Congratulations go out to our own Lions, recognizing their years of service as a Lion. Each has received a Milestone Monarch Chevron Award, representing years of service.
Lion Dave Lemke - 35 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Perry Arndt - 30 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Bruce Krug - 25 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion JD Harries - 25 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Dave Pepper - 20 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Terry Phillips - 15 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Shirley Lemke - 15 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Jason Wanke - 15 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Judy Pinkston - 10 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Doug Pinkston - 10 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Julis Thums - 10 years Monarch Chevron Award
Lion Susan Giese - 10 years Monarch Chevron Award

These are Ongoing Projects:   (Current Projects)

• UPDATE October - 2021-2022 Lions Peace Poster Contest: Medford Area Middle School, Holy Rosary & Immanuel Lutheran School students are working on their Peace Posters – looking forward to some awesome posters!

• UPDATE November - 2021-2022 Lions Peace Poster Contest:    Posters were judged by the MASH Art Department with the following winners: 1^st -Mya Matthias, 2^nd - Evie Beidel, 3^rd – Kayla Daniels, Semi-finalists – Blaine Searles, Isbelle Matthews, Kayla Baumgartener, Bria Neitzel, Tagen Hanson & Maddie Henline. Awards will be presented on Friday, November 5, 2021, at Medford Area Middle School. Much appreciation to all teachers & students who were involved in our Peace Poster Contest this year. (Our first Peace Poster Contest was in 2003.)

Medford Lion Harvest day Parade;   Lions Jim & Judy Sorge, Sue Giese, Rick Sperl, Mary Bormann & Steve DeLonay did the “Medford Lions Proud” as they decorated a float and joined the Harvest Days Parade on Octoer 31.

Food For Kidz update;     Medford Lions Herman Pernsteiner, Mary Bormann, Sue Giese, Shirley Lemke, Vic Schiszik & volunteers Patty Christianson & Janice Liske packaged meals for the “Food for Kidz” district project at Lakeland Union High School on October 23. We’re hoping that the goal of 200,000 meals was reached. It was a “fun” event!

GILMAN lIONS 70TH ANNIVERSARY - OCTOBER 20, 2021;   

Lions Dave & Shirley Lemke celebrated with the Gilman Lions as the Lions marked their 70^th Anniversary on October 20^th

Medford Lions_Roadside Cleanup;

Five Medford Lions completed the Roadside Clean-up on Hwy 64 on September 22, in 45 Minutes, prior to the Lions Meeting. Lions Jim Sorge, Dave Lemke, Vic Schiszik, Rick Sperl and Len Hamman deserved refreshments after that marathon clean-up project!

Medford Lions Great Duck Race;

The 2021 Lions Duck Race is one for the record book. It was the
biggest one ever --$8,188 was raised from the sale of ducks. (Old record was 2007
sales totaling $8,114) We had good help pulling the ducks on Friday and sorting
the ducks on Monday evening. Several Lions spent time getting the river ready to
hold the best race we could given the high water in the river. Fast moving high
water caused some ducks to escape our nets – hoping these wayward ducks will be
captured down stream and returned. All-in-all a very successful event. Keep in
mind -successful events don’t just happen! They happen because Medford Lions,
their families & friends, see the value of required leadership and team effort!
“Hats Off” to Chair Sue Giese and all who helped with the 2021 Lions Duck Race.

Rodeo Parking:

Lion Steve DeLonay rounded up a great crew to help with
parking at the Rodeo on July 17, 2021. Lions Len Hamman, Jim Sorge, Rick
Sperl, Mary Bormann, Dave Lemke and Steve DeLonay braved the HOT weather
and parked cars for over two hours – Rodeo had a great turn-out!

Medford Lions 4-of-July Food stand;

Our first project was the Food Stand for the July 4^th Celebration in the City Park. Chair Dennis Christianson, along with committee members; Beaner Lemke, Sue Giese, Herman Pernsteiner, Rick Sperl & Mary Bormann, had the stand ready to go with sundaes, brats, burgers & much more! All that was needed was better attendance at the celebration!

Medford Lion outing/induction ceremony;

Last year’s activities were celebrated at our Induction & Outgoing Officers’ Steak Fry held at the Medford City Park on June 23, 2021. “Meal was Delicious!”

