At their most recent meeting, the Plano Early LIONS Club (P.E.L.C.) awarded three scholarships, each worth $1000 initially, but renewable each year with a maximum value of $4000 for each student. Two scholarships were given in the name of former club members. The third was the Plano Early LIONS Club Academic Scholarship.

The LION John Hightower Memorial Scholarship is given in memory of John Hightower who was a long time member of Plano Early LIONS Club, as well as a noted educator in the Plano Independent School District. Mr. Hightower started his career in Plano by teaching math and science and coaching basketball at the formerly all-black Frederick Douglass School. He became the principal four years later. In 1974 Mr. Hightower became the first black person to be named Plano Citizen of the Year.

Throughout his career Mr. Hightower touched the lives of students in many capacities. This included serving as a counselor in special services department and coordinator of ethnic relations prior to his retirement. He retired in 1986. The school district named him as one of its 100 heroes in 1999. Hightower Elementary is named in his honor.

The PDG Rex Coppedge Memorial Scholarship is given in memory of Rex Coppedge who was a LIONS District Governor. Rex worked for Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company in Dallas beginning in 1963. He sold textbooks to Texas schools and seven other states. Mr. Coppedge was a member of the Constantine Masonic Lodge in Bonham, Texas. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Plano where he was a member of the Porter Class. The church and the Lions Club meant a great amount to Mr. Coppedge. The laity of the North Texas Conference elected Rex to the Jurisdictional Conference. He was a Charter member of the Plano Early Lions Club. During his time with the Lions Club, Rex served those less fortunate for twenty-five years.

Jovita Bello was awarded the LION John Hightower Memorial Scholarship. Jovita will attend the University of North Texas where she plans a science major with an ultimate goal of becoming a doctor. Jovita is a graduate of Plano East Senior High who was active in community service activities, including volunteering at Samaritan Inn homeless shelter, and teacher assistant for the kindergarten religious class at St. Mark’s Evangelist church. She seeks to continue her education so she can better help others. One of Jovita’s dreams is to become a gynecologist or obstetrician. After graduation, she wants to be able to take care of her mother and help relieve her mother’s financial burdens.

Randall Reams was awarded the PDG Rex Coppedge Memorial Scholarship. While a student at Plano Senior High, Randall was active in several volunteer activities. He helped setup and manage March for Respect, tutored children with disabilities, and helped with school carnivals. Outside of school, he worked with the YMCA raising funds to buy food for families in need. Randall is a member of the National Honor Society, and varsity swim team.

In the fall, Randall will attend Texas A&M where he plans to major in aerospace engineering. He sees himself going to graduate school after he obtains his Bachelor’s degree. Ultimately, he would like to work for a major aerospace company, such as Boeing, NASA, or Lockheed Martin.

Jung (James) Lee was awarded the P.E.L.C. 2007-2008 Academic Scholarship. James, as he prefers to be called, attended Plano East Senior High. During his high school years, James has been involved with many science and math clubs and contests. He founded LASER/Engineering Club. His accomplishments include placing in the top 5% in the American Invitation Mathematics Exam, and, on his own initiative, entering and placing in the top 400 nationwide for the AAPT US Physics Team 2008 contest. He also volunteered at the Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, where he preformed simple science experiments for museum visitors.

James will attend University of Texas at Austin in the fall. He plans to study Chemical Engineering and Computer Science as an undergraduate. In graduate school, he would like to obtain a M.B.A. in management.

Comments about John Hightower originated on web site http://www.hightowerpta.org/john_freeman_hightower.htm

Comments about Rex Coppedge originated on web site http://www.turrentinejacksonmorrow.com/detail.php?id=3226

Plano Early LIONS Club (PELC) incoming president, Howard Harkness was sworn in by Past District Governor Frank Pickins at their most recent meeting. President Howard takes over leadership of the 45-member club from outgoing President Cyndie Bunker. The first project during Howard’s term will be the July 4^th Parade in Plano…”Let Freedom Ring”. This is the third year PELC has run the July 4^th Parade, which will kick off at 9:00 AM from Plano Senior High School on July 4, 2008. For information about PELC, go to website www.planolions.com

Cyndie Bunker (right), Plano Early LIONS Club president, presented a check for $1000 to Sara Rehwald, Program Director, and Janie Bordner, Executive Director, of Click for Success (CFS). Jack Durnin (left) is a volunteer with CFS, as well as a LIONS club member. As their web page points out, CFS promotes digital equity by bringing technology and mentoring into the homes of economically disadvantaged children. Children and families gain the technology skills and literacy they need to fully participate and succeed in today’s technology dependent world.

CFS is only one of the programs for Plano children that receive financial support from the Plano Early LIONS Club. Other programs include the LIONS Eyeglass program, summer camp for children with disabilities, and scholarships. The LIONS club also runs Magic Shows and Film Festivals to raise money for their projects. Recently, the club has run both the Plano 4^th of July parade and the Plano Christmas Parade.

New members and interested citizens are always welcome to join the club at their meetings. Meetings are held 1^st and 3^rd Saturdays at Southfork Hotel in Plano. Members gather at 7:30AM to enjoy breakfast before the 8:00AM start of the meeting. Meetings last about an hour and usually have a featured speaker. For more information about Plano Early LIONS Club, please visit www.planolions.org or call 972-985-8260. For information about Click for Success, visit www.click-for-success.org or contact Sarah Rehwald at 469-358-7766.

