State Convention June 5-7, 2009
If you were not able to be in Mason City for the 2009 Iowa State Convention you missed something. Over 200 delegates enjoyed outstanding speakers, great food and plenty of time to meet old and new friends. Congratulations to PDG Harold Freeman and his committee for an outstanding event. Lions in attendance had every opportunity to meet International Vice President Sid Scruggs III during the weekend. Many very deserving Lions received awards and a complete review of the Convention will be in the next issue of the "Iowa Lion". The 2009 Klise Leadership award winner was PDG Loren Claussen from Walcott. The 2009 Whitten Service Award winner was PCC Keith Whitlatch from Tipton.
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
A new club has been formed at Earlham. Charter Night will likely be in August. More information to follow. Efforts are now being aimed at finishing up the club for Newton and starting clubs in Spenser and Oskaloosa. If you can help with any of these efferts please let the State Office know.
NEW WEB SITE!
Thank you for your patience as we completed the new design for the state and district web sites. The task is now complete and you can begin updating your club and/or district web sites effective immediately.
The procedures to do these tasks have changed, please contact the state office to get your club and district login information, userids and passwords to accomplish your task.
Again, due to the many complaints of privacy concern, almost all member information beyond your first and last name have been removed from the site. There are no email addresses, mailing addresses or phone numbers in the site.
Thank you again for your patience, we hope you enjoy our new look. If you have ideas or comments, please contact your district IT representative to present to the advisory committee.
NEW CLUBS!! COMING SOON TO YOUR AREA
Charter Activities for the new club at Palo were held on May 30th. Forty six charter members were inducted that day.
A new club has been formed at Earlham. Watch for information about a Charter Night later this summer. Welcome Earlham Lions.
Plans are also being developed for extension efforts in Colfax, Oskaloosa and Spencer. (If you know of people in any of these areas that should be contacted or you would like to be part of the efforts, please let the State Office know.
HELP YOUR IOWA LIONS FOUNDATION
We as Iowa Lions have an opportunity to help meet the needs of our Iowa Lions Foundation by making an individual donation. For a donation of $20 or more you receive an "I Gave" pin. This year's pin is gold and red. A new pin is issued each year with this being the third year. Contact your Iowa Lions Foundation Trustee or the State Office to become a donor to support the Foundation.
As we end the year and if you are looking for a non-profit charity to donate money, have you thought about donating to the Iowa Lions Foundation? The Iowa Lions Foundation is a 501c3 tax exempt non for profit corporation. Donations are tax deductible. For donations amounting to $1000 in a three year period, Warren Coleman Honorary Awards, can be awarded. If you are already a Wareen Coleman recipient a progressive program now exists. For additional donations in $1000 increments pins showing your level can be obtained. For more information contacy us at the State Office.
Great Plains Lions Leadership Institute!!!
The 2009 Great Plains Lions Leadership Institute will be coming to Iowa for 2009. The seventh institute will be held July 17-19 on the campus of Buena Vista Yniversity in Storm Lake. More detaile information and an application blank are available under forms on this web site. Most of our Districts offer scholarships to attend the Great Plains. Contact your District Governor or Cabinet Secretary to see if you qualify for a scholarship. This institute has proven to be a great learning experience for all past attendeees. Hope to see you in Storm Lake in July.
MEMBERSHIP TOTALS for 2008-2009 (thru June)
Membership Totals for 2008-2009, show the following numbers; 9EC +40; 9MC -26; 9NC -37; 9NE -27; 9NW -76; 9SE -18; and 9SW -13. Our total decline was 157, which is down considerably from previous years. We had 133 Charter Members in four new clubs. All working together next year we can show a positive number for the first time in years. "Everyone get One" is our goal.
FLOOD INFORMATION
The Lions of Iowa received Emergency Grants in the amount of $70,000 for flood and tornado damage in 2008. The entire amount was dispersed to aid individual families in the six Districts (NE, NC, MC, EC, SW and SE) with their immediate food, bedding and clothing needs. We have also received $100,000 in two Major Disaster Grants. Over $50,000 of the amount was used to further the grants from the Emergency Grants. The other $50,000 is helping to rebuild the Community Centers in Oakville, Columbus Junction and Palo. The grant monies have been administered by the District Governors and the State Office.
EXTENSION NEWS:
Teams are available to come and work in any area to start new clubs. This is an exciting and rewarding part of sharing what we do in Lionism. If you would like to help start new clubs, let State Extension Chairperson PCC Ben Neideigh or SST/FR Gary Fry know. We started 2 new clubs in 2007-2008. How many this year? Five so far.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Thank you for visiting the Lions Clubs of Iowa official web site. We hope you find these pages both interesting and informative. We will do our best to keep the information updated as much as possible.
If this is your first visit to our web site, there are links at the left of this page that will lead you to different areas of Lions involvement in the State of Iowa.
Also, if you are not currently a member of a Lions, Lioness, or Leo club in Iowa, please consider becoming a part of the world’s largest service organization. More information on being a member is under the “Membership” link at the left of this page.
Our Lion’s motto is “We Serve”.
