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.