GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette Lions Club heard two guest speakers at their Nov. 17 meeting. Their focus was on two organizations which partner with the Lions to provide services in their communities.
Ken Swanson of Bella Vista, past district governor of Lions, gave a video presentation featuring Mid-South Lions Sight and Hearing Services. Mid-South, headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., provides testing and treatment for sight and hearing impaired patients at no cost. Covering Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee, the organization offers care at seven locations. In 1996, Boozman-Hof Regional Eye Clinic in Rogers became the first of these satellite clinics.
Norine Westerbeck of Maynard, district representative of National Camps for Blind Children, spoke to the Lions about the camp for the blind outside Hot Springs. Sixty-five youngsters attended the camp last year. It serves children from Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Children were able to play on swings and a climbing wall, go fishing, do archery and wood projects and tour the gangster museum and other sites from Hot Springs history. In 2016, they plan to tour the Mid-America Science Museum. A day of camp costs $138 and scholarships are available.
Secretary-treasurer Tina Crose reported that a Decatur man had recently been provided an eye exam and glasses in cooperation with Roberts-Philpott Eye Associates. Lion Ken Foxx said he was requesting permission to place the Lions Club logo signs on the city's two "Community of Beauty and Progress" signs.
Club president Jeff Davis awarded Chris and Tina Crose a certificate and a bag of praline pecans for being top salesmen in the Lions Club pecan sales.
Lions Ken Foxx and Susan Holland received pins for helping the club reach its membership development goals in the Year Round Growth Program for 2014-2015. Each of them recruited three new members for the club last year. The club also received a banner patch through the Year Round Growth Program. The accompanying letter read in part, "Congratulations! Membership recruitment is a team effort, and your club has demonstrated its ability to work together to achieve an important goal. By recruiting new members, you are strengthening your ability to help those in need."
A discussion was held concerning program possibilities. Club members are planning an event early next year featuring a speaker from the Arkansas Naturals and possibly a visit from the Naturals mascot, Strike.
Gravette Lions Club meets at noon on the first Tuesday of each month at the In-Zone Restaurant on Arkansas Hwy. 59 N. and at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at Imagine Before and After School Care, 206 Birmingham Street S.E. New members and guests are always welcome.
General News on 11/25/2015