West Virginia Lions
Multiple District 29
Welcome to our Lions Club page. When Lorrie and I moved to WV we did something I had wanted to do for a long time and that was to join a Lions Club. We knew Lions was a top notch service organization and we wanted to be a part of that. We did something most people don't do. We didn't wait to be asked to join. We went to the Wardensville Lions Club one evening and asked to speak with the club President. I think he was little surprised when we told him we wanted to join. Unfortunately, when you invite someone to join too many times they have their list ready as to why they just can't join right now.
On February 16, 2010 we joined the Wardensville Lions Club. Once we attended our first state convention in 2010 we realized that WV Lions were doing a lot of good things around the state. The longer we stayed the more involved we became and the more we learned about Lions. Lions Clubs International (LCI) consists of over 45,000 clubs in more that 208 countries and territories with over 1.4 million members. That is a lot of people providing service to others and working to make their communities a better place to live. Here in WV LCI has provided disaster relief grants of $10,000 when winter storms caused a lot of damage in the western part of the state and when floods devistated the southern part of the state. The little town of Franklin, WV received a matching $75,000 grant from LCI in order to help a local nursing home upgrade their physical therapy center so it could open to the public to provide PT services locally thus saving residents over 1 hour rides to the nearest PT facilities. The Franklin Lions Club not only met their goal they raised over $90,000 in a few months.
In Wardensville we support a variety of local, state and national programs. Locally we support the town library, the Wardensville Scholarship fund, the Boy Scouts, people in need of assistance purchasing eye glasses, and the East Hardy High School band. On the state level we support the WV Eye Institute, Youth Exchange, Deaf & Blind Recreation, Romney Deaf & Blind Work Study and Diabetes. On the National Level we support the Lions Clubs International Foundation, Leader Dog and Pilot Dog programs.
As I have moved through the ranks in club and district leadership I have accepted the chair of the WV Lions Youth Camps and Exchange program. This is an international cultural exchange program for youth 15-21 years of age. I am finding this to be a most rewarding experience. I am responsible for selecting youth from around the state to receive scholarship funds in order to travel abroad. I coordinate with other Youth Exchange Lions from around the world to send WV youth abroad and to receive and place with host families here in WV. As of this writing Lorrie and I have personally hosted three girls. You can read more about them on our West Virginia Youth Camps & Exchange page.
Meylin was our first exchange student to come in 2013. She spent 5 1/2 weeks with us. She came back to us for 7 weeks in 2014. In 2014 her sister, Kamuy, came during that time and spent 2 weeks with us. Meylin's parents kept asking when we were going to come to Peru. So, we told Meylin we were going to call their bluff and that we would come for 2 weeks in July 2014. They convinced us to stay for 4 weeks. We travel all through Peru seeing what a beautiful and historied country it is. When Meylin graduated high school she joined Kamuy in Taiwan to study Mandrin for a year. Kamuy was studying there to become a physical therapist. In May of 2016 we traveled to Taiwan when invited to attend Kamuy's graduation. In January 2017 we returned to Lima, Peru to attend Kamuy's wedding. In March of 2018 Meylin, Rosa - her mother and Maria - her best friend came to the US and spent 2 weeks with us. We were a week in WV and then we all drove to Michigan where we spent time with Kamuy and Phil and Phil's parents Mike and Lynne Karagoulis. As you can see we have made new life long friends with Meylin and her family.
You too can enjoy all that we have found by joining your local Lions Club. You don't have to wait to be asked to join because this is your "engraved" invitation to join Lions and find the joy in serving others.
