Fall 2017
Magnolia Lion
Lions of Mississ ippi /Lions Sight Foundat ion
Special points of interest:
The Lions Sight Founda-
tion, founded in 1971,
is the fundraising arm
of the Lions Clubs of
Mississippi.
White Cane Days is the
primary fundraising
campaign of the Foun-
dation.
Monies raised through
White Cane Days are
used to fund the state’s
various projects.
International
Convention
2
Governors
Proclamation
3
District 30-M
News
4&5
District 30-S
News
6&7
Finish Strong 8
Inside this issue:
Since 1971.the Lions Sight
Foundation of Mississippi
has been the fundraising
arm for the Lions Clubs of
Mississippi. White Cane
Days, the primary fundrais-
ing drive of the Sight Foun-
dation is traditionally held
in October so that funds
needed to fund statewide
projects may begin to be
dispersed. This year we
need to raise $114,261 to
meet the Foundation’s goal.
We will be asking every
Lions Club to make a dona-
tion as well as each Lion in
the state to make an indi-
vidual commitment of $25
to help fund our statewide
projects. Beginning in
1998, individuals making a
donation of $25 or more
have been presented an
Avery McKinley Award pin in
recognition of their contri-
bution to the Foundation’s
mission. The 2017-18 pin
depicts a lighthouse, sym-
bolizing that the Lions are
going to light the way for
our future in the state of
Mississippi.
White Cane contributions
fund several important pro-
jects: Hearing and Deaf,
Sea & Sun Camp, Sight
Screening Program,
Diabetes Awareness, and
the Mississippi Lions Eye
Bank, the premier project of
the Lions Clubs of Missis-
sippi. As a reminder, we fell
short of our goal for 2016-
2017 by 8%, therefore all
grants received by our pro-
jects were reduced by 8%.
Let’s make sure we don’t
fall short this year.
Since by-laws prevent the
various programs spon-
sored by the Sight Founda-
tion from spending monies
until they are raised and
received for disbursement,
we are asking clubs to con-
duct their fundraisers as
early as possible. It is vital
that all our clubs contribute
to White Cane this year and
do so early so that we don’t
have to deny or delay any-
one a much-needed service.
If you have not already done
so, please make plans to
conduct a fundraiser in Oc-
tober or sooner.
White Cane…
Lighting The Way For The Future
White Cane Days
All-State Band Captures 33rd Title... The Lions All-State Band
captured its 33rd Lions
Clubs International All-
State Band Championship
this year held in Chicago.
The competition is held
annually in conjunction
with the Lions Clubs Inter-
national Convention. The
band is led by Director/
Manager Jeff Cannon.
“We are always proud to
represent our state and
the Lions Clubs, but to win
an International Champi-
onship as a part of the
100 year celebration of
Lions Clubs International
is worth all the effort we
put forth,” said Cannon.
The band is composed of
students from around the
state who participate in a
rigorous series of tryouts
to determine who will rep-
resent our state at the
annual International
Parade.
More than 50 Mississippi Lions, their spouses, children and grandchildren gathered June 30 – July 4 to celebrate the
100th anniversary of Lions Clubs International in Chicago, the site of the establishment of Lions by businessman Melvin
Jones.
A highlight for the Mississippi delegation was the
opportunity to march behind the International
Champion Mississippi Lions All-State Band in the
Parade of Nations, joining 10,000 Lions from
around the world, filling the streets of Chicago, with
many delegations marching in their native dress.
Many delegates chose to attend one or more of the
seminars offered throughout the convention. Top-
ics offered included such things as Social Media for
Lions and Leos, Dealing with Natural Disasters, Li-
ons in a Changing World.
General sessions included the International Flag
Ceremony which featured members of our All-State
band and addresses by former Vice President Al
Gore, singer Patti LaBelle, and a reenactment by
Helen Keller’s great grandniece of her aunt’s plea to
Lions to be Knights of the Blind. Council Chairman
Charlotte Dickson led the Mississippi Delegation at
the Southeast Region Breakfast and proudly intro-
duced our Lions in attendance. All in attendance were entertained at various sessions by the Beach Boys, the Charlie
Daniels Band, and the band Chicago.
The 100th Anniversary Convention of Lions Clubs International was a historic event and an opportunity to set the stage
for our next century of service. It is a time in the history of Lionism that we will never forget.
International Convention Celebrates 100 yrs...
Some of the Mississippi delegation proudly display a banner signed by
MD-30 members over the course of last year. The banner was a part of
the Lions Clubs International Centennial Celebration.
Vice District Barron
Caulfield and his
wife Elizabeth took
time out of their
busy schedule to pay
a visit to Wrigley
Field, home of the
World Champion
Chicago Cubs. From
the look of things
they weren’t the only
Lions that took
advantage of the
opportunity.
