I really did post for the beginning two months of the year, but there was a glitch in the system and they got lost. I can, however, recap as these three months are relatively slow months for activities and meetings. Many of our members head south during this time and the weather is unpredictable, so we have our monthly meetings by Zoom and won’t start the dinner meetings until April.

Membership

We have welcomed a new member, Bill Adams, who has already attended a meeting and chosen a service project he is interested in pursing. Our other new member, Nina, has already put in 20 hours helping out at Bingo.

Vision Screening

President Mark, screened 98 students at Plymouth Elementary School in early January. Ten of those students were referred to see an optometrist. We welcome the opportunity to test students and can use the vision screener for children aged three months and up. The earlier a vision problem is detected, the sooner it can get corrected.

Eyeglass Collection

Thanks to the wonderful people in our communities we collected 508 pairs of glasses to send to Virginia to determine the prescription and then mailed to third world countries.

Reading in the Schools

This Tuesday, March 26, we delivered 267 new books to each student at Moultonborough Central School. The books are selected by either the librarians or the reading teachers at each of the elementary schools in Moultonborough, Sandwich, and Tuftonboro. We will be bringing books to Sandwich and Tuftonboro at dates they will choose.

Roadside Beautification: We managed to get in a roadside clean up along Route 25 in Center Harbor before the first snow came down. Six of us collected over 10 bags of trash ready to be picked up. It is a good feeling to remove all the litter thrown out by unconcerned motorist and leave the sides of the road looking clean again.

Raffle Tickets and Winner We mailed about 1,200 letters to people near and far explaining what we do as a service organization and containing five raffle tickets to purchase. The returns during the month of November were positive as was the number of tickets sold at the Moultonborough Central School on December 2 at the Holiday Fair. The winner of the $5,000 was drawn at 1:00 pm and the winner is a local resident, Linda Luck of Moultonborough! That should make for a Merry Christmas.

Vision Screening: Ninety students were screened for eye problems at Campton Elementary School on November 15.

Christmas Donations: We have delivered our annual Christmas checks to the four towns our Club services — Moultonborough, Center Harbor, Sandwich, and Tuftonboro. Each town uses the money in the most needed areas of the town. In Moultonborough the money goes to the Santa Fund, headed by Youth Librarian, Sharon Gulla. The Santa Fund is a community initiative (completely funded by donations from individuals and businesses in the Moultonborough community) that provides clothing, food vouchers, and toys to families in need in Moultonborough during the holiday season.

Below is a photo of President Mark giving the check to the Moultonborough Library Director, Brittany Durgin

We also delivered just over 330 personalized Christmas cards to the residents of Golden View, Forest View, and Mountain View and some of them were hand-made by one of our member’s daughter!

Vision Screening: On December 12 41 students at Wentworth Elementary School were screened. Four were referred to see an eye doctor.

Our Christmas dinner meeting will be Monday, December 18 with a meal, laughter, games and a Yankee swap.

From all of us at the Moultonborough Lions Club we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a healthy 2024!

This has been a busy month for the Moultonborough Lions

Vision Screening: We went into 6 schools in the area — Holderness, Central, Gilmanton, Inter-Lakes Middle School, Tuftonboro Central School, Kenneth A. Brett School, and Sandwich Central School during the month of October 715 students were screened for possible vision problems. Of that number 42 students had letters sent home to their parents indicating a need to make an appointment with an eye doctor.

Raffle: Unfortunately our October date to sell raffle tickets in front of EM Heath’s had to be cancelled because of construction in front of the store putting in pavers instead of wood. On Saturday, October 28, we held our raffle “stuffing” get together. Ten Lions and one relative spent two concentrated hours putting mailing labels on envelopes and stuffing those envelopes with a return envelope, 5 raffle tickets, and a letter. We managed to get around 1250 sealed and stamped and to the post office ten minutes before they closed for the day!

So look for your envelope in the mail. This will be your last chance to purchase what might be the winning ticket for the $5,000 prize until the Holiday Fair at Moultonborough Central School on December 2. The winning ticket will be drawn a little after one pm on that date.

Bingo: There were five Bingo games this month. Remember Bingo is every Tuesday night, starting at 6:30. The doors of the Moultonborough Function Hall (formerly the Lions Club) open at five for ticket sales.

Donations: Since sight is one of the main Lion platforms, we donated $2,250 to sight-related organizations and individuals. Remember we collect eyeglasses you no longer need and they get sent to third world countries for re-use.

Plus we had a great pot luck supper on the 16th and enjoyed socializing. Why not think about joining the Moultonborough Lions!

