President for 2008/9 Alex Evans
Party Tent
Mini Bus
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BERKHAMSTED LIONS SAY ‘THANK YOU’ TO THEIR SUPPORTERS
The Lions Club of Berkhamsted invited a cross section of its many supporters to a special dinner in the Wellcome Great Hall, on Thursday 17 January, so that the Club could say ‘thank you’ for all the help it had received over the years. Lion President GEOFF SMITH read out a citation and presented ‘Certificates of Appreciation’ to 20 supporters. A further 20 certificates will be presented individually to those who could not attend.
Local soprano KATHRYN JENKIN, accompanied by her father PETER JENKIN, ‘sang for her supper’ and made the evening a memorable one.
Citation by Lion President Geoff Smith, 17 January 2008.
Our club year starts on the 1st of July and each new President has the opportunity to nominate a charity or a new initiative he or she is going to promote during their year of office. I decided, after consulting club members, that it was high time we publicly recognised those who have consistently supported us in our activities over the years.
The club has been in existence for over 29 years - our thirtieth birthday will be this coming Autumn - and in that time so many individuals and companies have gone out of their way to help us. The most visible help probably comes from those who sponsor our August Bank Holiday Fete, or who advertise in the Fete Programme. This support and the door-to-door pre-sales of the programme is invaluable as it provides the core funding for the event.
It won't surprise you when I say that the Fete is the biggest and most complex event in the Lions’ calendar. We’ve been involved with fetes since 1985 - originally in Butts Meadow, then in the Castle, and now at Berkhamsted Sports & Social Club grounds. We first published a Fete Programme on 9th July 1988, and 13 companies who sponsored us then were still advertising in last year’s programme. They are :
Allen & Couser Motors - Bailey & Sons - J Batchelor & Son - R F Bassett Motors, now S & T Autos - S Dell &Sons Ltd - Norman Eastwood, Family Butchers, now Eastwoods of Berkhamsted - Ernest E Hendin & Son, now Hendins Plumbers - P & R Sheet Metal - Roy Chapman Ltd - Scissors, Mens Hair Salon - Town Hall Photo Centre, now Berkhamsted Imaging Centre - Woods, The Garden Centre - C D Wright Electrical
In thanking our advertisers, we would also like to thank Northward Printers who have printed our programmes for the past 16 years; nothing has been too much trouble for them.
Many of you will remember the problems we had in 1996 with tent pegs which allegedly could damage the vital Castle remains under the grass. That was when we moved our venue to the Berkhamsted Cricket Club grounds, and it was here when we received help from Carol and Bob Warren
The Fete, of course, is not our only fundraising activity. If you look at our Yearly Report , the Fete occupies just a few lines. Other fundraising events include our Charity Golf Match in aid of the hospices, and we are most appreciative of the help given by Whipsnade Park Golf Club during the day and at the evening celebration dinner. A regular helper at this event is Gordon Potton who every year is out there measuring the nearest putt to the pin and whatever else we ask him to do. We are also particularly grateful for the short break holidays that Bourne Leisure provide each year for the raffle;
We have held 7 Charity Concerts at Berkhamsted Collegiate School; the Bursar and staff could not have been more helpful. Again, another valued supporter is Keith Ranger who designs our concert programme and also arranges for them to be printed.
I know there are a lot more fundraising events, but let me turn to some of our other activities.
Meals on Wheels’: ever since our Club was formed, we have prepared meals and delivered them on Boxing Day and New Years Day. I have to say we thoroughly enjoy the experience, and it’s great meeting the recipients of the meals. We get a lot of help and encouragement from the Meals on Wheels staff, and it’s good to see them here tonight. Thanks to Pat Hewgill, Ann Smith, Val Ansel and Moira Davis.
Shortly after we started doing ‘Meals on Wheels’ over Christmas, Berkhamsted Golf Club chose us as one of the local charities they would support. For many years they and local traders funded the purchase of the meat, vegetables and ingredients for the meals. Nowadays all materials are provided by ‘Meals on Wheels’, so the Golf Club contribution now helps fund our parties for senior citizens. The Lions also hold two major functions at the Golf Club - our Charter Anniversary Dinner & Cabaret to celebrate our formation, and Ladies Night when we thank our partners for all the support they give the Lions. The Golf Club look after us really well. A big thank you to Berkhamsted Golf Club.
With so many things going on, it can be difficult to get one’s message over; we do appreciate those who help publicise our activities. Over many years, Rita Knowles has been writing articles about the goings-on in Berkhamsted; there’s not much she doesn’t know about our town.
The Lions have two public notice boards in Berkhamsted - one in the Way Inn, and now one near the entrance to Waitrose. We are most grateful to both organisations for this privilege.
An organisation that we greatly respect is St John Ambulance; they have provided a first aid service at all our functions for as long as I can remember. We use their HQ in Bell Lane for our Business Meetings each month. Thank you, Mick Mills and your first-aiders.
The Lions have provided a community minibus since 1985, and we’re on our 5th vehicle now. We're particularly grateful to Roy Chapman Ltd for their help in acquiring it and maintaining it; also to the Catholic Church for allowing us to keep it in their car park.
Part of our effort is directed at helping the youth. We are currently supporting a team from the local Raiders Football club in the Lions District Football Competition. If any of these young footballers require sports spectacles, then special ones are supplied by Adams EyeCare in conjunction with the Lions. Adams also collect used spectacles for the Lions to send to developing countries for re-use there.
The last two people I would like to single out are Graham Rhodes, Art Coordinator at Thomas Coram Middle School, and his counterpart at Bridgewater School - Michael Carberry. They and their schools have been very supportive of the Lions Peace Poster Contest, and have included it in the arts syllabus for 12 - 13 year olds. Thomas Coram are especially chuffed because their winning poster, painted by Anna Sale, went on to be judged the best poster at Lions District level.
