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It is hard to believe, but I am already more than halfway through my term as president of the Moundsville Lions Club. Each year we try to find new events and ways to get our message out and welcome our community. This year we have an exciting new event that we hope brings a lot of new friends. For the past 13 years, the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce has hosted a Home & Business Expo which welcomes dozens of local businesses and clubs to meet with the public. The Moundsville Lions Club has, for years, been one of those clubs with a booth at the event. We love to meet with the public, get the word out about our programs and sell Lions Club brooms to raise money for our eyesight committee. The eyesight program allows the club to provide dozens of eye exams and pairs of glasses free of cost to those individuals in our community who are unable to obtain them. We are also fortunate enough to earn extra money for the club by working with parking services at the Moundsville Penitentiary. This year, the Moundsville Lions Club will be adding a new event to the Home & Business Expo weekend. We will be hosting a pancake breakfast at the First Presbyterian Church at 1000 3 rd Street Moundsville. The breakfast will be from 8-11 a.m., Saturday, March 3.  The Moundsville Lions are sponsoring the breakfast free of charge to the public and no tickets will be necessary. Given that our programs help the needy community of the area we will be accepting monetary donations that morning so that we can continue to play a strong role in the future of our community. Come visit the Home & Business Expo on March 2 - 3 and come visit with us and your friends for a Pancake Breakfast on March 3.

March is full of surprises. Did you know that almost every day in the month is nationally recognized for something special? I am going to take this opportunity to point out a few that have caught my attention for one reason or another, (mostly because I find them downright funny…). Let’s start at the beginning with March 1. It shares National Pig Day and Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day. March 2 shares the day with Old Stuff Day, Employee Appreciation Day, National Salesperson Day and World of Prayer Day. March 3 is I Want You to Be Happy Day and one of my favorites, If Pets Had Thumbs Day…really?! March 5 is Multiple Personality Day…who knew? March 8 is International Working Women’s Day and Popcorn Lovers Day. March 9 is home to Panic Day. Onto March 14, another good one, National Potato Chip Day, and the 15 th, which cracks me up, Everything You Think Is Wrong Day to the 16 th which is Everything You Do Is Right Day! And we all know St. Patrick’s Day is the 17 th but, you probably did not know, it shares the day with Corned Beef and Cabbage Day and National Quilting Day. Now here is one to shake your head at, March 20, mark your calendars for this one – Extraterrestrial Abductions Day! Seriously? March 22 is National Goof Off Day and the 23 rd is home to two of my favorites, National Puppy Day and of course, Chip and Dip Day! March 26 is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, (I believe some of these fall into that category!) Coming in at the end of the month is Something on a Stick Day on the 28 th, the 30 th brings Good Friday, I am in Control Day and National Doctors Day, and last but not least, the 31 st shares National Clam on the Half Shell Day along with Bunsen Burner Day!

