COMMUNITY COMMENTARY -- Mike Scheafer

Now that the final decision has been made to not hold the 56th Fish

Fry, it’s time to thank several organizations and people on behalf of the

Lions Club. We all regret the decision to not hold the event. The

decision process was very painful. The Lions did receive a lot of help in

trying to save the Fish Fry.

The city of Costa Mesa Special Events Committee made a tremendous

effort in trying to find alternative sites, and we want to thank them for

all they tried to do to help. The citizens of Costa Mesa are very lucky

to have this group.

The Lions truly thank the good folks of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

The calls and letters of support have been appreciated. We, and our

charities, appreciate all the years of attendance at the Fish Fry. No

other community in Orange County is as generous and supportive of our

efforts.

Many have tried to find some sort of blame for the event not taking

place. The Lions want to be very specific that we do not blame anyone. We

don’t blame the City Council of Costa Mesa nor any member of the council.

In fact, over the years, the council has been very supportive of the

Lions.

We were disappointed the council was not able to help, but we have no

doubt the entire council would have been there for us and the community.

We know the council, mayor and all others involved support the Lions. We

look forward to working with all of them because they will help as they

have in the past. We will be talking to them soon as we prepare to

resurrect the Fish Fry next year.

It would be easy to blame Orange Coast College and the Coast Community

College District, but we do not. In fact, the college was very

instrumental in helping us to move the event two years ago. We appreciate

all they did. The current situation is somewhat complicated and not

easily described in this letter. We hope the matter can be resolved. Both

the Lions and the college would love to have the Fish Fry at OCC.

So, who is to blame? We don’t feel a need to blame anyone. Should we

blame the fact that lawsuits are so easily served? Our society can be the

judge of that. We, the Lions, accept responsibility for the event not

taking place. We did not have a contingency plan in place in case of a

situation such as the one facing us now. We have never needed a backup

plan, but we will have one in the future. We will make sure the Lions’

commitment to the community will continue. We realize the event will be

missed, but it will be back.

Can the community help us? We resoundingly say, ‘Yes.’

The Lions in this area do lots of worthwhile projects. We are always

looking for new members and volunteers. If there are individuals or

groups who would like to learn more about the Lions, or would like to get

into the process of planning next year’s Fish Fry, they may contact me

direct at (714) 435-0300. I would be glad to provide any information

about Lions and membership.

Thanks again to all who have supported the Fish Fry and the Lions. We

may get credit for donating to the various community groups, but without

the community attending the Fish Fry, it would not be possible.

The future of the event looks very positive. With the continued

support of all, we will be successful.

* MIKE SCHEAFER lives in Costa Mesa and is the president-elect of the

Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club.