District Cabinet Meeting Minutes

27-D1 District Cabinet Meeting – March 13, 2026 District Convention.

District Meeting Minutes

The District 27-D1 meeting was called to order at 3:55 PM by District Governor Jim Klubertanz.

DG Jim turned the meeting over to PDG John Jenson for nominations/

• District Governor – FVDG Tony Sobczak
Nomination by PCC Tammy Rockenbach, Oregon-Brooklyn Lions
Second by Lion Kathy Schuster, Deforest Windsor Lions

With no other nominations, PDG Rob Sherman made the motion to close the nominations, second by PID Phil Ingwell Motion Carried.

• First Vice District Governor – SVDG Adam Crowson
Nomination – Lion Mike Kalvin, Cross Plains Lions
Second by Lion Andrea Murray, Lake Wisconsin Lions

With no other nominations, PID Peter Cerniglia made the motion to close the nominations, second by PDG Al Johnson. Motion Carried.

• Second Vice District Governor – Lion Tim Meier
Nomination – Lion Ron Schroeder, Cuba City Lions
Second by Diane Langmeier, Potosi Tennyson Lions

With no other nominations, IPDG Ron Wright made the motion to close the nominations, second by PCC Tammy Rockenbach. Motion Carried.

• WLF Director 2026-2029 – PDJ Bill Clausius
Nomination – IPDG Ron Wright, Sun Prairie Lions
Second by Lion Pat Parish, Sun Prairie Lions

With no other nominations, PDG Al Johnson made the motion to close the nominations, second by Lion Tim Meier. Motion Carried.

• Lions Eye Bank Director 2026-2029 – IPDG Ron Wright
Nomination – PDG Bill Clausius, Sun Prairie Lions
Second by PDG Jeff Winkler, Deerfield Lions

With no other nominations, Lion Greg Clark made the motion to close the nominations, second by PCC Tammy Rockenbach. Motion Carried.

• PDG John Elvekrog announced the Stoughton Lions Club was running to host District Bowling on January 31, 2027, at Viking Lanes in Stoughton.

PDG John Jenson informed everyone that voting will take place in Rooms A & B beginning at 4:45 PM.

State of the District – DG Jim Klubertanz
• District is Financial stable.
• Membership is 2049, a plus 53, 170 new members, 117 dropped.
• Service Reporting – 78% of clubs reporting at the end of February.

State of the State – CC Don Drew
• MD27 – Strong Financial Health
• 500 Clubs – 1 new, 2 dropped.
• 16403 Lions – 1113 new, 1050 dropped.
• 46% of clubs reporting service.
• Hosted A.P. Singh in August
• Hosted the Wisconsin Summit and Guiding Lion Training New Guiding Lions; Andrea Murray, Greg Clark, Tammy Rockenbach
• DG Jim serves as COG Treasurer and LEBW Representative

State Lions Convention will be held at Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee, May 14-16, hosted by the Grafton Lions Club. Theme – Spirit of the Big easy

International Convention is in Hong Kong, July 3-7, 2026. Endorsed Candidate Tammy Rockenbach will be on the ballot for International Director

USA Canada Lion Leadership Forum will be in Memphis, TN, September 3-5, 2026

Motion by Lion Greg Lark to adjourn the District meeting at 4:40pm. Second by PCC Tammy
Rockenbach. Motion Carried

Respectfully Submitted,
Lions Bruce Voight
27-D1 Cabinet Secretary

Reports:

March Agenda
January Cabinet Meeting Minutes
Treasurers Report – Activities (pdf)
Treasurers Report – Administration (pdf)
Action Item: Approval of Lease Agreement for Eyeglass Recycling Center Facility (docx)
Birch Sturm Report (docx)
Children’s Vision Committee Report
Children’s Vision Screening 2025-2026 Summary
District Convention Report
Foundation Donations (pdf)
Global Action Team
Global Extension Team (pdf)
Global Membership Team Report (pdf)
Global Membership Team Report (pdf)
Global Service Team Report
Hearing Conservation Report
LCIF Report (docx)
LCIF Donations (pdf)
Leo Report (docx)
Lions Camp Application (pdf)
Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin Report (pdf)
March Madness Membership (pdf)
Peace Poster Report (pdf)
Region 2 Zone 2 Report (pdf)
USA Canada Forum Report (docx)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Report (docx)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Donation Report (docx)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Staff Report (pdf)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Hearing Project (pdf)
Wisconsin Mission Report (pdf)

1) The Cabinet meeting was called to order at 11:00 AM by District Governor Jim Klubertanz. DG Jim welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. There were 43 Lions in attendance along with several Sun Prairie Lion volunteers.

