Lions club celebrates 80 years in Nevada
The Nevada Lions Club is set to celebrate its 80th anniversary. The group was organized on Feb. 20, 1924, less than seven years after the founding of the original club in Chicago on June 7, 1917, and is one of the oldest Lions clubs in the United States.
The original club began as the dream of Melvin Jones, a Chicago insurance man, who dreamed that local business clubs could expand their horizons from purely business concerns to serving their communities and the world at large. In the ensuing years the club became an international one, the largest service club in the world.
Throughout the years, the Nevada club has had a diverse group of men with backgrounds in education, banking, and retail markets predominating.
The current members of the Nevada club also have varied backgrounds.
The current president, Greg Hoffman, is a financial services consultant and the member with the longest tenure as a Lion, Leonard Ernsbarger, is retired from the University Extension Service.
The Nevada Lions Club was one of the first clubs to welcome women into membership once the International organization admitted women in the 1980's.
The membership of the local club is now fully integrated with women serving in leadership roles.
The motto of the Lions clubs, "We Serve," is meant to exemplefy the many ways members help better their communities, nations and the world at large.
The Nevada club participates in the many international efforts undertaken by the parent organization as well as many purely local ones.
At a speech given by Helen Keller at the Lions International Convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1925, she challenged the Lions to become "Knights of the Blind," a challenge that has become a rallying cry for Lions projects around the world.
Lions work to collect and distribute used eyeglasses that are delivered to people who need them in third world countries The Lions club also purchases new glasses for needy children and adults. The Lions maintain an eye tissue bank for corneal transplants, and a leader dog program for the blind.
The Mid-South Lions Eye Research Foundation performs diagnostic and surgical procedures free of charge to needy children and adults.
Recent local projects include funding the Laser Eye Treatment Center at Nevada Regional Medical Center, the Lions Scholarship at Nevada R-5 schools, nursing home Christmas gifts, Children's Miracle Network, United Way, Vernon County Fair Board, Nevada Little League, and Missouri Boys State.