Lions Club to start in Coshocton
COSHOCTON – Up until just a few years ago, there was an established Lions Club in the City of Coshocton that has since been discontinued due to lack of interest and its members passing away. The district Lions organization is trying to bring the Lions Club back to Coshocton and has been in the area recruiting new interested members.
“The Lions are a very active organization wherever we go,” said Steve Thornton, new club development consultant. “There’s clubs in West Lafayette and Warsaw, but there’s a void in Coshocton.”
For the past three days, Thornton and a group of district Lions Club members have been going from business to business in Coshocton informing residents about the new club and asking if they are interested in joining.
“We’ve got a lot of really good positive responses,” said Thornton. “I had people say, ‘I’ve been looking for something to get involved with, and this seems like a great opportunity.’ I hope they continue to think that way.”
As a kick-off to the new organization, there will be an organizational / informational meeting at Camp Echoing Hills Foundation located at 448 Main Street in Coshocton at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The meeting will last no longer than one hour.
Lions Club International began in Chicago in 1917 and in 1920, the organization became an international club. In 1925, the club had its international convention at Cedar Point with guest speaker, Helen Keller who said the Lions Club should strive to be “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” Ever since, the Lions Club primary goal has been to end blindness, to help individuals with eye complications see better, and to help eliminate potential vision problems for children. They help pay for eye exams and glasses, and also perform vision screenings for pre-school children.
Thornton explained that Lions Club members also help their community by doing odd projects around town.
“The people in Coshocton know what Coshocton needs the most,” he said. “If they come to us with an idea, we’re going to tell them to go for it. They can do little things like highway clean-up. Or there’s got to be a widow somewhere that needs her leaves raked and her lawn mowed that the Lions members can help out with.”
The Ohio Lions Club supports Camp Echoing Hills and the seeing eye dogs program. When individuals who require seeing eye dogs go for training, it doesn’t cost them anything.
Internationally, the Lions Club is the largest service organization in the world. They serve in 210 countries, have 46,000 clubs, and have more than 1.4 million members. Dues are set by each local club with a $30 one-time membership fee. Local dues can range anywhere from $5 – $9.
“We’re happy to be there (in Coshocton),” said Thornton. “We hope to get the organization up and running soon.”
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Clubs & Organizations
