Candi Fitch has been the executive director of the ID Apple Comm., ID Cherry Comm., ID Hops Growers Comm., ID-E. Oregon Onion Comm., and the ID-Ore Fruit & Vegetable Assoc. for the last 30 yrs. She enlightened us with some fascinating information about these crops that perhaps you didn't know.
April 9, 2025
Lion Esteban Galan was our April 9 Speaker. Esteban works at Envision as the Programs & Community Development Director. He mentioned Envision is in the middle of their Illuminate Futures Campaign. They are trying to raise $310,000 and are at $79,000. They would like to invest in rural health screenings by purchasing Spot scanners. Envision see 68% of the schools for vision and hearing screenings. They would like to invest in corneal tissue processing so they can complete all of the steps necessary to prepare the cornea for surgery at Envision. They would also like to expand the vision clinic to provide more services.
April 2, 2025
Marsha Tennyson has been the director for the Chrysalis Women’s Transitional Living for the past 23 yrs. It provides three homes for women who are transitioning from incarceration, addictions and abuse. They are able to provide housing for 27 women who are employed. Their goal is to reunite families and stop the cycle of addiction and abuse. They work hard to empower women towards a positive change.
Greg Kaltenecker is the Ex. Dir. of the Diane and Winston Moore Nature Center and Intermountain Bird Observatory. The IBO has provided research and education for 30 yrs. and is developing one of Boise’s premier outdoor education destinations. He spoke about the side channel construction which is complete but the channel crossings have not yet been installed.
To learn more about this wonderful project, please click here to see our latest Newsletter!
March 19, 2025
On March 19th, our club had the privilege of hearing from four inspiring speakers from Mother's Against Drunk Driving, (aka MADD): Miren Aburusa, Sara Upson, Natasia Preys, and Cassie Navarrette, They shared the powerful story behind MADD and their impactful work in our community. Founded on September 5, 1980, by Candace Lightner, MADD began as a personal mission after Candace's 13-year-old daughter, Cari, tragically lost her life to a drunk driver. From that moment, MADD has grown into a global movement advocating for safer roads, tougher laws, and victim support. Thanks to their efforts, drunk driving fatalities have been cut in half since their founding—a truly remarkable achievement.
For the rest of this story, and more, please click here for our latest newsletter!
March 12, 2025
Our March 12th Speaker was Sierra Padilla Hunt, Development Coordinator for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, Highlights New Education Center and Its Impact on the Community Sierra Padilla Hunt, Development Coordinator for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, recently presented an informative history of the center and shared exciting details about the newly opened Education Center, during the March 12, 2025 Boise Bench Lions meeting. The Idaho Anne Frank Memorial, a symbol of human rights and tolerance, was opened in 2002. In October 2024, the Wassmuth Center's Education Center was officially opened, expanding the center’s mission of promoting human dignity, justice, and inclusivity.
District 39W March Newsletter
For very intereseting club news and more, download here!!!!
To read the rest of this story, and more click here for our latest newsletter!
February 26, 2025
Sara White is an ADA County Victim Witness Coordinator. They have 3.5 coordinators at this time in hopes to hire a couple more. Unfortunately, the crimes they deal with are on the rise. Their most common cases are domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. The also deal with other crimes as well.
February 19, 2025
Dr Terry Rich is an Ornithologist. On Wednesday, he spoke about birds, birding and bird conservation. Why Birds? Because they are beautiful, fascinating and important to our world.
February 12, 2025
Shawna Samuelson and her co-worker, Jennifer. Shawna is the education and marketing manager for the Boise city airport. The airport was built in 1926 on a gravel bed where the BSU campus now stands. The first commercial air mail flight passed through this airport in 1926 and passenger service started in 1930.
To read the rest of this fascinating story and much more, click here to see our latest newsletter!
February 5, 2025
Our February 5th speaker was Dr Corey DuPont of DuPont Wellness Mobile Physical Therapy. Dr. DuPont comes to you for your appointment. He is a small part of the PT market providing outpatient therapy.
January 29, 2025
Lion Craig Spanton is the Ex. Dir. of LIVE Foundation Inc. It started in 1949 as a sheltered workshop for handicapped people. It was supported by the Lions Clubs of Southern ID, which sold many of its products.
January 22, 2025
Lion Lisa Gier has type 1 diabetes and grew up going to the Hodia camps. She was their executive director for 17 yrs. She has now become the executive director for the Diabetes Education and Camping Association, DECA. But what does DECA do?
