THE END OF AN ERA, AND A NEW BEGINNING.

Every story has a beginning and an ending. Sadly the ending in this case is the start of the story, and I'm not Irish. We have had numerous years of being on the receiving end of Lion John Matic's fine sessions. His research and humour are unmatched, and there are precious few who have managed to escape his grip on our pockets. His dalliance with the DG Elect Lion Dale Crawford didn't save his pocket either, so I don't know why he has such a wide smile on his face unless he was dobbing me in for some caper I was involved in. John chastised me when I stated that he was a "lousy" Tail Twister, nothing could be further from the truth, I was just giving him more ammunition to get his teeth into. Lion John you have set a bench mark that is going to be difficult to surpass. Now it is your turn to be on the receiving end of "Leonora's" gaping mouth.

2011 - 2012 and we "welcome?" a new Tail Twister. This Lion with divine help from above will try to reek havoc upon us lesser souls. So why don't we welcome him with a little verse to mark the occasion.
Old King Cole Poem.

Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe in the middle of the night
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fine fiddle, and a very fine fiddle was he;
Oh there's none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

In Humour: In the 1970's, the American comedian George Carlin offered this alternative, and now somewhat altered to suit the occasion.

Old Lion Brian Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he; He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl - I guess we all know about Old Lion Brian Cole.

Any guesses as to who gets tuned up over this? Maybe we should all welcome him with a rendition of the well known rhyme.

LEARNING ABOUT LIONS

After the Information seminar in Melbourne in May, those who attended received two CD's. One was relative to training with tutorials and information for presenters. The second one was for the use of Membership Chair persons and also, new members for orientation with excercises that they can do in their own time on a Laptop or PC.

This disk is not limited to just the afore mentioned people. It is available to the long term club members as well and could well surprise many with what they don't know about the organisation they have been a member of for many years. To this end I hope to carry out a litmus test on my fellow club members to assess the value of the information that Past District Governor Russ Connelly has gone to great trouble to produce for the Lions of the Multiple Districts use.

I must admit to being a long term friend of Lion Russ after we first met in Darwin in July 1989 when he was DG of the NT, and part of SA. I was surprised to learn that he had been part of the old MERL training group and is associated with "Swiftsoft" who package the disks.

For more information regarding these disks, please feel free to contact me training@lionstasmania.org 201T1 Lions only other district contact your District GLT Co-ordinator.

For Tasmanian Lions the disks will be available from your Regional representatives.

North West: RC Lion Anne Fagg.

North: RC Lion Derek Fellows, or ZC Lion Amanda Olson.

South: RC Lion Sue Johns.

These Lions will have available a copy of both disks that can either be copied and burnt to CD, or downloaded direct to your laptop or PC after the District Governors Change over and Cabinet meeting 24th July 2011.

LIFE MEMBERSHIP FOR CLUB STALWARTS

At the last dinner meeting in May 2011 two of our number were to receive the honour of Life Membership of the City of Burnie Lions Club. Both have given valuable service over more than thirty years.

Lion John Matic has had numerous years as a member of the board serving with distinction as a Secretary and also as Treasurer, Bulletin Editor, and a "lousy" Tail Twister. Not to mention his outstanding management of the Mint and Christmas cake committee. John also has been awarded a Melvin Jones Fellowship. Strangely, he has never aspired to become the President of the club and shies away from the idea. His history in brief: 34 years in total as a member, nine of those years as a member of the Renmark, South Australia, Lions Club before his employer transferred him to Burnie. A club board member 16 years, 15 years consecutive. Secretary 6 years followed by Treasurer 7 years. Tail Twister 6 years. and Bulletin editor 5 years.

Lion Ian Lancaster on the other hand has been around the traps as the saying goes for thirty two years. He first joined Lions as a member of the Ulverstone Club, then transfered to St Mary's, later he was transfered again in his employment and joined the City of Burnie Lions Club. Ian has been involved for a number of years with Youth projects including Youth of The Year quests, Youth Exchange on two occassions (I think). In recent times he has devoted a lot of time to the Tasmanian Cystic Fibrosis organisation that has no Government assistance and was instrumental in District 201T1 conducting the tin rattle project at the end of May each year for the past few years. When time allows you will invariabley find Ian and partner Aileen assisting with catering in the food van.
Congratulations Lions John and Ian on a job well done. They both now join Lions PDG Roger Groom, and PP John Packham as Life members.

THE NEW LIONS YEAR 2011 - 2012

GLT and GMT. The way to the future of Lions Clubs and Members.
The year 2010-2011 has all but departed into history, and perhaps the most pleasing thing that happened was the hosting of our District Convention in November 2010. It was most gratifing that the whole event was so well organised that no one hitch eventuated.
I must say that the hard work by the organising committee did the club pround just as those members who pitched in to do the small jobs that needed attention.
It was unfortunate that our candidate for 3rd Vice Governor was unsuccessful due in part to the fact as club President he was unable to put in the ground work required to lobby support. Congratulations must go to Lion George Bugeja of the Ulverstone Lions Club on being elected. Lion Michael macLaren has already been given the green light by the club to renominate again this year at Spring Bay. This time around Michael has another year as a member of the district cabinet as a Zone Chairman, and in the coming year has been appointed The District Health port folio. All good experience for the times ahead.