President’s Day, a federal holiday, honors President George Washington, the first President, and President Abraham Lincoln, the 16 th President. During the days of Washington and Lincoln, it was a lot easier to get an appointment with the President than it is today. In August 1863, Frederick Douglass, a human rights leader in the anti-slavery movement who himself was born into slavery, came to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Lincoln. Frederick Douglass wanted an immediate meeting with the president to discuss the treatment of black Civil War Union soldiers who were captured by Confederate troops and were mutilated, tortured and assassinated. Some had even been sold into slavery. The White House had remained silent on these events, which deeply troubled Douglass, who had been instrumental in recruiting black soldiers to serve in the Union Army. He felt particularly responsible for their treatment upon capture. In describing the scene on the White House lawn, when he sought a meeting with President Lincoln, Douglass noted that all the others waiting in the crowd to see Lincoln were white. He said he expected to have to wait for at least a half day; however, he was wrong about that. It only took a couple of minutes for a White House messenger to come out of the White House and summon Frederick Douglass from the crowd, calling his name. It was an astonishing moment, one he often spoke of and included in his book, “Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings.” After Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which included a provision calling for black men to enlist in the U.S. Army, Douglass began recruiting for the Union. In fact, two of his sons were among the first black men to enlist, and they also recruited black men to join the Union Army.  It became common knowledge that black soldiers imprisoned by the Confederate forces were mutilated, assassinated and sold into slavery, yet the White House maintained its silence in the wake of these human rights violations.  This silence infuriated Douglass, who sought a meeting with Lincoln to address the subject. In his published writings at the time, Douglass explained that he could not in good faith continue to recruit black men, and he criticized Lincoln for failing to retaliate for the treatment endured by the black soldiers. When Frederick Douglass entered the White House that day, he had no idea how he would be received, but he was determined to argue his position. When he introduced himself to Lincoln, Lincoln said, “I know who you are, Mr. Douglass.” With that, Douglass wasted no time in getting to his point.  In addition to the atrocities and lack of protection of black soldiers, Douglass argued for equal pay for black soldiers. He urged the United States government to retaliate in kind for the treatment of the black soldiers, but Lincoln would not agree to retaliation or equal pay. He did, however, agree to sign any commission for black soldiers recommended by the secretary of war.  Douglass later wrote that while he was not entirely satisfied with the meeting, he was satisfied with Lincoln’s understanding of the circumstances. For Lincoln’s part, he extended at least three more White House invitations to Douglass, including the president’s second inauguration. In his address, Lincoln called slavery “an offense against God.” When asked by Lincoln what he thought of the second inaugural address, Douglass replied, “Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort.” This was particularly noteworthy, because prior to meeting Lincoln, Douglass had labeled Lincoln’s first inaugural address “a weak and inappropriate utterance” that announced, “complete loyalty to slavery in the slave States” and denied “all feeling against slavery.” Frederick Douglass, himself a great orator, seems to have had some influence with the President.

Through pounding rain, wind and muddy conditions, teachers across West Virginia are standing up after being put on the back burner and forgotten for years. In a time where there are seemingly constant attacks on workers and unions, the teachers of the state of West Virginia have taken up the union mantle of strength in numbers. We should expect nothing more from the people of West Virginia – we have long been at the frontlines of unionization and workers’ rights. Many of these teachers are the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the coal miners, steel mill workers and plant operators that helped to build our state and worker protections. Teachers and school staff are often overlooked and seemingly forgotten by the powers that be.  Each year we call on our teachers to do more and more to care for and teach our children. I don’t know a single teacher that got into the profession for the money. They knew that they were not going to get rich and they didn’t care. They believed, however, that they would be able to support their own families through their work. For decades at least, they could count on decent benefits like health insurance and retirement. In a state that needs good teachers and skilled workers to move into the next phase of the world economy we should be doing everything we can to encourage more people to take on the tremendous task of teaching our kids and preparing them. We should make being a teacher one of the best jobs possible in West Virginia. The schools in West Virginia really have done more than we can ask of them for the support that they receive. West Virginia, while paying teachers the 48th best salary in the country, continuously turn out high graduation rates. How do we repay those teachers? We keep putting off pay raises and we enact and suggest health insurance benefits plans that will cripple and break them. Make no mistake, the teachers of this state deserve far more pay than we can afford to give them. The current situation, however, is not only about raises. The PEIA funding issues which presented most teachers with the prospect of losing thousands of dollars out of their pay is a major problem and a symptom of a bigger issue. PEIA issues would have been addressed years ago to avoid staggering premium increases and benefit reductions. Pay raises would have happened gradually over a period of time. Short term solutions like “freezing” benefits until after the next election are simply not enough. Teachers demand and have earned long-term plans to stabilize the entire system not only for themselves, but for state workers as a whole. Whether those funds come from sports betting, the surplus revenue or the oil and gas severance tax, the prospect of supporting our state workers and teachers really shows where our priorities lie. I am proud of the teachers of this state for standing up and taking the fight to the legislature that has left them behind and tells them to just smile and be happy. I am proud of the teachers for taking on a so called “illegal” strike and standing up for themselves. I am proud of the people that I trust to educate my children. The future of West Virginia depends upon the strength of our school system and I hope and pray that the government steps up to the plate to make meaningful changes to protect our schools.

