Merry Xmas to the Lions

The two Devonport Lions Club combined their efforts to celebrate Xmas at the Esst Devonport Lawn Bowls Club.

Katherine Hitch finds herself holding baby Norman!

Lions volunteers for the race gates...

Should be at the gates in Spreyton around 10am for the first race at 11am. Last race today is at 5:21pm.

Lion Walter---

Helping out with yardwork

A quick get-together got the yard of an elderly lady cleaned up in no time. Sometimes we just need to take care of these jobs.

Hard work does get rewarded!

No doubt we all had a few extra aches and pains ourselves the next day, but a job well done and much appreciated.

Norman Joseph Smith Born

Congratulations to Lion Robert and his wife Michelle with the recent birth of their new baby son Norman!

This photo was taken 3 hours after the birth, and appeared in the Advocate on December 15.

A day in the life of a Lion

President Sam's prize winning vegie patch...

A casual board-meeting...

Setting up for the Carols by Candlelight.

Sunday 14th December 2008, presented by the City of Devonport Lions Club and Soroptimist International, Carols by Candlelight brought the whole community together in a magical location by the sea; The Soundshell on Mersey Bluff. Local performers and musicians performed Christmas carols for hundreds of residents.

Serving our Community

We received a nice letter to thank us for a donation to the Central North West Wildlife Care and Rescue service - see below, and another nice letter from Giant Steps, the state’s most experienced specialist organisation for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, for sponsoring a child. We love to hear from those we help!

Devonport City Council Meetings

For your information:

The next DEVONPORT CITY COUNCIL meeting is TO BE HELD ON MONDAY 15 DECEMBER 2008 AT THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS COMMENCING AT 6.00PM. All interested parties welcome. The agenda is <here>.

Council meetings are normally held on the 3rd Monday of each month starting at 6.00 pm. Council meeting dates are advertised in The Advocate newspaper. Council meetings are open to the public and time is set aside for questions to Council from those attending. Copies of the Agenda for Council Meetings can be downloaded here, and are also available at the meeting.

Membership By-law not passed

At tonight's meeting the membership by-law as proposed by Lion George (see earlier article) did not pass. Although we feel the by-law has merit it could not be accepted as was. It was noted that in 1994 the new member selection policy was amended and it was suggested we remove that amendment again and revert to the original. More on this currently controversial topic later. 

Forestry Tasmania Guest Speaker

Brenton and President Gleeson

Our speaker for this meeting was Brenton Jansen, Community Liaison Officer for Forestry Tasmania in the Murchison District. He explained to us about the forestry practises and dispelled some of the misconceptions people have about forestry in Tasmania. Brenton explained that they follow strict guidelines and procedures to ensure that the environment is cared for and that forestry is managed for optimum community benefits using environmentally best practises that ensure long term wealth and employment for Tasmanians. This includes reforestation using seeds grown from the original forest. He also emphasised there was no more use of 1080 poison, and they now use culling methods that include humane traps and shooters and other techniques (ie. 'chess pieces' and 'scare crows'!) to stop possums etc from eating the young growth.

Forestry Tasmania harvests and regenerates about one percent of State forest each year, without using any chemicals – no herbicides, no pesticides and no wildlife poison. Neither do they turn native forest into plantations any more. Also the plantation forests now operate on 90 year cycles, allowing for the storing of carbon, providing habitat for wildlife and protecting biodiversity until the cycle of harvesting and regeneration begins again.

Brenton's job is to develop relationships in his District and provide a friendly first point of contact for members of the public wishing to discuss issues relating to State forest. You can email brenton or call him on 6434 6323.

Notice of Motion – Membership By-law

1. Members undertake to build the club.
   
2. Members are encouraged and expected to nominate new members and submit in writing the name and details to circulate among members either via committee meetings or at a general meeting.
   
3. Any member who has an objection may approach one or more of the membership committee stating reservation and reason. The Membership Committee shall collectively consider the objection and then recommend approval or disapproval to the Board of Directors. Full discussion on any objection shall take place. The nominee may then be invited to become a member.
4. It is recommended that the approved nominee be invited to the club meeting as a guest.
   
