Lions Club installs officers, presents honors

By Submitted, 07/12/18 7:31 PM

HOPE – The Hope Lions Club passed the gavel for the 2018-2019 club year to new president Dr. Linda Clark, and presented distinguished service awards to eight members in July 2 ceremonies at the Dos Locos Gringos banquet room.
Dr. Clark, the district social worker for the Hope Public Schools, assumed duties as president from immediate past president Daulton Brewer. Brewer was also named Lion of the Year during the evening.
“I can’t think of any place it would be better to be at home in a Lions Club than Hope,” Brewer, whose father Doyle is the longtime secretary of the club, said.
Six club members were named Edwin Dalstrom Distinguished Service Lions, representing contributions of $1,000 each by the Hope club in their names to the Mid-South Lions Sight and Hearing service in Memphis, Tenn. The award is named for the first president of the Lions-affiliated service, which operates in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and west Tennessee. Honorees were Ken Shafer, Eddie Brazzel, Glen Woodruff, Eddie Garcia, Jack Gathright, and Harold Freeman. Each was chosen by vote of the club for distinguished service.
Two members, Doyle Brewer and Bill Byrd, were recognized with the Melvin Jones Fellowship award, given for outstanding service to the club, and representing a $1,000 contribution in each of their names to the Lions Club International Foundation. LCIF provides recovery services for vision-related and other illnesses, and supports World Services for the Blind. In Arkansas, the LCIF has also aided tornado victims.
Lions Past District Governor Dr. Don Freel presided over the induction ceremonies for the new slate of officers, noting that when he became a Lions Club member in 1965, he sought to be the Tail Twister for the club. The job, he said, is one of the convivial enforcement of the club’s “no business talk” rule.
“I came into this club in 1965, and in 2005, 40 years later, I got to be the Tail Twister; so, you have to work hard to be an officer in this club,” Dr. Freel quipped.
Freel noted that the Hope Lions Club has a distinguished history of service, having three living former district Lions Council chairs in what is now the largest and most active Lions Club in Arkansas.
“You aren’t just about fish fries,” he said, noting the club’s signature fundraising service. “You are about college scholarships, eyesight services, aid to burnout victims, the annual Christmas auction that benefits families at the holidays; and, yes, fish fries that raise funds for Lions and this community.”
Clark encouraged the new slate of officers to join her “as we take our journey together this year and serve together.”
Incoming officers include Clark, president; Nathan Gerth, first vice president; Sheba Smith, second vice president; Leon Prince, third vice president; Doyle Brewer, secretary; Penny Everett, assistant secretary; Bobby Loe, treasurer; John Trauger, assistant treasurer; Ken Shafer and Craig Robinson, tail twisters; Robert Green and Jack Still, Lion tamers; Ken McLemore, membership chairman; James Griffin, LCIF chair; and John Collier, Lions Global Service Coordinator.
Elected directors for 2018-2019 include Jose Carlton, Dave Phillips, Mike Malek, Jim Gunter, Richard Ross, Milko Smith, Jason Jobe, Ed Flagg, and Janet Choate.