CONDENSED HISTORY OF LIONS OF IOWA
Current designation for Lions Clubs of Iowa is Multiple District 9, or MD9. The original District 9 included Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Eastern Wisconsin.
The first Lions Club in Iowa was the Sioux City Host Club, organized June 6, 1918. The Des Moines Host Club was formed in 1920, and is the oldest continuous club in Iowa.
Lions State Conventions are held each year, and the first was in Cedar Rapids in 1921.
Also in 1921, William Westfall of Mason City was elected District Governor, and in 1926 Lion Westfall was elected Lions International President. He is the only President ever elected from Iowa.
In 1927, Iowa and Nebraska were split into two Districts.
In 1928, the Lions International Convention was held in Des Moines, Iowa.
1942 was the first Key Breakfast ever held.
A Leader Dog representative attended the State Convention for the first time in 1950, and the delegates adopted the program as one to donate money to.
Through the years, there have been several Lions who have served as Lions Clubs of Iowa State Secretary. Art White was selected as the first State Secretary in 1953, followed by Art Fogarty in 1958. In 1964, his replacement was Dean Moore, and Bernie Zinsli became State Secretary/Field Rep Extension in 1972. Lion Bernie traveled Iowa, Nebraska, and part of Illinois helping establish new Lions Clubs. 1982 brought PDG Dale Anderson to the Lions State office as Secretary, and in 1991 PDG Matteo Cardella became Secretary. PID Gary Fry became State Secretary/Field Representative in 2003. As with Lion Bernie, PID Gary is also involved in chartering new clubs in the State of Iowa, plus his duties as Secretary.
In 1954, the Iowa Lions Sight Conservation Foundation (ILSCF) was started in Des Moines. This is the fund and grant making arm of Lions Clubs of Iowa. In 1978, with hearing as a new project, the name was changed to Iowa Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation. In 1994 the name was shortened to “Iowa Lions Foundation”, the current title.
As part of Foundation services, a Mobile Screening unit for detecting Glaucoma was approved in 1963 and placed in service in the fall of 1965. Iowa Lions were pioneers in the nation for providing this type of service through Lions Clubs. In 2005, after 40 years of continuous service, this screening service was discontinued.
Another segment of the Iowa Lions Foundation is the Iowa Lions Eye Bank. Established in 1955, and a part of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa, the Eye Bank collects and disperses corneal tissue for corneal transplants and for research. The Iowa Lions Eye Bank became a charter member of the Eye Bank Association of America in 1962.
In 1994, Lions of Iowa were hosts to the USA/Canada Leadership Forum held in Des Moines.
“Coming to Your Senses”, a screening program to detect vision problems in youngsters age six months to four years, was established in 1999, and continues to be an excellent service. As of July 1, 2007, this screening operates under a new name, IOWA KIDSIGHT.
Redistricting from 9 Districts in the state to 7 took effect July 1, 2007. The new district designations are: 9NW, 9NC, 9NE, 9EC, 9SE, 9MC, and 9SW.
The Lions of Iowa are comprised of 358 individual clubs with a combined membership of just over 10,000 Lions. Iowa is one multiple district (MD9) of Lions Clubs International , which has 45,000 clubs in 205 countries or geograph-ical areas. There are 1.3 million Lions worldwide who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world.
Known for working to end preventable blindness, Lions participate in a vast variety of projects important to their communities. These projects range from cleaning up local parks to providing supplies to victims of natural disasters.
The state office is located in Ames and is overseen by Council Chairman PDG Roger Bublitz.
Lions, You Can Spread the Word: Help for People with Severe Hearing Loss
You probably know that the Iowa Lions have provided funding to the University of Iowa Cochlear Implant and Hearing Programs for many years. You also probably know that the University of Iowa Cochlear Implant Program has provided cochlear implants to nearly 1,000 adults and children to treat severe-to-profound hearing loss. What you may not know is that you, an Iowa Lion, are a very important source of information to your community. Many people, those with hearing loss as well as healthcare providers such a local doctors, audiologists, and hearing aid dispensers, may have limited knowledge of cochlear implants: how they work, who can benefit from a cochlear implant, or how to get an evaluation with the Cochlear Implant Team at the University of Iowa. The following information may help you to assist someone in your community with a severe hearing loss in finding the treatment they need.
MEMBERSHIP BUILDING
Building a strong membership involves the successful recruitment, timely induction, proper orientation of new members and immediate involvement in community service. Here are some brochures every club should have.
NEW TOOL FOR LIONS CLUB MEMBER ORIENTATION
PID Dave Stoufer and PDG Rachel Nicola have developed a new tool for orientation of new as well as current club members based on the TV game show, Jeopardy. Besides being educational and interesting, it is also fun as it involves the membership. They have designed the answers and questions to cover some of the main topics in both Lions Clubs International and Lions Clubs of Iowa. Use this tool at your club and/or zone meetings to inform your members. There are two separate games, one mainly deals with Lions in general, and the other has answers and questions mainly pertaining to Lions in Iowa.
To download both games and instructions for using, please click here.
mission statement:
To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs
