Photo of members at 75^th Anniversary Celebration

Morrison Lions was originally chartered in November, 1926.   The club was canceled in November, 1934 and was chartered again in November, 1938.   The club, at large,supports the Lions of Illinois Foundation, the Center for Sight and Hearing located in Rockford, and the Lions Clubs International Foundation.  Locally, the club lends assistance for vision and hearing needs to people residing in the Morrison area that otherwise might not be able to obtain glasses or hearing aids.  The club also works wth the CGH Foundation - Eyeglasses for Kids program by reimbursing the foundation for glasses provided to Morrison area children on an annual basis.  The club also supports the American Diabetes Association, Leader Dogs for the Blind , the Boy Scouts, and Camp Lions.  Camp Lions provides a week of camping for visual and hearing impaired and is very much enjoyed by all attending.

Support is given to Little League and the Softball League.  The club provides support to the Helping Hand organization in their endeavor to provide Christmas gifts to area needy children.  The club also takes a collection of caps, mittens, and scarves at Christmas, and delivers to the schools for staff to distribute to children where a need is noted.  A donation is also given to the Odell Public Library for large print books or books on CD's.  Other needs are addressed as they are received each year for civic projects.

The club recently installed Low Vision Machines in two of the retirement homes for residents' use.  The club also recently added to a Green Memorial that had been received and placed a Low Vision Machine at Odell Library.

The Lions Club motto is "WE SERVE' and the local club strives to keep that motto at all times. * The club meets at noon at Happy Joe's on the first and third Tuesday of each month.  As members gather for lunch and fellowship, it is very evident that members are there to fullfill the motto and enjoy friendship.  The club welcomes anyone interested in knowing more about Lionism.

On October 1, 2013, club members and guests gathered at the Forest Inn to celebrate the 75th anniversary of our club.  Our charter date was September 29, 1938.    The evening started with dinner.  After dinner, President Bart Smith called the meeting to order and welcomed guests.  Lion Fred Steele led the Pledge of Allegiance followed by prayer given by Lion Ken Jansma.  Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Lion Ken Jansma who gave trivia from the year 1938.   District Governor Fred Peska presented additional trivia and also installed the officers for 2013-2014.  PDG Ruth Lyle gave brief remarks and awarded chevrons to several members.  PDG Ken Cocking also spoke and then presented Melvin Jones Awards.  The evening closed with anniversary cake served.  Our club is blessed to have been in our community for 75 years and keeping the motto "We Serve".

Our club  chose to secure funding for the construction of a shelter at the new Sports Complex as a special project for our 75 years in the community.  Fund raising for the 24' x 32' foot structure began in November, 2013 and was completed during the first half of 2014.  There was excitement about this much needed shelter.  Scout Nick Kaufman selected this project for obtaining his Eagle Scout Award and assisted with fundraising, concrete work and finishing after the structure was erected. Additional funds raised over the cost of the structure enabled adding picnic tables, trash receptacle, benches, display board, landscaping and an outside water fountain at the concession stand. The pavilion was formally dedicated on May 31, 2015

In 2018, the need to have a City Recycle Day was noted.  The City had not held a recycle day for at least 2 years.  Morrison Lions took on this project and held the first Annual Recycle Day on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the Whiteside County Fairgrounds.  It was well received by the community.  It has become an annual service project and is held in April close to "Earth Day" which is April 22nd.  Watch the local paper and the club's calendar on this website for updated information.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.