Lions have their turn to be 'served'

Though our Lions' motto is, We Serve, the tables were turned Thursday evening, Valentine's Day, at the Union County Civic Center, for the Union County Lions Were Served by our party committee, our fellow Lions, and the clients of Kym Sczepanski's Day Retreat. When we arrived, we found love, fellowship, an atmosphere appropriate to the occasion, and lots of tempting aromas in the air.

Mary Arnold, assisted by her friend, Sarah Chumley of Black Bear Realty, and the rest of the decorating committee, transformed the large hall with festive red and white colors by using balloons, hearts, of course, table cloths, wreaths, etc. They were helped by the clients at Day Retreat; not only did they work in setting-up but they made tasty lollipops and cookie-like hors oeuvres, cleverly made with pretzels. We all got a sample of them as we entered the facility and it whetted our appetite for things to come. It is interesting to note that we had the occasion to serve the clients of Day Retreat at our Christmas Party this past December. Our kindness and service to them was returned on Valentine's Day. Avon Cosmetics was represented by our Lion, Fran Kirkland, who graced each attendee with favors of different kinds of lip gloss; that's a good unisex gift, Fran.

President Lisa Little opened our meeting with, what became that evening, a Five Point Opening- the Pledge of Allegiance, the Prayer, the Thought for the Day, the Lions' Toast with Water, and a special touch involving our own Lion, Roy McKee, playing Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. The room reverberated with the beautiful tones of the melody whose lyrics are so meaningful to all of us.

Our pot luck dinner was created by our Lions. It seems like each cook selected the best from his/her repertoire of recipes. There were veggies, casserole dishes, rolls, Jell-O salads, stuffed strawberries a la Paula Deen- really Judy Hoyerpastries, including a Mile High Cake by Helen Hanson, stuffed eggs, stuffed pears, and on and on. Some of us- no names mentioned here- made second and third trips to the heavily laden food table. Cold drinks or tea and coffee added the finishing touches.

Our star performer, straight from the Broadway (Blairsville) stage, was our own Roy McKee, who planned entertaining activities that were also learning experiences for us. He must be a teacher at heart based on his presentation skills and the quality of his information; like any good teacher, Roy was well prepared and he followed up with a quiz! As a member of the Appalachian St. Andrews Society, a philanthropic, evangelical, educational organization, he knew firsthand of what he was speaking. First he discussed the garments he was wearing, which happened to represent the plaid of the Mac Donald Clan. Some of the facts we learned were that the kilt - not skirt!- contained 9 yards of woolen material, the white coverings worn on the shoes (gillie brogues) are called spats, and there is a specific combination of clothing worn that denotes military dress. To illustrate the act of actually putting on the clothing, Roy used a willing "volunteer", Gene Little, of our club. Gene became a fine figure of a Scotsman by the time Roy was finished. The parts of the bagpipe were pointed out next; the bagpipe is tuned always to B flat.

One of the club's guests, Justin Howlett visiting from Calif., the hubby of Les and Marge Myers's granddaughter, won the Paul Harvey Riddle Contest that Roy contrived. It was followed up by a quiz on Valentine symbols and figures, a "Name That Tune Contest," and the parting gesture was Advice for Living a Fruitful Life - all reflective of Roy McKee's creativity.

To say that "a good time was had by all" is an understatement. It left us wondering what Mary Arnold and her committee have up their sleeves for our next social. Any guesses?

The next meeting of the Union County Lions Club will be on Thursday, February 28th, at Steve's Cookie Jar. The meeting begins with dinner at 6:00 p.m.