5. It is recommended that the nominator should fully outline the privileges and responsibilities including dues to the nominee and where possible meet with the spouse/partner to spell out what is involved.

Lion George Russell

Over 90s Party another success

The anual over 90's party was again  held last week in Devonport. No photos or reports available, but we did get this lovely letter from one of the participants:

President, Secretary and members of the Lions Club City of Devonport,

Dear Mr. Gleeson and members, I would like to say thank you for the lovely Saturday you did for the over 90s last week. Of course i was there as i am 94. I really enjoyed the singing and the company. It is a lovely thought of the Lions Club to do this. I was there last year too, and hope (if i am asked!) to be there when i am 100!!!

Kind regards to you all.

M.H. PS. Thank you to the nice man who came and picked me up too! Thank you....

Isn't that nice to read, and doesnt that make it all worth while. Looking forward to doing it again next year.

Lions Awards

We have received the Lions Club of Townsville Club Membership Marketing Guide! It is an interesting read, and very comprehensive. In it I found, amongst other interesting information, the various awards us Lions are elligible for. Although many of you already know of these, many of us do not!

1. Key Member Award
These awards are awarded by Lions International to Lions who have initially introduced 2 new Lions and those members have remained in Lions for 12 months and 1 day. More prestigious awards are made for 5 new members, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50. It is very rare that a
member in his/her time exceeds 20 but some people have chartered new Clubs which have to have a membership of 20 to be chartered.

2. President’s Award’s
At Installation night the out-going President generally will recognise members who have contributed to the Club during the year over and above what was expected of them. This could be a plaque, Certificate or Medal. Lion of the Year award is made by the President to a member who he considers has contributed the most to the Club during the year.

Service Awards

3. William R. Tresise Fellowship
William R. Tresise founded the Lions Organisation in Australia. A Lions Club may elect to make this award to a person (member or someone from the public) deemed to have given service to the community on the Club making a donation to the foundation of
$2,000. There are currently 260 recipients of the award.

4. Ian Stockdale Award
Ian Stockdale was one of the most popular and respected members of the Organisation serving as a District Governor and International Director. On payment by the Club of $1,000, the award is available for presentation to either a worthy Lions member or a member of the Public for community Service. 157 people have received this award.

5. James D. Richardson Certificate Award.
James D. Richardson was one of the most dedicated and respected early leaders of Lions in Australia serving as the second District Governor and Australia’s first International Director. This award is for Service to the community and is made on payment of $500 to the Australian Lions Foundation. There have been 3,384 awards made since inception.

6. Melvin Jones Fellowship
Melvin Jones was the Founder of the Lions Organisation. This award may be used to recognise outstanding Lions or members of the Public who have made a significant contribution to Lionism. The award costs US$2,500. These funds are used to assist Sight First around the world and also money is made available for disasters worldwide.

7. Life Membership
I believe the ultimate award in Lions is Life Membership. Criteria for this is: A member is required to serve at least 15 years as a member and served on District, Multiple District or International Boards. Alternatively, 20 years active membership as a
minimum. Such a member would have given excellent service to Lions and be consider a worthy recipient by
his/her peers i.e. the Club, District or International. Nominations are usually made by the Club to Lions International and payment of US$600. A nomination is not done lightly and it is not necessarily the case done on the minimum years of service. Granting of this award is made by Lions International on the Clubs application. A Metal Certificate is presented together with a Lapel Badge.

Red Cross

Noelene from the Red Cross came to talk to us about their services in Tasmania. Apart from the 27 services they provide in Tasmania the Red Cross has geared themselves to not only provide relief after disasters (on personal, family or population scale) but also prevent disasters from occurring. That means delivering meal services to the elderly, emergency home alarm service, first aid training, patient and prison support and another great one, Community Visitors Scheme where volunteers befriend people with mental illness in the community to help them socialise and become part of the community. Another service the Red Cross does in Tasmania is with their Good Start Breakfast Club, providing healthy breakfasts for children who would otherwise have nothing to eat before they leave home.The Red Cross Mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and internationally by mobilising the power of humanity.

