On Saturday, January 3, 2009, two students from Plano participated in a Speakers Contest sponsored by local Lions clubs. Ali Mavrakis, Plano West HS and Samuel Scott, Plano Senior HS, participated in the Lions District Quarter-Finals to the Semi-Finals Rounds. This was the first time in several years that Plano Early Lions Club (PELC) sponsored students in this annual event. This year’s topic was “Drug Abuse – Paradise Lost”. On Saturday, January 10, 2009 Ali and Samuel will participate in the District Final Round Competition. First prize is a $1000 scholarship. Next step after the District Final Competition will be the State Student Speakers Contest and a chance to win additional scholarships.

DeAnne Rogers, the Project Chair for PELC’s Speaker Contest, had high praise for both students. She could see that the time and effort both Ali and Samuel put into their presentations was very evident during the competition. DeAnne has invited all PELC members to come to the Finals Competition next week to cheer on their entries.

Sam Scott, District Speaker's Contest Semifinalist

(Left) Samuel Scott’s speech coach is Cheryl Potts. Scott would like to attend The University of Texas. He is a member of the National Honor Society, runs cross country for Plano Senior HS and is a Plano Teen Court Attorney.

Ali Mavakis, District Speaker's Contest Semifinalist

(Right) Ali Mavrakis would also like to attend The University of Texas upon graduation. He was a Speech and Debate Quarter Finalists in Foreign Speaking at State. In addition to speech and debate activity, Ali is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Congress and Model UN Junior Vice President. While at Jasper HS he was President of STAND (Students Taking Action Not Drugs). Nancy Lewis is Ali’s speech coach.

Congratulations to both of our semifinalists, and good luck at the Mid-Winter Conference!

We had a grand time at Collin Oaks last Tuesday. Yours truly, the PELC webmaster and president, showed up with fiddle in tow, and spent a little over a half hour playing a variety of tunes for the men’s group.

I’ve talked to several of my violin students, and we are planning to show up and do Christmas carols for the December service project. Any other interested Lions are invited to show up — especially if you can play an instrument, or even just sing. The festivities start at about 6pm on the 3rd Tuesday.

Last Sunday, some of our members assisted the group Innovative Challenges on their Benefit in the Park fundraiser. Unfortunately, the Benefit in the Park did not have as much attendance as they anticipated, and we ended up with food left over. Some of it is currently in my freezer, and some in Lion Ernie’s freezer, until we come up with a good way to get rid of them, probably donate them to another charity.

While it was a bit dissappointing, it wasn’t exactly a disaster. We can mark down the lessons learned and help Innovative Challenges do better in future fundraisers. One of the things we all could have done better was getting the word out — publicity and promotion. Jeff Crilley’s upcoming presentation on “Marketing without Money” is especially appropriate!

We should have some pictures of the Benefit in the Park to post later.

I spent some time on the phone this week with our esteemed secretary, Lion Ken, who has just helped his mother-in-law move into an assisted living center. Back when I was trying to be an insurance agent, one of the things that I learned about nursing homes and retirement centers that that over half of the residents of the typical nursing home do not get a single outside visitor from the time they check in to the day they die. There are several retirement and nursing centers in Plano, and these provide us with many opportunities to serve our community. These projects will not require a lot of money — they require something much more precious: our time. Lion Ken will be asking several of us in the near future to put together a regular project at Collin Oaks Assisted Living Center to help with activities once a month.

Lion 1st VP Bill Keyburn has been busy lately! In addition to working on the Texas Hold-’em Tournaments, he has discovered an opportunity to serve our community in the Patriot Golf Day. Their website is: http://www.usga.org/news/2007/august/RooneyFeature.html and information on this year’s national observance at Http://usga.org/news/2007/july/2007_56.html

It’s a bit late to participate this year, but all members are encouraged to stop in the Superstore or Ridgeview Ranch Golf Club to see what it’s all about and how, perhaps, we could become involved next year.

If you know of any un-met community needs that we as Lions could address, please let us know!

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.

Lion Rex passed away Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 4:30 PM.

Lion Rex was a Charter Member of our club and was born on September 5, 1918. He would have been 90 years-old in September. Our club members honored him with a Life Membership and kept him as a member when he relocated to New Mexico to be near his son. He was residing in a VA hospital when he passed. Lion Rex was loved by all of our old members and will be missed.

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.