Lion Wayne Bent presents a cheque to the Rideau Sewers to buy material to make pillowcases for the children of CHEO. Thirty-five ladies came together to form teams of sewers, trimmers, pinners, labelers and ironers to make 153 pillowcases in one day. The ladies make over 350 cases in a year. The children get to pick a pillowcase for their stay at the hospital, and then get to take it home. Standing from left to right Joan Kelly, Wayne Bent, Lynne Evans and Judy Pattinson.
Westport Lions Gearing Up For a Busy Summer
Fifteen members and two guests attended our second general meeting of the month. Bucky Merkley, a long time resident of Westport, and newcomer Chris Norman decided to check out the Club and to see for themselves what the Westport Lions do. Guests are always welcome. Our meetings are held the second and forth Wednesday of every month starting at 6:30 p.m., except in July and August when we will have meetings on July 12th and August 9th. Contact any Lion member if you wish to attend a meeting.
We passed two motions involving sizeable donations to the Friends of Foley Mountain and Westport Storm Baseball Club. In correspondence we received a couple of thank you cards but the most impressive and biggest card came from the kindergarten class at Rideau Vista Public School for our donation to their storage shed.
This year’s calendar team will consist of Lions Marty Hawkins, Jim Scala, Jim McGlade, Don Baker and Heather Huth. It was decided that sending out a letter and invoice to past sponsors, and an introductory letter to potential advertisers was a good idea. Anyone interested in advertising in the 2018 calendar please contact any team member, or email the Club at westportontariolions@gmail.com.
Most of the meeting was taken up with organizing and obtaining volunteers to help at upcoming events. We will operate canteens at RDHS beach volleyball tournament, which will be held at the Lions’ beach on June 2nd , and at the Heritage Festival on June 24th. It was decided that we would commit to run a canteen at the Canadian Orienteering Championships held at Foley Mountain on August 6th. They expect between 250 – 300 people to participate. President Wayne Bent was well organized when he solicited help for our upcoming steak BBQ held on June 8th. Sorry, this fundraising event is only for surrounding Lion clubs. We expect around 170 Lions from clubs from as far away as Finch and Maxville. One event that is open to the general public is our annual fish fry on Saturday, June 17th. Chairperson Rick Warriner stated that takeout will be from 4 to 5 p.m. and dinner will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. The cost is $15. Lion Jim McGlade is once again organizing a party of Westport members to manage the gates at Athen’s Farmville exhibition being held on July 15th. It has been a tradition for many years that surrounding clubs take a shift attending to the gates of this old fashioned and unique event.
Chairperson Mike Robinson has decided to close the recycling depot on Wednesdays due to the lack of demand. It will be open every Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 p.m. and by appointment. (613-273-6812)
Property Committee chairperson Don Baker reported that Ric Stoness Construction has completed the garage modifications. Lions Dwain Smith and Don Baker spent many hours drawing up the requirements and overseeing the project. Last Thursday and Friday Lions Dwain Smith, Jim McGlade, Don Baker, Harry Beckett, volunteer Bucky Merkley and ten students from RDHS cleaned winter debris and damage due to high water from the beach and property. Hopefully this was a positive experience for the students and will encourage them to become a Lion in the future.
Westport Lions Club 