Pictured above is our City of Devonport Lions Club Board Director Walter van Praag who's mother Connie spent time in a Swiss Red Cross run children's camp in France after the second world war! She now enjoys the safety of a Red Cross emergency button in her Canberra home where she lives on her own.

The Red Cross website is here: http://www.redcross.org.au/TAS

Spirit of the Sea water feature

On Tuesday 11 November 2008 the public appeal for the Spirit of the Sea water feature started in full force at the Dannebrog Cafe Bar and Grill. and the website with all the information about the project was launched: www.spiritofthesea.com.au. You might be surprised to learn, that despite the myths in the community that this project still needs funding. It is not a council project, it is a project BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.

Just to set the facts straight, the story started close to 4 years ago when one man saw one sculpture in the making and had a thought for it to be put on the breakwater.This man got together with his service club and they got together with other clubs and organisations. The man was George Russell, and his service club was the City of Devonport Lions Club. The statue, which will become a water feature with seawater flowing over it, is what is now known as the Spirit of the Sea and artist was Aden McLeod, a resident of Devonport . A 20-person committee was formed representing all the interested parties.

One thing led to another, a place was found for this water feature with the - on private land (Tas Ports ) - and council approval was sought. Just like anybody erecting any kind of structure, it requires council approval. The statue erection was eventually approved after long and careful consideration of the Devonport Council . To raise the kind of money required to realise this project the committee went looking for avenues of funding. They applied for grants and managed to secure one from the Tasmania state government. And as any-one doing a large public project would, they now started a public appeal to cover the remaining funds required. It has taken almost 4 years of hard work to get this far.

The controversy that has some people up in arms raises valid questions if this was in fact a council project, but it is not a council project. It is a private project initiated by the community to aid the community. Statues and prominent features have long been identified with cities, from the litte Manneken Piss in Brussels that draws millions of tourists to Belgium each year, to the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Eiffel tower in Paris. Some argue that the artist is not a native Tasmanian, or that the artwork is not good enough; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and not everybody likes the same. When the statue itself was on display at Aden McLeod's Devonport Showground studio the visitors book was overflowing with positive comments.

The Spirit of the Sea was 'discovered' and thought suitable as a base for a water feature on Aikenhead Point at the end of the foreshore, at the entrance of the Mersey river . Thousands of people agree. There are many other pieces of art and notable tourist attractions  in our region that have been erected with the help of government or council grants that people may question the aesthetics of, and that is OK, we need variety. Variety is intrinsically what art is all about; there is no formulae for taste. But if anyone cares to undertake a huge project like this they ought to be commended, and they will find that many service clubs will probably even offer their support.

When The Spirit I or II sails in or out of Devonport  many tourists will come on deck and take pictures of the glistening water feature that will become synonymous with Devonport. When sailers and fishermen go in and out of port they will smile at the Spirit of the Sea as it welcomes them home or wishes them well on their journey. When tourists get off the Spirit I and II they will want to take a closer look and have a reason to go into town and not turn onto the highway to go straight to Cradle and Sheffield and Deloraine and Strahan... Tourists can park at the Maritime museum and walk over, or have a BBQ at the Vietnam memorial and wander over. With the water flowing over the statue it will be a much photographed feature on the point.

In case people think Devonport has room for only one tourist feature, look at Vienna . A city that has hundreds of artistic attraction from any vantage point, and although we are not Vienna, we do not only have space, but we have a great need to dress up our fore-shore area! The more the merrier, and if other projects can be initiated, maybe an art-contest to beautify the area, then anyone or any organisation has the right to initiate that, seek funding and approval and do something to built the town we live in. Moreover, it is likely that the same people behind The Spirit of the Sea will be just as supportive for any other tourist attraction or feature to beautify or enhance the town we live in.