January 15, 2025
Lion Curt Kelley and his wife Pat’s Great Antarctica Adventure - They had some rough seas during their trip. They saw beautiful huge icebergs. Fun fact: Well, to see this Fun Fact and more, click here to read the latest Boise Bench Newsletter!
January 8, 2025
Lion Chuck originally started in the BB Lions years ago. PID Gary was his sponsor. He stepped back from Lions for some years but couldn’t stay away and joined the Meridian Lions. He asked what is the #1 priority for Lions?
December 18, 2024
Jennifer & Donna, singers with "Kindred" entertained us at our Christmas meeting. No meetings scheduled for Christmas week and New Years week but you can get caught up with the latest from the BB Lions by clicking here to read our current newsletter. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
December 11, 2024
Our December 11 speaker was ennifer Rockwell, the Executive Director of the Ruth Melichar Bird Center. She has been with the center for 23 yrs. The center is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and successful release of injured birds. Spring to Fall is their busiest time of year. They get anywhere from 2,500 - 3,000 orphaned and injured birds in that time frame.
December 4, 2024
Matt Clifford is the ADA county sheriff. He has 24 yrs. in the department. He is from a small town in Idaho. The Ada County Sheriffs Department, is the largest local law enforcement agency in ID with nearly 900 employees and more than 400 com missioned deputies. Their main goal is to ensure Ada County is a safe place to live, work and play. The ACSO has 5 bureaus: police services, jail ser vices, court services, administrative, and communications.
To see that story and much more, click here!
November 20, 2024
Stacy Lawrence is a case manager for our local Salvation Army. She asked how many members have rung a bell? Ringing the bell in front of businesses is their largest fundraiser. You can sign up on their website to ring the bell. They have many programs for families and can serve children up to 21 yrs. of age. She spoke about their Pathway of Hope initiative. They are shifting from treating the symptoms of poverty to preventing the epidemic at its root. By helping families overcome many barriers. They are trying to stop generational poverty.
For the rest of this story and more, please click hear to see our latest newsletter.
November 13, 2024
Lori Facilla with Giraffe Laugh Early Learning Center, said ID is one of 3 states who does not make a financial investment in early childhood education. The legislature did agree to send some funding their way to help with their new locations. One is Giraffe Laugh at the Franklin in Boise and Giraffe Laugh at Kuna. They partner with the Boys and Girls clubs to help serve ages 6 wks. to 18 yrs old.
November 6, 2024
Jodi Peterson-Stigers is the Exec. Dir. of Interfaith Sanctuary. When she saw we were honoring our Veterans, she shared the story of veteran Paul Gilbert who was a guest at Interfaith for many years. He had nicknames for everyone, Jodi’s was “brat”. He touched many lives at the shelter and this was evident at the full military ceremony when he passed away. Many of the unhoused spoke about his kindness and willingness to help them any way he could. His family was very moved by the outpouring of love for Paul.
October 30, 2024
Lion DG John Hand is a member of the Meridian Lions. His grandfather was a member of the Hollywood Lions for many years. He showed a picture at the convention and asked the attendees what they saw.
October 23, 2024
Lion Frank Kalange was born in Florida in a strong Catholic family. His Dad showed his Mom pictures of ID like Stanley and Sun Valley then moved them to Twin Falls. His Mom took him to his first soup kitchen. His Mom’s favorite quote to him was “To Seek Inner Peace”.
To see more of Frank's amazing story and more, click here to read our latest newsletter.
October 16, 2024
Lion Jay Lugo is the executive director of Envision which was founded in 1969. The Lions who helped start Envision saw the need for an eye bank. Back in the day, the transplants had to be completed within 24 hrs. There are 70 eye banks in in the U.S. 22 of them are still Lions eye banks. Envision is working with LI to brand and promote the Lions eye banks throughout the world.
For the rest of this story and more, click here.
October 9, 2024
Stephanie Rendon moved to ID 5 yrs. ago. She has been an orthopedic trauma PA for 13 yrs. She is married and has 2 sweet little boys. Her journey to becoming a PA for her full-time gig is quite a story.
October 2, 2024
Amanda from Canine Companions was our October 2 Speaker. She brought Tallulah, a yellow lab. with her. Amanda is Tallulah’s trainer. Tallulah is 6 months old today. She is working on learning 36 basic commands. The trainers get a dog at 8 weeks and train them for 16-18 months. The dogs breed specifically into the program. They use full golden retrievers, full labradors or a mix of a golden and lab. The mix seems to be working very well for canine companions which is what Tallulah is. Lions have supported canine companions since its founding in 1975. They have placed 8,000 working service dogs. Currently Lions clubs and individual Lions in 26 states support the program.
