Leonia Lions Club - Decades of Service!

There's really no feeling like Leonia right here, where you could be in New York City within five minutes. At the same time, feel like you have a little Mayberry, a quiet, sleepy town.

Living in a small town and knowing everyone else makes you feel responsible for each other.

The important thing about the club is that we have unselfish people willing to see a task that needs to be done and roll up their sleeves and do it.

I find a group of men I've never met.

We donate our time, we donate our money.

We want to make sure that we're focused on helping the disadvantaged.

Sharing a common goal. Part of that common goal was the camaraderie and the friendship. And you're working towards one thing. You're a member of the Lions Club, so now you're a brother.

There are three cardinal rules when you join the Lions Club. There is no discussion of business, religion, or politics.

And what I really find great about it is that it's really just about serving the community. We come from all kinds of different backgrounds. I think most of us feel like that we doing okay in life and we want to give back.

Well, I know that the club was founded in 1939 and that it was founded by some of the stellar men in the community.

People need to come together in hard times.

Can we have two cones, please? And I like a diamond. Change, too. Are you saving them, Mickey? I'm giving mine to President Roosevelt.

1939, the Nazi army smashed into Poland.

One of the founding members of the Lions was Judge Jesse B. Leslie. And in 1939, he was already an engineer, a judge, a lawyer. There were prominent people in all careers, and many of them were in the Lions Club.

Its members have been quite a distinguished group through the years. The club has quite a strong history of quality people. On the bell itself, on its podium, is a list of of all former King Lions from 75 years ago, our initial year. Everyone who served as president is engraved in this. And it's something that we have at every meeting, and it's quite an honor to be on it.

I often think of an older member who's no longer with us. Ed Miller. And he was a very, very dedicated lion. In fact, he was so dedicated that after he had passed away, he was actually laid out with his Lions Club jacket.

Fortunately, we are the silent society. Nobody knows the Lions in Lyonia what they do.

And people more people should know about it. But it's not like we're screaming it from the rooftops.

You know, we are not really there to follow any other purpose other than just helping and serving others. Some of it is in the community. Some of it is really through lions International. Lions International is an organization where we all belong to. As lions, they are typically the first when it comes to disaster relief, be it Katrina, be it tornadoes in the Midwest. I have never seen an organization which has so tightly organized and has procedures, quite a few controls in place, and very good mechanisms to make sure that the money goes where it's supposed to go.

As lions, we pay our own expenses. The money that we raise can go strictly towards the charities.

When you start to look at the cost for seeing high dogs, for individuals, for glasses, for people, even for the minor operations that people have, it's costly.

We're doing what we set out to do and we're accomplishing those goals. But I'm so happy to see younger people coming in.

Special feeling to just see so many people willing to contribute.

I never thought too much about giving back to the community, but I thought it was a good idea. But I said, I really don't have the time. But you do have the time. You find the time.

I'm very proud and honored that I have been able to be a lion and be able to count myself among these people.