Pictured above is the dedicated committee consisting of respected leaders of our community who all believe that The Spirit of the Sea water-feature will mean a significant boost to Devonport and Tasmania , and through the grant approval this view is endorsed by the Tasmanian Government and the Devonport Council which went through a thorough approval process.

29th District Convention

On Friday evening, 7 November 2008, The Lions Clubs International 29th District Convention got under way at Camp Banksia! The Changing Face of Lions is hosted by the Lions Club of Port Sorell and the opening went off without a hitch. The official opening was attended by Latrobe's Mayor Michael Gaffney and the Governor of Tasmania, The Honourable Peter Underwood. Both spoke kind words, followed by a flag ceremony and a performance by the Crescendo Choir.

The choir directed by Elizabeth Sandman.

The flags were carried in by various scouting groups and Zone Chairman Lion John Brook was officiating the procedure.

The informal BBQ before and the Reception afterwards were well received and very well attended.

Great speakers with new projects

The 29th District Convention for District 201 T1 was peppered with great speakers and guests. Here are just a few mentions:

The Forth Valley Lions Club adopted the 'Prostate Pete's Undies Line' for prostate cancer awareness and research support for the next three years. They wish to find enough undies with money pinned to it to stretch across Australia. If women can do it with bra's for breast cancer, then we can do the same. Prostate cancer is a bigger killer in men than breast cancer is to women. It is an important issue that all clubs in our district need to participate in!

• Sid Scruggs, 2nd International Vice President, and his wife Judy came over from North Carolina to be with us. HE had a motivating speech that made us go WOW. WOW stands for Wonderful, Opportunity (or obligation) and Winning. He also redefined LIONS: Loving Individuals Offering Needed Services.
  

• Lion Bob Korotcoff, Lions Australia Programme Consultant, spoke to us about insurance issues. Surprisingly he had an entertaining and very informative talk which had no one yawning! He insists we can all call him regarding any insurance issues relating to Lions Projects or Lions as individuals, and not forget Personal or Travel Insurance: <click>. He also reminded us that insurance cover certificates are available from their website: http://www.lionsinsurance.com.au.

• Ben Kiely, Past National Youth of the Year 2002 recipient, spoke to us about his experience post award. Ben has since studied Law and Arts at The University of Melbourne and graduated in 2008. In 2005/06 he completed a three month internship with Reprieve at the Gulf Region Advocacy Centre (GRACE) in Houston, Texas, working on several death penalty cases. Since returning from Houston, Ben stayed involved with Reprieve and has previously served as its Executive Officer. He is currently working at Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Melbourne. One thing he impressed upon us was how lucky we are to be where we are in this world.
  

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back , a roof overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness.... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.

If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 700 million people
in the world.

If you can attend church without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death .. you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.

If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you are unique to all those in doubt and despair.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

• Carlene King, the National Chairperson of the Lions Prostate Cancer Awareness Program enlightened us with a speech about Prostate cancer; what we can and should do, and she did not use the obvious diagram:
  
  She also referred us to their award winning website: http://www.prostatehealth.org.au.

• The Kingborough's Lions Club spoke to us about the Tulip Bulb sales for Parkinson's Tasmania Inc. It is an extremely successful initiative that raised $14800 through 32 clubs in the district selling 25000 bulbs. They ran out! 

Camp Banksia

Camp Banksia was appropriately adorned with all the flags. The Crescendo Choir was there to wake us up on the odd occasion.

Some of the Devonport contingent...

The Executive...

Lions Remembrance Ceremony at Port Sorell

The last day of the conference started with a remembrance ceremony to remember those of us who passed away this year.

Unfortunately there were plenty... For each Lion deceased one rose was tied to a surf ski and paddled out to sea to be solemnly released. As the Crescendo Choir sang Rod Stewart's 'We are Sailing' most of us quitely shed a tear and remembered our loved ones.


Heading back to Camp Banksia...

