Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Serving your community



One of the greatest strengths of the Signal Mountain community is the history of volunteerism of its citizens. Maybe that's why they call Tennessee "The Volunteer State"? Ya think? Anyway, I have been fortunate to learn of many of the great service organizations on "the mountain" and have even served with a few. I would like highlight some of them.

I recently joined the Signal Mountain Lion's Club. You may know them as those guys with the funny yellow vests who serve BBQ on Fourth of July and Labor Day. However, the Lion's Club is an international organization with a history of service dating to its founding in 1917. That was the year that Chicago businessman Melvin Jones formed the national Lion's Club, based on some local "Lion's clubs" already formed in 1916. In 1920, the Lion's Club went "international" with formation of the first Canadian club. In 1925, Helen Keller challenged the Lions to become her "knights of the blind in the crusade against blindness" which began the Lion's well known connection to sight-related services.Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization. We have 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs worldwide. Lions are everywhere. We're active in more than 206 countries and geographic areas.

The Signal Mountain Lion's Club is over 50 years old. We have a dinner meeting at 6:30pm every 2nd and 4th Tuesday in the dining room at the Mountain Arts Community Center (MACC). In addition to vision screening and other sight services, we are known for our BBQ picnics every July 4th and Labor Day and for sponsoring fireworks at the July 4th BBQ. We sponsor a Leo Club for youth at Signal Mountain High School. While our current membership leans towards the male persuasion, we are a "coed" organization and are actively recruiting ladies to join. So, if you're looking for a great opportunity for service and fellowship and some fine dining, give the Lion's Club a visit. You can find more information at the follow websites: 
 And here's a great presentation about the local club: http://signalmountainlionsclub.com/documents/lions-club-orientation.pdf

Finally, Here is info on the international organization: 

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