By District Convention
By Montana Lions Sight & Hearing FoundationGreat Falls Sunrise Lions Receive Northwestern Energy Award
Northwestern Energy joined the Great Falls Sunrise Lions Club for their annual fundraiser in September. Eleven NWE employees assisted with set up, serving food and cleaning up afterwards. The time and effort of those 11 employees resulted in an $1,100.00 donation to the club ($100 per employee who participated). This is a win – win for Great Falls Sunrise Lions – additional hands to help AND a donation for their community service!
Pictured from left to right:
Shawn Etzweiler, Community Relations Specialist from Northwestern Energy.
Lion Bob Stubbs, President
Lion Charley Hibl and Lion Mike Schmit current and former Northwestern employees.
NorthWestern Energy has an Employee Volunteer Program that encourages employees to volunteer by providing paid time off and granting funds to the organizations they serve. For individual volunteers, NorthWestern Energy can donate up to $400 per year to an organization, while teams of at least three employees can earn a $100 donation per employee.
Program highlights:
- Paid volunteer time:Employees are given paid time off to volunteer.
- Grant money for organizations:The company provides grant money to the nonprofits employees volunteer with.
- Individual volunteer grants:Employees can earn up to $400 annually for an organization they serve.
- Team volunteer grants:When at least three employees volunteer together for a special event, NorthWestern Energy donates $100 per employee to the organization.
- Employee choice:Employees can choose the charities they want to volunteer for and NorthWestern Energy will support those efforts.
By Great Falls Sunriser Lions ClubSeeley Lake Lions Receive Membership Satisfaction Award
Yay Seeley Lake Lions Club!!!
Seeley Lake Lions Club was the proud recipient of the Membership Satisfaction award from our International President Fabricio Oliveira. For our little town in Montana to be recognized in this fashion is truly an honor.
All of the members are part of this and the reason we continue to succeed in Seeley Lake. This award is not frequently given. We are hot!!
Once again because of our hard work and drive to sustain and increase our membership, we have been recognized by the International President for the great work we continue to do. I can’t stress enough the importance of continuing to get out the word about our club and getting new members in to help move us into the future. Remember, every little bit helps when it comes to the activities we perform in our town and that comes from you, the members. Thank you for all that you do!
By Seeley Lake Lions Club
EYEGLASS RECYCLING IN MONTANA
Here in Montana, Vision is one of the Causes that many of our local clubs participate in. We focus on collecting and providing eyeglasses and vision screening in schools and underserved communities throughout the state.
Collection spots can be found in many optometrist offices, as well as in various private businesses throughout the state. Click here to see current list of drop off locations.
We gratefully accept all types of eyeglasses, loose lenses, contact lenses, and hearing aids for recycling. To help our club volunteers who collect the glasses from various drop off locations in their area, we kindly ask that glasses be separated into five categories if possible:
- Single vision lenses
- Bifocals/trifocals
- Sunglasses
- Broken/damaged (still send us)
- High End/Speciality Glasses
(We understand progressives can be hard to distinguish from single vision — just do your best!)
Please do NOT include the following items in your donation as they cannot be used:
- Reader glasses
- Hard cases (soft cases can be reused in shipping)
If you prefer, you can mail your donation directly to the recycling center:
Northwest Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (NWLERC)
9013 Mullen Rd SE
Olympia, WA 98513
If you write “Free Matter for the Blind” on the package, the post office MAY ship it at no cost (check with your local branch for details as it’s at their discretion).
Thank you again for helping give the gift of sight — your donations make a real difference.
By Lion Peggy TobinBozeman Lions Fall Update
The Bozeman Gallatin Empire Lions Club’s Youth Football season continued with the skills and evaluation Day.
Lion Ryan Ballenger, Gallatin Empire Football Commissioner talks rules of the game, sportsman ship, teamwork & football players are good citizens.
The Sweet Pea Lions joined the Gallatin Empire Lions for the Manhattan Potato Festival parade.
Replacement banners were made for each side of the recycling trailer by Lions Sara & Jim Barutha’s grandsons.
Seeley Lake Lions – Having Fun!
Each year the Lions in Seeley Lake not only gather to have our General Monthly meeting, but October is especially fun as we don our costumes for Halloween – funniest, scariest and of course a Lion President!
Our Culinary Committee, headed by Lions Clay and Sharon Creek coordinated the meeting’s meal, and this one was prepared by Lions Sherry and John Fulton. A meal made of beef , lamb or chicken skewers was prepared as well as a salad and cheesecake for dessert. Yum!
We changed our format of the meeting and inducted three new members before going through our meeting agenda.
Then the fun began with a parade of the members in costume judged by other members to decide the winners of the contest. Mother Nature took First Place while Cleopatra and King Tut took Second place. The Cheerleader and The Graduate took third. The one thing I have to say is we have fun at ALL of our meetings and events, not just Halloween.
And we continue to bring in new members. Since June we have inducted at least 12 new members and more to come. Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!
District Treasurer – IRS Filing Reminder
If your Lions club’s fiscal year ended on June 30, 2025, it is now time to prepare and submit the appropriate IRS paperwork. The filing requirements depend on your club’s gross receipts and total assets. Clubs with annual gross receipts of less than $50,000 are only required to submit the Form 990-N, commonly called the e-Postcard. Clubs whose receipts are greater than $50,000 but remain below $200,000, and whose total assets are less than $500,000, have the option of filing either Form 990-EZ or Form 990. Any club with receipts of $200,000 or more, or assets of $500,000 or more, must file the full Form 990. If your club operates an affiliated foundation that is a separate legal entity, that foundation must also file its own IRS return.
By Lion Steve Dogiakos
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