PONCE INLET LIONS CLUB

By Nancy Epps, President

On October 13 at 5:30 PM, we held our Barktoberfest celebration at Racing’s North Turn in memory of Lion Marian Schlaupitz. We usually hold a dinner-dance at the Community Center, but we felt we should give the pandemic a bit more time to calm down before we had a lot of people eating and dancing in close proximity. North Turn gave us the opportunity to use the outdoor party tables that were recently refurbished with beautiful granite tops. Our financial goal this year is to honor the memory of our late, great member Marian Schlaupitz. Marian coordinated so many events to raise funds for our many charities, including Southeastern Guide Dogs, that we want to name a Paws for Patriots veteran’s assistance dog in her honor. In June this year, our generous Ponce Inlet residents Margo and Tom Whalen donated the $10,000 cost of a Team Scholarship to provide another assistance dog to a veteran who is suffering from PTSD. For an additional $5,000, we can name that puppy “Marian”. We raised over $2,100 including donations, so we are almost halfway to our goal to name a lifesaving veteran’s dog for our dear friend. We appreciate the support of North Turn and thank them for a successful evening. Our next big event will be the Western Night dinner and dance on January 29, 2022 at the Ponce Inlet Community Center.

Our club also supports the Conklin Davis Center for the Visually Impaired. The residential program for multiply handicapped blind adults reopened on July 5 after being closed for over a year, and they are ramping up to serve 14 residential clients by the end of the year. We are also serving the outpatient clients who have historically been served by the former Center for the Visually Impaired. If you or your organization would like to tour the Center to see the marvelous work being done there, please contact them at (386) 258-3441. Lunch or dinner can be arranged for a reasonable fee. The website is www.conklindavis.org or you can call (386) 258-3441.

On July 15, the long-awaited internment of our club’s time capsule occurred at 5 PM on the east side of the Town Council chambers. Vice-Mayor Lois Paritsky, her husband Howard, some town staff, and several Lions attended. Refreshments were provided by the Lions Club. We thank Jeff Miller and the Public Works Department for preparing the site and completing the burial. The Ponce Inlet Lions Club was chartered on May 28, 1992, and we intend for the capsule to be dug up in May 2042 to commemorate the club’s fiftieth anniversary.

Our Christmas party will take place at the Halifax River Yacht Club on December 1 in lieu of our monthly meeting. Bill Wester always makes sure this a nice evening for us to celebrate together, and our members always enjoy our camaraderie and caroling.

We will be participating in the Town Christmas parade again this year, and this year we will again be serving hotdogs and beverages in Davies Park immediately following the parade. Lion Simon Kokis makes a mean hotdog with all the fixings, so please support us by enjoying 2 hotdogs and a beverage for $5. All profits support our Lions charitable causes.

For your information, Lions Clubs all pay their internal expenses such as postage, district dues, postage, etc., with funds collected only from Lions Club members. We have various fundraising activities at our meetings that help members support our needs. This means that 100% of the funds we raise at our public events, such as Barktoberfest, are 100% dedicated to our charities.

Please contact me if you would like to learn more about becoming a Ponce Inlet Lion by email at nancyepps@cfl.rr.com, call me at (386) 795-2310 or speak to any Lion you know. Lionism is a great way to meet wonderful people and serve your community while having fun!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 1 – Town of Ponce Inlet
Page 2 – Citizens for Ponce Inlet (C4Pi)
Page 3 – Garden Club of Ponce Inlet
Page 4 – Ponce Animal Welfare (PAW), Women’s Club
Page 5 – Ponce Inlet Lions Club
Page 6 – PICCI – Ponce Inlet Community Center
Page 7 – Ponce Inlet Lighthouse Assoc.
Page 8 – Ponce Inlet Veterans Assoc.
Page 9 – Marine Science Center
Page 10 – Ponce Church