Award recipients and guest of honor were the following (from left to right): Donna Hoskins, Melvin Jones Fellow; Ken Stommes, Melvin Jones Fellow; Mary Stommes, Leader Dog Award; District 5M8 Gov. Ted Peterson; Matt Killam, Hearing Research Award; Ralph Meyer, Dream Catcher Award; Joe Bechtold, Leader Dog Award; Joann Bechtold, Melvin Jones Fellow; and Kyle Jensen, Helen Keller Award.
Lions Club President Ralph Meyer (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Joe Bechtold presented a $5,000 check to Food Shelf Coordinator Ann Scherer at the Dec. 15 Lions Club meeting. This check qualifies for matching funds from the Norman C. Skalicky Foundation.
The St. Joseph Lions Club held its annual awards ceremony Nov. 17. District 5M8 Gov. Ted Peterson was the guest speaker and assisted with the presentation of awards.
Melvin Jones Fellowships were presented to Lions Joann Bechtold, Donna Hoskins and Ken Stommes. The fellowship is the highest recognition presented by the Lions Clubs International Foundation. They were recognized for their continuing involvement in numerous club activities. Bechtold and Stommes have co-chaired the Lions parade committee for several years and are involved with numerous club activities. Hoskins has served as club secretary for several years and has chaired numerous committees since joining the club.
Lions Joe Bechtold and Mary Stommes were presented with the Leader Dog Award for their work with the parade committee, finance committee, fundraising committee and leadership development and volunteer service in the community.
Lion Kyle Jensen was presented the Helen Keller Award for his involvement with fundraising, particularly as chairman of the brat sales. In his short time in the club he has been deeply involved in numerous activities.
Lion Ralph Meyer was presented the Dream Catcher Award for his involvement in the numerous committees of the club. He currently serves as club president.
Lion Matt Killam was presented the Hearing Research Fellowship in recognition of his efforts as membership chairman and for his intensive community involvement.
Lion Duane Sorensen was awarded the Hearing Research Fellowship in recognition for his constant involvement in club fundraising activities. In his many years as a Lion he has served in numerous officer positions including president and has chaired numerous committees. Sorensen had a conflict and was not present for award night, but was given his award at a later club meeting.
Thank you for your donation
The St. Joseph Fire Department would like to thank the St. Joseph Lions, the Y2K Lions of St. Joseph, St. Joseph Mutual Insurance and Wal-Mart of Sartell for their recent donations. The fire department was able to purchase a Rescue Tube and Rescue Auger that is designed to assist them when someone is trapped in corn/grain inside a silo. Pictured ( from left to right) are: Captain Keith Louwagie, Firefighter Sharon Rennie, Captain David Salzer, Firefighters Brian Theisen and John Prom, Captain Dan Muyres, and Firefighters Ron Schmidt and Mike Folkerts.
Katie Schleper, St. Joseph, was recently named to the high honor list at Minnesota State University-Mankato. She is a senior.
Students must earn a minimum 4.0 grade-point average to qualify for this honor.
Four St Joseph students recently graduated from St. Cloud State University.
They and their degrees are as follows: Jessica Johnson, a bachelor’s in mass communications, cum laude; Michelle Lahr, a bachelor’s in community psychology, magna cum laude; Lori Proulx, a graduate certificate, sixth-year program, in educational administration; and Michael Schmitz, a bachelor’s in biomedical sciences, cum laude.
Rachel Bedel, St. Joseph, was recently named to the fall dean’s list at the University of Minnesota-Morris.
Students must earn a minimum 3.66 grade-point average to qualify for this honor.
Connor MacKinney, St. Joseph, was recently named to the dean’s honor roll at Montana State University, Bozeman.
Students must earn a minimum 3.5 grade-point average to qualify for this honor.
Community Grassroots Solutions, which connects women to new careers in the St. Cloud area, was one of 39 organizations to recently receive a $5,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation. The group will use its grant to host four informational sessions to help immigrant and refugee women access employment resources through the regional Job Placement Program.
