Westport Lions President Dorothy Maynard presents Athens Lions Sean Seabrooke a cheque to Lion District A4 for disaster relief in Southern California.
Westport Lions Roar
By Lion Bob Reddick
Last week, I summarized the Westport Lions’ accomplishments from January to June 2024. This week, I will highlight events from July to December.
July
July was a busy month for the Westport Lions. Hundreds of people gathered at the Westport Lions Beach to celebrate Canada’s 157 birthday. With help from the Canada Day Committee, the club provided games, beach toys, music, a face painter and served free hotdogs, freezies and drinks generously provided by Ragu and Raman Sharma of Circle K.
The Westport Lions received over 85 entries to its Canada Day drawing contest – What makes Canada Special? The winning artists were: Milo Richard, Colton Heise, Cameron McAra, Alexis Korenis, Taggan Brown, Charlotte Mustard, Julliya Morris, Kenny Mulville, Johnny Mulville, Hadley Lynn, James Stevenson, Isla Rexworthy On, Evelyn Murray, Penny Blair and Braelyn Charles. Special certificates and prizes, courtesy of Vanilla Bean were presented to each winner.
Joe Obermeyer from Hamilton, a long-time supporter of the Westport Lions, won the $1,500 cash draw. The second prize of $500 went to Westport resident Kathy Suffel. Additionally, Tom Mulville, Joey Grunig and Donna Garland all from Westport won $50 each.
The Westport Lions hosted the 10th annual Rock the Beach Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, July 13, under clear blue skies and scorching sun. Eight competitive teams battled through 36 round-robin games and seven playoff games vying for the championship title. All players in the tournament received prizes donated by local businesses.
On July 20, the Westport Lions Club hosted Westfest at the Lions’ beach to express the club’s gratitude to the community for its support. The Bob Burtch Blue Grass Band provided the music. The club thanks Josh Doornekamp, owner of OAarde Engineered Construction, for sponsoring the event.
During the morning on the same day, six Westport Lions helped the Athens Club manage the gates to their Farmersville Exhibition. It has been a long-standing tradition for the Westport Lions to help out our neighbouring club.
The Westport Lions hosted a barbecue luncheon for 49 area seniors at the Lions’ Den on July 25. The club also organized another two luncheons in August and September. Instead of simply donating to the Community & Primary Health Care Unit for Lanark, Leeds, and Grenville, the Westport Lions decided to collaborate with them to organize these luncheons. This approach ensures that the club’s funds directly benefit the community.
August
The Westport Lions Beach recorded its busiest summer ever with an estimated 10,000 people enjoying the facilities. In addition to the family-friendly beach and sand, swimming lessons were provided and there were many volleyball games. A dedicated team of 20 volunteers worked to maintain the beach seven days a week.
September
Two Westport families became $5,000 richer after winning the Westport Lions Club’s annual $10,000 Draw on September 2. The last two tickets of this elimination draw have the option of splitting the grand prize of $10,000. Such was the case this year, with winners, Alyssa & Skylar Hudson and Jerry & Lynn Tobin. In addition to the grand prize, ticket holders Joyce Serson, John Norwood, Sara Brown and Mark Herlehy won $100 each.
October
The Reuse and Recycle Centre (R & R) closed for the season on October 5. Sixteen Lions, along with an equal number of community volunteers helped operate the R&R Centre. A total of 1,725 hours were required to manage the centre, with additional hours needed to close down and organize the stock for next season.
A team of eight Westport Lions conducted their yearly vision screening at the two Westport elementary schools. The Lions tested for colour blindness and examined the students using a vision chart and the Stereo Fly Test, which determines gross stereopsis and fine depth perception. Used eyeglasses can be dropped off at the Westport Village Pharmacy, the Rideau Medical Centre in Newboro, the Community Health Centre in Westport, or given to any Lion member.
The Lions always have a spooktacular Halloween giving out treats to young people on the corner of Spring and Church streets in Westport.
November
Lion members laid a wreath on behalf of the Westport Lions Club during Remembrance Day services in Westport and Newboro.
On November 16, the Westport Lions distributed information about diabetes at various locations in Westport. The Lions’ Diabetes Tag Day is an opportunity for our community to receive information about diabetes and show their support for individuals living with diabetes by donating money to fund education, support services, advocacy, and diabetes research.
The Westport Lions Santa Claus parade took place on Saturday, November 23. This year’s theme was “A Teddy Bear Christmas,” featuring a total of 37 floats. The float winners were:
Most Creative- Scheuermann Vineyard & Winery
Most Festive -Lyons Goodfellow Furniture
Most Community Oriented – Madden Tree Service
A special thank you to Ragu Sharma and Circle K for donating 200 hot dogs and some fresh curd and to the Derbyshire family for allowing the club to use the parking lot.
Jan Gagnon, the chairperson of the Westport Lions Toy Drive, was thrilled to introduce a new format for this year’s Toy Drive called the Angel Tree. This initiative proved beneficial in collecting age-appropriate gifts for 41 children from 18 families.
The Westport Lions Club passed a motion on November 13 to donate a total of $19,078 to 15 different organizations in their fall disbursements. These donations were possible because of the generous support of the community and the hard work of Lion members and volunteers. This brings the total donations for 2024 to $33,678.
December
On Saturday, December 14, twelve Westport Lions delivered approximately 350 Christmas cakes to senior citizens in the Westport and Newboro area. In addition, the club delivered cakes to former residents of Westport and the area that now reside in Carolina Court, Lanark Lodge, Lanark Lifestyles and the Perth Community Care Centre.
The winners of the Lions Christmas Draw were: Anders Carson from Portland, prizewinner of the 55-inch smart television. Ami Carty won dinner for two at Scheuermann Vineyard and Winery and a night at The Bunkie Air B & B on Westport Sand Lake. Bob O’Connell from Westport took home the third prize of a meat package from Westport Fine Meats. Sharon Jones from Westport will also savour a meat package from Westport Fine Meats.
Westport Lions Club 