Click here to see the rest of this story and more in our Newsletter.
September 25, 2024
John Kempf and Dominic Tierno from the Idaho Fentanyl Education Project spoke to the club about their efforts to introduce an educational presentation in schools and other organizations statewide. John Kempf is a retired ISP (Captain) officer from northern Idaho and Dominic Tierno is an Idaho resident/filmmaker, who produced and filmed the documentary film “dead on arrival”, in Kuna.
download the newsletter here for even more great information
September 18, 2024
Our 9/18 Speaker was Diana Rick, Asst. Director of Helping Idaho Dogs. She brought a special guest, Kirby, a service dog & Labradoodle.
There are 20 therapy dogs and owners who volunteer with the organization, and they visit many locations such as: Boise State (particularly during finals), libraries, schools to help with mental health, assisted living and memory care centers, Mt Home Airforce Base (honorary Captain) and recently wildland firefighters camps.
For the rest of this story and more, click here!
September 11, 2024
Our 9/11/24 speaker was Tyler Jepson, the Balance Program Manager for Idaho Elks Hearing and Balance. He is a Geriatric Certified Specialist and works with patients who are prone to fall, mostly due to dizziness and other balance disorders.
For the rest of Tyler's important, interesting talk, click here to read the latest newsletter!
September 4, 2024
Tim Flaherty is the founder of astegos.org. During the crash of 2008, Tim was involved in an illegal stock purchase. He took responsibility for his actions and served 17 months in a federal prison where he did a lot of soul searching. After his release, Tim saw the world in a different light and he felt called to a life of service. He started working at a homeless shelter and his life changed from there. He started the non-profit astegos.org. Astegos is the Greek word for homeless.
For the rest of Tim's story, Artegos, & our current newsletter click here!
August 28, 2024
Seth Wheeler is the membership and volunteer coordinator for the ID State Historical Society. The society was founded in 1881 and became a state agency in 1907. The historical society handles the administration and HR for all of the historic entities. Their funding is 1/2 ID taxpayer, 1/4 is federal grants, and 1/4 is earned revenue.
August 21, 2024
Patty Miller, our 8/21 guest speaker, is the director of the Basque museum. Her mom is the Basque side of her family. The Basque country, Euskal Herria, is located in Spain and France. It is approx. 112 miles of coastline which could fit in Owyhee county. There are approx. 3 million inhabitants with 7 historical territories, 4 in Spain and 3 in France.
August 14, 2024
Ada County Spokesperson Elizabeth Duncan introduced Ada County Commissioner Ryan Davidson who updated our group on various Ada County projects that are in the works including the fairgrounds land. Ada County owns and operates the fairgrounds where the fair is located and the Hawks stadium. They lease the land for the stadium. Plans are in the works to build a new stadium which will be a multi-use sports venue. The Park at Expo Idaho will be 50 acres along the Boise river and connected to the greenbelt next to the fairgrounds. Click the link below for the rest of this story and more on our August 14th Newsletter:
https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%208-14-24.pdf
July 31, 2024
Our speaker Dana Thorp-Patterson is the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The institute is not a franchise and receives no funding from BSU other than donated space in Park Center. It is the same building as BSU Radio. The institute offers a wide variety of college-level, non-credit programs designed for intellectually curious adults 50 and over. BSU among many other universities and colleges are endowed...
July 24, 2024
Laura Guido is the Bureau Chief for the Idaho Press. Betsy Russell a longtime ID reporter retired last year. She suggested Laura apply for her job which she did and got it. Laura grew up in Pullman and graduated from WSU. She fell in love with local journalism while living in the coastal town of Coupeville and working for their newspaper.
Click here for more on Laura and the latest Boise Bench Newsletter
July 17, 2024
Jessica and Brooke spoke to us about the Lutheran Community Services in the Treasure Valley which started in 2020. They have a network of compassionate volunteers who create an extended family for parents who are struggling, alone and unable to care for their children as they would like. From hosting children in approved volunteer homes to connecting parents with tools and resources.
July 10, 2024
Dan Everhart is one of 12 full time historian employees at the State Historic Preservation Office. He is an outreach historian to promote Idaho’s history. This office serves as an umbrella over the other historic agencies. The ID state penitentiary is the state’s flagship for ID history.
