Giving Books to Young Students

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

Thanks to the energetic pursuit of Reading is Fundamental as a source, Lion John Menken led the drive to put individual books in the hands of students in three school districts: Moultonborough Central School, Sandwich Central School, and Tuftonboro Central School. It was a lengthy process that involved much communication between John and the reading specialists and principals at the schools and putting up with a lot of computer difficulties and ordering snafus from the site we used to purchase the books. But finally, the orders for all three schools came in and had their “Gift from the Moultonborough Lions Club” sticker attached, and were ready to be distributed.

On Tuesday, June 7, President Jeni, John, and Sally went to Moultonborough Central School to hand out 158 books to students in Pre-K through grade 6, after posing for a photo op with the Principal, Kathleen D’Haene and the Reading Specialist, Carissa O’Gara (she is wearing the yellow shirt that is very similar to John’s Lion shirt).

Then on Tuesday, June 14, we traveled to Tuftonboro Central School where John, Mark, Kathy and Peter Allen, and Sally distributed 67 books to students in grades K through 3. In the photo with the rainbow and sun you will note (on the left next to John and going to the right): Diane Wheeler, Reading Specialist, Andrea Fournier, Principal, and Jane Meagher, Reading Associate.

On Wednesday, June 15, John, Peter and Sally arrived at the Sandwich Central School to deliver 79 books to each of the students in the school (grades K through 6). The panoramic photo is of all the Sandwich students in the gym after they selected their books.

The very best thing about giving the books to the young students was their appreciation. Upon getting their book, each one immediately opened in and began to read (or in the case of the younger students) or to look at the animal pictures. The theme for all the books at Moultonborough was animals and that was particularly appropriate for the third graders who were just finishing up a unit on endangered animals. It was a joy to see their joy and to continue to promote reading as a life-long pleasure. A similar giving out of books in Tuftonboro was done by a certain book for each student in a specific grade. In Sandwich the classroom teachers attempted to personalize book choices for each student (as much as we could do with the ups and downs of the computer ordering process).

A VERY Active May

Posted on May 18, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

Moultonborough Lions have been and will continue to be busy this month. Lions Mark and John screened another 50 or so individuals with the OKS (Operation Kid Sight) vision screener. Lion Dawn and her husband sanded and varnished the picnic table and benches at Sutherland Park. And Lion Marion Powers spent hours weeding and then planting new annuals.

Lions Pat Strickland, Jeni Williams, and John Menken attended the State Spring Convention. And so far this month over 150 people have enjoyed playing Bingo on Tuesday evenings.

And six Lions (John, Marion, Sandy, Dawn, Jeni and Sally) with some family members went to Camp Pride for the first time to do some Spring clean up. The weather was not that promising so we got bathroom and bunk cleaning duty. On May 21 and 22, more Lions added their cleaning and painting skills to get the camp ready for summer: Lloyd, Larry (and his wife), Peter and Kathy Allen, Peter and Judy Strople, and Don Trudeau. Very worthwhile service!!!!

Also at the May dinner meeting we hosted the Board of the Annie Forts Up Syndrome Foundation. Lynn Leighton, president of the Board, gave a brief talk about how the Foundation funds scholarships for students majoring in Special Education, leadership/self-advocacy programs for families with Downs Syndrome children, and therapeutic riding for handicapped individuals.

Then Mike Lancor talked about Annie Forts and her family and the start of this Foundation. Unfortunately, neither Lion Annie nor her parents were able to attend, but her sister and brother-in-law were at the dinner.

And then there was more reading to elementary students at Moultonborough Central School. Over three days, Lions Don, Sally, Joe, Pat, Peter and Kathy Allen, Christine, Jeni, Dawn, Mark and Eileen spent quality time in the school library reading to students in grades K-2.

