1.35 million Lions are spread over the world. Lions Clubs International is the largest service club organization in the world, having 45,000 clubs They are very similar to Sertoma in the fact that they are a service club that makes money to give it away. Founded in 1917, Lions Clubs International is best known for fighting blindness. In addition to helping in their communities, Lions members conduct vision screenings, equip hospitals and clinics, distribute medicine, and raise awareness of eye disease. Our speaker for today, Don Mork joined the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation three years ago because the cause is so close to home for him. He lost the vision in one of his eyes. He shared an interesting aspect of the Foundations efforts. They have their own breeding program for lead dogs and it helps prisoners who are training dogs to rehabilitate. They are partnered with the opthamology department at the University of Minnesota and established the Lions Eye Bank, which is now known as the Lions Gift of Sight . The U worked on a system to preserve the corneas, the outside covering of the black part of the eye which has made many more surgeries possible. Today they transplant only the inner layer of the cornea. Minnesotans who need this surgery remain at the top of the list of the University thanks to all the support of the Minnesota Lions Clubs.. 1968 saw the establishment of the best staffed and best chldren’s eye clinic. It is now located next to the Masonic Chidlren’s hospital through Lions donations to enable the move.. The Foundation established an eyeglass recycling that has recycled 10 1/2 million pairs of glasses mostly to South America. One of their current focus issues is macular degeneratiion.

1998 marked a tremendous effort for the Vision Foundation and Minnesota Lions club members when they pledged to fight the leading cause of blindness in the developed world – macular degeneration. They gave 2.5 million to the University of Minnesota to establish the Minnesota Lions Macular Degeneration Research and Rehabilitation Center (The MAC) and change the outlook for those who suffer from macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a disease of the retina that causes permanent loss to the central vision, and by age 75, nearly one-third of all Americans will experience some degree of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). For the elderly, this loss of sight is especially tragic since many are already dealing with other physical limitations The Lions have an advanced retinal imaging center that Don described as amazing. They are raising 40 million dollars to build a center for the opthamology department at the University that will pull all their resources together to work as a team to solve macular degeneration. They have a vision screening apparatus that is state of the art. They have a macular degeneration device they cll a reading machine that the Nisswa Lions construct and share with other clubs.

Don went on to talk about the other important parts of being Lion Don Mork. Lions Club are all co-ed and the current Nisswa President is a lady. Steven Walsh is the incoming Club President and he helped demonstrate the vision screening “camera” they brought with along with one of the reading machines. Tin tinnitus is an issue that they have made considerable progress due to Lions donations. The defense department eventually took over the project because so many veterans suffer from this problem. They ended with a demonstration of a machine that analyzes 5 different aspects of eyes on the spot for children with eye problems. Shannon was the demonstrator and was glad to hear she didn’t need glasses. They can do about 100 children an hour. They first used the machine in conjunction with their vision and hearing screening efforts with our Sertoma Club. The machine reduced the number of referrals from 15% to 7%. There are some issues with using the machine and it does cost $7,000.