Click here for more on this interesting topic and to read the full Boise Bench Newsletter
June 26, 2024
Our guest speakers were Teresa Mitzel, Portfolio & Project Lead and Emily Kniep, QMS Lead from Syngenta. Syngenta is a global agricultural technology company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It primarily covers crop protection and seeds for farmers. Syngenta is part of the Syngenta Group, entirely owned by Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Syngenta was founded in 2000. Syngenta has eight primary product lines which it develops, markets and sells worldwide; Its five product lines for pesticides are selective herbicides, non-selective herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and seed care. Three product lines for seed products include corn and soya, other field crops and vegetables. Field crop seeds include both hybrid seeds and genetically engineered seeds, some of which enter the food chain and become part of genetically modified food
Click here to read entire exciting newsletter from this meeting
June 19, 2024
Our June 19th speaker Rebecca is the Education and Outreach Manager for the ADA County Landfill. The way of looking at handling trash is always evolving. There are lots of ways to handle trash from reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose, upcycle, downcycle, and recycle. Landfills impact the environment.
June 12, 2024
Our speaker, Bethany Phillips, Camp Rainbow Gold explained the organization started because a young boy was told he could not go to camp because he had cancer. This is a fantastic organization!
Download newsletter here for more info
June 5, 2024
Our speaker Julie D’Agostino is the founder/exec. director of Rolling Tomato which is a food recovery and distribution service. They are in their 8th year of getting freshly prepared food to non-profits.
May 29, 2024 Bench Press
Our speaker Travis Woodbury is the Securities Investigations Supervisor. He spoke to protecting Idaho’s financial health. Some of their areas of focus: Financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. The elderly population is the most trusting. Investment fraud, protect market integrity, digital assets and Crypto fraud. Crypto fraud is the largest problem right now.
May 22 2024 Bench Press
Our speaker Brad Talbutt is a Senior Health Insurance Benefits Advisor. It is a free service in the Department of Insurance. There are 6 advisors in the state, 2 in Boise and numerous counse-lors. There are between 250-300 plans available which can be confusing. SHI-BA will help you understand all of your options. They can also help people who are having problems with their Medi-care plans. They have lots of contacts in all areas to reach out to. Depending on the problem they can get answers usually within 2 weeks. He has seen many dental offices not accepting the advantage plans. Medicare plans are making it harder for the dental offic-es to get paid. What is a medigap plan? It is a simple plan that pays the dif-ference of what your Medicare plan won’t pay. You can only change your advantage plan during the enrollment period. Get your questions answered about financial assistance programs, help choosing the best Medicare health and drug plan, help with under-standing confusing medical bills, and help understanding your preventive and wellness benefits.
DOWNLOAD THE BENCH PRESS HERE FOR ALL THE NEWS FIT TO PRINT
May 15 2024 Bench Press
Trent Tripple is the district court clerk who runs 2 elections a year. There are 197 precincts, 162 polling places, over 350 contests, and over 1100 ballot styles. They are always in need of poll workers. Go to the web-site to sign up if interested. ADA county works very hard to be fully transparent. ID uses hand marked pa-per ballots. A person scans their ballot on the public logic & accuracy test ma-chine which tabulates the choices. This machine is not connected to the internet or Bluetooth capable. They take the count from the machine and compare it to the count of the volun-teers. When there have been discrep-ancies, it was always human error. Only in ADA county there will be a ballot verifier. It is the first of its kind in the country. The main reason they de-cided to purchase it was due to the office being inundated with public rec-ords requests. In Idaho, voters must request an absentee ballot, not every state does that. 15% of voters use early voting. 70% vote in person. Vot-ers can register the same day in Ida-ho. May 21st is the Primary Election only about 20-30% of voters will vote. In November, about 88% of voters will vote.
There have been threats to elections. In Slovakia, a video which was created using artificial intelligence, was sent out through social media showing a candidate claiming to double the price of beer if he was elected. He lost the race. The video was not real. Russia sent this video out with their multi-million dollar weapon of mass manipula-tion to influence social behavior.
Download the Newsletter here for even more news!!!!
May 8, 2024 Bench Press
Stub Clarkson of Optimist Youth Football and Cheer Programs was our guest speaker this week. Optimist Youth Football and Cheer Programs is a non-profit, volunteer-driven youth football organization in Idaho's Treasure Valley, with programs in Boise, Meridian, Kuna, Eagle, Nampa, Emmett, Homedale, Middleton, Horseshoe Bend and Mountain Home. This wonderful program was formed in 1949 (football in 1952) and has evolved from 2 teams and 30 players to now over 1700 kids playing on 25 teams. Optimist Youth Football sets up teams based on neighborhoods, ensuring that everyone participates without tryouts. Age and weight also determine team placement.
