Club Election Night

This night we all agreed on a new board to head us into the next year. The following positions were voted/agreed upon:
President Lion Jim Pearson, Immediate Past President Lion Philip Gleeson, Vice President Lion Stephen Trewin, Vice President Lion Jenny Rimmer, Vice President Lion Robert Smith, Secretary Lion Lewis Slater (Bill), Treasurer Lion Dale Hawken, Lion Tamer Lion Kevin Wills, Tail Twister Lion Geoff Phillips, 1 Year Director Lion John Momsen, 1 Year Director Lion Mark Self, 2 Year Director Lion Hos Koerner, 2 Year Director Lion Robert Cameron and last but most certainly not least the Membership Director Lion Walter van Praag. We wish them all a great 2009/10 year, they still have till the Change Over dinner before they will assume these roles!

Recognition of Services to the Community

You may already know that the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) recognises the work we do through awards. But did you know we also have a special recognition that is not limited to Lions members? The Melvin Jones Fellowship is the LCIF's highest honor and represents humanitarian qualities such as generosity, compassion, and concern for the less fortunate.

The fellowship, which was created in 1973, is named in honor of the founder of Lions Cubs International, Melvin Jones. When an individual, club or district donates US$1,000 to LCIF for a Melvin Jones Fellowship, an inscribed plaque and lapel pin are presented to the specified individual.

More information can be found <here>.

MEMBERSHIP OF A LIONS CLUB

The following is an excerpt from the Club Administration Manual - version 3. As the Lions Club as an organisation has to change with the times and some of the below criteria may not be practical, we still have to abide by our constitution, and this means that until we are advised otherwise we do have to follow the below protocol:

Membership by Invitation

Membership in a Lions Club is by invitation only. Nominations shall be made on forms provided by the international office, which shall be signed by a member in good standing who shall act as sponsor. The form is then submitted to the Membership Chairman or the Club Secretary, who, after investigation, shall submit the same to the Board of Directors.

If approved by a majority of the Board, the prospect may then be invited to become a member of the Club. A properly filled out membership form duly signed, as well as the entrance fee and dues, must be in the hands of the Club Secretary before the member is reported to and officially recognised by the association as a Lion member by means of the Club MMR report.

It is pointed out that ‘his/her’ means that no Club may exclude male or female members on the grounds of gender alone and there is a clear International Board policy ruling to that effect. Within Multiple District 201, such discrimination may be illegal and/or leave the Club open to legal action in some states. Clubs should thoroughly investigate the background of all persons proposed for membership in the Club. Said investigation may include inquiries in the community where the proposed individual resides or has a place of business or is employed.

The wisdom of this suggestion is clear – Lions Clubs enjoy a considerable level of respect within the community, and no Club should risk losing that respect by accepting members having an unacceptable background.

Our Constitution provides for membership solely by invitation; that invitation should not be issued if the Club Board has any doubts. In recent years, many Clubs have not fully investigated new members. Often, this is reflected in retention figures; the new members do not stay in the Club for more than a year or two. The questions should always be asked, ‘Will that person make a good Lion, and does he/she have the support of their family?’

Old Fashioned at the races

Lion Walter backs up his old trailer at the race-course... It was a quite day at the races but we were there to do our bit! Thank you John, Bill, Walter, Dale and Jeffrey...

Lunch at Orana

Twice a year the City of Devonport Lions Club arranges lunch at the Orana Respite Centre. The people that we feed always look forward to the food we cook for them. This was the first time where the ingredients were provided for us - following a corporate OH&S decision by Baptcare. Although the food was not as fresh as when we used to supply the ingredients, it sure made life a lot easier for us Lions and the residents did not complain!

From our foundation...

Our Devonport Lions club (now Lions Club of City of Devonport) was founded officially on 30th September 1959 which means this year 2009 we will have been in existence for 50 years. The club received its charter in February 1960. We started with 23 members then grew to 58 members over some years. It was a simple matter of inviting a friend, associate, a person known to you and nominating him to gain general approval for welcome and induction. I had the pleasure of regularly bringing new members into the club from the beginning and over the years brought in some 50-60 members into the club, most of whom made a wonderful contribution to the life of the club.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of our club has been in the formation of other new clubs in the North West Region of the State. Penguin was our first endeavour and now that club will celebrate 47 years of community involvement and success. Penguin in turn has continued to form other new clubs, the most noteworthy being King Island because of the difficulties in getting there. Lion Will Barker took a prominent role as he was a Parliamentary Representative on the House of Assembly and King Island was part of his electorate. There were others who had interest to go there and the members took it in turn to go there and establish the club which has a fine record. After Penguin we followed with Ulverstone, Kentish, Mersey, Deloraine and in the early years reformed Burnie after they declined and we were asked to revive them and they became a very successful club.

Lion George Russell
Founding Member

Lions Youth of the Year

These three young people were put in the spotlight tonight to compete for a spot in the regional finals of the Lions Youth of the Year Award (Sunday 29th of March in Latrobe). From left to right: Lexie Magill, Erica de Jong and Fred Gott. They were asked challenging questions about the $42B Economic Stimulus Package, the Victorian Bushfires and asked to speak about a subject of their own choice.

