The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Members sought
Lions to charter local club
By Edward Freundl, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2007
Although it seems like there already are plenty of opportunities for civic-minded people to volunteer in this community, an international association would like to add its name to the list.
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Organizers hope to generate enough interest among area residents to establish a Lions Club in Manchester.
To do that, an informational meeting will be held 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Whistlestop Restaurant, 115 E. Main St., in Manchester.
The meeting is free and refreshments will be served.
Open to men and women, the new Lions Club is seeking individuals interested in identifying needs within the community and working together to meet those needs.
The Manchester club will be sponsored by neighbors to the west, the Napoleon Lions Club.
Dan Shepherd, the district newsletter editor, zone chairman and a past president of the Napoleon Lions, is a member of the committee organizing the new club.
"(District Gov.) Shirley Frederick wanted clubs to go out and sponsor four or five new clubs in the district during her year," Shepherd said.
"We were covering the Manchester area from Napoleon, and when we looked at the needs and the number of people there, we thought they could use their own Lions Club," he said.
Shepherd said he approached a few key people with the idea about six weeks ago, and when they expressed an interest it grew from there.
Organizers know they face competition for membership from well-established local organizations.
"From what I can see in Manchester, the Optimist, Kiwanis and Men's clubs have done a wonderful job," Shepherd said.
But the Lions Club has a different mission and would work together with those groups, rather than compete with them, said Jerry Horsch, a past zone chairman and past president of the Michigan Center Lions Club, and head of the district membership retention committee.
"We can bring things to the community the other clubs can't," he said.
Established in 1917 in the Chicago area, today there are approximately 1.3 million Lions Clubs members in 200 countries or territories in the world, organized by districts and zones.
Manchester is within District 11-B-1, which encompasses the area between Ann Arbor and Battle Creek, down to the state line.
Shepherd said the Lions have the advantage of being the world's largest service organization.
"If the community has a special need that requires a lot of money, you can apply for a large project grant from International of several hundred thousand dollars," Shepherd said. "That's the kind of thing you can get with a big organization behind you."
Shepherd, Horsch and his wife, Margie, also a Lions Club member, are "Certified Guiding Lions," trained to help establish new clubs or reinvigorate ones that are flagging, and serve as mentors.
"We will work with the new club for a minimum of two years," Horsch said. "We'll make sure they get off to a good start."
Guidelines set by Lions Clubs International call for a minimum of 20 members to charter a new club, which is one of the purposes of the Feb. 22 meeting, Shepherd said.
"We'll be putting up posters and sending out letters hoping to get 30 or 35 people to the informational meeting," Shepherd said. "Out of that, hopefully we'll get our 20 people."
Lions Clubs set high standards for community service, and are best known for projects involving sight and hearing preservation.
The list includes cataract surgery, preschool vision screenings, paying for eyeglasses, hearing aids and related medical exams for the needy, and collecting used eyeglasses and hearing aids to be refurbished and donated to impoverished areas in this and other countries.
Lions Clubs also support Leader Dog training, Braille transcribing, diabetes research and organ donation.
In accordance with its motto, "We Serve," the Lions Club is dedicated to service projects on a community level, rather than being primarily a social club.
That's not to say members don't have fun while they are working for the community.
"We work hard, but we also play hard too," Horsch said.
To learn more about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site www.lionsclubs.org.
Also for more information, call Horsch at 1-517-764-0089 or Shepherd at 1-517-764-2216.
Edward Freundl is a reporter for Heritage Newspapers. He can be reached at 428-8173 or efreundl@heritage.com.
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