Plano Early LIONS Club learns about “Generous Kids”

At their Saturday meeting, the Plano Early LIONS Club welcomed Lyn Baker, co-author of “Generous Kids”. Ms Baker talked about how parents and grandparents can change the children in their lives from being of the “mine” set to the generous set. Her book outlines simple ways to teach children how to be giving, and it’s as easy as teaching them to brush their teeth.

Ms. Baker talked about the need to reverse the decline in giving. For example, she mentioned the decline in “Social Capital” that manifests itself in decreasing membership of organizations such as LIONS, Red Cross, and PTA. In 1964 there were about 12 million members in PTA, while today there are about 5.5 million members. Schools are attempting to reverse this trend with programs designed to get schoolchildren involved in volunteer activities… even at the elementary school level. Students who do get involved in volunteer work tend to continue volunteering when adults.

Part of the problem, according to Ms. Baker, is the time children spend in front of screens… both PC and TV. She calls these children “Screeners”. She pointed to research that shows children spend about 2.9 hours/day in front of a PC and another 2.9 hours/day in front of a TV. This produces a generation of “watchers” and not a generation of “doers”. The children then start feeling alone and not connected to people. One example she stated was text messages that teens send to one another. These text messages often contain things they would not say in a face-to-face situation because sending text messages appears very impersonal.

Her parting challenge to the LIONS was to get involved with their children and grandchildren in order to show them how to be “Generous Kids”. One way of accomplishing this task is involving the children in any volunteer work the LIONS are involved with. Projects such as “Penny Harvest” and collecting underwear for the homeless are examples of projects run by students that helped those less fortunate. For more information about “Generous Kids”, visit www.generouskids.com where you can order copies of her book.

For more information about LIONS, visit www.planolions.org or call 972-985-8260.

Well, thanks to the hard work of our club members (especially Lion 2nd VP Bill Keyburn, who came up with the idea in the first place, and championed it), the first PELC Texas Hold’em Tournament got underway this evening at about 7pm. Even though it was our first effort, it was a success. I left early, so as I write, the games are still in progress. I don’t have a total yet, but we raised a substantial amount of money, which will go into our projects fund, and support things like our scholarship program.

From this modest beginning, we plan to grow this into a major series of fund raising events. I hope it grows to the point that we have to find a larger venue.

Our resident photojournalist (Lion Jack Durnin) got the following article published in the 3/29/08 edition of Neighbors.Go supplement of the Dallas Morning News:
Lion Keith Murray, Lions District 2X-1 Texas Lions Camp Director, spoke to Plano Early Lions Club members about the Texas Lions Camp (TLC) in Kerrville, Texas.  TLC is for Texas children with physical disabilities who are 7-16 years old. Each child can choose to attend one of six one-week camping sessions, or a 3-day Day Camp. Interested children should have some self-help skills in the areas of dressing, eating, toileting and bathing. Daily camp activities include swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, field sports, fishing, and camping under the stars. Each week’s activities conclude with a special awards ceremony – everyone is a winner!

TLC also provides summer sessions specifically designed for children with type 1 diabetes (8-15 years old).  In addition to exciting and challenging recreational activities, a medical team joins the camp staff to teach campers about diabetes. Children are taught to eat properly, monitor their blood sugar, and give their own insulin injections.

For over 50 years the Texas Lions Camp has provided more than 50,000 children with physical disabilities and diabetes opportunities for recreational and learning experiences. The camp is a nonprofit organization, funded by the Lions Clubs of Texas and private donations. Children attend the camp at no cost to themselves or their families.

Further information and camper applications may be obtained by contacting the Plano Early Lions Club by calling Lion Secretary Ken Gleason at 214-769-8264 or at  http://www.planoearlylions.org or http://www.lionscamp.com .

David Larrabee, Teacher of the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing at Plano Senior High, brought several of his students to the March 1st meeting. They gave a presentation about their fund-raising efforts to pay for an educational trip to Washington, D.C., and they ’spoke’ (they signed, and Mr. Larrabee interpreted) about their experiences as hearing-impaired students, and their plans for the future.

Our club voted to give a $2000 grant to their trip fund, which enabled them to commit to the trip. They have agreed to come back and report on what they learned at a (near) future meeting.

It’s kinda hard to put into words the feelings that we experienced interacting with these young students. It was a “you had to be there” kind of moment. Here’s a snapshot I took of the group after the presentation (the ‘glare’ over the head of our illustrious 2nd VP is actually a halo…)

A group of us went to Texarkana last year for the Bulldog 100 — and had a great time. We’re going again this year, and with what we’ve learned from out experience last year, we should be in a good position to recruit some racers for the Plano 5.0 (tentatively scheduled for November, but we’re still negotiating with the manager of the prospective site). So far the Lions that we know are planning to be there include me, Tom, and Gordon. We really need at least 10 members there. It’s the Thursday through Saturday after Memorial Day.

We got a really good presentation on HOBY today from Rich Honiball, who was himself a HOBY alumnus. I’m going to encourage the club to sponsor at least one student to this event this year.

Well, we did it. Another successful parade. This one was a bit more work than the Independence Day Parade, but we also had more folks working, and we were a little better organized. Not perfect, but we did a good job, and we have a list of lessons learned to make future parades even better.

The only thing I really regret is that the members of the club never get to actually SEE the parade. We get there at 5:30 in the morning, get things set up, provide help with parking & the route, and we are there until well after the last float gets all the way to the end, but we never see more than a tiny fraction of the parade. Oh, well, we are here to serve, and it is sufficient that our efforts allow others to see it.

As I have time later this month, I will be posting some pictures that were taken by members and friends. If I can figure out how to do the YouTube thing, I may get to post some videos.