For the rest of this story and more click here.
May 1, 2024
Judge Mike Oths has been a magistrate judge for almost 20 yrs. He was appointed by the magistrate commission. He did mostly criminal cases. He said he worked on about 9,000 cases a year. 95% of the casework is done at the magistrate level. Click here for the rest of this story and more!
April 24, 2024 Bench Press
Our speaker Jan is a licensed respiratory therapist. She is now with the
Division of Occupational & Professional Licenses who are dedicated to consumer
protection and public safety. There are 3 divisions: Building construction
and real estate, occupational licenses, and health professions. Each division
has a board and these boards are appointed by the governor. Their goal is
to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. They determine
licensing or registration, they regulate standards of conduct and scope of
practice, adopt and monitor continuing education, and review complaints and
take disciplinary action if needed. One story of interest, some people try to
“doctor shop” to get controlled substances prescribed more often than
they should. There is a nationwide database the pharmacists use to enter
the dates/type of medications and amounts prescribed. After the Mandalay
Bay killings in NV, a pharmacist accessed this database to see what medications
the shooter was prescribed and sold that information to TMZ. This pharmacist no longer has a license. The database is monitored on who has access. This department
keeps track of all of the licenses in the 3 divisions. She said the amount of
physicians that have been reported to be leaving ID is not supported in their
statistics of licenses leaving ID.
For the rest of the news that is fit to print, download the newsletter here!!!!
April 17, 2024
Kyle Kamp is the owner, dietitian at Valley to Peak Nutrition. He got up to 270 lbs. and has lost 140 lbs. He was in his 20’s and started having medical issues due to his weight. He knew he needed to make some changes if he wanted to have a good quality/quantity of life, get married and have children.
To read the rest of Kyle's story (and more) click here.
April 10, 2024
April 3, 2024
Lions Jill and Scott Muir have been curling for 7 yrs. They are members of the Boise Curling Club at Idaho Ice World. Curling started in Scotland in the 16th century. It is one of the oldest team sports. There are only two businesses, in Scotland, who make the curling stones which are of a specific granite and moisture resistant.
March 27, 2024
Our March 27th speakers were Jenny Hirst and Yesenia Tyler from Taft Elementary School in Boise. Taft Elementary Community School has 305 students K-6. With 20 preschool students in partnership with the YMCA. More than 40% come from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. 80% receive free and reduced lunches. Who is a Refugee? A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home because of war, violence or persecution, often without warning.
For the rest of this story, and more, click here!
The Boise Rescue Mission started in 1958. It opened in a Chinese restaurant where the Grove Hotel is now. Back then they had Soup and Salvation, get them to come in, feed them and move them on. Now they serve more than 600 meals daily (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner). They are open 24/7/365 in Boise and Nampa. Their mission is to help the people with homelessness and to help the addicts get clean with their recovery program.
For the rest of this story, and others, click here.
March 13, 2024
Lexi is the Health Initiatives Coordinator for Special Olympics Idaho. They are working on the healthy athletes screening process for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Caldwell June 8th. They are in need of 3 clinical directors for Strong minds, Health promotion and Opening Eyes. Please pass the word to help this great organization. Devin Riley is in charge of Development & Partner Relations. Devin told us about the Special Olympics programs and initiatives. He travels the state to bring awareness to Special Olympics. Everything they do is for the athletes and all events are free for the athletes.
March 6, 2024
Nicole is the general manager of KRBX Radio Boise 89.9 and 93.5 FM broadcasting since 2011. They started as the Boise Community Radio Project now DBA Radio Boise. They are a free form non-profit since 2002 where the DJ’s pick their own music to play. They promote local artists, have varying genre’s, with multiple programs throughout the day.
For the complete story and the complete newsletter, click here
February 28, 2024
Julie from the SW ID Area Agency on Aging one of six across ID and Lynn from the ID Commission on Aging shared some great information. The facilities are for 60 and over. There are many, many resources on aging in ID. They have staff strategically placed in the rural areas. The SW ID Area Agency on Aging for care management, advocacy, respite and education. Phone: 208.898.7060 and toll free 844.850.2883, email: psa3@a3ssa.com, website: www.a3ssa.com. Here are the top 3 requests from caregivers: 1. needing respite (someone who can watch the loved one while the caregiver takes care of errands), doc appts. etc. 2. Peer Support, 3. equipment needs. Check out aging.idaho.gov and a3ssa.com for all the resources.