Board Report
Click here to read the Board Summary—no official minutes were taken at the August meeting due to the lack of a quorum. September minutes will be the next report and this format will be followed to give the team more time to amend and approve the minutes before they are presented.
Announcements
Winter Wonderland Skaters would like to borrow some Pipe and Drape according to Rick Cole from morning Sertoma. See Dwan for WW posters!! Winter Wonderland is getting close to launch evening Thanksgiving weekend. Sai Gau $1500 scholarships application s are available for Sertoma relatives. See Mary Marana for applications forms
Upcoming Events
Brainerd Area Sertoma Club Calendar Got a big event coming up—want to let everyone know?Please send to Pam Sachs and it will be posted. brainerdareasertomaclubnews@gmail.com
Pipe and Drape Schedule
Pipe and Drape Schedule Ted Anderson 218-831-1372 or maryteda@charter.net Scott Fisher 218-821-5557 Dwan Eckstrom 218-639-0154
New  P &D Schedule
Blue Ticket Winner
Dave Burggraff
Pot-O-Gold Winner
Would have been Les Franz
Attendance
Members – 39 Guests – 6
Guests:Don Mork, Bonnie Mork and Steve Walsh), Rick Cole -Morning Sertoma, , Eric Larson, potential new member from Norson
* Everyone is encouraged to bring potential members to a Sertoma meeting with the Club picking up the cost. However, you will be billed $11.00 for any other guests. Sertoma Frequently Asked Questions PDF
Greeter Schedule
Remember: As greeter you have several duties. You need to arrive about 10 minutes early. It is your job to greet people, help them find their badges and sell them a ticket if they wish to participate. The money collected must be divided by the Greeters equally–half goes to the Current Club Treasurer for the social committee and half goes to the Club President along with the bucket of tickets. Greeter duties now include handing out the volunteer cards to everyone as they come in the door. They will still be collected in the bucket with the badges or can be submitted to the treasurer. Be there by 11:45 and call somebody to substitute for you if you can’t be there.
Nov 27 Kelsey Franzen, Veronica Franzen, Tyler Glynn December 4th Kevin Goedker, Dave Goos, Jim Grant December 11 Lisa Haberman, Russ Hale, Bob Hannahs Dec 18th Matt Hanneken, Bruce Heilman, Anita Hollenhorst December 25th NO MEETING Jan 1st NO MEETING Jan 8th Jonathan Howard, Jodi Hyatt, Chuck Isackson
Sertoman of the Day
Of Note
Nice publicity shot on the front page of the Dispatch for the Tail Gating event to benefit Mid Mn Women’s Shelter.
Facebook This is the link to the official Facebook page for the club. It will now be an interactive way for members to share pictures and comment on club activities. As with Walters Wacky Adventures Page–you can visit it without being a member of Facebook. Creating a Facebook account is easy and free. You can limit access to your page and just communicate with those people who are really your friends. Signing up is simple and by creating your “own” page you give yourself interactive abilities on the Brainerd Area Sertoma site. You can completely ignore your personal page if you wish. However, the profile and information pages may become THE way for us to update your data base information in the future. I am also totally available for phone consultations for people who want me to walk them through the Facebook site Ditch Pick Photo Album – Rookie Party Photo Album
Business Notes
Rumor Corner
The REM leader flunked greeting our potential new member today, we hope Eric from Nor Son will join anyway. There was some mention of no billing time. Our nice friends from the Nisswa Lions were back today to tell us about the Lions vision mission. Quite a crowd today with four guests and everyone in a holiday mood. Kathy’s getting Santa arrested story warranted a repeat performance for all the new people sitting at the newsletter end of the table. Karen M started her sergeant stint with a flannel shirt fine. The Pound got fined for not having someone pick up their fines. Thankful fines: Karla had a cancer scare cleared. Nikki’s husband is officially laid off and she has less kid duties. Shannon W was thankful for the big showing at the tail gating. Ken T was thankfuld for being able to put up his Scout display at WW, Dwan is happy for getting so much wonderful help for WW, and Pam S was thankful she could VOLUNTARILY contribute her happy dollar since Jeff O wasn’t there to pick on her. Jeff F wasn’t thankful enough for Karen , Lowell got fined $2 for his strut. According to the sergeant he was late but then the way he strutted in convinced her he must have been a chick magnet in his younger days. Karen is happy her daughter is headed home (to cook for her according to her buddy Charlie Ba). Karla’s groaner–why do Pilgrims pants fall down? They wear their belt buckles on their hat. Kathy countered with, April flowers bring May Flowers, what do May Flowers bring–answer Pilgrims.
International News
What’s Happening this Fall? Region meetings are continuing to take place all over the country! Be on the lookout for Aaron Ensminger, Sertoma’s Executive Director, as he will be attending most of these meetings. To find your region’s event date, scroll down and view our calendar below. As we move forward together this fall, here are a few important items to note. • Staff’s contact information has been added to the website. View the list! • Sertoma’s insurance manual includes new updates! Remember, your event is not covered unless properly reported to the insurance company 30 days in advance. If your club is hosting an event with over 2,500 attendees, please review the updated program and forms here. • The Sertoma Board is seeking a new Junior Vice President and Director at Large (three-year-term). Learn how to apply and view the upcoming election dates!

Sertoma North Minnesota District

Roster Updates/Change of Information
Send any changes of business, address, phone or email. The
roster will be updated and published at the beginning of each
quarter.

Club Roster
Shannon Wussow
320-293-2525
shannon.w@womenscenteronline.org

Program/Sertoman of the Month
Contact Reed or Lowell if you would like to participate and share your
personal and business details with the Club. Added bonus-you
cannot be fined on “your” day. Program ideas are always welcome
also.
Reed Campbell
rcampbell@anbmn.com
218-829-1484

Lowell Carlson
carlson02@brainerd.net
218-829-3251
Pipe and Drape
Contact Ted with Pipe and Drape information
or questions.

Ted Anderson 218-831-1372 or maryteda@charter.net
Scott Fisher 218-821-5557
Dwan Eckstrom 218-639-0154

If you are not receiving the newsletter notification or the
emails announcing special events, please contact Pam Sachs
either at 218-821-1130 or
brainerdareasertomaclubnews@gmail.com.