March 31, 2015  Al Bruun reporting

King Lion Seppo called the meeting to order.

Guest – Lon (Jacks cousin from Calif)

White cane sign up sheet was sent around. 4 slots remaining.

Seppo related spending time with his grandkids in Seattle. One is into Lacross and the other soccer. Sound like he had his hands full transporting them aroung.

Program introduced by Jerry McDeely was Mark McFeely. He is the plant manager for Hoquiam Plywood. They have 100 – q06 people working there 5 to 6 days a week. They ship a lot of plywood to Canada, 20 million in sales. Hoquiam Plywood was started tin 1955 and owned by shareholders, but now it is owned by Red Wood Empire. Good presentation with lots of information.

Pot – Roger Smith

The meeting was called to order by 1^st Vice President, Lion Mel Thompson, filling in for King Lion Seppo.

No visitors

Announcements:

1. $300.00 was donated toward the scoreboard at Olympic Stadium.
2. The new benches we purchased have been delivered to the city and it is hoped that the installation of these benches wilil come shortly.
3. A reminder that the slate of officers needs to be complete by the later part of April. Lion Pete Vander Linden volunteered to fill one of these positions.
4. The District 19G conference will be held on May 15^th & 16. Anyone interested in attending should contact lion Jerry Schaefer.
5.  The sign-up sheet for White Canes was distributed seeking help on May 1st.
6.  A note of appreciation was extended to Lion Jerry Schaefer and his wife Nola for their efforts in making our charter party a success.

Program:

Katie Lutz, a 2006 graduate of Hoquiam High School and former Hoquiam Lions student of the month. Spoke of her year in Costa Rica.  After high school, she attended the Willamette University, then served for 2 years of national service with Americorps.  She then worked an additional year as a resident naturalist for the University of Georgia, Costa Rica.

Costa Rica was described as a small nation making up less that .03 percent of the world land mass, but having over 5% of the world’s bio diversity.  This is due in part to the proximity to the equator, tropical climate and variations in local altitudes.  The country is supported by small farming, coffee production, but mostly Tourism.  Because of this, large areas of land are protected so tourists may take advantage of the abundant wildlife.

Katie lived in the upper altitude area on a small farm.  In addition to dairy and coffee farming, the family specialized in animal rescue of abandoned or injured animals, rehabilitating then releasing them back to the wild.  Katie also used her language skills to lead nature walks around the area for tourists.

Also shown was a plethora of photos taken during her stay in Costa Rica.  A very interesting program.

The Pot:  The name of Ken Johnson was drawn.  Unfortunately, he was not present and the funds will carry over to next week.

The meeting was called to order by King Lion Seppo and the opening ceremonies followed.

There was a large attendance (21 members and 1 guest, Keith Worsham)

Announcements:

Charter party will be March 18th at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge.  Social hour will begin at 5:30 PM with dinner following at 6:30 PM.  Lion Jerry Schaefer promises that all will enjoy the evening.

The spring conference for District 19G will be held on May 15th and 16.  Anyone wishing to attend, please contact Lion Jerry Schaefer.

On March 16th, Janice Erickson, wife of Jerry Erickson, passed at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.  Services will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Immanuel Baptist Church. You may access the obituary at www.colemanmortuary.net.

Joan Patton, past zone chairman and president of Central Park Lions, has had hip surgery and is rehabilitating at Montesano Health & Rehab.

Guest Speaker:  Dan Varland, PhD; executive director of Coastal Raptors.  Coastal Raptors was founded in 2009 with the purpose of conducting scientific research and monitoring on raptors along coastlines; providing education programs on coastal raptors and the coastal environment; training wildlife biologists in the tools and techniques needed to survey, capture and mark raptors along coastlines and collaborating with experts in wildlife research and management on developing, monitoring and sharing best management practices for coastal raptors.  Over the past 20 years, over 1,000 surveys of our coastlines have been completed.  As always, Dan provided a very interesting program.

The pot:  Jim Bucknell has extended his luck from Crab raffles to the weekly pot.

The usual opening songs and pledge were led by lion Pete Vander Linden.  He spent the past two weeks in intensive singing therapy and the results are impressive.

There were no guests today and no reports.

Announcements:  There will be a board meeting at 12:00 Noon this Thursday, February 26, 2015, at the Hoquiam Elks.  For those attending, Pizza will be provided.

The annual charter party will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, also at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge.  Happy hour will begin at 5:30 PM with dinner to follow at 6:30 PM.  The dinner will feature pork roast or a chicken dish for those who prefer.

