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Call to Order – President Ted Gonsiorowski called the meeting to order and led in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Invocation – David Hunter: We thank Thee. Lord. for this food and pray Thy blessing and Thy help for those in Moore Oklahoma who have lost house and home, friends or family. Amen. Vittles – Salad and Toppings, Breaded Pork Tenderloin, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables, Rolls and Butter, and Chocolate Meringue Pie.

Birthdays – Paul Coleman May 28 – will be 95. Attendance – 24 members. Guests – Fonda’s husband Larry Bowden..

Lions Report – Pat Bryan reported that Memorial services for Robert Suter will be on Friday, June 14 at 1 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 302 West Church Street, Champaign. If you are ill or know a fellow Lion who is, please call Pat at 586-4535.

Announcements – There is still time, until July 13, to participate in the Birdies for Sight. See http://www.birdiesforcharity.com/ for details and a pledge form.

Rich King watched the professional Beep Ball team at the convention this past weekend. That team provided him with a beep ball. If you can participate, please let him know and come to practice Sunday May 26 before the Walk for Sight game against the Mattoon Club.

Rich also talked about the Walk for Sight on June 9, a fundraiser of the LIF. He collected $71 last week and is asking us to be generous and leave donations on our tables over the next three weeks. He hopes to raise $500 in pledges from our club. Our Tootsie Pop event has now collected over $3,000 and there is still time if you want to donate.

David Lin reported the club bought an iPad for a 10 or 12 year old girl who is legally blind. She uses one at school. This iPad is for her use at home.

Lottery – The $12 lottery was won by Marvin Paulsen.

Program – WCIA news anchor Jennifer Roscoe, who needs no introduction to our group, updated us on how it went meeting her birth mother last Mother’s Day.

When she spoke to us last she told us about finding her and that she was looking forward to her first meeting. She said it was overwhelming to meet her for the first time. She has her mother's blue eyes and her chin.

She also met her sister Erin and brother Eric and his wife and son. Her mom had prepared a wonderful brunch for them. She is a retired principal. Jennifer and her mom have many of the same mannerisms.

Jennifer’s brother, Eric said to her, “Thank God you are cool. We were worried.” She calls her biological mom, bonus mom and her adopted mom, Mom mom.

Jennifer’s oldest daughter was happy to have another grandmother, no questions. Her youngest daughter asked, “What does Grandma Roscoe think about this?” Jennifer told her she is coming with. So her youngest said, “OK, then I will meet her too.” It has been a year now and they have had numerous visits since.

At Christmas Jennifer met her bonus Mom’s whole Irish family of about 130 people. Since her story aired, Jennifer has had responses from so many people you would think everyone was adopted! Some told her she had given them the courage to search for their birth parents too. Many turned out to be happy results. A few did not.

Questions from the group: Do you ever wish you could come to work in your grubbies? She said she has a recurring “nightmare” that she is in her sweats, no contacts—wearing glasses and sitting there doing the news.

She goes to work at 2 pm, has dinner break and time with the kids from 6 to 8. At 8:15 she is back to work and gets home around 11 pm. She has been on this schedule since 1997 so she is used to it.

Marvin Paulsen asked what segment is her favorite of the “Angels Among Us” series. She named one that aired recently about a girl named Brianna who had always been sweet and happy until about the sixth grade when she became angry, developed tics and OCD.

It was so bad her family, after about 4 years of it, was about to put her in a home. On that very day her Aunt read a blog about a rare virus caused by strep that affects the brain.

Brianna was tested and diagnosed within 15 minutes. Simple antibiotic treatments made her much better and her old self again. Her Aunt was the Angel in this case.

Other aspects she likes talking about kids. There are good kids out there and they are doing great things. She hopes we are tuning in because the news people are trying to tell people what they need to know.

Jennifer went to college at the UI, first in LAS, then as a junior and senior in the College of Communications (it was named then).

She was asked how much input she got to make in her shows. She said quite a lot. Probably more input on the 10 o’clock news that the earlier program. She was asked if they try to leave out politics and her answer was no but she is tired of Illinois being at the bottom of the list all the time.

She talked about volunteering at WILL when she was still in school. They had her stuff envelopes for 3 days which was not the experience she wanted. Then she went to WPGU where she got the opportunity to do the 5 minute midnight news.

She interned at WCIA Channel 3, then they hired her. She was 22, and even then she had opinions which she shared with her bosses.

Rich King thanked her for the coverage of his son playing the trumpet for Urbana Middle School, and asked if she would cover our beep ball game, which is to raise money for the club. She assured him she would if he would send her the "dets" which is news talk for details.

Bob Tuchel wondered why the teacher’s retirement gathering was not covered by the news. She said it was because no one made her aware of it.

Paul Kunkel asked if she had a challenge for our club to do something for our community. She said one big thing is our news gathering ability. Send her news, especially if it is a fundraising event, and they will cover it!

Tailtwister – Tom Yaxley, today’s Tailtwister, called on Rich Suchomski to carry the bucket.

He fined Marvin Paulsen for his lottery winnings

and Bob Tuchel for giving our speaker a hard time. He commended Homer Kuder for a great job as Greeter today.

Pedro Heller paid because his Black Dog Restaurant was voted one of 5 best BBQ’s in the country!

Bragging: Frank Duff paid to brag that his grandson and his wife won a contest and the prize was to be in the audience of Dancing with the Stars in Tulsa, OK.

Sam McGrew’s granddaughter who is in 4th grade made 28 points in her basketball game.

Gordie said he got 16 $20 bills today and now is out of change. Please bring $10’s next week.

The Tailtwister completed with a few very funny "walking" jokes.

Greeter: Paul Kunkel

Jun 5 – Business Meeting – Know Your Lion

Click here osborne@bankchampaign.com to email Charlie Osborne and let him know what you would like to see in a Lions Club program some time.

Coming up

May 29 – BUMP - Adam and Ellen - Prosthetic Limbs

Thank you for watching

Editor

Fonda Bowden

Publisher

David Hunter

To email Dave with your comments, click here → hunter4000@comcast.net

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