Sheppie's Pride : Jan - Mar 2017 Edition

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Club that provides the Best Monthly Bulletin 2015/2016

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April 2017 6th: Ladies Meeting Den 13th: Directors Meeting 20th: Club Meeting Den 27th-30th: Celebration Convention - Cape Town May 2017 4th: Ladies Meeting Den 11th: Directors Meeting 18th: Lions’ Show Meeting - Den 20th-21st: District Training Weekend 25th: Club Meeting Den 27th: Bingo - Den Birthdays :

ere we are in the final stretch of the 2016/2017 Lionistic Year, and another great year for Port Shepstone Lions Club. This becomes a busy time for the Club as we move on to yet another Golf Day and also another Lions Show. It is great to see the Team get together when the various projects come up again and again.

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uncovered an old Asset register hiding in the Cupboards going back a number of years. This register had only one annotation and then went missing. “ Otto Wank has the wheel barrow” . We now await the return of this wheel barrow. Why the Club had a wheel barrow, who knows? We forgive you Otto if you can't remember where the wheel barrow is stored!

The Club celebrated its 47th birthday at our Charter Dinner held at the Port Shepstone Country Club. A great evening of celebration was had by all and thanks have to go to Lion Lady Jenny Vogt who assisted with the arrangements. Well done to Lion Mike Heathcote for your first of many Emceeing of a Lions Function.

The Club will have a number of members attending the Cape Town Convention. It is awesome to see so many persons going through to Cape Town all in support of our own Superman of Lions, Council Chairman Denis Meyer. I would like to wish all the Lions, Lion Ladies and partners that are travelling through to Cape Town, a safe trip and a safe return home.

Our regular service projects like Bingo and Diabetes testing are being well supported and thanks has to go to Lion Alistair ”wake me up before you go go” Warman for organising these each month. There is good support from the members which makes light work of the situation.

April: 2nd: Lyn Curnow 11th: Yvonne Rodda 26th: Kevin Ross May: 6th: Kenny Rolfe 11th: Fred Babumba 13th: Bela Gallagher 15th: Pieter Van Niekerk

DG Kim attended our February Club meeting.

He shared a lot of news with us and there are some interesting times coming up for Lions, all of which are for the benefit of the Organisation, it's members and most of all the Community that we serve.

Our very own German member, Lion Otto has come under some scrutiny. During a Club House Cleanup, we

Thank you to all for your support during the last 21 months and let's keep going forward in true Sheppie fashion.

Jeff Smith Club President

Dear Port Shepstone Lions The air conditioner is working well and as you can see from the photo, they are a happy little bunch! What a difference this has made – many of these children tend to overheat and feel it more than normal, so we are really grateful to the Lions for giving this to us. Please convey our sincere thanks to everyone involved.

I am certain there will be other things that we need help with. Meanwhile if anyone you know has a preused video camera/Go Pro or something similar, we would like to either purchase or accept a donation.

We need this as a resource to help the teachers – they will record their lessons and this will help them to monitor and manage behaviours and assist with diagnosis etc.

Also a wonderful tool to be able to show parents the amazing improvements that their child is making at school – would be so encouraging for them to watch what their child does at school. Just a thing that has been on our wish list for quite a while now, but we have not had the money to buy one.

Kind Regards Sheryl Editor’s Note : Lion Denis Meyer has already offered to donate a video camera which will be delivered to the school shortly.

http://celebrationconvention.co.za

D THE OLD SIGN

uring the 3rd Council Meeting held in Sedgefield, it was brought to the attention of the Council of Governors that the current signage at the premises of Lions Operation Brightsight was insufficient and did not reflect enough information about the project.

Some patients were unaware of the correct screening times and did not have access to the correct contact information in order to make enquiries or appointments.

