Farewell Dr. Otto Rodriguez

He was a wonderful community doctor who served with a smile. He was always available - 24 hours a day, every day of the week, including Sundays and holidays. He helped deliver babies on Christmas day, and always with a smile of satisfaction.
A proud Lion member, he embodied the Lion motto: "We Serve". Sometimes, he would leave meetings to attend emergency calls. Often times, when at a Lions Club Social, he would have to leave halfway through to attend to patients. But always, he smiled.
Today the community of San Pedro shed tears for a man it knew and loved so much.
His desire was to be laid to rest eternally in San Pedro - and today, May 13, 2011, Dr. Otto Rodriguez was laid to rest at the San Pedro Cemetery. He touched thousands of lives, gave of his time and care selflessly, and it is his humble and kind nature that will reverberate. Thank you Dr. Otto, for your loving care. You will live in our hearts eternally.

May you rest in peace.

Be Kind Belize and the San Pedro Lions Club encourage kids to speak out about kindness

Press Release – Be Kind Belize – April 28, 2011 – Be Kind Belize, the humane education programme, is working with the Lions Club to give children the opportunity to speak out about ‘Kindness in Our Community’.

On the 10th of May at 7pm, children from standards 2, 3 & 4 at Holy Cross Anglican School will have the honour of presenting their own speeches to members of the San Pedro Lions Club.
The speech topic is ‘Kindness in Our Community’. Lions Club members will vote for the best speech and the winner will receive a brand new bicycle.
The children will be required to include answers to several important questions in their speech including: Why is kindness important? Why do some people or animals not receive much kindness? How can kindness change lives? And – What could be done to make San Pedro a kinder place? They will be judged on their presentation skills and creativity.
Be Kind Belize provides training and Educators’ Resource packs, free of charge to any school, humane society, community or individual who wishes to introduce the programme locally.
For more information about Be Kind Belize contact BeKindBelize@gmail.com or call 501-226-4366.

Belmopan hosts Lions Convention

The Belize Lions Zone 59 held their 33rd National Convention over the weekend of April 9th & 10th in Belmopan City. Lion members from all clubs across the country were present to witness the several matters tabled and discussed during the convention.

As part of the convention, a resolution was passed for all clubs to raise as much money within 90 days to assist victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Also on the agenda was the election of a new Zone chairman and a new Zone queen. The new chairman is Lion Dr. Glenford Espadas, while the new Zone queen is Chancae Guy - they take on their responsibilities as of July 1st, 2011.

The convention was celebrated under the theme: "Lions, many faces, many races, one goal: service".

The venue for the next convention in 2012 is Belize City.

San Pedro Lion’s Club spearheads the fundraising efforts to assist Japan Victims

Lions Club International Fund (LCIF), the day following the Japan disaster, issued a 1.2 million dollars grant equivalent to M100 Japanese yen. In a statement issued by Lion’s International President, Lions’ motto “We serve” was highlighted.
Lions International was among the first to respond to the disaster relieve efforts in Japan. Further correspondence stated that the LCIF remains committed to the immediate relief effort and long term reconstruction effort for as long as possible.
In that regards, all clubs are being called upon to start fundraising efforts for the Japan Appeal Fund. The San Pedro Lions Club on Monday morning launched their Japan appeal fund efforts. The Club’s aim is to raise a minimum of Bze$5,000.00. All four clubs within the country of Belize are tasked with the same goal, Bze$5,000.00.
Donations to the Japan relief fund can be made at the Atlantic Bank Account #:100030618 in the name of Japan Appeal Fund.
In addition to this account, on Sunday March 20, the San Pedro Lions will be holding an all day fundraiser at the San Pedro Lions Den. The general public is invited to this mega fundraising event. Every penny counts. No donation is too small or too large. Belize was a recipient of LCIF’s funds, as last year we received US$10,000.00 in the aftermath of Hurricane Richard, which provided much needed financial assistance to citizens affected.

Don't forget to send in your poems!!

Poems will be read during the Lions' annual Valentine Dinner & Dance on Saturday, February 12th, 2011...

Send in your poems!!

The poetry reading will be held at the San Pedro Lions Den during their annual Valentine Dinner & Dance held on February 12th, 2011!!

Outstanding Lion member passes

The Lions Organization in Belize and The Belmopan Lions Club is mourning the loss of one of its long standing members, an outstanding Belizean, Ali Kisling. Kisling died today Monday, shortly around 9:30 AM in Belmopan.Just last year, Kisling was awarded by the San Pedro Lions Club during the 34th anniversary for his outstanding and selfless support to the Lions Club in San Pedro and for his lifetime dedication to the organization in Belize. Kisling was known to the Lions in Belize as the “Belmopan Ambassador to San Pedro”. He was a well-liked, respected and most importantly, loved and appreciated by the San Pedro community.
Kisling was very instrumental in starting the Lions Quest Program in Belize and he hardly missed an official function hosted by the San Pedro Lions Club. Kisling will certainly be missed. The San Pedro Sun joins the Lions Organization and the San Pedro community in extending heart felt condolences to the Kisling family, the Lions Organization in Belize and his friends.