It seemed like with the rain and the cooler temperatures, summer had ended in August. And while all the rain made lawns green and flowers grow, it also hurt some vegetable growth while making the mushrooms in the lawn and mulch multiply. Now it is September and summer seems to have returned with some beautiful weather.

We had two raffle sales in front of Heath’s in August and have one in September on the 16th. Stop by, sell hello, and purchase your chance to will $5,000 at the beginning of December. We will have one more outside sale date in October and then towards the end of that month, we will start mailing out tickets. Your last chance to purchase the winning ticket will be at the Holiday Fair at MCS on December 2 before the 1 pm drawing.

BINGO: We had four Tuesday night Bingo games in August and plan to have four more in September. It is a good chance to meet neighbors and new friends, have some fun, and win some money.

SUTHERLAND PARK; We’re almost at the end of the flowering season in the top portion of Sutherland Park (next to the Fire/Safety Building) — the rain kept everything blooming well. Come and enjoy sitting there for a while — maybe with a cup of coffee or a snack. Towards the end of the month it will be time for club members to clean out and weed … and do a little autumn decorating.

Two Lions, Mark and Sarah, did a tremendous job of picking up trash along Route 25 in Center Harbor on the 21st. We wouldn’t have as many bags if some motorists didn’t throw cans, coffee cups, and many strange things out their car windows. Let’s all do our part to keep all roadsides free of trash.

This is the start of the new Lion year. During the old year (2022-23) two of our caring and active members passed away: Lloyd Connery and Marilyn Indelicato. We are saddened by our loss and that of their families and friends.

We are trying to learn more about the previous lives of our members during dinner meetings — this is a fun and informative time of sharing which we hope to continue.

We also hope to entice new members who wish to serve their community, become part of a like-minded organization, and contribute new ideas. Some of our newest members are starting to organize a pickleball tournament in the next month or two.

There were plenty of Moultonborough Lions to serve the Fourth of July parade marchers and viewers. We cooked hot dogs and hamburgers, served three kinds of salads and chips, and had water, lemonade, and watermelon available.

The attendance at Bingo has been slowly increasing (which means so is the amount of money you can win) as our summer residents learn how much fun it is.

The roadside clean-up along Route 25 in Center Harbor was delayed until Monday, July 31 because of poison ivy along the road and wet conditions from the frequent July rain.

The weather got unseasonably hot, followed by temperatures in the 50’s and rain and clouds. However, our typical activities continued, as many were indoors. We have welcomed back most of the “snow birds” and are looking forward to seeing them at activities, meetings, and dinner. We would also like to have potential new members come to a meeting or ask a Club member what we do and why one should join a service organization.

Camp Pride: The long anticipated bathroom renovation of our adopted bunkhouse is due to be completed the middle of June. Sally and Dawn painted doors and trim in May and several members will be hanging the curtains, cleaning the windows, floors, and mattresses (doing the spring cleaning) towards the end of June.

White Cane Day Collecting for the Blind: On May 23, five Lions and four Boy Scouts and one Cub Scout, collected $1,250. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the Scouts (and as soon as I have a photo, I will post it here). And we thank all of the area residents and visitors who donated money.

Sutherland Park: The Moultonborough Lions have once again adopted the upper section of Sutherland Park to keep beautiful, weed-free, and watered. The Lions special ordered the American Chestnut tree (which was resistant to Chestnut Blight) the first year the Club sponsored the garden. And we are happy to report that this year, the tree is looking healthy and blooming.

Scholarships: The Club awarded $10,000 in scholarships and a $500 Book Scholarship, honoring Joe and Pat Keegan for all their service to the Club and the Community. They were announced at ceremonies in the three schools where students from the communities we serve will be graduating. From Inter-Lakes:  Egan Towle and Sara Harris.  From Kingswood:  David McWhirter and Abigail Fournier (who received the Keegan scholarship); and from Moultonborough Academy:  Elise Steward, Abigail Bryant and Olivia Tatro (pictured below with Mike and Kate Lancor who presented the scholarships at the Scholarship Night).

Dinner Meetings (the third Monday of the month): At May’s dinner meeting we learned more about each jindividual Lion’s early life which was a lot of fun as we don’t often get to know one another outside of service activities. June’s dinner meeting we will hear from Master Beekeeper, Athena. Hoping to post a photo here after the dinner on the 19th of June. Sounds like a most interesting topic!

Lion of the Year: Marilyn Indelicato was a most deserving recipient of our Club’s Lion of the Year Award. Marilyn joined the club in September of 2019 and has been one of our most active members — in the last two years alone, she put in almost 340 service hours. Many will have seen her just about every Tuesday night working at Bingo (selling sheets or working behind the scene. She was active at the state level and involved herself in so many of our service activities from Camp Pride to selling raffle tickets and helping with the mailings. Marilyn epitomizes the heart, soul, and energy of a Lion.

