From left: volunteers Anna Paterson, Janet Mulville, Sue Beamish, Faye Morris, and Bev Fitzgerald enjoying the appreciation banquet organized by the Westport Lions.
Westport Lions Roar
By Lion Bob Reddick
A question the Westport Lions Club often receives from other Lions clubs is: how does Westport Lions offer so many service activities? The answer is the club has a incredible community behind it. The Lions could not possibly do what we do without the members and volunteers working together to provide services.
The club currently has 33 members and 27 volunteers. While members are expected to attend meetings and be involved in numerous activities, volunteers may focus on one or several events.
The club has several committees that are chaired by a volunteer with a Lion co-chair. These volunteers are Penny Warriner who oversees the cash calendars, Jan Gagnon who runs a very successful Christmas toy drive, and Jeannette Harper who manages the community gardens, clubhouse rentals, photography, and catering for meetings and many of the Lions events.
Many other volunteers have taken on leadership roles at the Reuse and Recycle Centre, cash calendars, and Christmas cake distribution.
A large portion of the club’s volunteers are drivers for the Medical Mobility Service, work at the Reuse and Recycle Centre, clean the Lions’ beach and washrooms, and maintain the club’s property and community gardens. Some volunteers offer their services for one-day activities like Pitch-In, Diabetes Tag Day, fish fry, Canada Day celebrations, beach volleyball tournaments, the mobility van breakfast, Westfest, and the Santa Claus parade.
Some of our biggest ticket sellers for the $1,500 and $10,000 draws and cash calendars are volunteers who have embraced online sales.
To show the club’s appreciation Membership Chairperson Lion Kim Kelly organized an appreciation banquet. After everyone enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Jeannette Harper and Lions Dorothy Maynard and Kris Henderson Klatt, Lion Bob Reddick led a game of trivia pursuit that generated lots of laughs, with questions like the origins of the sayings “it’s raining cats and dogs”, and “he doesn’t have a pot to pee in.”
Lion Kim Kelly thanked each attending volunteer and member. She gave each volunteer homemade cookies made by her daughter-in-law, Hannah Kelly, and a bag containing gifts donated by an anonymous donor.
Kim closed off the evening by answering the question, “If I’m already helping as a volunteer, why would I want to be a member?” Lion Kelly went on to say that by being a member, “You can belong to a group of like-minded people who meet regularly to discuss community needs and make decisions about how we will help meet those needs.” Kim added, “You can experience a sense of comradery similar to being on a sports team, or a theatre troupe, or a church family, or any other team or group who share a common goal. It is really a neat group of friends to be a part of.”
The membership wants the Westport Lions Club to remain healthy and vital. The only way to do this is to constantly add volunteers and members. If the club is not growing, then it is dying.
New members provide enthusiasm and fresh and creative ideas for new service projects. The more members and volunteers the club has, the more service activities the Westport Lions can provide to the community.
Please consider joining the Westport Lions. If you are interested in becoming a member or volunteer, please contact Lion Kim Kelly at 613-273-5789 or by email at westportontariolions@gmail.com.
Together we can make a difference.
Westport Lions Club 