To the incoming board of my home club, congratulations on you election, I just hope that you enjoy the challenges that await you in the year ahead. President Michael has steppd up again as President as well as his appointment to the District 201T1 Cabinet as mentioned above.
Perhaps something of a surprise was my invitation to become a member of DGE Dale Crawford's team as the new District Co-odinator of the Global Leadership Team (GLT). What I thought was a one year term. This turned out to be the start of a three year journey to encourage leaders in our mist, to take on board training so that we as Lions will have a membership that will adopt the 21st century methods of doing things.

We must change to survive, and no doubt I will say more on the subject later.

May 21st, 2011 took me, as well as three other District Lions to Melbourne to learn more about the new system that LCI, MD201, from there to our District, and lastly Lions Clubs membership were to take on board. Our two VDG's David "Dickie" Daniels, and George Bugeja were kept in order by David Triffett District Co-odinator for the Global Membership Team (GMT) and myself. No mean feat I might add, especially "(Trickie) Dickie". At the end of the day all four of us came away more than happy with our input, plus the fact we had done our homework. One could suppose that out of the 40 plus attendees more than half were left with their collective mouths open. The Tassie Lions were in town and let them all know it.

I read recently, that if we don't change our collective modes of operation by the year 2022 service club organisations will cease to exist world wide. A terrifying thought that all the good work done by those over the years, no longer available to those who need it most. Programs such as Sight First, River Blindness, the help and assistance to communities after natural disasters. The list is endless.

One can only hope that this was a figment of some persons imagination based on what has happened over the past few years. This then is the part reason I would suggest for the creation of the GMT - GLT teams that will replace Membership, Education, Retention, & Leadership (MERL) as of July 1st 2011. This will be a very real challenge in the three years ahead for all involved.

The term that Tasmanians are born with two heads could have an element of truth. We are after all twice as smart as mainlanders, and you had better believe it. The image is of legendary King Wilbert thought to have been born in the Emu Bay (now Burnie) area around the year 1864, and his genes have been passed on over the following generations of Tasmanians. It is a good story and I'll stick to it.

The image of King Wilbert was taken in the Centro Plaza Burnie some years ago. It is the result of the warped humour of a Rotary member who owns and operates Austins Caravans. Bass Highway, Somerset, Tasmania.

201T1 LIONS DISTRICT CONVENTION 2010

"Hands On For Friendship And Service."

DGE Ken Gatehouse's Theme for 2010-2011

Answer: You, the Lions of District 201T1

Dear fellow Tasmanian Lions,

From now till the District Convention concludes, this page will hold information for the District membership. It is our intention to provide up to date news of what is happening, progress in the organising, and who is the people responsible for arranging a successful gathering of Lions in Burnie 12, 13, and 14th November.

BURNIE, THE LIONS CONVENTION CITY 2010

Your hosts: The City Of Burnie Lions Club Inc.

Venue for all functions: Burnie Arts and Function Centre, Wilmot Street, Burnie.

Club President 2010-2011: ZC Lion Michael MacLaren.

Convention: Chairman PDG Lion Roger Groom.

Convention Secretary: Lion Mark Fishwick.

Convention Treasurer: Past President Brian Smith.
Convention Administration Chairman: RC Lion John Medwin.

All we need now is for you, the Lions of Tasmania to get behind our hard working team and support a weekend of fun and fellowship. We have it, come and sample it.

So where are we at the moment:

The Venue has been booked (2 1/2 Years ago) and a close liaison has been forged with the Manager and Technical staff of the Burnie Arts & Function Centre (BAFC.)

Catering costing and meal arrangements are completed and registration forms are available of the 201T1 website. Or your club secretary. Get in early for a weekend of fun and fellowship

Proposed set up of the Civic Theatre in place, including audio visual equipment as required closer to the convention date.

Proposed timetable for Opening Ceremony, and business sessions already planned and submitted to the District Governor Ken Gatehouse for any alterations that he may wish to make.

"If we come to Burnie what can we see?"

"Oh, I'm pleased you asked."

The Makers' Workshop: Something of interest for everybody, Makers, Hand crafts, Hands on paper making tours, Licensed Coffee Shop and Tasmanian Visitor Information desk. If you have questions, all the trained staff are more than happy to assist you.


Pioneer Village Museum: A short walk across the plaza from the BAFC. See the Early Burnie streetscape and where all the historic photo's of Burnie are being lovingly restored and archived by the staff and volunteers.

Hellyer Road Distillery and Restaurant: Looking for a bottle of smooth single malt whisky? I'll bet you are. A visit to the distillery only 100 metres along the road from the National Foods "Lactos" cheese factory you will find it. Visit both venues and take home something to remember the city by.