February 21, 2024
Maribeth and Jen from the Simply Cats adoption center spoke about their totally non-profit program. They are a cageless, no kill adoption center that started in the 80’s with no facility. They were able to build a brick and mortar facility from donations in 2007 at 2833 S Victory View Way in Boise. In 2009, they had 211 cats and kittens adopted.
To read the entire story and get all the latest news click here!
January 31, 2024
Michael Colburn and Gary Grunewald of the USS Idaho Commissioning Foundation were our guest speakers. The USS Idaho is a Virginia-class nuclear attack submarine that will be used for several missions including intelligence gathering, reconnaissance & surveillance, sea control, carrier & expeditionary strike group protection, land attack, mine detection, mine laying, special operations team (SEAL) insertion, command/control and recovery. The USS Idaho will be christened soon, which means it will be formally named, blessed, and launched into the water. It will be commissioned about 6 weeks after the christening which means it is now part of the navy fleet and ready to go to war. The Idaho will have a crew of 140 and it is interesting to note that every crew member must learn all the other crew members’ jobs.
January 24, 2024
Cynthia Bridge Clark spoke for the ID Dept. of Water Resources and the ID Water Resource Board spoke to the BB Lions at our meeting. Both of these departments are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
Ariel Agenbroad is an extension educator from the U of I. She is over the community food systems and small farms program. She was the horticulturist in Caldwell for 8yrs. The extension program has been around for 105 yrs. They are ever changing and adapting. The extensions area of expertise are agriculture, community development, family and consumer sciences, natural resources and youth development.
January 10, 2024
Our speaker Jordan Rodriguez has a column in the Statesman, Tight Lines 208. What’s the biggest fish he caught? An 8ft., 200lb.
https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%201-10-24.pdf
January 3, 2024
Tammy Johnson is the executive director of Life’s Kitchen. A local restaurant owner noticed the young people she was hiring at her restaurant were lacking in basic life skills. She had seen a program elsewhere that worked to develop those skills. They are now in their 20th year!
For the complete newsletter click the link below:
https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%201-3-24(2).pdf
December 20, 2023, Bench Press
Dominique Delobbe, founder/president of Dominifarm Animal Sanctuary started in 2013 as a private farm in Kuna. In 2021 they became a non-profit due to the increase in animals being surrendered after the confinement period of the covid pandemic. Dominifarm’s mission: COWS: Community, Outreach, Welfare, Shelter. Her sanctuary provides a permanent loving home for all types of abandoned, abused and/or special needs animals.
December 13, 2023 Bench Press
Sean Meldrum, Financial Adviser, Shane Smith, Private Client Officer, and Rachel Cossel, Community Development Manager from Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) were the speakers at our December 13 meeting.
Idaho Central Credit Union is a non-profit credit union based here in Idaho. It has over 30 Branches in the Treasure Valley, Twin Falls, & Eastern Idaho and recently expanded to the Spokane, Washington area. They are also a member of CO-OP's, a network of over over 30,000 ATMs and 5,000+ shared branches nationwide which means customers have more direct, surcharge-free* access to their money, a real plus to their customers who travel. ICCU is very progressive and tech driven in providing security to protect its customers via passwords and secondary log-in codes and, constantly working and upgrading to protect their customers’ money and privacy. Their customers' accounts are insured by NCUA. ICCU is also very proactive in giving back to the communities they serve.
There were 8 Lions at the Idaho Food Bank Yesterday and they help pack 1800 bags of oranges. Lion Jan Brady won the attendance award.
Patty Frison reported that Sleep in Heavenly Peace hopes to deliver 300 beds this year and as of last week was at 285. Thanks to Patty & Dan Frison for spearheading this wonderful cause for the Lions.
December 6, 2023 Bench Press
At our December 6 meeting, the Boise Bench Lions were entertained by the Borah High Madrigal Choir. The Choir sang Christmas Carols and we enjoyed their festive entertainment.
Chrysalis House will be hosting an open house Sunday, December 10 from 12 PM to 5 PM at their home located at 1683 N. Cloverdale Road in Boise. They are also hosting The Avenues For Hope Challenge fundraiser for a much needed bathroom and updated wiring in their home. See the complete info. posted on the Boise Bench Lion's Facebook site.
