Happy New Year! What happened to 2018? Where did it go? I hope that Holidays brought happiness and fun times with family and friends.
On a more serious note, we had a report that Lion Ray Sicotte’s wife, Peggy, was in the ICU at Washington Adventist Hospital. I haven’t heard any updates on her condition; let’s keep her in our thoughts and prayers.
I don’t know what the weather had been like in Damascus but here, where I am in Albuquerque, we had 8.5 inches of snow few days after Christmas and more in the mountains. They are calling for more on New Year’s Day.
We had a lot of hard working Lions in December. We started the month welcoming Santa at Gladhill’s on December 1. Lion Julie Sain had a crew doing Preschool Vision Screenings. See her report later in this Lion’s Tale. Lion Sue Sudduth had the Senior Birthday Party at the Rec Center on December 4. There were about 30 seniors in attendance. One of the highlights of the party was a game were each table was to wrapped one of the seniors in toilet paper, add a carrot for the nose, attached black felt pieces for eyes and a black hat to see which team could make the best snowman. Everyone enjoyed cake and ice cream and each one took home a party bag. Thanks to Lions Mary Frances Gosnell and George Hibbard for helping Lion Sue in making this event a success. Wesley Grove UMC asked if we would participate in their Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 5. I want to thank Lions Tess Gladhill and Carol Stone for joining me in lighting their Christmas tree On December 18 we had our holiday party and gift swap. We had the Damascus High School Brass Ensemble play for us. We enjoyed listening to them play holiday music while we ate dinner which put us in a festive mood. After dinner we had the gift swap. Lion Martin Carr’s handmade game board was chosen late in the evening and was only swapped once this year. In prior years, it had been swapped 8 or 9 times during the festivities. Next came our annual Holiday Baskets activities from December 19 through 22. I am sorry that I missed most of this activity as it is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays. Lion Mary Frances will tell you all about it later in this issue of the Lions Tale. I hope that everyone had a Joyous and Blessed Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.
Let’s get 2019 started with a loud roar. On January 12, we will be heading to the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo to help man the mobile health unit, where we will be doing vision and hearing screening, and preschool vision screening. Don’t forget that our first and only dinner meeting this month is January 15.
If you have any ideas about how we can further our support and serve our community, please let us know. Remember -Together “We Serve” Better.
Peace, comfort and happiness to you and yours throughout the New Year. Please stay safe and healthy.
King Lion Chris