Program:  Curtis Dawson, executive director of the Grays Harbor YMCA was our program.  He spoke of the multitude to programs featured by the Y, but wanted to focus upon Achievement Gap.  This is where children of lower income families experience less opportunities to continue learning in after school situations and during summer breaks.  With each passing year, the gap continues to widen,  The YMCA has partnered with over twelve school districts to provide programs where these individuals have the opportunity to learn without the stigma of being taken from classes (intervention) to catch up.

While the Y continues to provide the better known programs, swimming, sports, camp, it is evident that this is not your grandfather’s Y.

The pot.  In an act of possible collusion, Gary Morgan had the name of Jerry McFeeley drawn.  We have eyes on them watching for the split.

Meeting was called to order by King Lion Seppo and opening songs and pledge were led by Lion Pete Vander Linden.

There were no guests at today’s meeting.

Announcements:

Lion Mel Thompson has returned home and felt strong enough to pick up a pack of Rain Derby Tickets. Go Mel!!

Jan Erickson (Jerry’s wife) is home from her second surgery and all is going well.

The Cosmopolis Lions Club has now become a part our zone (19-G) as well as the Willapa Harbor Lions Club. (Formerly the Raymond and South Bend Lions clubs)

Lions Jack Strom, Jerry McFeeley and Seppo Tuominen attended the District conference held in Ocean Shores.  More information will follow.

A note of thanks from Mrs. Chang regarding our fulfilling her sight needs with an appointment and glasses.

Program

Donald J. Seil, Project manager for the Pacific Region of Genesee & Wyoming Railroad spoke today. The Pacific Region consists of two railroads each in California, Oregon and Washington.  Our local railway, Puget Sound & Pacific Railroad, began in 1997 delivering 2,800 cars and has increased to 36,000 cars in 2013.

Safety is number one for PS & P. The railway has adopted the Dupont safety method and has attained a safety record that not only surpasses the national average for other short track companies, but also exceeds the record of Class 1 railways.  In addition they are promoting Operation Life Saver to educate and inform the public in the safe methods surrounding train traffic.

There was some discussion of the oil port and the railway’s part in transporting oil. Although the approval of the oil is outside of the Railway’s power, they are striving to update track as much as possible.  $4.3 million was spent in 2013, and an additional $4.7 million is slated for the upcoming 18 months.

A very informative program and much appreciated as Mr. Seil drove from Salem, Oregon to speak at our meeting.

The Pot: Paula Dean.  Paul A. Dean tried to collect, but no deal.

Lions Club Meeting

September 23, 2014

Meeting was called to order with Pledge and Song. (Quite an accomplishment since Lion Vander Linden was not present to lead us)

There were no guests present and no visiting lions.

Ray Pumphrey is celebrating his birthday and Jack and Donna Strom are celebrating 36 years of wedded bliss. All were fined accordingly.

Correspondence:

A thank you from the Christmas for Kids Foundation for our continued support for their organization. Christmas for Kids is one of the organizations that the Hoquiam Lions supports on a yearly basis.

Camp Leo.  Also a letter of thanks for not only our yearly support, but the provision of several scholarships per year. Camp Leo is for youth with Diabetes Type 1.  An invitation was extended and will be accepted for Hoquiam Lions members to go to camp for a day to help out.  King Lion Seppo will provide information when available.

A note from Ralph Larson of Duffy’s restaurant stating that in addition to the Coleslaw for the Salmon BBQ being provided without charge, the dressing will also be without charge. Thank you Duffy’s!

Program

As usual, John Larson from the Polson Museum gave a very interesting and informative program.

 New Things: The museum has an extensive photo collection from early Hoquiam photographer, Andy Anderson.  Among the collection are numerous glass plate photos by H.G. Nelson., a photographer that primarily shot logging pictures in the early 1900’s.  A recent donation of pictures by Gary Patterson was found to have additional H.G. Nelson photos – A real find.

A donation of a 1913 Winchester Model 1910 originally owned by Alex Polson

Linn Half Track Restoration nearing completion. This was originally used in the construction of Grand Coulee Dam, and was purchased by the Polson Railroad Camp as surplus.

Steam Donkey: Don Root has sand blasted and painted the parts and has now returned them to the museum.  A new volunteer with extensive knowledge of steam operated machinery will be leading the final restoration efforts.

Return of Seam Engine 45. Was in Hoquiam until 1998.  Efforts to secure the engine remain on hold until owner finds a way to politically allow him to return the engine.

Christmas presents: The museum has a number of very interesting books and DVDs available for purchase. Grays Harbor Happenings, Soldiers in the Woods and River Pioneers, to name a few.

Winner of the Pot: Don Fiene.  Some lucky dog!