Club News - March 2019

The Simcoe Lynn Valley Lions in Canada contributed CAN$500 (US$379) to the Children’s Aid Society for their Foster Children’s Holiday Party. The club also sponsored three families, supplying them with food and gifts.

In Michigan the Sandusky Lions dedicated a digital sign to the Sandusky City Library and donated a Lion’s drinking fountain for the city playground.

WWII veteran Hubert Garland Edwards, his family, and his fellow Western Harnett Lions in North Carolina celebrated Hubert’s 100th birthday with a cake and the presentation of a plaque, a club t-shirt, and an honorary lifetime membership. Edwards is a decorated veteran having served in the 17th Field Artillery Battalion. He noted at the celebration that one highlight of his career was a personal conversation he shared with Generals Eisenhower and Patton.

In a small rural town in the Missouri Ozarks, the Mountain Grove Lions have purchased a spot vision screener and a hearing screener and screened more than 3,000 children for vision. Hearing screenings will follow. The club pursued grants for the purchase of the equipment, but members donate their time and personal expense money to reach out to students in a 30-mile radius of the small town where financial resources for the schools are limited.

The Crest Hill Lions Club in Illinois presented the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center with more than 120 fleece tie blankets they made to comfort sexually abused children who come to the center to find hope, healing, and justice. Lions are thankful for strong community support of the project.

In Kentucky the Berea Lions Club completed a fundraiser to purchase a lensometer for reading the prescription of used eyeglasses. They have processed several thousand pair and sent their first shipment of 1,000 to a mission team bound for Mexico. The club is preparing for other planned trips to Peru, Uganda, and Haiti.

The Iraan Lions Club, a small 85-year-old club in Texas, contributed to flood relief for Junction, Texas and Sonora, Texas where devastating flash floods overcame communities with loss of lives and properties.

The Maywood Nebraska Lions Club celebrated their 70th anniversary and honored member Robert “Bob” Furrow who helped found the club in 1948. Furrow, 98, remains an avid golfer and active and proud Lion. He remembers back to when the Lions in Maywood would paint the stripes down the center of Main Street for the community.

The Brookfield Lions in Connecticut recently screened their 10,000th child. One of the Brookfield Lions, Fraij Yapoujian wondered if the service was available in his ancestral home in Armenia, so the Brookfield Lions got to work, made plans, and traveled there, hosted by Armenian Zone Chairperson Mkrtich Sargsyan. They anticipated screening 800 to 1,000 children but actually screened 2,003 and have plans to go back and offer screenings in other parts of Armenia.

In Memoriam: Past International Director Aimo N.K. Viitala died on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland, at the age of 91. A Lion since 1953, he was president of the Lions Europa Forum in Helsinki in 1963 and was one of the organizers who contributed to the strong growth of the Lions organization in Finland. Lion Viitala served as International Director from 1981 to 1983 and received numerous awards including the 65 Year Monarch Chevron and the Ambassador of Good Will, the highest honor granted by the association to its members. He was also the first to receive the highest honor of the Finnish Lions Federation, the Grand Rose Nr. 1. He earned a Master of Law degree from Helsinki University and had a successful career in construction, the manufacturing industry, and commerce.

In Memoriam: Colonel Arsene M. Millim, International Director from 1989 to 1991, died on December 22, 2018. He was 90 years old. A member of the Luxembourg International Lions Club since 1973, Past Director Millim served in many offices and was recognized with many honors including four International President’s Awards and the Ambassador of Good Will Award, the highest honor granted by the association to its members. Past Director Millim served as an expert for the disarmament matters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a counsellor to The Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations in New York. He was a military career officer and dedicated to supporting peace and ending human suffering. Past Director Millim was respected for his flawless commitment to the values of Lions and the development of Lions clubs in Luxembourg, and will be remembered as an exemplary leader and honest, sincere friend.

In Memoriam: Past International Director Helmer N. Lecy, 87, died at home in Arkdale, Wisconsin where he was born. A Lion for 46 years, he was a charter officer of the Roche-A-Cri Lions Club, served as president of the Wisconsin Lions Foundation, was a national/multinational coordinator for Campaign SightFirst, and completed more than 35 mission trips to Mexico. He is a multi-level Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow and received many Lion awards. PID Lecy served in the US Army and was involved in many community organizations including 4-H Clubs of America and Boy Scouts. He owned and operated Lecy Construction from 1956 to 1967 and during that time built 19 post offices throughout the state of Wisconsin.

In Memoriam: Past International Director Dr. Roeinton Khambatta, 94, died on December 19, 2018. A Lion since 1956 and a member of the London (Host) Lions Club, he served as International Director from 1962 to 1964. He was a Key Member and received numerous Lion awards including two International President’s Awards and the Ambassador of Goodwill Award, the highest honor the association presents to its members. A respected cardiologist, the Past Director was a past president of the Pakistan Medical Association and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London and Edinburgh. Dr. Khambatta was also a District Grand Master of Pakistan for UGLE and Worshipful Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, the premier lodge of Masonic research.