By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The Lions are back in Mesquite!
After about a year of infomally operating under the sponsorship of a Las Vegas-based club, the Virgin Valley Lions Club was officially formed last week during a charter party ceremony held Saturday evening, March 25. About 40 people attended the festivities which were held at the Mesquite Veterans Center.
“It is official now!” said Eileen Lamont, Membership Chairperson for the new club. “We are back with about 20 members in the Virgin Valley. That makes me feel better now in recruiting more and more new members.”
The club has been meeting for the past year under the sponsorship of the Aloha Club from Las Vegas. Local club leadership has also received mentorship from the Summerlin Club to get off the ground, Lamont said.
On Saturday evening, guests dined on beef brisket with a number of delicious side dishes.
The new club banner was presented to Virgin Valley Lions Club president Robert Barquist. This presentation was made by District #46 Governor Kimo Howard.
Each of the new club members received membership pins and certificates.
Members of the Aloha Club also provided entertainment by performing Hawaiian dances for the crowd. After this, they also provided some instruction on traditional Hula dancing to attendees who joined in the dance.
A silent auction was also held during the evening for a number of themed gift baskets. All funds raised in the auction went to local Lions Club causes.
“It was a wonderful evening,” Lamont said. “There was a good turnout. Everyone was fed and no one went wanting.”
The new club has hit the ground running. They displayed several hundred pairs of lightly used eyeglasses that they had received from three local optometrist offices. These included Ritchens Eye Center, Vision Source and Precision Eye Care. These glasses, which are left behind by patients after receiving new glasses will be contributed to the Lions International initiative to recycle eyeglasses and provide them to people in need all over the world.
In another local initiative, the Lions Club will be hosting its annual Spring Egg Hunt for area kids. This will be held on Saturday, April 8 at 9 am at Marilyn Redd Park in Mesquite. This annual tradition has been carried on over the years by members of the Aloha and Summerlin Clubs since the previous Mesquite club was disbanded. This will be the first year that sponsorship of the event returns to the local club.
“Our Summerlin Club mentors will still be helping us this year as we take it back from them,” Lamont said of the Egg Hunt. “We appreciate their continuing it all these years. And we look forward to taking it over locally from there.”
Lamont said that the new Virgin Valley Lions Club is still looking to recruit new members in the community. Membership is open to residents of both the Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley. For more information about joining the Lions Club contact Lamont at prideofmesquite@gmail.com.
