The speaker for the April 1 meeting was Bonnie Hagerman who is the Executive Director, Academic Services at Hood College.  She told us a very moving and exciting story which began when she saw an article about people knitting and crocheting articles of apparel for premature babies.  She was at a point in life where she had some time on her hands and when she read the article she said to herself, "I could do that!".  So she got patterns from the hospital for normal sized infants and scaled them down and submitted them to Children's Hospital in Washington, D. C.  The verdict: make them smaller!  Undaunted, she scaled down. After a few iterations of scaling down she was told to "make the bonnet so that it will fit a lime!".  She did and her items were accepted. 

She told the hospital she could do one a day - about 30 a month.  "Would that be enough?"  The answer: "We need up to 125 per month".  She knew she could not meet that goal herself, but maybe there were others like herself who would be interested in doing this.  By this time she was more than excited because the nurses expressed how much these items were appreciated by both the hospital staff and the parents.

She went to the Frederick News-Post and asked if they could print an article about the need for preemie clothing.  They did and she got 150 responses from people who wanted to pitch in. 

She was on her way!  When additional help was needed she went to the Washington Post.  They printed a very small 7 line add  in the far back of the paper; she was disappointed in this.  But - she got 700 responses!

By now her part time project had grown into a national effort.  The Family Circle Magazine offered to publish an article and this time there were 7000 responses from people interested in participating.

The result of all this was "Carewear".  It's still a volunteer organization and is now international.  Visit their website www.carewear.org and learn more about Bonnie's dream come true.  Maybe you can help too!

Lion President Gary presents Bonnie with a Certificate of Appreciation

The Patriot Guard Riders are a diverse group  of motor cycle riders from across the nation.  They have one thing in common besides motorcycles which is an unwavering respect for those who risk their lives for America's freedom and security.  Their primary mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes.  Each mission has two basic objectives, (1) to show their sincere respect  for our  nation's fallen heroes, their families and their communities and (2) to shield the mourning family and their friends from the interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.  A major activity is to visit the Walter Reed Hospital to shake their hand, give words of appreciation or take them  hunting or fishing or whatever they may want to do. To learn more, visit their website:     www.patriotguard.org

Below is President Gary with Lions Ted and Ann after presenting them with a certificate of appreciation.

The county and state school system budget planning indicates this need will be addressed no sooner than  2011.  This was recognized as unacceptable by local teachers and parents, so a fund was established (Libertytown Playgrounds Fund)  to alleviate the problem as soon as possible. 

On March 6 a check for $2,300 was presented by the club at Liberty Elementary School.

Pictures of the breakfast are here.

From Left to Right are: Drenna Reineck, Principal, Carol Chaney, PTA President, Allison Zerr, Playground Committee Chairperson and Lions President Gary Mullins.

Program Chairman, Harry Swope, provided a very interesting speaker at the meeting of February 19.  He was Mr. Robert Garver, an aeronautical engineer and a specialist in personal flight craft.  He is active in the Frederick Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, and has produced numerous proprietary aircraft designs.  In 1988 Bob started thinking about airplanes for general transportation to alleviate the crowded system in the two dimensional system of today.  By adding the third dimension, height, he envisioned a tremendous increase in the amount of traffic possible.  He discussed his experiences with aircraft design and showed many pictures of aircraft he has build plus some of his own design. 

He flies his ultra-light craft (which he built) out of the Keymar Airpark located on Route 194 just north of Maryland Route 77.

President Gary Mullins presents Bob Garver with a Certificate of Appreciation at the conclusion of his presentation

Diabetes Awareness
 

Program Chair Sue Ensor (left) holds a stuffed Lion sold for $5.00 for the benefit of Diabetes Awareness, while President Gary presents a $350 check to Lion Donna Jackman for the Lions Clubs Diabetes Awareness program.

Mission of Mercy Vice President Speaks to us

He is the recipient of the Melvin Jones award, the highest awarded by Lions Club International.

In recent years, health concerns of  his wife, Frances, and himself have not allowed regular  attendance at  meetings.  We are happy to note that Frank has been able to attend the past two meetings; we trust this points to good health for both Frank and Frances.