Community & Clubs -- Jim de Boom

LIONS SIGHT AND HEARING VAN: Members of the Newport Harbor-Costa Mesa

Lions Club are completing their 18th year of assisting the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District with the vision and hearing screenings that are

mandated annually. Lions Barbara Hayward, Lou Bolick, Ann Iverson, Carol

Van Holt, “B” Olson and Marian Perrin worked some 37 days between Oct. 15

and Dec. 12, visiting 29 schools (staying two days at some schools),

getting the van ready for the nurses and assisting the drivers in moving

the van to the next school where it was used the following day. Volunteer

drivers included Lions Mike McIlroy, Mike Gidding, Mike Schaefer, Bob

Crogan and his buddy Matt Collett, Hank Hornsveld, Keith Van Holt and

John Taylor. Thanks to the Lions volunteers, schoolchildren see and hear

better.

HOWARD HANDY: Daily Pilot Sports Editor Roger Carlson wrote

a great obituary on longtime sports writer Howard Handy, who died a week

ago at the age of 84. I and Paul Salata had a chance to work with Howard

after he retired from the Daily Pilot in the 1980s as the Pilot brought

Howard back to cover Irrelevant Week for several years. Howard was full

of sports stories about the people he met over the years covering college

and professional athletes. He brought a sense of class and dignity to

covering Irrelevant Week, as he would hold Mr. Irrelevant in as high

regard as any other athlete he had met in years of reporting. Condolences

to the family.

MATTERS OF THE HEART: Tuesday is the night and the Pacific

Club is the place where Soroptimist International of Newport Harbor will

honor Mary Leigh Blek, founder of the Bell Campaign and Million Mom

March, and yours truly, the Daily Pilot Community & Clubs columnist, at

the fourth annual Matters of the Heart dinner. The reception and silent

auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner to follow. Barbara, my wife,

even got me out to shop for a new suit for the occasion, and we ended up

buying two new suits and a sport coat. There are a few tickets still left

at $75 each, and reservations may be made by calling dinner Chairwoman

Sue Haddock at (714) 957-5113 or Victoria Gray at (949) 717-5507.

SEARCH FOR TALENT: The Exchange Club of the Orange Coast is

looking for children 6 to 18 years of age who like to sing, dance or play

an instrument and perform, to enter the annual Search for Talent Contest,

which will be held March 22. For an application or more information, call

Shirley Kohlmeier at (949) 582-1877.

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK: Looking for a way to

answer President Bush’s call to donate 4,000 hours in service to your

neighbors and country as we try to make America a better place to live?

Try helping your community through a service club. You are invited to

attend a club meeting this week to learn more about service clubs. Most

clubs will buy your first meal for you as you get acquainted with them.

Here is this week’s meeting schedule:

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The 40-member Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club will meet

at Five Crowns Restaurant for a craft talk by Robert Wess.

6:30 p.m.: The Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club, the Fish Fry

Club, will meet at the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The 20-member South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at

the Center Club (o7 www.southcoastmetrorotary.orgf7 ), and the Newport

Harbor Kiwanis Club will meet at the University Athletic Club.

Noon: The 35-member Exchange Club of the Orange Coast will meet at the

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club to hear from Kelly MacEachern, candidate for

Superior Court judge.

6 p.m.: The 60-member Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa will meet at the

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a Valentine’s Day party featuring Bill

Tapia on the guitar and ukulele, accompanied by Gerry Long and Amanda

Malouf as the vocalist (o7 www.newportbalboa.orgf7 ).

THURSDAY

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club will meet at the Holiday

Inn, the Newport Beach-Corona del Mar Kiwanis Club will meet at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club to hear Tom Trueblood on the culture of

Afghanistan, the 80-member Exchange Club of Newport Harbor will meet at

the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum to hear Bob Wood on “UFO Crashes --

New Evidence” (o7 www.nhexchangeclub.comf7 ), and the 100-member

Newport-Irvine Rotary Club will meet at the Irvine Marriott for a

Valentine’s Luncheon with the Rev. Lydia Sarandan of St. Andrew’s

Presbyterian Church as the speaker (o7 www.nirotary.orgf7 ).

7 p.m.: The 20-plus member Costa Mesa-Orange Coast Breakfast Lions

Club will meet at Mimi’s Cafe for a student speaker contest.

* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot. Send

your service club’s meeting information by fax to (949) 660-8667; e-mail

to [email protected] or by mail to 2082 S.E. Bristol St., Suite 201,

Newport Beach, CA 92660-1740.