EL CAJON VALLEY HOSTS LION’S NEWSLETTER
November 10, 2025, Members: _32___ Guests: __1_
Facebook: El Cajon Valley Host Lions Club
Volume 2026 _______________________________________Issue 17
CALL TO ORDER: ____Ron Nevels __________________________________
Invocation: ____Mark Clifton________
Pledge of Allegiance: Grant Thiem Jr._______
Patriotic Song: Kat and Chris Song: _God Bless America_________________
HELEN KELLER QUOTE BY: __Don Anthony________________
“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”
Joke of the Day: Karl Ruiz
Three girls, three girls, three women, they’re
All friends have known each other for quite a while, and they’re out on vacation.
They’re in this hotel room.
Yeah, and two of the women are very wealthy.
The third one is very maintenance-intensive and stuff like that.
She can not afford what the other two women have?
So all of a sudden, the first one, her phone rang
And she goes, Oh, just a minute.
She answers her phone, and it takes care of that.
And a little bit later, the second one, her phone rang, she went, Oh, excuse me, I got a text.
And the third one doesn’t have a phone, can’t afford one.
So she says, Excuse me, I’m going to go to the restroom.
She got up, she went in, and she came out, and she had paper hanging from her butt.
She says, I had a Fax.
GUESTS: _Alex Gonzales
GOOD TO SEE: __Rob Ransweiler_________________________
COMMUNICATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Look for the email from Paul Walters. A new club roster is in the making. Any changes should be communicated to Paul Trembly.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
Next Board Meeting: NOVEMBER 13, 2025, 6 PM, Elks Conference Room.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
BOB ACKER (11-14-36) WALT SIMMONS (11-12-44) CHRIS BRAMWELL (11-27-52) CAROL LIVESAY (11-29-46) JOE CRAWFORD (11-02-79)
GOOD CHEER: _________________________________________________________
Chris Bramwell’s wife, Cathy, has returned home after a short stay at Sharp Hospital
IF you know of any members who are in distress, sick, or in the hospital, PLEASE notify PP Yvonne so our good wishes can be conveyed to him/her. 619/838-4262
November EXEMPT BADGE: _Chis Bramwell $100________________
VICE PRESIDENT REPORTS:
1st VP Penny Duane : Not here today.
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2nd VP Grant Thiem III: _ Grant Thiem Jr. Polled the Program Chairs under the 2nd VP Duties__________________________________________________________
3rd VP Kat Zeman: ____Phil Smith announced the Christmas party is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9th.
Entertainment will be provided by Evan and his daughters, who will sing Christmas songs.
Participants are encouraged to bring gifts for children to the Christmas party.
Christmas Basket Project Update
Food ordering to occur this week, with boxes and labels ordered on Wednesday.
Yvonne assisted with the Christmas basket project by obtaining
A grant of $4,400. It has been received to support the Christmas basket project this year.
Boxes to be packed on December 19th and delivered on December 20th.
MEMBERSHIP: Paul Walters: Presented a Lion International Pin to Chris Bramwell.
He is giving the key award for bringing in a member for one year and one day at least.
LCIF: PP Yvonne Paris: _Ask for help for Lions International Float Building December 13th.
The deadline for signing up for the bus is December 3rd, 2025.
Paul Walters to send out details about the bus trip to all interested participants.
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HAPPY DOLLARS/FINES: TT _Bob Acker____________________________
Ron Nevels $20 The Chargers game is scheduled for November 30th at the LA stadium.
Paul Trembly $5 10-year-old grandson’s soccer team Rec League Championship game
Yvonne Paris $5 because there were only two people (Secretary Paul and myself) who attended our district membership meeting, they only have them four times a year
Paul Walters $5 enjoyed the district meeting
Chris Bramwell is buying a new car and a $100 exemption badge
Grant Thiem Jr. $40 I’ve got, $40, I’d like to just go on with the meeting and the speaker
Ron Ransweiler $10 I’ll start talking before he gets over here
Collen Owens $5 shares about visiting their son during parent weekend at UCI.
PROGRAM: Alex Gonzales from Singing Hills Little League
So, I’m really excited to be introduced here by Grant, my degree.
Bob, thank you for passing our information along.
You guys did sponsor us last year with the advantage, so we really appreciate that.
Right now, our Little League service is in the El Cajon area.
And with their registration, the over thousand parents that come with them, we offer activities for them as well.
Coaching activities, things to get involved with their kids, and clinics.
They’re all free.
But we also host things like movie nights, closing ceremony nights, and fair nights.
We had just hosted our October fall festival,
Funding and Community Support
Funding for recreational sports through the city has significantly decreased, impacting operations.
Continue to partner with local nonprofits to reduce registration costs for families.
Fact | All donations are 100% volunteer nonprofit, directly benefiting the children.
Fact | The Challenger division now accommodates players from ages 4 to 22 with special needs.
Community Engagement and Support
Fact | The operating budget is around $80,000, increased from $40,000 due to a 30% annual raise.
The organization does not turn away any child for financial reasons and offers payment plans.
Funding for Student Support
Fact | The average funding needed for student support is around one to two thousand dollars.
All of the money that gets donated is 100% volunteer-run nonprofit.
It goes straight back to the group.
We are fortunate enough to partner with Flores Financial, which does all our books for us now.
cleaned up and help us streamline it so that 100% of every single penny that we get straight back to kids from their uniforms.
If they need gloves, cleats, bats,
The Challenger Division is from 4 to 18, or if you’re still in high school, up to 22, for any special needs kid who wants to play baseball.
We give them their own program, their own division, but we treat them just like every other player.
They get a uniform; they get a hat.
That’s one of our biggest divisions that we got such a good turnout for.
Decision | Funds will be prioritized for the challenger division to ensure families do not need anything.
Tom Hoban asked
A follow-up on that off the top of your head, how much money would it take to cover
students who can’t
We usually get about four to five.
We have an application process that they have to submit just so that we can kind of go on their behalf, just to find the appropriate resources for them.
Alex said
So the money that goes to our tuition, our registration right now, is going to be prioritized for our challenger division to make sure those kids, those families, don’t need anything.
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ATTENDANCE DRAWING: __Zack Nation (Madelyne) $ 30 ____
50/50 OPPORTUNITY DRAWING: _Julie _Sherman________$ 60_____
TODAY’S RIB TICKLER
Lead to serve and serve to lead
AP Singh, International Lions President