Thanks to Lion Bill Weiland for his year of service as President and for doing a great job. Lion Len Hamman was presented the Melvin Jones Award by President Bill for his many years of Lionistic Service. Congratulations Lion Len! Also, congratulations to Lion Steve DeLonay, who was chosen by President Bill as our “Lion of the Year.”

Also at the celebration, District Governor Bob Bertch inducted our new officers. So with leadership in place our new year is off to a good start.

Road Side Clean Up:

Thanks to Lion Dennis.  This will take place at 5 PM, April 28, 2021,  5 Miles West of Medford on HWY 64, Just West of the Rodeo grounds. The more that show up the quicker it will go. Thanks to everyone who can help!!  ***Followup, 6 people showed up and all went well..   Thanks again to Lion Dennis for making this happen.

Lions Snowshoe Race: The Perkinstown Tramp Snowshoe Race is being planned for Saturday January 16, 2020.   (  The race has been CANCELED)

2019-2020 Lions International Peace Poster Contest; 

  “Peace Through Service
” The Medford Lions Club has sponsored the 2019-2020 Lions International Peace Poster Contest at Medford Area Middle School, (MAMS), Holy Rosary and Immanuel Lutheran Schools. Immanuel Lutheran chose not to participate this year. Schools were provided with all Contest Rules & Conditions.

The teachers from Medford Area Middle School, Grace Krug & Ryan Scanlan & Corrine Liske from Holy Rosary, worked with students, ages 11-13, in creating peace posters with the theme, “Peace Through Service”. The use of lettering or numbering on the front of the poster, in any language, is not allowed. Each participating school could select a maximum of nine posters from all its entries. These posters were narrowed down to nine semi-finalists by the Medford Area Senior High Art Department.

The MASH Art Dept. then selected a 1 st Place Poster - $75.00 & medallion, 2 nd Place - $50 & medallion and 3rd Place - $25 & medallion, from the nine semi-finalists. The remaining 6 semi-finalists were also awarded medallions.

The WINNERS ARE:

1 ST Place - $75.00 & Medallion – Ashley Soto - MAMS

2 ND Place - $50.00 & Medallion – Madalyn Weber - MAMS

3 rd Place - $25.00 & Medallion -- Morgan Liske – MAMS

The SEMI-FINALISTS ARE:

Kayla Daniels – Holy Rosary – Medallion       

Sophia Steinman – MAMS - Medallion

Kaelynn Balciar – MAMS – Medallion

Melika Steele – Holy Rosary -- Medallion

Abigail Harris - MAMS -- Medallion

Rylee Hraby- MAMS – Medallion

Congratulations to the semi-finalists and the 1st through 3rd place winners of the poster contest! The Medford Lions Club extends appreciation for the time and effort given by Medford Area Middle School & Holy Rosary teachers and students who were involved in the Peace Poster Contest. The winning poster will be sent on to our District Governor where it will compete with other local Peace Poster Contest winners. The poster will face stiff competition through the district round and three more rounds of competition if it is to be declared the international grand prizewinner. Ultimately, one grand prizewinner will be selected from 24 international finalists. The grand prize includes a cash award of US$5,000, plus a trip for the winner and two family members to the awards ceremony.

Dial-A-Santa Elves:

The Dial Santa date and time as follows:  Tuesday Dec. 15^th.  5-8 PM .  A picture of our Dial Santa Crew is attached below. The 4 of us talked to 118 children.  Very successful! Nicolet National Bank set up the phones in their offices for our use.

Merry Christmas!

Len

Lions State Bonspiel: At this time the Lions State Bonspiel is scheduled for January 8th through the 10th. The bonspiel will be hosted by the Whittlesey Lions and will be held at the Medford Curling Club.

Lions Christmas party;  Will be December 9, 2020. A lasagna dinner will be served. Bring a spouse or guest and please RSVP Lion Virginia Ellis at 715-785-7145 by December 1st... We will have a Raffle after a short meeting. Everyone please bring a wrapped White Elephant gift for the raffle table. Happy Hour will be shortened to 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm and dinner served at 6:30 pm..... Hope to see you there!    ( 15 Lions had  great time, Thank You to all who attended)

Indianhead Food Pantry Donation;     Below is a Picture of our Clubs $1,000 donation to the Indianhead Food Pantry.         Pictured from left-to-right are Len Hamman, Dennis Post, and Dennis Christianson.   Medfordlionsindianfoodpantrydonation

Rodeo Parking;  We do have one activity planned in July. The Medford Lions will be parking cars at the K – R Rodeo on Saturday, July 18, 2020. Help is needed from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Just show up if you are able to help.