2) Pledge of Allegiance (FVDG Tony)

3) Words of Wisdom (SVDG Adam)

4) Invocation (FVDG Tony)

5) Meal

6) Installation of Cabinet (PDG Rob Sherman)

7) Secretary report from the March Cabinet Meeting (Lion Bruce) – Lion Steve’s minutes from the March Cabinet Meeting were emailed to everyone and available on the District webpage. There were no questions or corrections. Motion by PDG Rob Sherman to accept the minutes as presented. Second by Lion Brenda Steele. Motion carried.

8) Treasurer’s report and approval of budget (Lion Bill) – Cabinet Treasurer Bill Severson reviewed the financial statements, audit report and proposed budget. Motion to accept the audit report by FVDG Tony Sobczak, second by IPDG Ron Wright. Motion carried. Motion to accept the treasurer’s report and budget by PID Phil Ingwell, second by PDG Rick Daluge. Motion carried.

9) IPDG Recognition (DG Jim) – Wisconsin State Lions have recognized IPDG Ron Wright for his outstanding leadership and service last year. DG Jim presented him with a plaque. DG Jim also presented IPDG Ron with a small gift of appreciation for all his help in preparing him for this year.

10) 2025-26 District Goals (DG Jim) – DG Jim discussed in motto for the year ‘Service from the Heart’ and his goals for the year:
    a. 100% of clubs report their service.
    b. Net membership growth of two by June 30, 2026 – Focus on new membership and retention.
    c. District Growth – Add at least one new club.
    d. All Zone Chairs trained (7 of 10 received training today).
    e. Peace Poster – Goal to have 20 clubs participate.
    f. 100% of clubs donate to LCIF, WLF and LEBW.
    g. Continue the Lions Day of Service.
    h. Focus on 2 Global causes – Environment and Childhood Cancer

11) Presentation (DG Ron) – IPDG Ron Wright presented Lion Tim Meier with the Presidential Leadership Medal.

12) Ballots for District Convention (Lion Bill) – Motion to destroy the ballots from the District Convention by PDG Al Johnson. Second by PDG Rob Sherman. Motion carried.

13) Committee Reports – Posted on District webpage.
a. GAT Team – Reports online GMT – Lion Tim Meier – 7 of 10 Zone Chairs have been trained, DG Jim, Lion Steve Pogue and Lion Tim Meier attended Mission 1.5 Summit in Las Vegas. District membership ended at minus 77 for 2024-25. GAT team is working on the October Region meeting dates and will be announced shortly.
    GST – PDG Al Johnson – 18 club are not reporting service hours, Leo clubs not reporting service. There are 3 designated weeks of service from International President AP Singh – October 4-12 (Mental Health), January 3-11 (Hunger), and April 18-26 (Environment) – All clubs are asked to do a service project during those weeks and report their service. Individual Lions can report on their service in the Lion Portal with one of the Officers approving the service activity.
    GLT – Lion Andrea Murray – Zone Chair training will take place again at the October cabinet meeting. Officer training is scheduled for the October Region meetings.
    GET – Lion Steve Pogue – Working on new club on North side of Madison – Did a Vision Screening on June 15 at the farmer’s market and had a June 23 meeting at Goodwill with about six people interested.
    GMA – Continue to promote your club and club activities on social media. Hashtag ‘we serve’ Hashtag your local community.
    FVDG Tony – Starting club visits. Be positive and be strong.
    SVDG Adam – Family is joining Adam in his service journey as SVDG. Has visited Lake Wisconsin. Went to Monticello to help with their fundraiser. Megan & Lucy are having a ‘blast’. Adam and family want to get involved is club activities. Regions 1 & 4 this year.

b. LEBW Report (Lion Erica) – In addition to the online report, The Memorial Garden is growing; benches and sculpture are in place. They will be asking more clubs to provide volunteers to maintain the garden and grounds at the Eye Bank.

c. RHTH Report (PDG AL) – The new roof has been completed, and the soffit project is upcoming. Porch repair is needed. Volunteers are welcome, please call Cindy Herbst ahead to set up. Cleaning, repairs, spruce up, etc.

d. USA/Canada Forum Report (PDG Tammi) – This year’s Forum will be in Atlantic City, September 17-20, 2025. Registration is still open to any Lion interested. There are about 100 breakout sessions covering a wide range of topics. Please take advantage of Lions University and Lion Portal education and training opportunities.

e. Children’s Vision Screening (Lion Milo) – Report is online. In 2024-25, 13,305 children were screened, with 1305 be referred, which is a 9.09% referral rate. Please report your vision screening and report correctly. It makes a big difference; Lion Milo is working to get all clubs to report. The cameras purchased with the grant are no longer on the insurance policy and clubs will be notified. This will be Lion Milo’s last year as Chair. He would like someone to volunteer so he can help train them. Co-Chair Lion Scott Grover will continue.

f. Adult Vision Screening (PDG Bob) – Report is online. Volunteers are always needed to help. Contact PDG Bob Faliveno. Next screening is in Beloit. Screening also at the Verona Senior Center in October.