Council Chairman Denis Meyer brought this up for discussion at the Port Shepstone Lions Club’s February meeting and it was decided that the club would sponsor a new sign which reflected the Lions and Brightsight logos as well as contact information and screening times. Lion Denis produced artwork and the club unanimously agreed to sponsor a new 2m x 1m framed chromadek sign for the Multiple District project.

Once the sign was ready, the challenge was to transport it from Port Shepstone to Benoni where Operation Brightsight is situated, a distance of 675km. As luck would have it, Lion Justin Hinchliff decided to inite one of his business colleagues, Mr Wayne Bilton, to attend the Port Shepstone Lions’ March Club meeting. Wayne, who resides in Centurion and was visiting clients in the KZN South Coast area, happily offered to transport the sign back with him and very kindly personally delivered the sign to the Chairman of Lions Operation Brightsight, PDG Derek Edwards two days later in Benoni. Another superb example of “Teamwork makes the Dream work!”

fter 25 years of membership and dedicated community service, Lion Kelvin and Lion Lady Anita Hulley have decided to call it a day.

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reason” often came to the rescue during a heated club debate. Kelvin was a highly respected member of the club.

Lion Kelvin was inducted into the Port Shepstone Lions Club in 1992 and sponsored by Lion Hilton Horsley. Lion Kelvin can be aptly described as an outstanding Lions Leader. During the past 25 years he has served in many portfolios at Club and District level which include Zone Chairman and Club President on two occasions. Lion Kelvin was also instrumental in resurrecting the South Coast Lions Show project back in 1989 when he convened the project for the first time. He has since convened the annual Show project on a number of occasions.

Lion Lady Anita served as a member of the Port Shepstone Lion Ladies Club with distinction. During the past 25 years, Anita has convened numerous projects and served as Lady President on a number of occasions.

Lion Kelvin is a superb orator and often officiated at official functions.

His calm demeanor, excellent sense of humour and high regard for protocol made him a great asset at club meetings. Kelvin’s “voice of

Anita is very talented. Her culinary skills often came to the fore with projects involving catering and her decorating and organisational skills were evident at many Charter, Induction and Leadership Dinners.

No theme was ever repeated which was clear testimony of her creative ability.

Both Lion Kelvin and Lion Lady Anita are recipients of the highest award in Lionism, The Melvin Jones Fellowship Award.

Aside from their extraordinary commitment and leadership, both Kelvin and Anita’s greatest joy was serving those less fortunate. Their ever present sense of humour contributed greatly to the fellowship within the club.

The Hulleys were truly a part of the Sheppie Lions family and many of us have witnessed their children, Bradley, James and Kate grow from mischievous youngsters to responsible, successful adults.

Kelvin and Anita’s resignation from the Port Shepstone Lions Club is very sad news, however, we wish them both everything of the best for the future. Their legacy will live on and they will be remembered as an extraordinary couple who touched so many lives, including our own.

- Denis Meyer.

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nother successful diabetes screening project was held on Saturday 18th February at Harbourview Superspar in Port Shepstone. Our grateful appreciation to Lion Lady (Sister) Debbie Marshall for her ongoing assistance with this very worthwhile project.

Lion Alastair Warman visited the Annual District 410-C Diabetes Camp held in Howick during March.

Our February Bingo for Seniors was once again very well supported. Many thanks to the Lions who transported and served the seniors and to the Lion Ladies for their superb catering.

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u r i n g J a n u a r y, o u r c l u b h o u s e kitchen was completely revamped.

THE OLD KITCHEN

THE NEW KITCHEN

The makeover included new cupboard doors and handles, wall mounted cabinets, granite top counters, a double door fridge and a counter top gas stove. Lion Kevin Ross and his team also tiled and painted the kitchen. Our new look kitchen is very user friendly with plenty of counter space storage facilities. Well done to all involved!

Port Shepstone Lions were privileged to receive an official visit from our District 410-C Governor, Lion Kim Van Wyk during their February Club Meeting.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR KIMVAN WYK OFFICIALLY ADDRESSING THE CLUB

During his official address, DG Kim encouraged membership growth and added that, for every Lion 50 people are served. He thanked the club for supporting the Multiple District Christmas Cakes project and commented that District 410-C had sold a total of 410 cases of cakes.