To Read the complete Newsletter and get all the happinings, click on the link below:
https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%2012-6-23.pdf
November 29, 2023 Bench Press
Lions Curt and Rick manage the BB Lions social media platforms. They shared information about the BB Lions social media presence. Check out the club’s website: www.boisebenchlions.org. There is lots of information to answer all your questions about our club including the financials. You will need to login for the financial information.
November 15, 2023 Bench Press
Col. JR “Apollo” Williams is the commander of the 124th Operations Group at Gowen Field. Gowen Field was built in 1940 and named after 1st Lt. Paul Gowen, a Caldwell native who died in an aircraft crash in 1938. He was a Medal of Honor recipient. Throughout World War II, the Army Air Forces used the field to train B-17 and B-24 aircrews for duty. After the war, the war department gave Gowen Field to the City of Boise. In 1946, the Air National Guard started without planes. In 1947, the P51’s arrived. Since 1946, Gowen has been home to 9 different fighter jets. There is a federal mission funded by federal dollars to defend our nation for deterrence and security. And there is a state mission, to provide soldiers and airmen trained and ready to assist the citizens of ID during emergencies and disasters. There are about 5,000 employees at Gowen, both ci-vilian and military. There are not any drone pilots in ID. They last deployed in 2020 to Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. ID is Fighter Country. Daily access to the best operational airspace in the USAF! There is ramp space for 70+ fighters, 44 acres. They are ready for follow-on mis-sions and have hosted multiple F-15/16/35 units. In the next 5 years, Gowen Field will be moving to F-16’s as the A-10’s are being retired. Check out imd.idaho.gov
DOWNLOAD THE NEWSLETTER HERE FOR EVEN MORE HAPPENINGS
November 8, 2023 Bench Press
Jim Findley from the ID Mountain Search and Rescue Unit shared some great stories and information about this unit. They have been serving the people of ID since 1960. They are a volunteer organization dedicated to saving lives through search, rescue and mountain safety education. For the complete story, and all the other news in our 11/7/23 newsletter, please click on the link below:
https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%2011-7-23.pdf
October 25, 2023 Bench Press
Bob Batista has been the general manager for the Western ID Fair
for the last 24 yrs. He oversees 240 acres, the horse races stopped in
2016. They have removed the horse stables and plans have started to
build a park on that land. Port Authority out of Pennsylvania won the
bid. The EXPO bldg. is the workhorse of the property. They rent the 3
connected bldgs. throughout the year so they keep it updated with new
roofs, wiring and HVAC systems. They build a little city the week before
the fair then it all comes together. The concerts have grown
from buying tickets, to hard chairs to just fair admission to attend.
They are still working on what to do with Lady Bird Park which runs along
Chinden. The Park at EXPO ID will try to recapture what the area
looked like back in 1951. 720 trees in the project, soccer and baseball
fields. They hope to be done by December 2026. See the pictures of
now and the schematic design for the future on page 3. Go to idahofair.
com, click get info, recent news for more information about the new park.
download the newsletter here for all the news fit to print
All the news you need to know on October 18, 2023
WE SERVE
Boise Bench Lions Club Meeting Noon Wednesdays
Casa Mexico, 10332 W Fairview, Boise
October 18, 2023
During the 2022-2023 year, Lions Envision Sight provided 13 sight restoring surgeries, recycled 61,536 pairs of eyeglasses, performed 149 full eye exams, and provided eye glasses at reduced cost based on income. The Eye Bank supported 353 corneas for transplant throughout Idaho and around the world. Vision and Hearing screenings at local schools are supported by Envision and a hearing aid program is also part of the operation. Lions clubs throughout Idaho and Oregon and worldwide perform vision and hearing screenings and work with deaf and hard of hearing individuals through many other programs.
He discussed the merits of eye screening for 6 months to 6-year-olds with the Plusoptix screeners to detect Amblyopia, aka lazy eye. Detection at an early age will make a huge difference in correcting this condition and have a lasting impact on an individual’s life. Envision is encouraging Lions Clubs to contact day care organizations and offering to conduct screenings for their children.
Esteban gave an overview of vision screening with the Plusoptix electronic vision screeners. Several points to be aware of are: no direct sunlight, hold the machine about 3 feet from the subject and move as needed to bring the eyes into focus, the results are Pass or Refer, test children with eyeglasses on to verify the prescription.