Finally we collected $900 for the blind on our date of choice White Cane day, Saturday, May 28 thanks to the organization and care of Pete Strople, (not only did he provide sunscreen and water and set up both Heath’s Hardware and Supermarket, he worked four hours/two shifts — and collected carts from the parking lot). Other Lions involved were Joanne Lau, Don Trudeau, Ed and Sandy Meskys, Judy Strople, Peter and Kathy Allen, Carole and George Englehart, and Sally Sibulkin. The Scouts that worked were absolutely fantastic. We could not have raised as much money without them.

Doesn’t the new sign look great!

April Events

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

Thanks to the effort and organizational skills of VP Mark Cotrupi, we completed two OKS vision screenings this month. On Thursday, April 14, Mark, Don Trudeau, and Sally Sibulkin screened 97 third and fifth grade students at Pleasant Street Elementary School…

and then on Tuesday, April 19 six Moultonborough Lions (Mark Cotrupi, Don Trudeau, Sally Sibulkin, Jeni Williams, Kathy Allen, and John Menken), two Wolfeboro Lions (John Adams and Brian Murphy), and Lois Smith from the Laconia/Gilford Lions Club screened 392 students at Laconia Middle School. It was almost a day-long project and it was nice to collaborate with individuals from other Lions Clubs in the area.

That is almost 500 students screened in two days !!!!

Also coming up in April is the Route 25 roadside clean-up. Look for more information from Kay Peranelli about this event that will take place on Saturday, April 30. Come join us make five miles in Moultonborough something we can be proud of. Call or e-mail Kay to sign up.

At the April dinner meeting, nominations for officers for the 2016-17 Lions year were presented and voted upon. Following is the list of officers for the coming year:

*President: Mark Cotrupi
*1^st Vice President: John Menken
*2^nd Vice President: Peter Allen
*Secretary: Sally Sibulkin
*Treasurer: Joe Keegan
*Immediate Past President: Jenifer Williams
*Board of Directors: Jack Weinmann (2 years) Don Trudeau (2 years), Dawn Law (2 years), Marion Powers (1), Kay Peranelli (1), and Mike Lancor (1), Peter Strople (1)
Tail Twister: Anne Forts and Pat Keegan
*Lion Tamer: Pat Keegan
*Membership Committee Chairman: Joanne Lau

Coming up in May: Business Meeting on Monday, May 2 ), and the monthly dinner meeting on May 16 (with a presentation about the Annie Up Fund Trust).

Also, we will be going to help clean up around Camp Pride on three weekend days in May — Sunday, May 15, Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22. It’s not to late to sign up and join us….lots of things for photo ops!.

And what happened in March besides the earliest ice out ever????

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

Saint Patrick’s Day, of course, and other events.

Our speakers for the March dinner meeting were Camp Pride President Peter La Pointe and Camp Administrator Ted La Liberte. They provided an update of all the recent improvements made to the camp that was established in 1989 by Lions District 44 – H. Lions Camp Pride is a three season fully handicapped accessible facility for children and adults with special needs, located in New Durham, New Hampshire on scenic Merrimeeting Lake.

The work list for spring 2016 includes painting, raking water front, trimming around cabins, cleaning bunkhouses, screen repair and window and door trim replacement.

Camp Pride has set aside two Saturdays May 14, and 21^st, and two Sundays May 15 and 22^nd for friends and family of Moultonborough Lions Club to help with the clean-up starting at 9:00am each day. Camp Pride will provide a free lunch to all volunteers. You can make it a family affair. Bring your kids or grandchildren. All are thankfully welcome. Many hands make light work! Let Jeni or Sally know.

And then there was the reading at MCS ….

I don’t know who had more fun this week – the elementary school children or the members of the Moultonborough Lions Club. March is Reading Month and to celebrate, Carissa O’Gara, the reading specialist at Moultonborough Central School, set up a three-day schedule (March 22-24) for Lions to read in the Kindergarten, First and Second grade classrooms. Carissa chose wonderful books for us to read, and we tried hard to read as close to upside-down as we could in order to have the illustrations face the children. The young students were wonderful, predicting what might be next, helping with sound effects, and being totally engaged in the stories. The best thing is that we have been asked to come back and do this again.

