Troy Lions Club celebrating 70 years
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| Mike Terry photo -- Throughout 2008, the Troy Lions Club will be celebrating its 70th anniversary. During those 70 years, members estimate that the club has given back more than $1 million to the community and another $500,000 to Lions International. The organization was also vital in the formation of Tri-Township Park and the Tribune Newspaper, finding a home for Ministries Unlimited and making the annual homecoming celebration a success. |
They are only a small sample of the organizations that wouldn't be the same without the generous support of a dedicated group known as the Troy Lions Club.
Formed in June 1938, the Troy Lions Club is in presently the midst of celebrating 70 years of reaching across the age spectrum, from little children to seniors and everyone in the middle, to make their community a better place."The Lions Club is a group of people that just gives back," said Madison County Board Member Gene Myers, who also serves on the organization's board of directors. "Most of us joined because we were first on the receiving on the end."
Even with fluctuating numbers over the years (the current membership is at 38), the club has remained astonishingly active in Troy, handling contributions for everything from the Boy/Cub Scouts and Triad School District to local war veterans and the Police Department. Instead of spending a portion of the money raised through donations and fundraisers on property or entertainment, every penny goes directly back into helping others.
"In 70 years, we have put back into the community well over $1 million," said Club Treasurer Tim Greenfield. "We have also given another $500,000 to the Lions International. Our whole thing is to serve, whether it is an ill child or a family that needs help. I've never seen someone turned down that asked for help."
While today's Lions are known more for making donations to worthy causes, there was a time when members took on the responsibility of the very development of the city of Troy.
Membership Chairman Roger Tegmeyer recalled when the Lions Club was the "chamber before the chamber," and members pulled their own money together to help the city put up a bank, bowling alley, movie theater, library and industrial park.
At one point, the club helped put up the money to help future U.S. Senator Paul Simon start the Troy Tribune newspaper. In 1967, many of the members took out mortgages to help the club raise $40,000 to match funds with the National Park Service and make the purchase of Tri-Township Park a reality. Then in 1999, the club helped construct a facility for the Ministries Unlimited food pantry on Collinsville Road, which had been jumping around different locations for years.
Of course, without the Lions Club, residents wouldn't be able to enjoy the city's annual Homecoming Celebration, which the Lions Club has been co-sponsoring since 1940 and has been the main sponsor of since 1985.
Like its international counterparts, the Troy Lions Club is also extremely active in the area of "sight and sound" by helping provide support for blind and deaf people. Through the years, members have raised money to provide individuals with eyeglasses, hearing aids, Braille learning equipment and free hearing screenings.
The group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at the Wiesemeyer Center in Tri-Township Park. For more information on helping or joining, individuals should call Greenfield at 667-9412.
