Winter is normally a kind of slow time for the Boothbay Lions. Normally, that is. This year, however, is definitely a change of pace. We had an amazing turnout for our January 8 meeting, the first joint meeting of the Lions and Boothbay Rotary Club in about two years. We had 25 Lions and 23 Rotarians in assistance, who all came to dine on a great meal by returning chef Amy Ronan. The Rotary will return the favor when we join them at one of their meetings in May.

Our guest speaker that night was Toni Lowery, who just opened Harbor Optical in town. She's a certified dispensing optician, which means she can fill any prescription for glasses or contacts. She can also repair glasses and offers a wide variety of frames for sale. She's open great hours (7 a.m. to 4 p.m. most days), providing easy access for working families. Our thanks to Toni and her husband for coming out to speak with us! (Toni also left a $50 gift certificate, which went to a random winner at our next meeting. Congrats Georgia Ireland!)

Meanwhile, our membership continues to expand. Our latest new member is Wendy Greenleaf, wife of Lion Paul, who turned in her application and became a member of the Boothbay Region Lions Club. We have had so many new members this year that our club and King Lion Mike Giles were just recognized by the Maine Lions district for bringing in so many new Lions!

Our January 22 meeting had 26 Lions in attendance, even though it was a frigidly cold night. We discussed pending repairs and renovations to our clubhouse, which is now off the market and will stay in the club's able hands.

Our recent raffles went well. Both the quilt raffle and Tom's Turkey Raffle raised good amounts of money, all of which will go into our donations back to the community. Our thanks to all who participated. Our recent adopt-a-family effort for Christmas was also a success. We'll have news about upcoming donations and fundraisers in the weeks ahead.

There were lots of fines and happy dollars at our January meetings. The most notable was a "new baby coming soon" fine to Susie Giles, who paid a dollar for each grandchild.

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 12, when our guest speaker will be Jim Davis from the physical therapy department of Lincoln Health, St. Andrews campus. The tables will be decorated for Valentine's Day. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for our social hour. Dinner and the main meeting will follow beginning at 6:30 p.m.

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.