DG Kim thanked the club for their sponsorship towards the District Diabetes Camp and encouraged members to try and attend. He also spoke briefly about Multiple District Environmental Chairman Rusty Hustler’s very rewarding visit to the Lions Multiple District 4 Convention in California, USA where he successfully promoted and received overwhelming support for our Multiple District’s “Lions For Rhino’s” Rhino conservation project.

DG Kim ongratulated Club President Jeff Smith on his leadership as both Sheppie Lions President and Zone 6 Chairman as well as his selection to attend the forthcoming Regional Lions Leadership Institute in Cape Town during April. Port Shepstone Lions have decided to sponsor the costs for Lion Jeff’s training.

DG Kim also spoke briefly about the proposed merging of districts resolution which will be tabled at the forthcoming Multiple District Convention in Cape Town.

DG Kim congratulated the club on our performance and the quality of our projects.

DG Kim ended off by presenting a 40 year long service award to Lion Mike Rodda, a 20 year long service award to Lion Alastair Warman and a 10 year long service award to Lion Nico De Jong on behalf of International President Bob Corlew. He then exchanged friendship banners with Club President Jeff.

The meeting was followed by the usual fellowship which continued deep into the night! Accommodation for DG Kim was very kindly sponsored by Mike & Yvonne Rodda of My Den Bed & Breakfast in Oslo Beach.

DG Kim echanging banners with LP Jeff

40 Year membership award presented to Mike Rodda Port ShepstoneLion Lions during the meeting

20 Year membership award presented to Lion Alastair Warman

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he merging of Districts within a Multiple District or “redistricting” is not uncommon within our Association.

This concept has been on our Multiple District agenda since as early as the year 2000 when it was realised that our membership had shrunk from the required 5000 members to 3569. Currently our membership stands at a mere 2366. Rotary International have also implemented the concept of redistricting, in fact right here in South Africa, Rotary underwent redistricting a number of years ago.

As indicated above, our membership has suffered serious losses over the last 20 years. It is now incumbent on us to exercise our leadership and look to solving our problems with regard to districts that are below the number of clubs (35) or members (1250) “constitutionally” required by LCI to maintain district status. It is important to understand that, because of it’s sheer size and global reach, LCI must operate as a business. These requirements for district status were implemented several decades ago based on the cost effectiveness of sustaining the costs of running a district. Our District currently has a third of the required membership which places a financial burden on our existing membership. In fact, District 410-C currently has the highest District subs within our Multiple District. These subs are utilised to cover the administrative costs and to subsidise any costs incurred by Cabinet officers who are there to assist clubs with projects, leadership initiatives etc. Based on the most recent LCI Membership figures for MD 410, all 4 districts are well below the required 1250 membership level required for a full district.

You might ask, why we should do this?. The first answer is that it is to our advantage to be proactive and solve our own problems before a solution is imposed on us by Lions Clubs International and LCI will be fully within their rights to implement such a solution. We know our multiple district better than anyone outside and it would be best for us to set the parameters and define the time line of this process. The second answer is that if a governor and his/her cabinet is not worried about meeting club and member minimums he/she will be able to concentrate on effective recruitment, retention and extension programs that can look at long-term growth rather than quick fixes.

The third answer is our motto: "We Serve." Given time to concentrate on our mission we will increase our visibility and stature in our communities making ourselves more attractive to potential members. The fourth answer is district leadership. We have, over the past few years, had several instances of having difficulty in finding Vice Governor candidates, Zone Chairs and other Cabinet Officers. Given larger districts with more clubs there will be a greater pool of candidates. When VDG candidates are identified early they can begin preparing early making them more qualified as they are required to assume greater responsibility.