I recently had the pleasure and privilege of volunteering at the Ohio Valley Night to Shine on Feb. 9. On this one night, people from all over the world come together at the same time to celebrate the lives of people with special needs, ages 14 and up. The event is a memorable prom night experience that many of the guests might not have otherwise been able to experience. This event is sponsored, in part, by the Tim Tebow Foundation with the help of local area churches who act as hosts, and countless volunteers and donors. This year there were over 90,000 honored guests from 16 countries on six continents who participated in the Night to Shine. I was impressed at how well our local event was organized, how much hard work obviously went into it and at how much there was to offer our honored guests once they arrived at the venue. The venue was decorated beautifully—from elegant table coverings to lighting, flowers, etc. The guests were all treated like kings and queens, literally—they each received a crown and a goody bag to take home. Guests also received a boutonniere or corsage, had their picture taken and walked the red carpet where the paparazzi took more pictures and cheered them on. While there, the guys could get their shoes shined and the ladies could get their hair and make-up retouched. They could also enjoy some cotton candy while taking a limo ride, sing karaoke and were treated to dinner and dancing—and boy did they dance! The looks of excitement and the smiles on their faces was priceless and heartwarming. I don’t know who had more fun—the guests or the volunteers. It was a humble reminder that despite our differences, we are all God’s children, and I was honored to take part in the celebration. I can’t wait until next year to once again help the guests have their own special night—their Night to Shine.

We live in a world where information is readily available to us almost all the time. We are able to instantly answer any question that we have by pulling out our phone, and can extensively research any topic, big or small. This is a great resource when you need a quick answer – for example, if you are driving in an unfamiliar location and need to find a gas station, or when you are at the store and can’t remember the last couple of ingredients in a recipe. But having this type of information available can actually sometimes cause us to cut ourselves short because we focus on getting the answers that we think that we want instead of finding out what all our options may be. Nowadays, people tend to plan ahead on everything that they do. If they are shopping for something new, they will do online searches for the type of products they want. They will read dozens of reviews, good and bad, about the products and look at photographs to compare colors and styles. They will see what kind of prices they can get from different websites or stores, then typically either order that product directly from a website or go straight into the store knowing exactly what they want, making it a quick trip to purchase that item and get back on their way. The same is often true for restaurants or vacation destinations. Research into the place’s Facebook, Yelp, Google or TripAdvisor pages will be done, the menu will be scanned in advance and sometimes a virtual tour of hotel rooms or the location is even an option. While all of this can help save time and help make an informed decision, it might cause you to miss out. Many stores, salons, restaurants and vacation destinations employ individuals who are experienced, informed and passionate about their line of work. These places generally want to put their best foot forward to customers and make sure you have a good experience. You might think that you are ordering the best item on the menu based on your own review, but if you ask a waiter or bartender, they might give you information that could be relevant to your decision, such as the portion size or an option of combining certain foods that you didn’t even realize that you had. They might suggest a great drink to go with your meal. You may be turned on to a local destination on your vacation that most tourists would not know to visit. Many salons and beauty product stores are happy to provide samples or let you test the products in the store and can offer guidance about which products you might like best based on your questions or information you give a salesperson or stylist about yourself. Employees at bike shops or other sporting gear stores often enjoy the very types of activities for which they are selling products and can give personal feedback. From talking to employees at the store, you may also learn of sales or deals available to regular customers or at special events, or that are not publicly advertised. While it can be helpful to do your own research into shopping, dining or other purchases, sometimes it is worth a try to do it the old-fashioned way and ask for advice in person! You never know what you might learn or find.

Black history is American history.  February is Black History Month, during which we recognize some of the African Americans who have influenced, improved and shaped our country.  It also follows the month in which we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday with a federal holiday in his honor.  Among Dr. King’s accomplishments to the nation was leading a non-violent civil rights movement from 1954 until his assassination in 1968.  Fifty years after his death, many of the things he said are timely today.  Here are some quotations from Dr. King: “We must meet hate with love.  We must meet physical force with soul force.  There is still a voice crying out through the vista of time saying: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.’” “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” “We must act in such a way as to make possible a coming together of white people and colored people on the basis of a real harmony of interest and understanding.  We must seek an integration based on mutual respect.” “The time is always right to do what is right.” “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” “When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems.  Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love.” “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant” The final quote above is on the wall of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., part of a tribute to a national leader who sought to appeal to the best that is in all of us.  It is truly a message of hope, one that will outlive the discord of our present times.