Governor Phil Bryant recently signed a proclamation recognizing Lions Clubs International and
celebrating the organizations 100th anniversary by proclaiming June 30, 2017, “Lions Clubs
Centennial Celebration Day”.
The Tupelo Evening Lions Club is working on a
community service project for the Tupelo
Nursing and Rehab Center (a nursing home in
Tupelo). The residents of TNRC love fresh
vegetables in the summer and enjoy being
able to have plants and watch them grow, but
unfortunately, do not have many places to
plant them on the grounds of the facility. The
Tupelo Evening Lions Club, with donations
from Lowe’s and members in the club, have
made a raised bed for the residents to enjoy.
The bed cannot be planted this year with
edible plants because the wood is treated and
could be toxic for the short term. The Lions
have planted flowers this year and have
donated pots to plant tomatoes, peppers,
squash, cucumbers and herbs for residents to
eat in the interim. The Evening Lions will
follow up and maintain the raised beds as a
service project. Volunteers are seen here (left)
planting flowering plants in the raised beds.
The Cleveland Evening Lions Club recently recognized their tailtwister, Emma Gong, for her dedicated service to their
weekly Lion’s Club meetings. Gong, the daughter of Lions Neil and Elizabeth Gong, has served as tailtwister for 4 years
since joining the club when she was only 5 years old. She recently received a stuffed lion that was purchased at the Mid-
South Sight and Hearing auction held on June 3rd in Memphis, TN. She now proudly brings the stuffed lion to every
meeting while conducting her duties as tailtwister. We are grateful for her service and young spirit.
District 30-M District Governor
News Arland “Ace” Eilert
Tailtwister Emma Gong (right) performs her duty
and collects a fine from Lion Pal Kossman.
Emma, shown sitting with her stuffed lion given to her by members of the Cleveland
Evening Lions Club (in the background) for her service as the club’s Tailtwister.
Indianola Lions Club Holds 45th Annual Golf Tournament
Championship Flight
The Indianola Lions Club 45th Annual Golf Tourna-
ment was held June 24th-25th, 2017 at the India-
nola Country Club. All proceeds from the tourna-
ment are used for many state and local needs as
well as for the Mississippi Lions Eye Bank. On the
local level, the Lions scholarships go to public and
private schools’ graduating seniors.
Tournament Director, Allen “Buster” Holloway, said
that the golfers look forward to participating in this
event every year not only for the fun and love of
the game, but because they also serve as volun-
teers for many different causes and understand
the importance of giving back to the community.
The Indianola Lions Club would like to thank all our
local sponsors who give generously each year by
providing prizes that make our tournament such a
success.
We are very proud of our success in being able to
continue this event each year to give back to oth-
ers.
We are very proud to SERVE.
WINNERS:
Championship Flight – l-r Don Barger, Jerry
Casano, Willie Earl Clark, H.L. Dilworth,
Tournament Director Buster Holloway, Mat-
thew Woodruff and Larry Woodruff.
1st Flight – l-r John Maggio, Seldon Van-
Cleve, Tournament Director Buster Hollo-
way, David Baird and Jimmy Clayton. (not
pictured Ric McCandlesi)
2nd Flight – l-r Cameron Richardson, Charlie
Mason, Tournament Director Buster Hollo-
way, Jeff Tatum, Jody Moor and Joel Moor.
(not pictured Clint Turman)
1st Flight
2nd Flight
District 30-S District Governor
News Glenn Harrison
It’s another Lions’ year, and I hope
everyone is as excited about it as I
am. This is our last year of the Lions
International Centennial celebration,
and the best way to celebrate is with
a service project. In our cabinet meet-
ing, we adopted, “Hunger relief” as
our district’s Centennial Service Pro-
ject, so I encourage each club to in-
corporate this service project into
your year’s plan. We will be collect-
ing non-perishable food items at mid-
winter convention which will be held
on February 16-17, 2018 in Hatties-
burg at the Holiday Inn (soon to be
Doubletree).
Speaking of Centennial Projects, I
have set a goal to have each club
complete a Centennial Legacy Project.
Some clubs have already completed a
Legacy Project, and others are still
planning one. What is a Legacy Pro-
ject? It is simply a project to provide
a lasting reminder of how important
your club is to your community. It can
be as simple as a Lions sign on the
way into town to a full-blown project of
building a clinic. Look at
www.lionsclubs.org for more ideas
and make sure to report your project
as a “Legacy Project.” It seems that
we are almost always harping on
membership, but membership is just
the key to being able to serve more
people, and serving more people is
really what being a Lion is all about.
We are told that each member serves
approximately 70 people. Therefore,
we need to grow our membership to
achieve or organization’s goal of serv-
ing 200 million people a year by the
year 2020-2021. I am asking that
each club set a target of growing its
membership by 2 members by the
end of June 2018. Lions make a dif-
ference. In a world filled with strife,
hunger, and disease, Lions have been
at the forefront of making this world a
better place. Our International Presi-
dent, Dr. Naresh Aggarwai, has cho-
sen as his theme simply “We Serve.”
