The Dublin Lions ClubSusan Strong, Contributing Writer
04-01-2008
I don’t know much about the Lions, just that when I was a kid (you’ve heard that before) they were known for making really well-made brooms, recycling eyeglasses, and helping blind people.
Where I grew up (you’ve heard that line before) usually in Spring a man would go door-to-door selling brooms for the Lions, and Mom almost always bought one. Actually, she used it more than I did, which isn’t an observation I’m proud of nowadays, but I‘ve learned a lot about brooms since then. I still hadn’t learned much about Lions, so I was glad when Roy Hunter invited me to join the Lions for a special meeting.
The Dublin Lions are an enthusiastic group of men, especially when facing a long table of remarkable food catered by the Kountry Kitchen of Christiansburg. I haven’t had fried chicken that good in a long time. It was fun listening to that group of roughly 45 men laughing, talking, and eating together until the time for the organized part of the meeting.
The Lions have been known for their generous help to people with vision problems, which started from a request by Helen Keller back in 1925, but the fact is the Lions have been generous to many different organizations as well. Tonight, the Lions gave out checks to the Pulaski Daily Bread, the Pulaski Free Clinic, the Dublin Volunteer Fire Department, and the Fairlawn Volunteer Fire Department. Other groups who will receive their checks in the mail because they didn’t have a representative present included the Newbern, Snowville, Twin Communities, and Hiwassee Volunteer Fire Departments, and the Fairlawn Daily Bread.
The Lions recently provided hearing aids to two individuals who reported remarkable appreciation at the change the improved hearing brought to their lives. The Lions plan to provide 4 more. The Lions have approved 219 applicants to benefit from their eye exams and glasses program. That’s a hefty lot of help from the 79 local members. And the Lions regularly help the American Red Cross by providing space for blood drives.
Another highlight of this meeting, a brief presentation of common eye problems and prevention ideas by Dr. John McElroy, kept my interest on a full stomach, which is generally no easy task. Dr. McElroy took some difficult eye diseases and made them understandable. Vision is a wonderful gift, one directly affected by how we nurture our health. I don’t suppose most folks associate their vision with their dinner plates, other than that old joke about being on a “see-food” diet (I see it and I eat it).
How does this small group of well-meaning citizens accomplish what they are able to do? Most of the funding for the Lions comes from their involvement with events at the New River Fairgrounds. They sell the secret recipe Lion dogs and sodas for $1 each (Roy quipped, “So they don’t have to make change,”) at their booth during the two flea markets held each year. This year those dates are June 7-8 and September 13-14. The Lions rent spaces to vendors for $30-40 each, and charge a $1 admission fee (with free parking) to the shoppers. Last year, they rented 735 of the 800 spaces, and 353 different vendors were represented. The Lions pay the Pulaski County High School Band Boosters to pick up trash at the events, and members of Heritage Church help with directing the massive amount of parking.
The Lions will also be back at the Fairgrounds selling Lion dogs and sodas from their booth during the Pulaski County July 4th event and the New River Valley Fair scheduled for July 21-26 this year. They also sell brooms at the Fair and Flea Market, and that’s where I intend to get mine.
The Dublin, Virginia Lions Club held its organizational meeting in the Pulaski County Life Saving Crew Hall in Dublin in 1953, making this their 55th year, and the Lions International are just over 90 years strong. I’ve always wondered what the various animal-named clubs were like, and I could see that this one knew how to combine community support with good fellowship and just plain fun. I asked a few of the men about their membership. Willard Akers has been a member for nearly 48 years, and Jim Cook 30 years. The general consensus I heard was, “This is a good group of people. I like what we do and we have fun doing it.”
Being the only female in the group save the guest from the Daily Bread and the ladies setting up the catered dinner, I noted that the membership represented was totally men. Not that I minded being in a room full of men interested in working together to help the community as well as people with disabilities. I thought back to Helen Keller’s words in her 1925 International Lions Club Conference speech that prompted the Lions’ continued involvement with the blind, “I appeal to you Lion, you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind. Will you not constitute yourselves Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness?“ Now, we all know that behind those good men is a vanguard of good women, but there was something reassuring in this brotherly, brave, strong, kind, and fun gathering.
But Roy assured me that they have female members as well. Lions membership is open to anyone age 18 or older of decent moral standing who is willing to work together with the group. There’s nothing stopping younger attendees from involvement, just not membership. While the original dues of 1953 were $3 per quarter, members now fork over $42 per quarter. In today’s me-first world, it’s impressive that these men aren’t afraid to put their dues where their hearts are.
We’ve had a lot of recent conversation in Pulaski about efforts to better our home county and our home towns. Have you ever considered joining a group like this one? If you’re curious, ask any Lions Club member you might know, and if you don’t happen to know any, call Warren Morris at 980-0071 or Roy Hunter at 980-7525. They’d be glad to tell you more.
Other Town & Country Headlines
