Taftville Lions Club

Taftville Lions Club
Md 23-District 23-C
Connecticut United States
Club Number:0000060877

Page created at2001-09-22
and Last updated at:2009-05-29.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICES:

1. We have Elected our new slate of officers at our April Business Meeting; please plan on attending the installation of Officers at the June 11^th meeting! The Elected Officers for 2009-2010 are:
President John Quercia
1st Vice President Charles Miclette
2nd Vice President Tia Bettencourt
Secretary Priscilla Lewis
Treasurer Jack Browne
The Board of Directors: Shirley Browne, Michael Lewis, Nancy Miclette, Mary Tetrault,
Lion Tamer Joan Eaton
Membership Chairman Steve Eaton
Tail Twister Richard Laidley
Immediate Past President Joan Eaton.

2. We also have 2 new members to be sworn in at our June 11^th meeting; Please try to attend this very important FINAL meeting of the year!

ALSO…
PLEASE KEEP THESE DATES OPEN & Plan to Attend and Support Your Club:

June 3^rd Slice & Dice at the K of C Taftville

June 4^th Pasta Supper AND OUR NIGHT OF GIVING!!!

June 7^th, 2009 is our Annual Family Picnic and will be held this year at the Mohegan Park Pavilion from 11:00AM to Sunset. Plenty of Food, Fun & Games! Make sure you put this date on your calendar and plan to attend!!! IT IS a FREE FUNCTION but you are welcome to bring a pot luck item or a dessert item to share with everyone!

June 11^th is the Final Meeting of the Year, the Installation of Officers and the initiation of the new members.

CONGRATULATIONS go out to: Joan Eaton who was the recipient of one of the HIGHEST Awards in Lionism: the "Melvin Jones Award". You are a true example of an unselfish, totally committed Lion! Everything you do exemplifies the true meaning of being a Lion: "to Serve". What an honor it is for the Taftville Lions Club to have had such a worthy candidate for this very prestigious award.

Our Corned Beef & Cabbage Supper, held on March 19^th was very well supported. Everyone who attended really enjoyed the meal and many of the patrons took advantage of the FREE eye screening that we had going on at the same time! A BIG thank-you goes out to Lion Steve Eaton for cooking the meal!

Our Holiday Party was held on March 26^th at the K of C hall. We had another GREAT time. The food was great as usual and the Yankee swap was very enjoyable as always! Thanks go out to the Holiday Party Committee for another fine job! A very BIG thank-you goes out to everyone who donated to the food basket to be delivered to the local food bank.

We are looking for your favorite recipes for our Taftville Cook book which we are trying to put together this year. Bring them in to any meeting!

REMINDER: Dues Are Due! Your Dues of $60.00 per member were due June 1st for 2008-2009. You should have received a notice already by mail regarding your dues. PLEASE>>>Remit dues or send any dues questions to Taftville Lions, Attn. Jack Browne, PO Box 315, Taftville, CT 06380 or contact any Taftville Lions Officer.

We are trying to save money so, beginning in September, the newsletter will be sent via E-Mail to whoever has an email address. PLEASE send me an email at: williriz@yahoo.com so that I can add your name to our newsletter list. ALSO, the website is updated on a regular basis with all of our functions, meetings and general information!

THANK_YOU- THANK_YOU-THANK YOU!!!On Saturday, February 14th, Valentines Day, the Taftville Lions held their 2nd annual Sweetheart Dance benefiting Camp Rising Sun. Under the guidance of Lion Tia Bettencourt a sold out crowd was treated to hot and cold appetizers during the coctail hour followed by a fantastic buffet dinner and dessert. Dancing followed with music provided by the Shooting Star band of Hilltop restaurant legend. They haven't lost their touch. Raffles were held distributing over $1,000.00 worth of prizes. The big winner of the night was Lion Mary Tetrault walking away with a $250.00 Wilson leather bombers jacket. The festivities continued until past midnight and a great time was had by all who attended. Unfortunately almost 30 guests were turned away as we were sold out a month before. The good news is that
Lion Tia and her committee raised $3,131.00 for Camp Rising Sun and the check will be presented at our Night of giving in June. If anyone would like to attend our next event on October 3rd, please contact Lion Diane Rizzuto @ willriz@yahoo.com . We already have over 50 signed up who attended this one. Fear not, we are just forming a list....but first come first serve when we get going. Soon the CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE will not only be known as the best place to get pasta but also the Hottest place to party.