When we look at the numbers we must admit that we have had extreme losses over the past several years. This problem cannot be solved overnight. There are no winners or losers in this situation. If the recommendation turns out to be that we should redistrict it will require commitment, good judgment and the good will of every Lion in our Multiple District. It can be done and our membership situation can ultimately be turned around. When we, the Lions of Southern Africa, have accomplished this; we will show the Lions of the world that we have Service as our goal and sound management principles as our philosophy.

This years Council of Governors decided to be proactive and appointed a new Multiple District Merging Committee. This decision was influenced by a suggestion forwarded by the Executive Administrator of our Constitutional area (ISAAME which stands for India, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East), Dr Neville Mehta.

Each Governor was tasked with appointing a representative from each district and this resulted in PDG Viv Grater (410A), PDG Ivan Du Plooy (410B), PDG Debbie Berry (410C) and PDG Brian Von Der Decken (410D) being appointed to the committee. The committee members decided to appoint PDG Viv Grater as their Chairman. This committee almost immediately began with their deliberations and came up with the following recommendation which was unanimously accepted by the Council Of Governors at 2nd Council Meeting held during November 2016 in Durban : (continued overleaf)

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That the merging of the current four districts should be done to create a new Multiple District consisting of two districts.

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That the provincial boundaries within the current Multiple District be used as the delineating factor and not an arbitrary selection of a road, river or other feature be used.

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The committee felt that the leadership in the current District D should be kept largely intact, as there will be a need for strong leadership and guidance to clubs in the new changed environment.

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The committee recommends that one district should consist of Western Cape, Northern Cape and Namibia and the second District consist of the other provinces and include Swaziland and Lesotho.

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The committee recommends that the naming of these new Districts should not bear any attachments to the four previous districts and it is suggested the following names could be appropriate: - District 410W (West) being Western Cape, Northern Cape and Namibia.

- District 401E (East) being all other provinces, Swaziland and Lesotho.

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Hence in the map below the new District 410W will be the green shaded area to the West of the map, and the new 410E (yellow) will be the balance of the map to the East.

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The above recommendation, based on August 2016 membership figures, will result in a new District 410W with 1002 members in 56 clubs and a new District 410E with 1207 members in 89 clubs. The net result will be that District 410E with a large number of clubs will face administrative and leadership challenges, whereas District 410W will face geographic challenges.

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The committee believes emphasis should be on the “reinvention” of Lionism in Southern Africa rather than imposed change by Lions Clubs International.

An ordinary resolution will be tabled at our forthcoming Multiple District Convention and club voting delegates will be given the opportunity to cast their votes either for or against this process. What does this mean for the Sheppie Lions Club if this process is adopted? In a nutshell - business as usual, a stronger district support and training structure and we will probably end up paying reduced district dues.

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ort Shepstone Lions, Lion Ladies and their guests celebrated their Club's 47th Charter Dinner on Saturday 4th March at the Port Shepstone Country Club.

During the celebrations an International award was presented to Lion Mike Heathcote in recognition of 10 years of membership.

Club President Jeff Smith paid tribute to all members and Lion Ladies who contributed towards the success of the club's community service projects and fellowship activities which form the very backbone of this great Club. Lion Lady Jenny Vogt was also thanked for her beautiful table decorations.

Club President Jeff Smith presenting a 10 year membership award to Lion

Alister & Irene Love

Mike & Sandy Heathcote

Council Chairman Denis Meyer & Club President Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith & Desiree Du Toit

Norman & Carol Holmes

Cathy Volker & Jean Masson

Richard Borradaile, Jane Massey & Jenny Vogt

George & Audrey Leggett

Yvonne & Mike Rodda

Audrey Leggett & Debbie Marshall

Alastair & Karin Warman

Karin Warman & Gary Vogt

Suzette Boshoff & Justin Hinchliff

DATE

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Saturday 13th May 2017

CLUB

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Port Shepstone Country Club

TIME

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Tee off times can be booked through the Pro Shop (039 6950140)

