, what do you do, other
than flip burgers or make
pancakes? It seems that your
fundraisers are what you are
known for. But what do you
fundraise for? It appears it isn't
very clear to the public what we
do. They tell us we are the best
kept secret in the world! How
can we change this?
I spent a lot of time
talking about community needs
and how those needs get met.
What did people feel their needs
were concerning helping their
community? The majority of
adults
answered
that
the
community helped as much as it
could, but there were a lot of
people who couldn’t afford to
buy food, medications and other
needs not covered by insurance,
and the shortage of housing. We
discussed ways that Lions Clubs
help in communities: food drives,
meals to seniors and shut ins,
food for soup kitchens, glasses,
hearing
aids,Habitat
for
Humanity and other programs.
When these Lions projects were
discussed, people thought less
of the lack of time that they had
to donate and more of what they
could do as a volunteer.
Over 50 people showed
a desire to learn more about
Lions and how to become a
Lion. They may be at your next
meeting, welcome them to the
wonderful world of the family of
Lions. The main selling point I
found is
that
the
Lions
organization is a FAMILY
Organization where all family
members are encouraged to
participate. I've a lot more to tell
you about my experience at the
Big E but not enough room on
this paper. Invite me to tell you
more about what people had to
say about Lions and what they
would expect to get from joining
your Lions Club. Contact me at
cawaller73@yahoo.com or 413533-0196
RECYCLING
EYEGLASES
Paul Deame
Since 1994, District 33Y
has processed an estimated
90,000 pairs of glasses. Over the
years, we have changed our
procedures many times. We
started out sending all of our
glasses to MMI (Medical Missions
International)
who
had
a
warehouse in Miami, Fl.
from which they sent all the
glasses to their processing
center in the Dominion
Republic.
When MMI schedules an
eye mission in one of the 15 to 25
countries that they service, they
randomly select 5,000 pair of
glasses all cleaned, read, bagged
and sorted ready for dispensing
and located by computer in their
separate containers. MMI also
maintains an active eye clinic in
Santo Domingo, where they
dispense glasses all year.
In approximately 1996 we
started to support Dr. John Galt.
He was a member of MMI and was
leading eye missions to Ecuador,
but could not get the glasses that
MMI sent through customs. To get
the glasses through customs, we
starting sorting the good glasses
we received. After washing and
packing them for eyeglass reading
sessions at Dr Galt’s office, we
had to read the prescription, record
those numbers on cards, place in
plastic snap bags, then sort by
positive or negative, single lens or
bifocal and put into 6 different
strength groups for each category,
for ease in dispensing. Dr. Galt
had his workers hand carry all the
glasses into Ecuador as luggage.
Total glasses by year: 1996 5,119, 1997 - 5,487, 1998 - 6,103,
1999 - 1,650. Unfortunately in
1999, Dr. Galt’s wife became
seriously ill and he retired.
In 2000, Joanne Foreman,
a missionary working in Honduras
was referred to us. She needed
low power, positive type glasses
with a bifocal add of 2 or more. We
sorted out 850 pairs and
processed them like we did Dr.
Galt's.
In 2001, the Berkshire
Mission Group approached us; a
group associated with the Seventh
Day Adventist Church in Berkshire,
Ma. to provide glasses for their
Medical
and
Construction
missions. They traveled to a large
island off Honduras and we
processed approx. 1,570 pair of
single lens and readers that they
dispensed while building a school
and a playground.
This
year,
the
Berkshire Mission Group is
going to a village named La
Colonia Mixta, which is near the
city of El Neba in the Dominion
Republic, early in Feb. We have
been sorting glasses all year, and
have cleaned, read, etc. 500 pair
of readers, and about 2,200 pair of
single type lens (mostly positive).
The Berkshire Mission Group does
not have a professional orthoptic
person to aid in dispensing the
glasses, so we sort out the high
cylinder glasses (per Dr. Galt's
suggestion). Also, this group is
taking all the sunglasses we get.
Prior to this, we had no use for the
sunglasses. We gave them about
300 pairs of sunglasses to see
how it goes. When they get back
we will have a better idea of the
value of recycling sunglasses.
Around 2001, after Dr.
Galt stopped going to Equator, we
started supporting Dr. Lynde
Kimbal, an optometrist working in
Battleboro, Vt., who was supported
by the Vermont Lions Clubs. We
sort out a particular type that he
wants, which have to be clean and
fairly new, (no tri-focal, high power,
or high cylinder). Dr. Kimbal and
his wife go on two or three eye
missions per year to Honduras
The glasses that we
donate go to the
Bennington Lions, who
check them over, clean
them, and forward
them to a group of school children
(Lions Quest) who do an additional
sort - adult and children. The
doctor sorts, reads, bags and
packs during the summer months.
Last year, we gave the Bennington
Lions 14 boxes of glasses
weighting about 340 pounds, and
this year we have sent 5 boxes
weighting 124 pounds.
For the many thousands
of glasses that do not fit the
categories we are looking for, we
box and ship in bulk to various
locations. From 1995-2002, we
shipped 371 boxes weighing 9,377
pounds. For the first 7 years, we
shipped to the MMI warehouse in
Miami, Fl. This center was moved
to McAllen, Texas and in May
2002, we started sending our
unwanted glasses to a NJ Lions
regional collection center in West
Trenton maintained by Katzenbach
School for the Deaf. The Lions
prepare the glasses like we do and
provide a large quantity to any
organization that requests them
formally and ships them directly to
the mission site. So far we have
shipped 15 boxes weighting 360
pounds to the NJ site.
The first task in eyeglass
recycling is obviously collection.
