Santa had a line-up of children waiting for him at St. Edward School after Saturday’s Lions Club parade.
Our November 22nd meeting started on a sad note. Jim McGlade lead the Club in a minute of silence to pay our respects to past presidents Tony Dunleavy and Joe DeKroon who both passed away recently. They both served as Lions for many years and will be sadly missed by our community.
President Wayne Bent presented the Membership Advancement Key to Don Baker for opening the door to Lionism to at least two individuals.
A good portion of our meeting involved taking care of the many details required for a successful Santa Claus parade. This year’s chairperson, Craig Jackson, finalized members’ responsibilities and made sure everything was taken care of. Craig deserves a big round of applause for taking on this event from Dale Lyons, who organized the parade for many years. The parade is a huge undertaking, with many details that need to be ironed out months in advanced. Many people commented that they liked the changes that were made for this year’s parade. Starting at the Esso offered more space that greatly helped in organizing the sequence of the parade. The new route enabled us to limit the time that motorists had to wait to get through Westport. In the past, members often had to endure impatient motorists who were only interested in getting through Westport and on to their destination. For the participants in the parade, it was encouraging that the shortened route was lined with spectators rather than large gaps of vacant streets which occurred in the past.
Property Chairperson Don Baker announced that Jim Scala, David
Blair, Dwain Smith and himself have volunteered to snowplough our yard, while Craig Jackson will look after any sanding that is required. Rick Warriner made the commitment to obtain some gravel from Tackberry’s pit to act as ballast for the snowblower and to fix up some potholes.
In his weekly updates, Lion Michael Harris reports that the mobility vans to date have traveled 22,810 kilometres, consumed 947 volunteer hours, and serviced 259 requests.
During this festive time of year our calendar is very busy. On November 28th our club travels to Athens to participate in their annual appreciation banquet that they host for all local clubs that help them out during their Farmersville event. This is always a fun gathering of Lions with excellent food and entertainment. It is also satisfying to be part of the spirit of Lionism where various clubs come together to provide service for each other. On December 2nd a contingent of our members will enter our mobility vans in Perth’s Santa Claus parade.
Also on Saturday, December 2nd Christmas cake pickup will be from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the clubhouse. If you wish to buy a cake then you can just show up at the above time. We have plenty in stock and the cost is $10. If you want your cake delivered then you must phone 613-273-5789 to make arrangements.
To round out the weekend, on Sunday, December 3rd Westport Lions will host the participants of the local food bank to a complete Christmas dinner. Santa will take time out from his busy schedule to make an appearance. A good example that the Christmas spirit is alive in Westport is that an anonymous donor will once again donate all of the food.
The Lions Club’s own Christmas dinner will be held on December 13th where we get together with our volunteer mobility van drivers and the wives of our deceased members to show our appreciation and celebrate the season.
The Gordon Pipe Band from Smiths Falls has been a participant in the Westport Lions Santa Claus Parade for decades.
Our November 22nd meeting started on a sad note. Jim McGlade lead the Club in a minute of silence to pay our respects to past presidents Tony Dunleavy and Joe DeKroon who both passed away recently. They both served as Lions for many years and will be sadly missed by our community.
President Wayne Bent presented the Membership Advancement Key to Don Baker for opening the door to Lionism to at least two individuals.
A good portion of our meeting involved taking care of the many details required for a successful Santa Claus parade. This year’s chairperson, Craig Jackson, finalized members’ responsibilities and made sure everything was taken care of. Craig deserves a big round of applause for taking on this event from Dale Lyons, who organized the parade for many years. The parade is a huge undertaking, with many details that need to be ironed out months in advanced. Many people commented that they liked the changes that were made for this year’s parade. Starting at the Esso offered more space that greatly helped in organizing the sequence of the parade. The new route enabled us to limit the time that motorists had to wait to get through Westport. In the past, members often had to endure impatient motorists who were only interested in getting through Westport and on to their destination. For the participants in the parade, it was encouraging that the shortened route was lined with spectators rather than large gaps of vacant streets which occurred in the past.
Property Chairperson Don Baker announced that Jim Scala, David
Blair, Dwain Smith and himself have volunteered to snowplough our yard, while Craig Jackson will look after any sanding that is required. Rick Warriner made the commitment to obtain some gravel from Tackberry’s pit to act as ballast for the snowblower and to fix up some potholes.
In his weekly updates, Lion Michael Harris reports that the mobility vans to date have traveled 22,810 kilometres, consumed 947 volunteer hours, and serviced 259 requests.
During this festive time of year our calendar is very busy. On November 28th our club travels to Athens to participate in their annual appreciation banquet that they host for all local clubs that help them out during their Farmersville event. This is always a fun gathering of Lions with excellent food and entertainment. It is also satisfying to be part of the spirit of Lionism where various clubs come together to provide service for each other. On December 2nd a contingent of our members will enter our mobility vans in Perth’s Santa Claus parade.
Also on Saturday, December 2nd Christmas cake pickup will be from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the clubhouse. If you wish to buy a cake then you can just show up at the above time. We have plenty in stock and the cost is $10. If you want your cake delivered then you must phone 613-273-5789 to make arrangements. To round out the weekend, on Sunday, December 3rd Westport Lions will host the participants of the local food bank to a complete Christmas dinner. Santa will take time out from his busy schedule to make an appearance. A good example that the Christmas spirit is alive in Westport is that an anonymous donor will once again donate all of the food. Our Christmas dinner will be held on December 13th where we get together with our volunteer mobility van drivers and the wives of our deceased members to show our appreciation and celebrate the season.
Westport Lions Club 