Fellow Lions Leaders,

Does your club need to develop some new leaders? Are there members in your club that have the potential to grow into a leadership role? If so, here is a great opportunity to plant the seed of leadership.

It is that time of the year when we begin planning for the Lions Leadership Institute. The institute is held in Higgins Lake, November 8-10, 2024. Registration is now open and available to those Lions in your clubs who may already be leaders, or who have the potential for a leadership role. This program covers the basics of Lionism and is an opportunity to build relationships in the bigger world of Lionism in Michigan.

The Leadership Institute program is one of the best in the United States and will provide the necessary tools for those that are looking to develop leadership skills not only in your club, but in your local community.

The District has funding available for Lions who have an interest in attending, so cost is not the issue. The only cost is getting to Higgins Lake, which from most locations in the U.P., is only a 3-4 hour drive. They provide lodging, food, and some of the best training in all of Lionism.

Please take the opportunity to share this with your members. You never know, the next Lions leader might be right there in front of you, just waiting for this opportunity. If your club has a member who is interested, please reach out and let us know. Registration closes on October 4th, 2024.

Please contact our District Leadership chairperson, PDG Gretchen Preston (prestongretchen@gmail.com) if you or someone you know are interested in attending. You can always reach out to me as your District Governor, and I will also help in facilitating the process.

Scott Kwarciany, District Governor
District 10 Lions

> Click here to download 2024 Leadership Institute Flyer

Michigan Advisory Board members,

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the eclipse experience happening today! I am pleased to share an update on Eversight’s work through the first quarter of 2024.

Tissue Transplants

Every year, thousands of donors selflessly give the gift of sight to those in need. In Michigan 576 donors gave the gift of sight as cornea/eye donors from January 1 to March 31, 2024. Below is a breakdown of how donated tissues were used.

Research & Innovations

Eversight is partnering with Emmecell, a private clinical-stage biotechnology company, to advance cell therapies for the treatment of eye disease. Emmecell’s minimally invasive cell therapy injects healthy corneal endothelial cells obtained from donor corneas into the eye to repopulate the patient’s diseased cornea with functioning endothelial cells, potentially eliminating the need for transplantation. Eversight is providing tissue to Emmecell for the continued advancement of this technology and for clinical trials. Learn more here.

You can also watch this video to learn more about Eversight’s Research & Development Team’s work.

Education & Training

From January 1-March 31, 2024, Eversight staff held 11 educational wet lab trainings for 44 surgeons, residents and fellows at partner institutions on four common types of cornea transplant procedures: Descemet Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK), Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK), Penetrating Keratoplasty (PKP) and Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK). During these sessions, surgeons practiced graft insertion and positioning with individualized, real-time insights from trained, highly experienced surgeon instructors. 

Global Development

Eversight received two generous grants in 2024 to support our global development work. The Alcon Foundation gave $75,000 to support the next phase of eye bank development in Pakistan: The training and oversight of four donation coordinators in Pakistan to facilitate recovery of cornea tissue in accordance with the Hospital Cornea Recovery program at host institutions. We also received a $50,000 grant from The Robert and Judith Sturgis Family Foundation to support the placement of corneal tissue at a reduced or no-cost internationally. We are grateful for these gifts which will greatly impact all those living with preventable blindness in the countries where we work.

Golf for Good! The Eversight Vision Classic will be taking place from May 23-June 13 this year and all are welcome to participate! Golf anywhere, anytime between these dates to raise awareness and charitable support for sight-saving transplants and vision research. Learn more and register today https://eversightgolf.givesmart.com Please email me directly if there is a certain area of the event that you would like to contribute to: wine pull, gift card pull, sponsorship, or foursome / single golfer. On June 15, we will host a celebratory luncheon at the Washtenaw Golf Club – luncheon information is also available on the event page linked above.

Thank you for everything you do to ensure those in need have access to the gift of sight. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out – I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmly,
Alex Teska (she/her/hers)
Director of Philanthropy

Greetings, Lions!

Some exciting Webinar’ for you to learn more about Lions Clubs International Foundation!!!

All webinars are pre-recorded and links to watch each one will be shared soon. You will have one week to view the webinar at your leisure, take notes and prepare for the live Chat & Challenge events. The live events will occur one week after the release of each webinar, where you can join LCIF staff and your fellow Lions to ask questions and discuss webinar content in a group setting.  

We look forward to seeing you in the cosmic learning galaxy!

PLEASE NOTE: This event is full but there is a waiting list if they’d like to register: click here

Monday, March 18, 2024, the Marquette Lions Club invites you and yours to join them for a viewing of the movie classic, “Anatomy of a Murder.”

The event is free, Snacks and popcorn will be available. You are welcome to bring in your “take out” dinner.

The movie starts at 5:30 pm. in the basement of the Peter White Public Library, Community room.

This is the first event in celebration of our upcoming district convention!

Hello Gwinn Seed Library Seeders!

This past Saturday was our first workshop for 2024! Featured were 25 seed varieties that were Yoop tolerant for our growing conditions.

A few new ones for 2024 growing were identified as well. Several of the varieties were talked about for color, taste, yield and storage. All participants left with seeds to plant for 2024 and a promise to return seeds to the Gwinn Seed Library!

Next Workshop
Our next workshop is 17 February, 1pm, Gwinn Community Church – Value Added Veggie Gardening with Flowers, Fungi, Herbs and Spices: Enhance your gardening experience. Spice it up or relax with a cup of homegrown tea while using the garden space more efficiently. Samples will be available. Presenter – Grace AaltoRosenbaum, an excellent presenter and long-time UP grower.  I ENCOURAGE all of you to come. Grace is a wealth of growing information!

Intensive Gardening
There is always talk about gardening techniques. Use the below link to get into a Mother Earth News article on intensive gardening techniques. And, Mother Earth News is carried at the Forsyth Township Library or you can go online to access many of the MENs articles – some great reading.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/unconventional-gardening-methods-pros-and-cons-zm0z17fmzqui/

Dilly Bean Recipe – High Mowing Seeds
Green or yellow beans with stem ends trimmed, enough to stuff into a quart sized jar standing straight up and down  (my favorites are Kentucky Wonder Pole and Bush)
1 or 2 large garlic cloves, cut in half
2 or 3 large sprigs of dill weed
1 or 2 dill flower heads
1 TBSP of sea salt
4 TBSP of whey (if you do not have whey, you can double the salt)
Spring water

See you the 17th!
Steve, Seedbearer
gwinnseedlibrary@gmail.com
920-573-0430

February 4, 2024 at 1 pm
Gwinn Seed Library Gardening Workshop
Gwinn Community Church

February 4th, 1pm at Gwinn Community Church, 85 N. Pine St. in Gwinn, next to Joe and Son’s Service in the red building, we will have our first workshop of the 2024 season. It will be a review of some of the produce raised, harvested, seeds collected and discussion on what they were like for flavor, growth and seed quantities. Sample packs of seeds will be available to attendees.

For more information contact:
Lion Steve Finley via email: stevefgrower@gmail.com

Bark River Lions Club
The Bark River Lions Club recently made donations to the Ford River Fire Department and the Gladstone Robotics Program for their assistance at the Bark River International Raceway this summer.

Accepting the check for the Ford River Fire Department is Fire Chief Brian Nelson with the check being presented by Bark River Lions Club President Brian Farrell.

Accepting the check for the Gladstone Robotics Program are students Brant Veeser and Peyton Rorh with the check being presented by Scott Kwarciany, 1VDG and Chairman of Bark River International Raceway.