Paul Deame, PDG Paul Snow,
Ann Snow and Gary Lewis act as a
central collection point for the
eyeglasses that the clubs collect.
They then discard all empty and
broken frames, and scratched
lenses. A lot of the work is done at
work-bees. We use 10 to 15
workers for about 3 1/2 hours at
each work bee. We have
conducted about 20 sessions over
the years. Dr. Galt provided the
facilities and professional advice.
We ship via UPS to Miami.
The few hearing aids we
get we either ship to a firm in
Colorado or take to a department
in the Berkshire Medical Center
(BMC)
What can your club do to
help?
Have
eyeglass
collection locations in your
city or town. Sort through
the ones you collect and
discard the broken and empty
frames.
Count the number of eyeglasses
you turn over and report this on
you monthly activity report. (Lions
International wants this number on
your Annual Report.) Label the
boxes you turn in with your club
name.
EYEMOBILE REPORT
PDG Bill Rathbun
Good things do indeed
come in small packages! This
week the mailman brought an
envelope. Inside was a $5,000.
check
from
the
Community
Foundation. This brings our total
fundraising
to
more
than
$30,000.00. Wow, many thanks to
President Pam Hodgkins for her
efforts in submitting the grant
applications.
The
EyeMobile
Capital
Campaign
is
well
underway. Corporations are being
solicited for donations in excess of
$1,000. Please submit the names
of any companies within your
community to President Pam, and
she will make the solicitation.
Plan a fundraiser for the
Eyemobile. With the estimated
cost being more than $175,000.
the Lions of District 33Y will need
to raise more than $100,000. for
this dream to become a reality!
Thank you for your continued hard
work, together we can achieve our
goal!
Yours in Lionism,
PDG Bill Rathbun, EyeMobile,
Clerk Of the Corporation
ON-LINE FOR THE OFF-LINE: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DISTRICT 33Y
WEBSITE TO OUR LIONS
Dennis Waller
It goes without saying
(but I will) that many of the Lions,
Lioness and Leos of District 33Y
do not have access to the Internet.
This does not mean that it isn't
important to them. The District 33Y
website is not there just for
individual Lions, Lioness or Leos; it
is also there for anyone in the
world who has a computer.
The District website gives
information to those seeking help
when they don't know where to
turn. Most clubs do not have a
published phone number, do not
have a hall or building as a focal
point, do not register their club
officers with the local chamber of
commerce. Therefore, when a
person is looking for someone to
turn to, they have to know
someone, who knows someone,
etc. until they get to someone who
knows that "Lions help the
community". And they still have to
find us.
Another benefit of the
website to the clubs of District 33Y
is that we can advertise our
events. Whether it is a golf
tournament, a blood drive, a
pancake breakfast or a myriad of
other events our clubs sponsor,
the website provides another
avenue to let the community know
what we are doing. This provides
us with an opportunity to have
more people at our fundraisers and
at our public service activities.
Finally, some clubs have
availed themselves of a page on
the website just for the club. They
list the events the club holds each
year, awards the club has
received, which district offices
members have held and awards
individual members have received.
This provides specific information
on club events such as publicizing
recognition for the club and for the
Lions, Lioness and Leos who have
served their clubs and the district.
So what can you, a Lion,
Lioness, or Leo who doesn't have
access to the Internet do to help
your club? You can get information
to the District Webmaster to get
your club activities online by calling
or writing. You can also urge any
members of your club who are
online to make sure the District
Webmaster has their e-mail
address so your club can receive
timely information. To contact him,
call Lion Dennis Waller at 413-5330196, or send him a letter at 50
Holy Family Rd. Apt 307, Holyoke,
MA
01040
to the modernization project we
undertook, we had to dip into our
reserves to meet expenses.
Thanks to our former Treasurer,
Ed Holly Jr, our investment
portfolio is in good shape. We
have enjoyed good returns over
the years, but we cannot continue
to reduce our nest egg. Please
keep us in mind when allocating
your funds this year.
We are also proud to
announce that Lion Pat DeMars,
from the Springfield 16 Acres Lions
Club, has agreed to work part time
for the Clinic in our effort to input
all of the patient and financial
records into the new computer
system. Modernizing our records
is long overdue. Thank you, Pat,
for all your help.
The Orthoptic Clinic
Board is always looking for people
to help out. If you have an interest
in learning more about the clinic
and have some time to volunteer,
come to our next Board meeting at
7 PM on November 29th at
Florence Opticians, 78 Maple
Street, Florence, MA. For more
info, please feel free to contact DG
Greg Prentice, VDG Jean Martin,
or IPDG Jim Gracia.
LIONS ORTHOPTIC CLINIC
IPDG James Gracia
Donations to the District
33Y Lions Orthoptic Clinic are off
to a good start this year. Thanks
to a very generous donation
($2000) by the Dalton Lions Club,
we have donations totaling $3,350
through the middle of September
2004. Last year we received a
total of $21,440 in donations from
the clubs and from other private
donors. However, our operating
budget usually exceeds our
donations every year; therefore,
we must rely on the interest from
our investments to balance the
books. Last year (2003-2004), due
Lion Henry Bisbee
Lion Fred Schmidt
Lion Frank Parsons
Lion Earl Appleton
Lion Bob Bartlett
Lion George Pitts
Lion Bob Loomis
Lion David Barrett
1/21/2004
2/19/2004
5/12/2004
6/10/2004
6/22/2004
7/8/2004
7/25/2004
8/16/2004
Huntington Lions Club
Greenfield Lions Club
Williamsburg Lions Club
Lanesboro Lions Club
Pelham Lions Club
Deerfield Lions Club
Williamsburg Lions Club
Belchertown Lions Club