Lion Kim Kelly, left, receives Lion of Year Award from President David Lowery, centre, while Kim’s daughter Chelsey Kelly celebrates with her mother. Photo credit: Pat Reddick
Lion Peter Minnelli, left, receives Lion of Year Award from President David Lowery. Photo credit: Pat Reddick
Lion Craig Jackson, left, receives the Melvin Jones Award from President David Lowery. Photo credit: Pat Reddick
Westport Lions Roar
By Lion Bob Reddick
The Westport Lions membership decided that the last meeting of the Lion calendar should be purely a social affair with a celebration of our achievements. Lion Jeannette Harper volunteered to organize the event. After a delicious roast beef dinner catered by Amy Welch, President David Lowery thanked everyone for attending and expressed his appreciation for the support the membership has shown him during his first year as president.
President Lowery then presided over presenting special awards to three members who have shown outstanding service, loyalty and devotion to Lionism and the Westport Lions Club. All three members in addition to their high-profile positions have demonstrated over the years that they are willing to do the multitude of tasks that make the club run smoothly.
President David Lowery had two worthy candidates for Lion of Year, so he decided to give the award to both, Lions Kim Kelly and Peter Minnelli.
When Lim Kim saw her daughter, Chelsey Kelly, walk through the door, she thought something was wrong because she knew Chelsey would have driven from Kingston. She was relieved to learn everything was alright and Chelsey was there to celebrate her mother’s recognition for her contributions to the Westport Lions.
Lion Kelly’s day job is coordinator of volunteers for Kingston Health Science Centre which includes Hotel Dieu and Kingston General hospitals. This job made Kim the obvious choice to be the club’s Volunteer Coordinator. Volunteers are the life blood of the Westport Lions, and at the last count, the club has 60 volunteers. Other jobs that Kim has taken on over the years are writing columns for the Lions Roar, conducting surveys on membership satisfaction, cleaning the beach house washrooms, revamping our rental agreement form, updating our roadside sign and playing a major role in the club’s Canada Day celebrations.
One of the biggest assets Lion Kelly brings to the club is her calm, rational and often humorous perspective to the club’s meetings.
It is often said in Lion circles that behind every successful President, there is a proficient secretary. Lion Peter Minnelli has certainly proven this adage true. Past President Dorothy Maynard and present president David Lowery would have had a difficult time keeping the ship upright without the steady and thoughtful guidance of Lion Peter. In addition to performing his secretarial duties to a high standard, Lion Minnelli has chaired the club’s Planning, Priorities and Goals Committee and wrote guidelines for meeting deportment. Along with Lion Marty Hawkins, Lion Minnelli has planned all the events for the Canada Day celebrations at the Lions’ beach. Lion Peter is responsible for the creation and running the popular Canada Day drawing contest for children for the past four years. Peter often does jobs that he doesn’t receive credit for, everything from writing an excellent letter to the Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Montreal stating the club’s opposition to the recent bank closure to shovelling snow at the clubhouse.
The last award given this night was the Melvin Jones Fellowship award to Lion Craig Jackson. It was immediately evident that the whole membership was in agreement when they jumped to their feet in a standing ovation.
The Melvin Jones Fellowship is one of the most prestigious awards given to a Lion. It was named after Melvin Jones, the founder of Lions Clubs International. Lion Fabrício Oliveira, Immediate Past International President of Lions Club International Foundation (LCLF) states, “This fellowship program enables LCIF to meet humanitarian needs in communities around the world. Through LCIF funding, Lions are fighting diabetes, preventable blindness, childhood cancer, feeding the hungry, responding to natural disasters, empowering young people for success, and protecting our environment.”
Lion Jackson is the club’s treasurer, and the days of operating the club’s finances out of a shoe box are over. He has been instrumental in systemizing bank documentation and has spent countless hours in implementing the new government rules for non-profit organizations.
In addition to the time-consuming task of running the club’s finances, Craig is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the clubhouse. In the past two years, he has arranged for a new floor and a partial roof on the clubhouse. Lion Craig also oversees security, water and building temperature.
All three are outstanding members and it is gratifying to witness the recognition of their contributions to the Westport Lions.