So powerful is this theme that it will
be our theme for the following two
years as well. Think of how you can
incorporate our theme into projects
and publicity for the things you do.
This year, we are having another Mis-
sissippi Lions Leadership Institute
which will be held on June 7-9, 2018
at Gulf Hills Resort in Ocean Springs.
The Institute is designed primarily for
those that have not yet served as club
president, but even past presidents
can benefit. Our first Institute was a
resounding success and I believe that
it has strengthened our clubs. I en-
courage every club to send at least
one Lion to the Institute and you may
think about helping out with the cost
which is just $161 for registration,
room and breakfast for two mornings.
Now is the time to identify candidates.
The Institute is taught by profession-
als that go to great lengths to make it
the best training of its kind. Our next
cabinet meeting will be held on Octo-
ber 7th in Columbia, Until then, let me
know what I can do to help you
achieve your goals. As always, I appre-
ciate all you and your club do for Lions
International and your community.
Please make the following corrections to the state directory:
p. 4 Rita Robbins, Email: [email protected]
p. 16 James Beckham, E: [email protected]
p. 17 Bradford Fair, R: 662-645-9858, E: [email protected]
p. 22 Margot Swetman, E: [email protected]
p. 36 Booneville, Pres: replace ph #, 662-554-2800
p. 37 Bradford Fair, R: 662-645-9858, E: [email protected]
p. 50 Craig Sawyers, E: [email protected]
p. 54 Rita Robbins and Craig Sawyers: email: email: [email protected]
p. 54 Hazlehurst meets at 6:30 pm
p. 57 Ocean Springs Sec: Shelby Bohn Waldron, 11576 Pine Dr, Gulfport 39503,
ph# 540-220-2693, E: [email protected]
p. 57 Pine Belt, Ph for Pres and Sec, 601-268-6822
p. 57 Pine Belt, meets at 6:30 pm
We asked Lion James Harper of the Vicksburg Lions Club to share some of his memories regarding his attendance at
the Lions Clubs 50th International Convention held in Chicago. Harper, a teen at the time, attended the convention
with his family. He was presented a special certificate of attendance for both the 50th and the 100th conventions.
I attended the 50th convention in Chicago as a 15-year old. My dad, Lion John Harper, was in the Vicksburg Club and
this was the first time he had attended an International Convention. Now, this is the first International Convention that
I have attended as a Lion Club member delegate.
My mom, one of my sisters and I went with him to the convention. We stopped in St. Louis and got to see Bob Gibson
and Roger Maris play for the Cardinals. We then drove to Chicago and stayed in the Executive House. I believe the
convention was held in the Conrad Hilton Hotel, which was several blocks away. I remember thinking how impressed I
was that so many Lions from around the world would
attend a convention to support a service organization. I
believe it was stated that the Lions Club convention was
one of the largest in the world.
Back then, we just walked back and forth from our hotel
to the convention headquarters. There were at least six
other teens from Vicksburg attending with their families
and we just walked everywhere we wanted to go. The
convention held a dance for the teenagers attending and
we walked home at midnight. We were not scared and
our parents were not overly concerned.
In 1967, the tallest skyscraper was the Prudential
Building and it was free to ride the elevator to the
observation deck. I went at least three times. The John
Hancock Building was constructed, but had not opened.
I remember trading pins with delegates. There were pins
only from the 50 states and a few countries. You would
find a delegate and try to exchange pins one for one.
Anytime you could a foreign country pin, it was a big
deal.
The parade was awesome with floats and bands. They
marched down Michigan Avenue. It was chilly and I
remember getting really cold since I had brought only
shorts to wear. This year, it was just the opposite, I
brought clothes for windy, chilly weather and it was hot.
Local Lion Attended 50th and 100th Convention
On Saturday July 22nd, the Biloxi Lions
Club participated in the Edgewater Ro-
tary Club’s annual Children’s Health
Fair by providing free eye screenings.
The four-hour event was held at Edge-
water Mall. The Biloxi Club, along with
Walmart Eye Care Clinic, screened
approximately 300 children during the
fair. Twenty-five of the 125 children
screened by the Biloxi Club were re-
ferred to have further testing. To better
serve the community with their eye
screening program, the Biloxi Club is in
the process of purchasing additional
eye screening devices. These devices
are specifically designed to screen
younger children, including infants.
Peggy Harper (left) stands next to her husband Lion
James Harper (center) who received a certificate for
attending the 50th and 100th Lions International
Convention. The certificate was presented by State
Administrator David “Scoop” Barham (right).
Where There’s A Need...THERE’S A LION by Lion Penny Edwards
431 Katherine Drive
Flowood, MS 39232
Lions of Miss iss ippi /
Lions Sight Foundat ion
Phone: 601-420-5752
Fax: 601-420-5743
E-mail: [email protected]
We Serve!