Lions Club of Saraland installs new officers; more north Mobile County news ...

At a banquet at Catfish Junction on June 21, the Lions Club of Saraland installed new officers and honored those who had contributed to the club’s success in the past year. Lions District governor-elect Durden Dean was guest speaker and aided president Grady Bryant in the recognition and installation ceremonies.

About 50 members and guests were present as the following officers were installed: president, Nikhil Patel; first vice president, Mandy Whigham; second vice president, Phillip Woods; third vice president, Joe Leach; immediate past president and board member, Grady Bryant; secretary, Ron Mitchell; treasurer, Sharon Atwell; lion tamer, L.C. Jackson; tail twister, Tom Williams; membership chairman, Newton Cromer; and directors, Paul Stanley, Martin Walker, Bill Silvers, Paul Logan, Howard Rubenstein and Margaret Reeves. Guests heard comments from outgoing president Bryant and incoming leader Patel before the meeting was adjourned.

In other Lions Club news: the club netted approximately $38,000 through the Pancake Breakfast fundraiser, the annual fruit sale and a road block. Paul Stanley, owner of Catfish Junction, and Melissa Buerger, manager, were thanked for their hospitality with the breakfast and banquet. Ron Mitchell was lauded for the success of the Pancake Breakfast, which he chaired. He has also been elected as second vice district governor.
A donation of $7,874 was presented to Saraland High School band director Neil Sasser to be used for band uniforms. Also, the club started a new Leo Club at Saraland High this past year.
Saraland mayor and club member Dr. Howard Rubenstein and Ron Mitchell were honored with a scholarship named for them. Two members passed away during the past year: Jim Calhoun and Jerry Kominek, who helped start the club in 1956.

On June 20, the Chickasaw Kiwanis Club members welcomed Lovina Koch, a retired CPA from the 14th District of the Kiwanis Foundation. Koch spoke to the club on ways to promote fundraisers in the quest to earn money for children. Grants are available through the foundation, said member Tom Hayward; the club also sponsors a Pancake Breakfast and a Disc Golf Tournament as fundraisers.
The Kiwanis Club motto is “Children First, Priority One,” said Hayward. Consequently, the club voted to increase the Reading is Fundamental contribution from $300 to $500 per year, meaning the group will be able to receive more books for the RIF program. Kiwanis members generally read at Prichard preschools, Hayward said.

Eminem Will Lose Himself In Boxing Drama SOUTHPAW! | What Culture ...

Here’s a curious one. Eminem has set his next starring vehicle , a boxing drama titled Southpaw , written by the creator of Son of Anarchy and to be produced by Dreamworks CEO Stacey Snider who I imagine when she was at Universal was one of the few people who believed in 8 Mile nearly a decade ago, and produced that film to critical and box office acclaim.

Like 8 Mile, once again this will be a Quasi-Biopic of Marshall Bruce Mathers III’s tumultuous life, but this time focusing on his last five years or so and his family problems and substance abuse, which will be disguised in the plot of a welterweight boxer who attempts to resurrect the early successes’ of his career and conquer the inner demons and personal tragedies that have plagued him ever since.

It all sounds very familiar and very routine for the boxing genre but with Eminem as the lead, the parables to his own life make it all the more exciting.

“I know he’s very selective and doesn’t do a lot. But he shared so much of his personal struggle in this raw and very honest album , one that I connected with on a lot of levels. He is very interested in the boxing genre, and it seemed like an apt metaphor, because his own life has been a brawl.

In a way, this is a continuation of the 8 Mile story , but rather than a literal biography, we are doing a metaphorical narrative of the second chapter of his life. He’ll play a world champion boxer who really hits a hard bottom, and has to fight to win back his life for his young daughter. At its core, this is a retelling of his struggles over the last five years of his life, using the boxing analogy. I love that the title refers to Marshall being a lefty, which is to boxing what a white rapper is to hip hop; dangerous, unwanted and completely unorthodox. It’s a much harder road for a southpaw than a right handed boxer.”So it’s almost 8 Mile Part II – but set in the boxing world .