FORMAT

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4 Ball Alliance with two scores to count 3 scores to count on short holes

msa.net Cost per player : TBA Meal will be provided after the game.

www.sheppielions.co.za

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heppie Lions’ Spit Braai Summer Party held at the Umtentweni Tennis Club on Friday 24th March was a resounding success. The event was well supported despite the rain and all who attended enjoyed the good food and superb 4-5 Seconds entertainment. Both singer Ian Jones and band, 4-5 Seconds were very entertaining and kept the dance floor lively until the wee hours of the morning. Well done to Lions Justin Hinchliff and Kevin Ross for organising this great fellowship event. Thanks also to all members who assisted behind the scenes. The club will be hosting many more of these events in the future.

Jean Masson, Cathy Volker & Denis Meyer

Gabi Hill & Lyn Curnow

Barry Van Der Veen & Jonathan Brauteseth

Jeff Smith & Desiree Du Toit

Denis Meyer & Gabi Hill

June & Martin Rundle

Al Warman, Marius Du Plessis & Werner Schlehmeyer

Cathy Volker, Gabi Hill & Inika Curnow

Ian Jones

Brian Eva & Frik Coetzee

Sandy Heathcote & Lyn Curnow

Jean Masson & Charles Wallace

Gabi Hill & Al Warman

Al Warman, June Rundle & Sandy Heathcote

19th February @ Port Shepstone Country Club

Cathy Volker, Jean Masson & Al Warman

Nico De Jong, Yvonne Rodda, Helen De Jong & Gary Vogt

Estelle O’Neill, Mike & Yvonne Rodda, Debbie Marshall

Laurie Lourens, Frik Coetzee, Kevin Ross, Zelda Coetzee & Minette Snyman

Justin Hinchliff & Suzette Boshoff

Richard & Estelle O’Neill with Mike & Yvonne Rodda

Nico & Helen De Jong

Irene Love & June Rundle

Anna Compion, June Rundle, Yvonne Rodda & Debbie Marshall

Pieter Van Niekerk

Nico De Jong & Justin Hinchliff

Martin Rundle being challenged to a back rub!

Clayton & Inika Curnow

Denis Meyer, Al Warman & Martin Rundle

Mervin & Lyn Curnow

Lion Clayton Curnow celebrated his birthday with a “St Patrick’s Day” theme party on 17 March at his home in Umtentweni.

Lion Denis Meyer celebrated his birthday at the Port Shepstone Country Club on Friday 10th March.

Lion Lady Lyn Curnow celebrated her birthday with a pool party on Saturday 1st April at her home in Umtentweni.

President : Jeff Smith Imm.Past President : Alastair Warman Service Projects : Alastair Warman Fundraising : Jean Masson House : Kelvin Hulley Secretary : Martin Rundle Treasurer : Richard Borradaile Membership : Gary Vogt Bar Manager : Brian Eva Lion Tamer : Ralph Gallagher Tailtwister : Kenny Rolfe 2 Year Director : Nico De Jong 2 Year Director : Alister Love 1 Year Director : Norman Holmes 1 Year Director : Gary Baker Lion Ladies President : Estelle O’Neill Lion Ladies Secretary : Anna Compion Lion Ladies Treasurer : Jane Massey

Club President Jeff Smith congratulating Lion Pete Stoppel after presenting him with an International award and letter of congratulations for 20 years of membership.

Club PRO and Newsletter Editor : CC Denis Meyer email : pro@sheppielions.co.za Web Site : www.sheppielions.co.za Club Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/PortShepst oneLionsClub Club Postal Address : P O Box 236 Umtentweni4235 Club Street Address : Lions’ Den Ambleside Road, Umtentweni

District Governor Kim Van Wyk congratulating Lion Nico De Jong after presenting him with an International award and letter of congratulations for 10 years of membership.

Harry appears to have picked up some strange dance rituals from the French!