Despite the threat of icy weather, we actually had a great turnout at our March 12 meeting. A grand 27 members of the Boothbay Region Lions Club and three guests gathered under stormy skies to talk about the end of winter and all of the great things we have coming up this spring.

Our last big activity of the winter was our semi-annual Red Cross blood drive. That had another good turnout: About 70 people turned up to donate. Half a dozen Lions were on hand to help make it all run smoothly. Thanks to all for their efforts and donations.

Spring begins on March 20, and we'll be busy from that point on. Our next meeting is March 26, when our guest speaker will be from Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting. We'll also have about five guests from the Manchester Lions Club. They organize the amazing annual Manchester Lions Home & Garden Show, which will be coming up April 5 to 7 in Augusta. We're looking forward to hosting them.

A few days later the Lions (and hopefully quite a few of our friends around town) will reconvene at Boothbay Craft Brewery. Join us there on Friday, March 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. for a fundraiser to help repair our historic clubhouse (which you may have read about in a recent issue of the Register).

Win and Lori Mitchell and their team have brewed up a special beer for the event, Lions' Tale Ale; $1 from all other drinks served that night will benefit the club. We'll have appetizers on hand, door prizes, a silent auction and Lions trivia from club charter member Harry Pinkham. There will also be a tour of the brewery. This is a cash only event, and we appreciate your help as we prepare for another 60 years of serving this community.

We're happy to say that we have already received a few donations toward our building fund, from Janson's Clothing Sore and our own member, James Smyth and his wife Sandra. Unfortunately, the boiler that was recently donated won't work for the building, but we're still looking for a solution on that front.

We're also planning our next big events, which will support our charitable initiatives here on the peninsula. Our annual Fishermen's Festival breakfast will be held on Saturday, April 26, and we'll also be at the 50th annual Antique Auto Days on July 19-20, where Jay Andrews will be preparing pulled pork. We're already salivating, Jay.

Getting back to this week's meeting: Lions Jay Andrews, Pete Johnson and Don Solar handled the kitchen duties, whipping up a delicious meal of port, carrots, rice and apple crisp for dessert. Mary Tilton filled in as Secretary. John Perreault won the 50/50 and Wendy Greenleaf won the cheer raffle, but both donated their winnings back to the club.

That's it for this time around. For more information on the Boothbay Region Lions Club, please contact club president Mike Giles or any other Lion, find us on Facebook, or visit www.e-clubhouse.org/sites/boothbay/index.php.