The 2008 District Convention Banquet

To finish a day of serious business we ended up letting our hair down at the Axemans Hall of Fame at Bells Parade, Latrobe. All seats were sold out, and those lucky enough to have tickets enjoyed the food and wine and before desert were treated to a glittering performance of Priscilla by the Lions Club of Kentish. 'On Again' the band, played throughout the evening.

Some of us got carried away...

Some of us had bones to pick with the Latrobe council....

The evening ended when the last busses left the venue close to midnight.

MORE PHOTOS IN THE SLIDESHOW <HERE>!!

What exactly do we do?

Apollo Birch, president of Latrobe Lions features in this promotional clip six minute presentation! Remind yourself of what we Lions do, right around our big country.

World Festival of Magic Success

This year was yet another successful year for the Magic Show hosted by the City of Devonport Lions Club. The World Festival of Magic is the longest running international magic show of its kind, touring for 20 years and seen in 55 different Australian places.

This year Michael Boyd was supported by Jeton the Gentleman Juggler and Todd Charles with his Banjo from New York. The attendance was wonderful, with about 250 people in the audienceat the afternoon show and a full house (400?) for the evening performance. There was a large contingent from the East Devonport Primary school, numerous groups of happy parents with children, accompanied intellectually and physically disabled people as well as groups of elderly from the various care centres in the area,...

Michael Boyd was accompanied by three very slim dancers who helped him with his dangerous tricks that included a young boy from the audience who volunteered to get his head cut off by a guillotine. Other tricks included fire, trunks, chains, saws going through heads and arrows through bodies. Another magic trick saw Michael's own head and limbs being stretched beyond any human limit.

We saw the amazing Todd Charles from New York who thought he just came to play the Banjo, but once he was convinced this was a Magic Show also pulled off some good tricks using his banjo and magic lights and spinning plates. To top it off he broke open the big chest marked ATM3K. This was the 'Amazing Todd Machine 3000' made from human heads and animal toys that he hit with drum sticks. It was a big hit leaving the audience in tears as he played classical tunes by beating the toy heads.

(Click play above to listen to Todd Charles intro song!)

Jeton the Gentleman Juggler from Germany came on stage looking like a perfect gentleman, starting with a hat juggle. He juggled better than any juggler I have seen for a very very long time.

Michael came back with more amazing magic acts including making his coffee disappear into a newspaper which he ripped up, reassembled and poured the coffee out again. We certainly could use some magic of that calibre in our Club!

At the end the loveliest of the three dancers and Michael were on hand to sign the magic book and DVD which was available for sale. A great show for all!

We thank all the supporters who bought tickets for the disadvantaged people in and around Devonport who attended the shows, and us Lions hope to do this all again next year!

Lions TV Commercial

Promoting Lions Service Clubs in Australia!

Support your own Club

Our Lions traditional Christmas cakes are available in on consignment, no upfront cash needed, from Michael Johnston's shop; the MIANDETTA STORE on Berrigan Road in Miandetta.

Make sure you pick up at least one box of 12 little cakes. They are easy to sell and nice to give away as presents! As a member we should all feel obliged to sell a box each. It also gives us an opportunity to tell people about the Lions Club and what we do, and who knows they might like to come along as a guest one day.

Tasmanian Regional Arts

Paul Jenkins, Executive Director of Tasmanian Regional Arts spoke to us at our last meeting. He emphasised the importance of art as a guidance tool for youth through personal experiences. Art for art's sake was one of his messages, and he is right, we need to surround ourselves with art for art's sake. No excuses! Sometimes art is hard to comprehend or even to recognise something as art, but that is the intrigue. We need to think about art and interpret the artist's work.

Art is the process or product of creatively arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions, and can also encompass a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. At Tasmanian Regional Arts the mission is to enhance our (not just our club's!) cultural landscape. and providing opportunities for touring visual and performing arts, skills development, networking and funding. They also develop and deliver cultural projects and community events with a focus on well being and young people.

Check out their website: http://www.arts.tas.gov.au.