San Pedro Lions Club's fine bank stolen

A very important and symbolical item was stolen from the San Pedro Lions Club on Thursday December 2nd. There are certain items that remain a constant at all Lions Club. For the most part, the items are symbolic and used during all official functions hosted by the club. Amongst these items are the Gong and Gavel; used by the President of the club as a symbol of authority.
Another very significant item to the Lion’s Club is the tail twister’s fine bank. The tail twister is the individual who is tasked with the duty of maintaining harmony within the club during all official Lion’s functions.

The tail twister fine bank is a small bronze lion, used to collect fines imposed by the club’s tail twister if an offence is committed during a meeting or official function when in session. The San Pedro tail twister fine bank is the first and only fine bank ever owned by the club since its foundation some 35 years ago. Needless to say, this item holds symbolic and historic value to the club.
This item was stolen from the San Pedro Lions Club. Reports are that the item went missing on Thursday night December 2nd, just before the Lions Club membership meeting. It unknown what the motives are for this mischievous act and what an individual would possibly gain from stealing the item.

According to the San Pedro Lions Club Den Caretaker, Gonzalo Lara, sometime around 6:00pm on Thursday evening, he had prepared the Den located on Barrier Reef Drive, for a regular membership meeting. The gavel, gong and the tail twister’s fine bank were placed on the head table. Lara stated that the only instance he left the items unattended was when he went to the storeroom (located on the same property). It was not until the meeting had started sometime around 7:20pm, that he noticed that the item was missing.
If anyone knows or has any information that would lead to the recovery of the San Pedro Lions Club’s tail twister fine bank, you are asked to please contact the President of the San Pedro Lions Club Melanie Paz at 620-1281.

Mosquito Coast Park updates

On Sunday, twenty-four people turned out to hold a work-a-thon to assemble new playground equipment at the Lion’s Mosquito Coast Park. A large group of on-lookers were also on hand to provide encouragement during the sometimes complicated process! The children present could not wait until the project was complete and they especially enjoyed the new slide. The threat of rain didn't dampen the Halloween spirits and lots of good food and refreshments were provided.

US $10,000 Grant awarded to Lions Zone 59 to aid Hurricane Richard victims

-Press Release - Belize Lions Zone 59 - November 2, 2010 - The Belize Lions Zone 59 is pleased to announce the disbursement of a grant of US$10,000 to be used for relief supplies to the victims of Hurricane Richard. The money was secured through the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) Disaster Relief Fund which is available to any district or zone after a disaster.

Immediately after the passage of Hurricane Richard, The Belize Lions Zone 59 expressed to the Prime Minister of Belize, Hon Dean Barrow, that as a service organization in Belize, we were ready to assist in bringing some immediate relief to the victims of hurricane Richard.
Following the announcement of the initial assessment of the damages, The Zone Chairman, Baldemar Graniel, immediately contacted Lions International and provided them with the necessary documentation to secure the grant. On Monday November 1st, LCIF contacted the Zone Chairman to inform him that the monies have been approved and ready for disbursement.
LCIF has a board-established grant criterion and emergency grant funds must be used only to provide basic necessities such as food, clothing, blankets, bottled water, and medical supplies for those affected by the disaster. Because monies must be utilized by the Lions, the organization will be working very closely with the Government of Belize, through the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), in identifying areas that are more in need. In the immediate days ahead, the Zone Chairman, Lion Graniel will be consulting with the Presidents of the Club to work out a methodology of disbursing relief supplies.
The LCIF grant will complement the efforts of various other Lions Clubs following the aftermath of Hurricane Richard. The Lions Club International Foundation, along with the Belize Lions Zone 59, continues to pledge its full support to all those Belizeans affected by Hurricane Richard and we remain committed in making our community and country a better place to live. On behalf of the Belize Lions Zone 59 and the people of Belize, we also wish to thank LCIF for awarding us with the much needed grant.

San Pedro Lions Celebrate World Service Day

Worldwide, Lions Clubs celebrated World Service Day by conducting a variety of activities. The San Pedro Lions were no exception as they helped spiff up the Lions Mosquito Coast Park. October 8th is the official date of World Service Day, when community work is done by club members in their society.
Using materials kindly donated by (Lion) Vernon Wilson to the Lions, a play area will be put together so that children visiting the park may have even more recreational activities to enjoy. When we caught up with the Lions on Monday, October 11th, they were hard at work piecing together the playground set.

The club will install slides and swings, plant coconut palms and upgrade the facilities at the park. The International Lions Organization was founded on 1917 by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. Currently the Lions Organization is 1.3 members strong worldwide and has clubs in 205 countries, four of which are in Belize.

Lions Board of Directors Installation this Saturday!!

Belize Lion Zone 59 attends installation ceremony in Chetumal, Mexico

The Belize Lions Zone 59 was happy to be invited at the installation of the new Board of Directors for the Chetumal Lions Club. Representing the Zone 59 Lions Organization was the Zone Chairman Lion Valdemar Graniel and the Secretary of the San Pedro Lions Club, Lion Jorge Aldana. The New President of the Chetumal Lions Club is Josefina Gonzalez Perera who expressed her gratitude to the Lions of Belize for attending the occasion.For his part and on behalf of the Lions of Belize, Lion Graniel congratulated Lion Josefina for taking up the mantle of leadership for the next year. Lion Aldana also extended greetings on behalf of the San Pedro Lions Club. Also present to officiate the ceremony was Mexico B 8 District Governor David Jimenez López. The San Pedro Lions Club joins the Belize Lions Zone 59 in congratulating Lion President Josefina Perera.