The Registration Data Base received from Lion Erik Madsen (Kingborough Lions Club) and has been modified to suit the 2010 Burnie Convention. Our thanks to him for his assistance. Also our thanks to Ms. Karissa Townsend of Burnie LINC for her work on modifying the database for us. It is one powerful program now with full reporting functions at the "click" of a selected button. It is now ready for use.

We are currently researching the feasability of conducting a partner's tour for Saturday 13th from mid morning to mid afternoon. "The Sights of Burnie" A conducted bus tour that would take in the many beautiful features of our city and environs. This would include short walks in at least two venues, so suitable foot wear would be essential.

Post script: 23rd November 2010. It is all over and the convention had to be one of the best held in our Lions District. The numbers of registrations were above what the Club expected. The venue was tops with ample catering facilities, and everything under one roof. Perhaps the highlight was the Saturday night formal dinner. with 180 Lions, partners and invited guest enjoying a magnificent meal, and equally good entertainment provided by the Burnie Concert Band.

Later in the evening we were all treated to talented voices of MD Council Chairman Bob Gilchrist and his lovely wife Barbara who sund songs from well known shows in harmony. Real show people that had the audience in their hands. Thank you Lion Bob and Barbara for the treat you gave us all who attended.

The time table as set out in the program ran like clockwork with a little time to spare which was easilly filled with items of interest. There were 19 stalls displaying the information for the various portfolios of District Chair persons in cluding the Rightious Pups group who train dogs as support for autistic children. Thes dogs are brilliant and need to be seen to be believes in what a calming effect that they have in recipients.

The image is of Rocky Cape Lion Heather Duffy making friends with the Rightious Pup at the BA&FC Saturday morning.

Platinumn National Sponsors.

REMINDER TO ALL 201T1 LIONS.

MD201 CONVENTION LAUNCESTON 15TH - 18TH APRIL 2011. A ONE OFF CHANCE TO ATTEND ONE ON OUR OWN DOORSTEP.

Relay For Life 2010 Penguin, Tasmania.

20th and 21st of March 2010 The City of Burnie Lions Club once again supported the Relay for Life for the 10th time along with other coastal Lions Clubs.

Our role in recent years has been to provide food from our catering van as a fund raiser for the Cancer Council Of Tasmania. In typical Lions fashion the project was carried out with the usual ammount of banter and fellowship without the addition of well known beverages packaged in bottles or cans.


Catering for the crowd of walkers, joggers and runners had peaks and troughs, but when the pressure was on, our Lions performed at top pace. The lunch time between 11.30am and 1.30pm saw steaks, hamburgers and the good old Snags with onions and sauce leave as though they were going out of fashion. then the Pancakes came into their own.

I left at 6.00pm on Saturday afternoon and returned at 6.00am Sunday to find some cooked hamburgers and sausages hanging fire. However we soon discovered that Lion Max Tavaski had mastered the art of quick delivery of pancakes because in the space of one hour we had sold over $250.00 worth before the breakfast announcement was made, then it died out with four ready to go pancakes left, six hamburgers, and about ten sausages. Three Lions going flat chat with hardly time to draw breath. When it all stopped we wondered what had happened. Then the clean up. If it didn't move, Lion Max had it in the sink to be washed. Fortunately, the sink was in the van, otherwise some our customers may have got a bath they either didn't want or need.

Thank you to Lion Wiston Foster for the towing of the van to and from the Penguin Sports Complex. It was much appreciated by your Lions Club.

For the first time that I can recall, the organisors advised all Lions Clubs to record their donations, funds raised etc. and record them in their Club's Activities Account. Lions District 201T1 Cabinet commented last year that there was no record of the monies raised by clubs within the district in support of the Cancer Council and where that money was being chanelled to. This year will be different, that I can promise you all.

When we tallied up the take Sunday morning, our catering had produced a nett take of $2530.55 for the event with 63 man/hours of work done by our members. A good job well done, and certainly appreciated by the organising committee. (the figure confirmed by Mr Allan Robson, Relay fo Life Organising Committee.) The total money raised is expected to be around $250,000.00 for the Penguin event and is already a new record.

No doubt we'll be back in 2011 all being well.

Lions National Advertising Campaign

How many members have seen the National advertising campaign that is on television and taken any notice of it? Most likely very few. We are members after all so why would we be all that interested.

I recently received an email from District Chairman (MERLOT) David Triffett. He had in turn forwarded a copy from our Multiple District office advising that an enquiry had been made by a lady in Burnie who was interested in Lions, and was a potential member. Contact was made with her and a meeting arranged for December 1st at the new "Makers Workshop" Cafe. This lady then informed me that her husband was also interested. Two for the price of one, way to go!

All I hope is that after our get together we maybe able to welcome two new members to our club, and all due to the National Advertising Campaign on TV.

Now we still not afford to rest on our laurels. Our district is still below that infernal 1250 that sees us in transition. We must do two things

(1) Retain the members that we have by keeping up their interest by involvement.

(2) Get out and encourage friends, relatives, and work colleages to become a part of a great team of people.

Regional Chairman (NW) Lion John Medwin.