Congratulations to the Mount Vernon Lions for celebrating 100 years as a service organization in Mount Vernon. The original charter was adopted in May 1924, as noted in the May 8, 1924 edition of the Mount Vernon and Lisbon Hawk-Eye Herald.
Last Saturday, several former district governors, past and present members of the club, community members and others were at Cornell to celebrate the Lions achievements.
And as the story from that event and speakers indicated, it’s been a lot.
There’s the more than $325,000 in donations the club has made to numerous causes in its more than 100 years of service that touches the lives of numerous citizens.
There’s scholarship donations it has made to youth in our area, helping them one more time to achieve their dreams in this community.
The biggest impact in this community has to be the work it has done for parks and recreation programs in the Mount Vernon and Lisbon communities. The club not only helped to purchase the land that would eventually become Davis Park in Mount Vernon, they were also instrumental in establishing the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation department for the community. As Matt Siders noted in a video celebrating some of the Lions accomplishments, that impact has given many youth in our area opportunities to experience several different recreational sports and programs in a range of sports at early ages.
The club also helped the Mount Vernon Marching Mustangs in 1980 and 1984 make trips to Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Calif., to participate in marching band competitions and represent the state.
During the celebration on April 20, numerous members of the club were given recognition for their years of service to the club, and Fred Lehman, a longtime member, was honored with the Warren Coleman Honorary award, highlighting an individual who has exemplified the highest standards of Lionism and community volunteerism.
As mayor Tom Wieseler said, there were multiple influential people to Mount Vernon and Lisbon’s success over the years present at the service organization’s celebration who have ties to the club, whose goals have all been about making their communities a better community.
“The rewards for your club aren’t in material, they’re in the smiles of those who you’ve shown your gratitude in your acts of service over the years,” guest speaker Justice Brian Stevenson, said.
“No man joins the Lions Club for what he can get, he comes into membership and asks only an opportunity to serve,” Stevenson said.
Here is to this service club bringing another 100 years of benefits to the community and world at large through countless volunteers.
Sun Editorial: Lions impact on the community has been immense
May 2, 2024