Medford Library Donation Presentation; 

On Thrusday July 16, 2020, The Medford Lions Presented to the Medford Public Library Foundation a check for 2,500.00, which will be used for Large Print Calendars and Library needs.  Present from the Medford Lions was Shriley Lemke, Joseph and Virginia Ellis,  Accepting the gift is founation President Mike Shiffle, and Library Director Erica Petersen.

See attached Photo  Library Presentation

Update Needed for the List of Wisconsin Lions Eye Bank Transporters: An Eye Bank Transporter List is maintained at the Medford Inn with Owner Gary Jensen serving as our Dispatcher. He receives the call that a donation of eyes has been made at the Aspirus Medford Hospital. Mr. Jensen than goes down the list of transporters to find someone who can pick up the eyes at the Medford Hospital and take them to the Aspirus Wausau Hospital. This needs to be done in a timely manner. Names that have been on the list are the following: Dennis Christianson, Vic Schiszik, Dave Lemke, Shirley Lemke, Jim Sorge, Larry Ray & Janis Liske. Whittlesey Lions that have volunteered to serve as transporters are Greg Krug & Patti Krug. Others that are interested can email or call Lion Shirley Lemke and list your telephone number - Home or Cell.

The Scholarship Committee has been hard at work. Recipients of this years $1,000 scholarships are:
Isabella Veal – Pursuing a career in Police Science.
Kaitlyn Netzer – Pursuing a career in Optometry.

Maple Fest;

Deer Hide Collection:       PLease call Lion Dave Lemke at 715-785-7573, or Lion Jim Sorge at 715-748-5467 for more information.  All hides are going to a Company here in the USA, for tanning.  Muzzleloader and late season archery hunting is still going on. Hunters are encouraged to kill more of these road hazards. The Lions deer hide collection committee is always looking for help with processing hides.

Perkinstown Tramp snowshoe race;  Scheduled for Saturday, January 18, 2020. Help is needed Friday, January 17th for set-up and preparation as well as on Saturday, January 18th, race day. Sign-up sheets will be available at the January 8th regular meeting.

****  Great Weather and Enjoyed by all !!  Thank You to all who helped, and all who came.

PERKINSTOWN TRAMP: We had ideal weather conditions for the snowshoe race this year with plenty of snow and temperatures in the 20s. Attendance was up from last year. We had 84 pre-registrations and 59 day of registrations for a total of 143 participants. We had 136 adult participants and 7 kids. The race went off without a hitch, almost. This was a year for getting equipment stuck. Lion Bill and son Adam both got snowmobiles stuck in a creek, and Lions Jim Sorge got the UTV/roller stuck in a creek. Special thanks to Lions Dave and Beaner Lemke, Lion Len Hamman, Lion Jim Sorge and Lion Bill Weiland for working overtime to get the grooming equipment out. Many of you turned out to help with this event. Thanks to all of you. Thanks to draftee/volunteers: Rick Sperl, Cody and Debbie Rabska, Leigh Henline, Debb Weiland, Paula Hamman, and Pat Olson. Special thanks to Adam Weiland and Chris Suraci for entertaining everyone in your deer costumes. Lion treasurer Len will have a financial report at an upcoming meeting.

Centennial Service Challenge
Lions Club International announced a Global initiative to serve 100 million people by 2017. The
Centennial Service Challenge is a humanitarian initiative that brings Lions Clubs around the world
together in service to celebrate the Association’s 100th anniversary in 2017. For nearly 100 years, Lions Clubs have served their communities and touched the lives of millions of people. Over the next 3 ½ years, Lions Clubs will work to achieve the goal of serving at least 100 million people. Lions Club International is the largest service club organization in the world. Its 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 Clubs are serving communities in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the globe. BE PROUD TO BE A LION!

