The Owensboro Lions Club was recently honored at the district winter meeting in Hopkinsville to commemorate 100 years of Lionism. The group accomplished the fete in June 2020, but restrictions delayed the ceremony to 2022.
Several local members attended the meeting to receive the award from Lions Club international president Douglas Alexander. The group was presented with the Service from the Heart Award, the fourth-highest honor the president can bestow upon a chapter.
“Where there is a need ‘to serve,’ we do our best for Owensboro and Daviess County,” said local president Brian Cecil. “We’ve been able to donate over $25,000 this year alone through our eyeglasses program, sponsorships, tornado victims, and donations.”
The Lions Club is an international, non-political service organization established in 1916 in Chicago by Melvin Jones. Cecil said it is the largest service organization globally, with 48,000 clubs and 1.4 million members serving more than 200 countries.
On June 19, 1920, the local club was chartered with Judge George N. Wilson Sr. serving as the first president. The club is the third-oldest and one of the largest in the state.
“Through the years, the Lions have held many fundraising events from putting on horse shows every year to today where we have our local soapbox derby races,” he said. “We also have park benches throughout Owensboro, provide breakfast with Santa, and the ringing of bells, just to name a few.”
The Lions also award five local scholarships every year and assist in funding two local family resource centers for the school systems. Additionally, they sponsor the local help office and run an eyeglasses program to assist those with vision needs in the community.
The name Lions is derived from the association’s slogan, “liberty, intelligence, our nation’s safety,” and they operate under the motto of “we serve.”
The Owensboro Lion’s Club is actively searching for new members. Anyone interested should visit www.owensborolions.com.
“We have a great group of Lions in our club, with most of them being members for 10 plus years and many for 20 plus years,” Cecil said. “It’s gratifying and fun to give back to our community.”
