Tuesday, Aug.21 is our next meeting. Pres. DON NEVIASER is once again the Program Host, and he will introduce Rachelle Richardson, who will show and tell us about a documentary film that she made on the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Not a pleasant subject, but an enormous problem. Hopefully we will also hear about some solutions — there was an item on TV the other night about a woman who runs an orphanage for the children of AIDS victims. One small step, at least.

At our last meeting the TailTwister charged an exorbitant fee for the use of a chair for lunch. Where is JIM KEMMETER when we need him? There must be some sort of legal challenge to mount against this rampant extortion! This new TT is shaping up as a worse tax-levier than Gov. Doyle, if that’s possible.

We are currently mailing 27 copies of the Lions Tale. The Postal Service now requires the submission of an eight-page form with each mailing. We apparently are in the same class, as far as the USPS is concerned, as Sports Illustrated. Don’t look for a swimsuit issue of the Tale, though.

Pres. DON NEVIASER opened the meeting with a duck joke. Not all it was quacked up to be. OTTO FESTGE was on hand, and with him leading we got through the singing of “America” pretty well. The Pledge of Allegiance went off without too many commas, with JOHN JENSON as flagpole, and DALE MUELLER offered a prayer for our government officials in his invocation. Good idea, they need all the help they can get.

The only guest introduced was Lioness SUE HINELINE from Waunakee, OTTO’s daughter and chauffeur. Nice to have them both with us.

MELISSA NOVINSKI filled in for JODI BURMESTER as salesperson for the WLF statewide “Sports Raffle For The Kids.” Proceeds from ticket sales ($5 each, five for $20) are divided half to WLF for Lions Camp and half to the club that sells them, for their club service work. See MELISSA or JODI for a list of prizes — there are a lot of them, particularly for golfers — and tickets. Except when Tiger Woods plays, golf is pretty much of a gamble anyways, so we ought to be able to sell a lot of tickets to golfers.

MELISSA also reminded us of the Combat Blindness 5K Walk on Sept. 8. If you can’t walk, you can sponsor her with a pledge to the Combat Blindness Foundation. Register online at combatblindness.org.

SANDY LESLIE reminded us about Lions Night at the Races, at Charter Raceway in Beaver Dam on Aug. 18. Tickets to the car races are $8.00 with proceeds benefitting the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin. There will be a collection point at the track for used eyeglasses, also. If you’re a race car fan, call SANDY for more information.

HAL OTTERBACK noted that he has placed an eyeglass collection bucket at the Optical office at the Veterans Hospital. These collection buckets are a good source of used eyeglasses for our service — if you can find a place to put one, HAL will get one for you. They are identified with the placing Lion’s name and phone number, and you need to visit yours regularly to collect the glasses.

We are staffing UW concession stands again this year. Several Lions Clubs participate, and the proceeds are divided according to hours worked by members of each club. Last year our members’ hard work made several thousand dollars for our service fund, and had a lot of fun working with members of other Lions Clubs. There are three steps: one) check the game schedule to see what games you can work, two) check the volunteer schedule to see when you are needed, and three) volunteer online. It is all on the internet, and we need your help to take the slots available. If you have questions, ask SCOTT GROVER or expatriate Lion CHUCK BASFORD.

Pres. DON introduced the speaker, Enid Glenn of the Wis. Dept. Of Workforce Development. Her Division of Vocational Rehabilitation works to place people with disabilities in jobs that they can handle. It is for people with disabilities who need services to prepare for work, or find and keep a job. Their counselors meet with and evaluate each eligible applicant to determine the severity of his/her functional limitations. They can then help the applicant with guidance, locating a job, assistive technology and training. Jobs are critically important to people with disabilities, providing not only income, but structure, a sense of purpose and self-worth. Services are tailored to the needs of each client, and they have served over 38,000 people, 2,600 of whom have reached their goals over a period of 2 to 9 years. Most of these people would be unable to make it on their own, and employment keeps them off the streets and out of other even more expensive welfare-type programs. The Dept. seeks and receives help from employers and volunteer agencies like United Way.