Books to Schools: On June 6, Lions Peter and Kathy Allen distributed books to each of the 102 students at Tuftonboro Central School.

Coming up: Fourth of July barbecue and raffle sales in front of Heath’s.

The month of April has been both warmer, colder, and wetter than it typically has and not all of our Club “snowbirds” have returned. But we continue to be active with the members who are here.

On Friday, April 21, Mark Cotrupi worked with two groups of students who are members of the Moultonborough Academy National Honor Society to clean up along the roads in Sandwich, NH.

We had four night of Bingo this month and the number of participants is slowly increasing. And we appreciate those regular players who show up week after week, month after month.

Three members were at the Meet the Candidates Night on April 16 to help and serve coffee to a “packed house”. Only two people wanted coffee and we may need to rethink that now that the evening is no longer in February.

The speaker at our dinner meeting was Jim Nute of The Mayhew Program who treated us to an informative presentation and slide show of the Mayhew experience for all the boys and young men it serves — more that 2,300 have gone through the summer and year-round programing tuition free since it opened. We were proud to donate money to help with this worthwhile and helping organization.

The snow is starting to melt as in the ice on all the lakes and activities are beginning to pick up. By the end of next month most of our “snowbirds” will have returned from warmer climates and we will be able to be more activie.

BOOKS IN THE SCHOOLS: On March 10, three Moultonborough Lions went to Moultonborough Central School and Sandwich Central School to distribute a book to each child in both schools. 223 books were given out at MSC and 92 in Sandwich. As always it is such a pleasure to see the joy in the student’s eyes as they IMMEDIATELY open the books to start reading — or, in the case of the older students, read the recap of the book on the fly leaf or back cover.

The kindergarten students were so excited about their books, that four of them got paper cuts and went to see the nurse.

VISION SCREENING: On March 15, Mark screened 30 students at Russell Elementary School in Rumney.

We had to cancel Bingo once for snow and we had our last meeting via zoom. Starting April 3 we will be meeting in person for the business meeting and the dinner meeting will be April 17. Our speaker will be Jim Nute from Camp Mayhew.

I forgot to mention that in December, Mark with assistance from the Inter-Lakes Elementary School nurse and some parents, screened 170 students. Nine students were referred to check in with their eye doctors. Vision screening is so important to catch any vision problems as early as possible. And with this screener we can screen students as young as three months old. Before children may even know that they are having difficulty seeing, difficulties in six major areas can be detected. In January, the Club screened 144 students at Plymouth Elementary school.

Because many of our members choose to escape the snow during the winter months, we have been having our business and board meetings via Zoom. But BINGO is still happening every Tuesday, with ticket sales starting at 4:30 and the games beginning at 6:30. I went a few weeks ago and was lucky enough to be a winner — you could, too.

We seemed to get most of our winter snow in one week in January, then had a bitter cold weekend with record low temperatures being set at the top of Mount Washington and pond hockey players not able to skate on Lake Winnipesaukee, but did manage to play on Lake Waukewan in frostbite conditions. And the Ice Fishing Derby went ahead, despite some open areas and areas of weak ice, without all the usual houses and vehicles on the Lake.

We are always looking to have new people who want to serve their community check the Moultonborough Lions Club out — no matter what the weather. Check out these web pages and see if you would like to attend a meeting or talk with a present member.

The raffle is over and the winning ticket was drawn at one pm at the Moultonborough Central School Holiday Fair by Tess, an elementary student.

The winner of the $5,000 prize was John K. from Candia, NH. We met him and presented him with a check at our December dinner meeting.

Eight Moultonborough Lions personalized around 275 Christmas cards to be distributed to the nursing home residents of Golden View, Forest View, and Mountain View.

All month we are collecting children’s scarves, mittens, gloves, and hats which will then be distributed for use by children who have forgotten, lost, or don’t have these items.

We gave checks to organizations in the four towns we service (Moultonborough, Center Harbor, Sandwich, and Tuftonboro) to help with Christmas presents, clothes, or whatever needs each town has at this time of year. The total amount of the checks was $2,500.

One of the Lion platforms is childhood cancer. This month we selected $500 worth items on CHAD’s wish list for its patients. The items were ordered on the Playopolis site and delivered directly to them at Dartmouth Hitchcock.

Our dinner meeting is set for December 19 and will be our last dinner meeting until April. With iffy weather and many of our members moving to warmer climes for the winter, we decided to just do one meeting — our business and board meeting for January, February, and March.

Lions ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Three Lions and four friends collected $1,030.80 to donate. They have been doing this for years, and this year it is wonderful how much was collected in six hours on one day!