Space: The final frontier. I have never been much of a science fiction person; just not my favorite genre of movies or shows. As a matter of fact, when the original Star Trek was on in the 60s I never watched. So one day I was browsing through my Netflix and came upon a documentary about Leonard Nimoy’s life For the Love of Spock and decided to watch it. Of course, Leonard Nimoy is a very likeable man and I enjoyed the documentary immensely and couldn’t help but be curious about some of things he talked about that happened during his acting career on the original Star Trek. So, my next stop on my Netflix browse was to binge watch the three seasons of the original Star Trek. It was amusing to see how “campy” the 1960’s costumes and scenery were. And it was a treat to see how their characters evolved and grew into the beloved characters – specifically Captain Kirk and Spock – that everyone loved. Some of the technology that they had was an eerie prediction of our future, i.e., their communicators looked like flip phones, their wall monitors resembled flat screen TVs. When I finished watching the original series I felt that empty “what am I going to watch now” feeling that one usually feels after they have binge watched a series. I tried a few other shows but nothing grabbed my attention as much as Star Trek had. So, I finally wandered back to the Star Trek TV series. I am now on the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation which was telecast from 1987 to 1994. It has me as hooked as the original series did. I thought I would miss Captain Kirk and Spock, but I have come to love the new cast that includes two handsome captains, a Klingon and a female counselor who has telepathic gifts. The costumes are more sophisticated in this one, including their practice of medicine. They are able to talk to their computers and their communicators are now little buttons on their chest. Even though flip phones in real life did not make the scene until 1986, technology on Star Trek was moving forward at warp speed. The one thing we haven’t discovered is a way to “beam” our bodies through time and space and transport us somewhere else! But I’m still anxiously waiting for that one along with their advanced practice of medicine. Curiously, they still haven’t learned that the use of seat belts would be a very good thing to have to keep them in their seats! Perhaps the reason I have become such a Trekkie at my age is that unlike many science fiction shows and movies which usually portray the future of the earth as a dark, desolate, dangerous place to live after humans have literally destroyed it with their greed, bombs and/or war. Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek series always portrays our future earth as a bright, wonderful place with advanced technologies where all countries have unified into a federation who now travel space spreading peace and goodwill wherever they journey meeting and accepting new species of life form, whatever it may look like. The only time they resort to violence is when they are met with violence and then it is handled with reluctance and integrity. They sorrow over death. Obviously, my kind of world. I am such a flower child.  Kumbaya!

Today is Presidents’ Day which is celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, who was born on Feb. 22, 1732. Traditionally celebrated on Feb. 22, it was moved to Monday as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was instituted to provide American workers with more three-day weekends. Washington’s birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s and it was not until the late 1870s that it was decided it would become a federal holiday. Initially, the holiday applied to the District of Columbia but was shortly thereafter expanded to include the entire country. At this point, it joined four other federal holidays – Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving – and later would be joined by Martin Luther King Day, signed into law in 1983. Most of us associate Presidents’ Day with shopping deals – which started shortly after it was decided that it would be part of the Uniform Monday Act. While it was originally instituted to celebrate the lives and achievements of all great executives, we don’t mind the bargains!

In this day and age, with all the cell phones, tablets and computers – you’d think we could be more organized. But in reality, staying on top of the endless meetings and practices has seemingly become a lot harder. Is it because we’ve got more ways to keep in touch now more than we did 30 years ago? Here are a few ways to try to be more productive in your personal and professional life to crush your goals: 1) Remove distractions. They say for every distraction you have while working, it takes at least 20 minutes to get back on track. 2) Take a break.  For every 20 minutes you spend looking at a computer screen or tablet, look at something at least 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This will refresh your eyes and give them a break, something we rarely ever do! 3) Manage your daily goals.  3-5 daily goals sound reasonable for most people – making too long of a to-do list can let the important goals slip away from you. 4) Set a timer for each goal.  Once you’ve got your goals listed out, set a timer for each of them. If you focus on one for too long, you’ll suck the energy out of yourself and will lose the desire to focus on the others. 5) Be realistic.  Rome wasn’t built in a day – set realistic goals and expectations for yourself and the more realistic you are, the easier it will be!