The Night of Giving was held after the June 5, 2008 Pasta Supper:

Our 2008 Night of Giving Totals:
Our Annual Night of Giving was held on June 5, 2008. Another very successful year was proven once again. We distributed over $14,000.00 of fundraiser money that we collected throughout the year, to Local groups, State Charities and Local Organizations. Funds that came from the monthly Pasta Suppers, Breakfast Buffets, Bread & Cookie Dough Sales, Plant Sales, a Walk-A-Thon, T-Shirt Sales, a Valentine Dance, Bottle & Can pick-ups, Yard Sales, Misc. Raffles, Donations, Used Clothing Sales, and Lions Placemat Sales, all supported the Gifts that were given out. Thanks to all of the dedicated Lions and Patrons who participated throughout the year to help raise these funds. As you can see by the Gifts listed below, it is definitely worth the effort:

Kelly Middle School Athletic $1740.00
Taftville Little League Sign $150.00
LCIF $475.00
Lions Low Vision $1650.00
CLERF $550.00
CRIS Radio $250.00
Diabetes $500.00
Camp Rising Sun $2,200.00
Moriarty School $1,800.00
Sacred Heart School Computer Lab $1115.00
Hearing & Speech $800.00
Fidelco $1,370.00
Otis Library $330.00
Campaign Sight 1st II $450.00
Taftville Food Pantry $1,350.00
Taftville Pride FLAGS
Taftville Pride Landscape Merchants Ave

Your Current Officers for 2008-2009 are:
President John Quercia
1st Vice President Charles Miclette
2nd Vice President Tia Bettencourt
Secretary Priscilla Lewis
Treasurer Jack Browne
The Board of Directors: Shirley Browne, Michael Lewis, Nancy Miclette, Al Fratoni,
Lion Tamer Joan Eaton
Membership Chairman Steve Eaton
Tail Twister Richard Laidley
Immediate Past President Joan Eaton.

We are selling RADA Knives & other Kitchen Utensils as an on going fund raiser. If you didn't get your order packet, please see Lions Priscilla or Mike Lewis for more information. Sales will be open until we reach enough for a minimum order when we aill send each order in for processing. These are really great knives that last a lifetime yet are VERY inexpensive.

Pasta Supper Every Month...
Make sure you don't miss our monthly Pasta Supper on the First Thursday of Every Month from 4:30-6:30pm at Knights of Columbus Hall in Taftville Still only $5.00 all you can eat: includes salad, bread & butter, and beverage! We can always use help for this event. If you can't work, please Bake something for the dessert table or just come on down & enjoy a cheap night out. If you would like to help in any capacity, contact Lions Nancy or Charlie Miclette or any Taftville member. Pasta supper HELP needed on the Wednesday night prior to the Thursday Night Pasta Supper, for setting up the hall & vegetable prep. Please help us if you can. We meet at 7PM at the K of C hall.

Miscellaneous Information:
The Browne's have designed a tee shirts which will re-enforce the claim that we in Taftville are the center of the universe. All proceeds from these tee shirts will be donated to CLERF. They will be available at all of our functions & meetings. They also have Hats available for purchase. See Jack or Shirley!

Our on-going major project is the Merchants Avenue "Taftville Firemans Memorial Park" renovation. Keep in touch for dates & times for work times. We have several projects planned for the Spring. If you can spare some time please contact Cam Fogg or Steve Eaton to see when they might need help with the work parties.

We have many new Projects coming up and are in need of help. Please join us at one of our meetings to see what you can do to help to make the Taftville Lions the Center of the Universe!!

Don't forget to drop off your Deposit Bottles & Cans. You can bring them with you at the Pasta Supper on the 1st Thursday of every Month or at any Lions Club Function or drop them off at Lion Steve Eaton's Home.

If anyone has old used glasses, please drop them off at any event or give them to any active member. Jack Browne is still in charge of collecting & shipping out the used glasses. Thanks, Jack for a job well done!

Know of anyone who would be an asset to our club? See any member for information on how to approach them for membership!

CONGRATULATIONS: To Michael Lewis who was selected as our 2008 Lion of the Year!!! We appreciate your dedication & hard work in everything you. You definitely epitomize the Lions motto: "we serve"! Great Job!
CONGRATULATIONS go out to Lions Charlie Miclette and Steve Eaton for receiving one of Lions Prestigious Awards. They were both named "Knights of the Blind". The Club is very proud of your hard work & dedication to the Taftville Lions AND the Taftville Community!
CONGRATULATIONS also go out to Lions Diane and William Rizzuto for their becoming "Ambassador's of Sight" from "Connecticut Lions Low Vision Center". The Rizzuto's have been fundraising for the past 10 years raising money for the Low Vision Center. What a GREAT job. Thank you!!
Congratulations to Joan Eaton, Steve Eaton and Nancy Miclette for receiving Melvin Jones Awards! We are extremely PROUD of you and want to thank you for everything you do!
Thanks Mike, Bill, Diane, Nancy, Charlie, Steve and Joan for everything you do to help make the Taftville Lions Club Shine! Keep up the good work!