PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (July 30th)

I often hear the word “service club” when people refer to Lions, which prompted me to wonder just how accurate that expression is. So what exactly are service clubs? A Service Club is a type of voluntary, non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined first by its service mission. Secondary membership benefits, such as social occasions, networking, and personal growth opportunities encourage involvement. These organizations are commonly tax exempt, as through the United States 501(c)3. Yep. That’s the Lions. Keep Reading.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with 45,000 clubs and nearly 1.35 million members in 200 countries around the world. Its motto is "We Serve". The international headquarters is situated in Oak Brook, Illinois. Lions Clubs International was founded in the United States in 1917 by Melvin Jones. Jones once said "You can't get very far until you start doing something for somebody else." Membership is by invitation and regular attendance at meetings is expected. Lions are a community-based organization with a hierarchy that can take a member from a club to office at zone, district, national (also known as multiple district) and international levels. All funds raised by Lions Clubs from the general public are used for charitable purposes, with administrative costs kept separate and paid for by members.

We should all be proud to be members of this particular Service Club. Our listing of local charitible donations alone is quite impressive. Curious? Just ask our secretary or treasure to run the list sometime. We Serve really says it all.

We Serve ……… John Page

TODAY’S MEETING (July 30th)

Steen Hansen, CEO with Boussard Corp. will speak to the Club

BIRTHDAYS ANNIVERSARIES

Ralph Scott – July 31st Tim & Stephanie Weaver – Aug. 2nd

COMING ATTRACTIONS

August 6 … Tony DiCecco, Katerina Kakoyianni-Bering UNI Women's Soccer Coach and 2 players will speak to the club

August 13 … Carey Darrah, Cedar Valley Tech Works, will speak to the club

August 20 … Summer Picnic

LAST MEETING (July 16th)

Russ Wasendorf presented an intriguing overview of his company’s development and upcoming move to Cedar Falls from downtown Chicago. The Peregrine Financial Group is a financial risk management firm that has 261 offices in 40 countries with customers in 100 different countries. The company now completes 93% of its business on-line. Peregrine currently is the 30^th largest non-banking firm trading over one trillion dollars a day in currency.

The company was founded in Cedar Falls but relocated to Chicago in 1994 because Mr. Wasendorf could not find employees locally to grow his business, which was expanding at a rate of 23% per year.

After 10 years in Chicago it became apparent to Russ that the “Big City” life style was not comfortable or conducive. Seeking less traffic, smaller crowds and better schools he investigated moving back to Cedar Falls. By simply moving his company to Cedar Falls employees will reap a 30% pay increase due to the lower cost of living and ability to have children attend public schools vs. private schools. Construction has now begun on a new “Gold Standard Green Building” near the Beaver hills Country Club. The construction will take 2 years with time off during September to allow the Indiana bat to reproduce, which are the only species of plant, or animal that would be negatively affected by the construction.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

None

IT'S GREAT TO BE A LION!