The Boise Valley Lions Team raised $1370 for the Walk toEnd Alzheimer’s and had a great turnout despite the cold, rainy weather
String packs and grab and go bags were delivered to RMDH. after Octoberfest Convention
Eight bags and boxes of warm clothing and blanket delivery to Interfaith Sanctuary on Oct 19 thank you Lions
Next Week
October 25, 2023
noon
$13.25 for optional lunch
Casa Mexico
speaker is Bob Batista, Director of the Western Idaho Fair
October 30 to November 2
Vision and Hearing Screenings at Anser Charter School
Bench Board meeting
November 07, 2023
6 pm
Zoom
send agenda items to Lion LaDawn or Lynne
Boise bench Newsletter, October 11, 2023
Abby Barzee is the marketing and communications director for the El-Ada Community Action Partnership. El-Ada was established in 1967 during LBJ’s term. This was his war on poverty program. They are a nonprofit who serves Elmore, ADA and Owyhee counties. They are a community service block grant recipient who helps low-income individuals achieve self-sufficiency. Their Veteran services program helped 90% of their Vets exit into permanent housing last year. In FY2022, El-Ada weatherized 153 homes in these counties who qualified by income. Their Energy assistance program helped 6,120 households. They have community services like zoo passes, garden seeds, bus passes, water bill assistance, personal care items, household goods and referrals. Their Harm Reduction program provides HIV and HEP C testing, overdose protection, syringe exchange, and contraceptives. Their Emergency Food Assistance Program provides food boxes to income eligible households. Check out their website: www.eladacap.org. They need volunteers in all of their programs. Reach out to Abby: abbyb@eladacap.org. For the complete newsletter, click the following link: https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%2010-11-23(1).pdf
Boise Bench Newsletter October 4, 2023
At our meeting, Lion Dan shared the basis of the USA/Canada Forum was about membership growth. He attended the social media seminar where he learned if you comment on a FB page, it makes the page grow in popularity. He learned about Hope to Walk. There are 35-40 million amputees in the world. This website hopetowalk.org has developed a new type of prosthetic that costs around $250. Lion Patty shared her favorite quotes from Striker Corbin whose seminar she attended, and he was our last night of the forum speaker. What you focus on expands. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Lion Dennis shared his favorite quotes: Lions are like puzzles; you need all the pieces to be whole to complete the project. You either win or you learn from the experience. Lion Larry shared about his Environment seminar. Repurposing, recycling, cleaning highways and roadways, create and maintain parks, plant trees, beach and river cleanups. He also went to the LCIF seminar where he learned how impactful LCIF is around the world. Lion LaDawn shared her Burnout Self test and her Accountabilla-buddies. Make sure you have someone in your life that keeps you accountable. Download the complete newsletter here: https://e-clubhouse.org/userfiles/647/file/BB%20Newsletter%2010-4-23.pdf
Bench Press September 20, 2023
Bench Lion Curt Kelley presented the trip to Newfoundland and Labrador that he and Pat took in July. The population of St Johns, Newfoundland was up to 40% Irish as they began migrating there to find work and improve their overall circumstances, so there are a lot of Irish Pubs in the city. The first wireless transatlantic transmission was received on Signal Hill in 1927 and other fun facts about the city were shared. Cape Spear is a short distance away and is the easternmost point in North America. A boat tour took us through a humpback and minke whale feeding ground and is also the site of the largest Puffin rookery in North America. Screech In was a fun experience involving a Newfie saying, kissing a cod and a shot of Screech Rum, we are now honorary Newfies. A lot of territory and history was covered, including icebergs, Vikings, cod fishing, and Basque whalers from the Brittany region of France over 400 years ago.
There were 22 Lions in attendance
Lion Gayle won the attendance drawing, but she missed last week, so no money for her.
Lion Angel sold some of her lumpy pumpkins to a friend who donated $100 to the club project fund.
Lion Angel had some questions about Idaho facts. What is the state gem-Star Garnet. Highest mountain-Mt Borah at 12662 feet, and several other tidbits.
October 10th is the date for the Idaho Food Bank, more information to sign in or call and time and date is on our website www.boisebenchlions.com
The BB Lions are sponsoring the Boise Valley Lions Team, Walk to End Alzheimer’s which is September 30th at Kleiner Park in Meridian. The walk is open to all Lions and friends of Lions and is the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. This event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to join the fight against this disease. The event is free, donations are accepted. The opening ceremony is at 11 and the walk begins at 11:30. Wear your vests or Lions shirts to show support. Team captains Lions Curt and Larry K. can answer any questions. Use the email boisbenchlions@gmail.com. Copy this link into your browser to sign up: http://act.alz.org/goto/BoiseValleyLions
Lion Rick hiked a trail Rockaway Beach, Oregon and found a project that local Lions had supported. You just never know what is around the corner.
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