Lions Club members from around the region congregated at the St. Augustine Church hall on Nov. 15 to hear from speakers and partake in various activities to improve their own clubs. The event was also open to the public for anyone who wanted to learn more about the organizations.
“We hope that they get inspired,” said Tom Armstrong, immediate past district governor, who is part of the Saskatoon Lions Club. “To go back to their clubs and light a fire and get people in the mood and get their clubs fired up to go on with their projects and keep helping.”
119 Lions members attended the convention from Lloydminster, Nipawin, Meadow Lake, Bredenbury, Churchbridge, Melville, Saskatoon, and more.
The activities included a cash bar, games, meals, a silent auction, speakers, and then a banquet to close out the convention.
Lions Clubs International was founded in 1917 and since then has grown to over 46,000 clubs and more than 1.35 million members around the world. In 1925, Helen Keller challenged the Lions to be “knights against darkness” and because of this, the Lions are involved in a lot of sight-related projects, such as raising money for guide dogs and helping raise money to eliminate river blindness in Africa. They have also raised money to fight measles and diabetes.
“People donate to us and we have to give the money directly back to the community,” Armstrong said. “That’s why I joined Lions: every nickel and dime I make flipping pancakes or flipping burgers has to go to the project. We don’t keep it.”
They also talked about “Lions moments” at the convention: the moment you feel like a real Lion. For Armstrong, that was when he and his wife – also a Lion – helped a bedridden man get a computer, a desk, and a printer. The man used the computer to get in touch with some friends, and from there, one of the friends offered him a job.
“That right there was my Lions moment and it felt good,” he said.