g. District Convention (Lion Andrea) – District Convention will be March 13-14, 2026, at Ho Chunk in Wisconsin Dells. The first meeting will be in September. Committee is open to anyone who would like to help. Lion Andrea will be contacting past committee members.

h. Peace Poster (Lion Andy) – 18 clubs have received Peace Poster kits. Goal is 20 clubs.

i. Youth Exchange (Lion Crystal) – No Report

j. WLF Report (PDG John, Lion Jim) – Report online – Children’s and Adult Vision Screenings continue. In addition, Glove project and Deer Hide collection will continue, Kid’s Raffle continues until September 24, Camp received 100% in recent inspection. Wednesday, Aug 27 reserved for D1 visit to Lion Camp. Up to 100 can go, carpooling will be arranged with staggered arrival times.

k. LCIF Report (PDG Conrad) – Report online – $40,000 donated to LCIF by D1 clubs and individuals in 2024-25. Thank you for your donations. 40 or 56 clubs donated.

l. Diabetes Report (Lion Jill) – No Report Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) partnership proposed by Lion Brian McKay.

m. Leader Dog (Lion Patty) – No Report.

n. Stuff the Bus (Lion Bruce) – Report online – 8 clubs confirmed a STB event for this year. 20 clubs participated this year. Please encourage your clubs to host an STB event, the need is there in all our communities.

o. Birch Sturm (Lion Greg – No Report.

p. Leo Report (Lion Brenda) – Report online -Lion Brenda Steele has been in touch with clubs who sponsor Leo Clubs and asks that Leo advisors report the Leo service activities. Clubs should get their sponsored Leos involved in their service projects and fundraisers.

q. Environment – DG Jim is looking for a new chair.

r. Lions Missions (Lion Jeff) – PDG Jeff Winkler said that they meet two times per year. Upcoming missions: August-Guatemala for Cataract pre-surgical work, October -Guatemala for cataract surgeries, October-Rose Bud Reservation mission, November-Guatemala for eyeglass mission. PDG Jeff presented an eyeglass recycling opportunity to the cabinet: There are 1.2 million eyeglasses at Lions Camp, 864K are not processed. The prison is no longer working on the project. PDG Jeff is working with SVDG Adam, WLF Directors John and Jim to investigate the possibility of having an eyeglass processing center in D1, staffed by volunteers. 2 Lensometers would be needed at a cost of $11,000 each and there are looking for a building (possible location in Mazomanie at a retired school property.

s. New Voices Report (SVDG Adam) – SVDG Adam is looking for his replacement. The program is designed to find new leaders, the first step to building strong leadership.

t. Hearing (lion Lauri) – No Report.

u. Other Reports
• Thank You from Leader Dog for $3800 donation.
• District Bowling – January 31, 2026, at Ten Pin Alley in Fitchburg. There will be two shifts of 10 teams each. Verona and Fitchburg are hosting. More information and entry forms are available on the District webpage.

14. Zone & Region Meetings – Please let the Exec Team know the dates for your Zone Meetings. Region Meeting dates and locations will be scheduled.

15. Next Cabinet Meeting – The next meeting will be October 12, 2025, in Albany at the Albany Lions Clubhouse

16. Upcoming Events
a. Evansville Lions100 th Anniversary on October 25, 2025
b. Marshall Lions Riverfest in Marshall, Saturday, August 9, 2025
c. New Glarus Lions Golf Outing on October 5, 2025
d. Madison West is offering Bucky Books for sale.
e. International President AP Singh will be visiting Wisconsin, August 8 & 9, 2025. He will visit the Lions Eye Bank on Saturday and Lions Camp on Sunday. He will be hosting a Town Hall Session at Lions Camp on Sunday, Aug 10 at 1pm. His motto is ‘Lead to Serve – Serve to Lead.’

17. Cash Raffle Winners – FVDG Tony Sobczak, PDG John Elvekrog and Lion Erica Singley

18. Adjourn – Motion to adjourn by Lion Tim Meier, second by FVDG Tony Sobczak, Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 1:50 PM.

Reports:
August Agenda
March Cabinet Meeting Minutes
Treasurers Report – Activities (Excel)
Treasurers Report – Administration (Excel)
Treasurers Report – Annual Budget (Excel)
Audit 2024-2025 (pdf)
Adult Vision Screening Report (pdf)
Childhood Cancer Report (pdf)
Children’s Vision Committee Report (pdf)
Children’s Vision 2025-2026 Screening Reporting Form (Excel)
Children’s Vision Screening 2025-2026 Summary
District Bowling Report (pdf)
Global Action Team Report
Global Service Team Report (pdf)
LCIF Report (pdf)
Leo Report (pdf)
Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin Report (pdf)
Region 2 Zone 2 Report (pdf)
Stuff the Bus (pdf)
Stuff the Bus Donation Report Excel
UW Campus Club (pdf)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Report (pdf)
Wisconsin Lions Foundation Donation Report (pdf)