March

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

Can the weather be any stranger? Rain, snow, cold, warm.

The March business meeting will be held Monday, March 7 at 7 pm. The dinner meeting will be held on the 21st and be Irish in food (corned beef and cabbage) and table theme. Our speaker will be from Camp Pride. It should be a very interesting meeting. I hope all will attend. And we welcome members to bring a guest.

February Continued…

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

While the first planned dinner on Monday, February 15 was postponed. We eventually had our meatloaf and mashed potato dinner, complete with post-Valentine decorations of the 22 of February. Speakers Jennifer Laramie and Peter Cassell presented an overview of the services provided by the Central New Hampshire VNA and Hospice to the Club.

Jennifer, the Hospice Program Director, has been a leading hospice clinician with VNA and Hospice since 2005. She gave an overview of the Home Health Care Services delivered at ones place of residence. These services are intended to allow individuals the freedom to remain in the comfort of their own home while receiving care. They include registered nurses, occupational therapy, hospice services, spiritual care, bereavement, wound care, physical therapy, just to name a few.

Peter is a retired colonel with US Army Reserves and a retired IT professional. He was awarded the Vaughn Award in 2015. This award recognizes individuals 60 or older who demonstrate leadership or meritorious achievement as volunteers on behalf of New Hampshire‘s older citizens. Peter is heavily involved with Veterans programs. He passed around the Veteran Certificate of Appreciation along with a lapel pin. He recognized each veteran in attendance and asked what branch of service and where they were stationed etc. He personally shook hands and thanked Lion Larry Kohut for his service in WWII.

January and February

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Sally Sibulkin

It seems as though January was the month of meetings for Lions. On Thursday, January 28, John Menken, Jeni Williams, Pat Strickland, and Sally Sibulkin attended the Zone meeting in Wakefield. According to the Zone Chairperson, it was the best attended Zone meeting in a while. The next Zone meeting will be in Wolfeboro in March – the Green on Green meeting, corned beef and cabbage dinner, and bidding on items wrapped in green.

Then the weekend immediately following was the Multi-District Convention in Nashua. Jeni Williams and Sally Sibulkin attended and came back with some good information and contacts. By the way, we were one of only nine clubs to submit a Peace Poster. The committee framed a copy of our club winner’s poster which we will ask to have hung at MCS to help publicize the 2016 contest

At the dinner, letters nominating Lions for the Lions Academy Awards of Recognition were read. Our club, as you can see from the page in the program, had two letters: one for John Menken for Lifeboat Lion and one for Joe and Pat Keegan for Best Supporting Lion. While neither one the trophy, we are proud to have them mentioned and honored. They were in excellent company.

Also in January, we had to cancel the dinner meeting because of weather.

February’s dinner will be Pot Luck (as Donna is away) with a Valentine decorations on Monday February 15.

A Busy Fall for the Moultonborough Lions

Posted on November 14, 2015 by Sally Sibulkin

At the October Dinner Meeting, District Governor Scott Wilson, inducted five new members to our club and had them sign the large banner he is brining to every club this year, as one of his directives is , “keep one; add one.” Below is a photo of DG Wilson, with new members: Kathy Allen, Peter Allen, Christine Woodland, Joanne Lau, Ted Olguin, and President, Jeni Williams.

October inductees

Blood Drive on Friday, October 2

Sandy Meskys organized the Red Cross blood drive at the Lions Club the first Friday in October and was assisted by the following Lions: helping Sandy on the morning shift were Joe and Pat Keegan and Don Trudeau; the afternoon shift was manned by Kate and Mike Lancor, John Menken, Eileen and Bob Zewski, Larry LaPointe, Jeni Williams and Joanne Lau.