Those of you who regularly follow the Bordas Blogs will remember that in my free time, I work as a basketball official in the OVAC. A few times each year, I try to write a blog entry that gives local hoops fans some insight into the most misunderstood rules of the game. Today, I decided to go a different route. After 25 years of officiating basketball, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is how little players (and some coaches) understand about how to relate to an official. I mean, think about this for a moment. There are three officials on the floor at each game, and those three officials can have a profound effect on the game. Every game has a handful of what we officials call bang-bang plays, where the call can go either way. If I am a player, I want to do everything in my power to make sure those plays go my way more often than not. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for dealing with the officials in your next game. Introduce yourself to us.  If you are one of the team captains, we are going to have the chance to chat with you briefly in the captains’ conference that happens a few minutes before the game starts. If you aren’t a captain, approach at least one of us during pre-game warm-ups. Shake our hand, look us in the eye and introduce yourself.  That sort of thing rarely happens, and it’s something we will remember. Show us that you take sportsmanship seriously.  In today’s game, it seems like players are only interested in showing the other team how tough they are. We have stare downs, we have primal screams after a nice block or dunk, we have look at me stares or gestures at the opposing bench or crowd. All of those say one thing to officials:  troublemaker. A nice change of pace would be to show us that while you are a fierce competitor, you also respect the opposition and the game.  Offer your hand to an opponent who has fallen down. Don’t engage in trash talk. Be the guy who calms down a teammate who is getting out of hand. Officials notice these sorts of things, and they make a big impression. Get us the ball. This one seems really simple, but you would be amazed at how rarely it happens. There are many times during a game when play is stopped and the ball is bouncing away from everyone. Someone is going to have to chase after it and get it to the officials so the game can resume. Players should remember that the officials are older than they are (sometimes a LOT older), and we appreciate anything that gives us a chance to conserve some energy. Go get the ball for us. Again, it’s a small gesture, but it’s one we will remember. Don’t try to show us up.  Basketball officiating is hard, and officials aren’t perfect.  Despite our best efforts, there are calls that are going to be missed. It’s the reality of the game. Don’t make things worse for us by standing there with your arms raised straight up after a foul is called against you, or running away from the play, jumping up and down in a display of I can’t believe you just called that. Even if such actions don’t draw a technical foul, they will leave a lasting impression on the officials, and it won’t be a good one. Don’t whine or gripe or complain.  Just talk to us. If you are asking your mother if you can have the car on Friday night, do you approach her with attitude and say something like a re you ever going to let me drive the damn car? Or do you approach respectfully and say, Mom, could I please have the car this Friday? One of those approaches is doomed to failure from the start. A player who comes to me and says, sir, could you watch #23 pushing me on rebounds is going to have a much better chance at success than the kid who says are you guys ever going to get 23 off my back? I could give countless more examples here, but I think you all get the idea. Players need to make a concerted effort to treat officials with courtesy and respect, and to demonstrate class and sportsmanship on the floor. Doing so will go a long way toward establishing a successful relationship with game officials. Now, if we could just talk to the parents in the stands . . .

Mid-winter is such a bleak time of year – snow, ice, shoveling, salty (and messy!) floors, biting cold, dry skin – and it seems like it will never end. But thanks to God’s faithfulness, spring is a certainty. Now is the time for planning and preparing for that blessed springtime! Brush off that dusty treadmill, begin designs for your flower garden and start preparations for that much anticipated summer vacation! Eventually the ground will soften, the cinders will be swept off the roads and the trees and flowers will begin to bud. Get a head start on spring cleaning – go through your closets and dressers to clear out clothes you don’t need/wear. Tackle the basement or garage junk while you’re at it. Once the snow melts, you can even start clearing the yard of leaves, branches and dead plants. Time to get off the couch and think spring! It’ll be here before you know it.