Lexie, above, won the speakers award for the night after her passionate speech about street photography. Erica, pictured below, was the Club Winner, her talk gingerly focused on the good and the bad of religion in society. Erica moves on to compete with the other clubs' winners for the regional title and then, if all goes well, the state and then the National Lions Clubs' Youth of the Year award. Fred spoke about his experience as an exchange student for a year in Switzerland which he absolutely loved, but brought home the fact that he was not only Australian, but fore mostly and proudly to be from Tasmania, our bit of paradise!

 

No doubt we will come across all three of the above contestants again and again in the future as all three are very promising youths of Devonport. Congratulations to all three and special thanks to the distinguished judges Diane, Kim and Geoff and Lion Robert Smith for organising it all as the committee chair!

Youth of the Year

Don't forget this Thursday's meeting is the Youth of the Year club judging for us! This means we will have the three finalists for our club speaking and being judged. The winner on Thursday will move on to the state finals. Read more on the Youth of the Year <here >

Crowds at the Taste 2009

 

Thousands of people, a great sunny day and plenty of entertainment and food made the perfect recipe for a fantastic day out. Click the above photo to see the panorama.

Taste the Harvest Succes

Entertainment included Cool Train, the Retrosexuals, the Red Hot Roosters, Daniel Bicanski, the Love Gods, Daniel Lebkowski, Charles Bobongie and the Australian Navy Band. We had musical performances by the awe-inspiring acrobat duo PopEyed, the Slipstream Circus, and Simon Astley. There was a celebrity chef demonstration by Phil Piper from Glo Glos. And all in the one day!

Preparing for the Taste

The Taste the Harvest dinner was a great success again! Entertained by Cool Train and with a nice mix of alcoholic beverages we were fed exuisite local produce till we were stuffed to the brim. Almost 150 were present!

Lions were on hand the next morning to help with the cleanup of the Reece High School venue, and other Lions members were at the Mersey Foreshore preparig for Sunday's main event; The Taste of the Harvest.

Bales of local hay are a crucial ingredient of the event, supplied by Harvest Moon.

Plenty of tents and chairs to set up too...

One more sleep!

Popular Spirit

I checked the Spirit today and was pleased to find plenty of admirers!

Locals and visitors alike came down the pier to take photos and read the inscription.

All visitors had nothing but praise for him, I was very pleased!

Taste the Harvest Dinner tickets - last chance!

As we all know next Sunday is Taste The Harvest at the Mersey Foreshore! 

More importantly, the Taste the Harvest Celebration Dinner is on next Friday night at Reece High School at 630pm!! The dinner is a food and wine extravaganza with an agricultural and local produce theme,with the entertainment and drinks all included in the ticket price.

Catering for a wide variety of tastes, past offerings have included potato and vegetable dishes, venison, seafood, beef and lamb. Fresh berries and desserts are a popular repast and wonderful Tasmanian wine, beer, cheeses and quality coffee can accompany all the gourmet foods.

This year it is held at Reece High School, and 170 tickets have already been sold. No walk-ins allowed, you need to buy a ticket! Tickets ($100 per person) are still available from the LJ Hooker office in Devonport (Opposite Coles), just ask to be seated at the City of Devonport Lions table - unless you have other plans! Note the $100 represents EXCELLENT value, value you cannot appreciate till you have experienced the dinner.

Here is the menu - the suggested wines are also included in the $100 :

Course One:
Parmesan wafer Salad
Fresh apples from Spreyton, rocket and Ashgrove wild wasabi cheese, drizzled with fig balsamic glaze and black truffle olive oil, topped with a parmesan wonton wafer crisp.
Suggested accompaniment beverage – Ghost Rock Sauvignon Blanc
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Two:
Petuna Seafood’s Salmon selection plate
Smoked salmon layered on potato & zucchini herb frittatas with dill sour cream. Hot Smoked Salomon roulades filled with Philadelphia cheese, capers, capsicum and fennel, drizzled with local strawberry vinaigrette dressing.
Suggested accompaniment beverage – Barring wood Park Pinot Gris
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Three:
Roma Chicken Grill
Nicholas poultry chicken breast baked on a fresh garden vegetable stack of eggplant, butternut pumpkin, capsicum, local brocolini and Roma tomatoes, sprinkled with mozzarella cheese and served with fresh summer salsa.
Suggested accompaniment beverage – Hillwood Vineyard Pinot Noir
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Four:
Food Design’s Spicy Beef Fillet
Tasmanian Eye Fillet Beef Medallions Char-Grilled (medium), sliced and layered upon Steamed snow peas, peppers and Jasmine rice, accompanied with a spicy coriander (cilantro) relish and garnished with chiffonnade carrot and beetroot.

Suggested accompaniment beverage – Velo Wines Cabaret Sauvignon
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Five:
Molten Chocolate Pudding Cakes
Anvers chocolate molten lava cakes, served warm with a warm mocha espresso shot and garnished with fresh Christmas hills raspberries and King Island double cream.
Suggested accompaniment beverage – Tamar Ridge Botrytis Riesling

Lion Walter----

Devonport Celebrates the Spirit of the Sea

Workers put the Spirit of the Sea sculpture into place on the Devonport foreshore. (ABC News: Michael Brooks)

The above photo came from the ABC website <here >.

The Labor Member for Braddon, Brenton Best today launched the Spirit of the Sea at the mouth of the Mersey River in Devonport.  Read all about it in the Tasmanian Government Media Release <here >.