Raffle Stuffing Party. Around 2,700 envelopes were stuffed on Friday, October 30 in about three hours, under the direction of raffle chairmen, Eileen and Bob Zewski. The following Lions were part of the “assembly line” for getting out the letters for our major fundraising activity: Pat and Joe Keegan, Mike and Kate Lancor, Pat Strickland, Peter and Kathy Allen, Jeni Williams, Sally Sibulkin, Roy Putnam, Sam Pylypczuk, Ed and Sandy Meskys, Peter and Judy Strople, Larry LaPointe, and Jack Weinmann.

Peace Poster Contest — The winner of the International Lions Club Peace Poster Contest for the Moultonborough Lions Club was sixth grader, Cameron Shannon, shown below with MCS Principal, Kathleen D’Haene, President Jeni, and Peter Strople.

In the coming months….

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Sally Sibulkin

The November business meeting will begin at 7 pm on Monday, November 2. Monday, November 16 will be the dinner meeting, with a social hour at 6 pm, followed by dinner. The program/entertainment for the evening will be a demonstration by the Sandwich 4H Dog Club.

The December business meeting will be held on Monday, December 7.

The December dinner meeting will be the annual joint Christmas party with the Moultonborough Women’s Club. The date will be Monday, December 14. Appetizers provided by the Women’s Club will be followed by a baked ham dinner and entertainment by DJ Sean O’Brien. Mark it on your calendars!

Fall Happenings

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Sally Sibulkin

One other thing that happened late summer/early fall was the much needed cleaning of the Lions Den. With four people working (Sandy, Mark, John and Sally) much was accomplished.

The August dinner meeting was the annual cook-out with area nursing homes and the evening was a success.

SEPTEMBER: The September dinner meeting featured guest speaker, Katie Blackadar, a Moultonborough Academy graduate who received her RN degree from UNH. Her first nursing experience was in Tennessee and from there she became a traveling nurse, her latest position being in the state of Washington. Katie spoke to us about her 10-month volunteer experience on the Africa Mercy, which was docked in Madagascar. She began with a video outlining one patient’s story and then told us about the different kinds of operations performed on the ship…tumor removals, facial surgeries, and orthopedic (club feet) to name a few. The number of people needing medical assistance and surgeries was staggering. Katie lived in an onboard cabin with 5 other volunteers and worked in outpatient care on the ship, tending to the needs of post-op patients. Katie’s experience was very positive, and not only did the Mercy Ship experience provide inspiration for her and renew and redirect her dedication to nursing, it is also something she would like to volunteer for again. Volunteers must pay their own way and for all their living expenses, so this is truly a giving experience for the hundreds of men and women from all over the world who provide their expertise, love, and dedication to others.

The Lions Club performed two vision screenings: One at Moultonborough Academy, coordinated by nurse Carolyn Nelson on picture taking day (Friday, September 25), where over 200 students in grades 7-12 were screened. And the second on Wednesday, October 7 at Inter-Lakes High School where over 100 seventh and eighth graders were screened thanks to scheduling by nurse Jodi Pendexter.

Also, on Friday, October 2, the Moultonborough Lions Club hosted a Red Cross Blood drive, coordinated by Chairperson, Sandy Meskys. Thirty pints of blood were donated thanks to the efforts of the donors, the Red Cross and Lions Sandy, Joe and Pat Keegan, Kate and Mike Lancor, Don Trudeau, John Menken, Eileen and Bob Zewski, Larry Lapointe, and Joanne Lau.

Also in October, Lions Don Trudeau and Sally Sibulkin did the final fall weeding of the top area of Sutherland Park. More help will be needed in the spring with some new plantings and the staining of the picnic table and benches.

The October dinner meeting will be held on Monday, October 9. District Governor Scott Wilson will induct five new members to the Club at this time. Photos will follow after the event.

Also in October…on Friday October 30, beginning at 9 am (with coffee and donuts) as many Lions as can make it are asked to come to the Club and help stuff the envelopes with letters and raffle tickets for the annual raffle fund-raiser. The winning ticket will be drawn at the MCS Holiday Fair on December 5.

Moultonborough Lions Club

Serving the Towns of Moultonborough, Center Harbor, Tuftonboro, and Sandwich

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