HELEN HESSING FAMILY FOUNDATION GRANT
Two very fine articles on this subject were printed in the January 29th Star News - one on the Star News Editorial page, featuring Lion Shirley Lemke and the other by Brian Wilson.  Another article by Brian Wilson In the October 1st Star News, was printed about the Spot Vision Screener.  If anyone missed these, it would be beneficial to go back and check them out.
As of the present the Lions have allocated:
$2500 - Library
$1190 - School Vision Enhance
$2995 - Reading Machine
$2000 - River Walk
$7050 - Spot Vision Screener

2016 New Grant;  

2016 earmarked Grants as of Feburary

 2017-2018 Committee Members;

• Fourth of July Food Stand
• Great Rubber Duck Race
• Adopt a Highway Cleanup on Hwy 64
• Lions Golf Tournament
• Eyeglass and hearing aid collection programs
  • * The Medford Lions purchase glasses for those in the community who cannot afford to buy them. The club receives verification of financial need from our County or School Nurse.
    * The Medford Lions donate to the Medford Public Library Foundation, to supplement the Library's budget, to purchase Large Print Books and Books on CD.
    * The Medford Lions place containers in many businesses to collect used eye-glasses. The glasses are cleaned/repaired/lenses identified at our Lions Camp near Stevens Point, WI. The glasses are then distributed in Third World Countries through Lions Missions.
    * The Medford Lions support financially the Wisconsin Lions Camp, near Stevens Point, WI, which is a camp for Kids with Disabilities including vision impairment. The camp is free to all campers. Medford sends campers every year.
• Tissue Transporter for the Lions Eye Bank  
  • * The Medford Lions support the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin located in Madison. Medford Lions serve as transporters of Eye Tissue to the Eye Bank in Madison when donations occur at The Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin, Inc., a nonprofit 501 (c)(3), is a team of professionals and
    volunteers dedicated to the mission of restoring the Gift of Sight through transplantation of corneas, research and education to advance the knowledge and treatment of eye diseases. The Eye Bank fulfills this mission locally, nationally and internationally by recovering, processing and distributing eye tissue to corneal transplant surgeons, researchers and educators. From 7/2013 to 6/2014, our Eye Bank gave the "Gift of Sight" to 1,097 recipients. Great Gifts!
• Peace Poster Contest  
  • The Medford Lions Club is the sponsor of the Lions International Peace Poster Contest at the Medford Area Middle School, (MAMS), Holy Rosary and Immanuel Lutheran Schools. The teachers from the 3 schools work with the students, ages 11-13, in creating peace posters with the theme, new each year..
• Ball Park Concession Stand
• Dial Santa
  • This year Santa received approximately 70 phone calls and talked to 105 children. This was the largest number of children Santa has talked to in the last 4 years. Santa’s Elves did a spectacular job of handling the phone calls!   3 Medford Lions Elves participated this year, In addition, 3 Medford High School Elves assisted.
    One of the fun aspects of assisting Santa is listening to the various requests from the children. Santa has to be on his toes and have a quick wit to handle many of the calls.
• Provide support to Local Food Pantry, Indianhead Community Action Agency
• Deer Hide Collection for the Wisconsin Lions Foundation
• Vision Screening (Children And Adult) 
  • * The Medford Lions assist with Vision Screening in our schools, screening hundreds of Kids each year. We currently use the Snellen Chart, which has been in use for 150 years and has done the job reasonably well. This is where our club could certainly use some funding: A "Spot Vision Testing Camera" is now available and is in use in Wisconsin. The Spot Camera offers advantages over the Snellen Chart in that children do not need to be able to read or speak. Children simply look into the device as it takes some pictures. Based on those
    images, it will proceed to notify if it detects potential vision problems -- all within no more than one second. Cost of 1 Spot Camera (discounted Lions Price) --- $7,015.00 Printer used with Spot Camera --- $150.00
    * The Medford Lions conduct Adult Vision/Glaucoma Screening at our Senior Health Fair in October. We have been trained by Prevent Blindness America to do the screening. * The Medford Lions also purchase Large Print Calendars which are distributed annually
    throughout our county to residents with Vision Impairment.

These are projects we have been involved in:

• Construction of two building and a snowmobile bridge at the Medford City Park
• Construction of a building at Grahl Park
• Construction of gazebos in Medford City and along the River Walk
• Lions Water Fountain at the Medford City Park.  Replacement
• Construction of a shelter at the Black River Golf course
• Medford Lions "Mush"  (Sled dog races)
• Bridge across the black River  Bridge Donation
  • * The Medford Lions contributed time & dollars to the Medford River Walk Bridge Project. The bridge connects the east side to the west side of the River Walk which circles the Mill Pond in Downtown Medford. Without the bridge, pedestrians had to use Highway 64 to connect the sides of the River Walk. The bridge offers safety to all, including those with vision impairment. Cost of the project is $130,000 -- we have paid off $125,000.
• An annual Octogenarian Night which has been held for over 52 years