The late Don Buckalew remembered during CNLC membership campaign
Rich Sproba/ Conroe Noon Lions
It is already the week of Thanksgiving, and we have a lot to be grateful for as Lions. We have about 315 members and are thankful for all they do to help us serve this community. I know I can’t remember every one of their names but with this group, we all know that if you were to ask for help, they would step up.
However, having more friends like these is a great goal, which is why we are into our Fall Membership drive “Who is going to fill their shoes?” With the help of our membership committee, Lion Hannah Medley showed us a video about the legendary Don Buckalew this week. Don was never your average Lion. He jumped at an early age and had almost every position besides International President of Lions. There could be another person out there ready to jump in and be such a leader and integral part of our community, so we will keep searching to find that next new Lion to fill his shoes.
We need all Lions to be on the lookout and ask someone to join you for lunch and see what we are all about!
As for some other news, we brought back our ‘Conroe Noon at Night’ last week to get some of our fellow Lions out to The Table at Madely for a time to hang around and relax. Those are always fun and a good time to get to talk to people you might not be able to during our meetings.
We also are out scouring the area for anyone interested to WIN a new Buckalew Chevrolet, or a Weekend at Fredericksburg or 27 other great prizes in our annual Lucky Derby - Car Raffle. We are only selling 700 of these so if you want a chance to win any of these great prizes, find a Lion you know or call ME. I still have a few to sell. All of these proceeds go to our Community Service Projects.
Back to our meeting, which was our annual Outstanding Youth Contest. This year, we got to hear about and from four Conroe High School students that were trying to capture scholarship money. These four students each received a $1000 scholarship and the winner, Acocia Williams received another $1000 and will advance to District! The other finalists included Katie Quarles, Payton Wehri, and Zayyad Osuolale. The competition is tough since this group had the current Valedictorian and Salutatorian of their class. Outstanding Youth chairman – Lion Rick Camp and his committee judged their essays, reviewed their bios, and reduced the group to these four young adults. During the meeting, Lion Rick then asked each of them questions which ranged from ‘Why are you proud to be an American’, ‘How will technology change our society’, ‘How they define success’, to ‘What their autobiography would be titled’ and more. They all were very impressive and had some great responses, but Acocia pulled off the win!
After the voting was in, we got to learn more about these contestants and their future goals. We have 2 headed up to Texas A&M and 2 headed to the University of Texas. Their current accomplishments range from being a violinist, a cheerleader/swimmer and track member, a nationally recognized SAT scorer and a cowgirl who spends her time with horses. They plan to get into the fields of Dentistry, Computer Science, Engineering and Psychiatry. Seeing these excellent and motivated young people makes me think they should be the ones judging us in a competition since they are probably more qualified.
In closing, Past President Ricky Morton reminded us that we will not have a meeting the week of Thanksgiving and to all please remind him, so he doesn’t show up! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving break and safe travels to you and your families.
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