LIONS LINES
March has arrived – can everybody say SPRING? Let’s all hope for a return of warmer weather and the renewal that this season will bring along with it . . . eventually. And this month, Lions news is all about renewal in our community, in our efforts as Lions, and in our service to Northwestern Ontario.
Our most recent success is the Vermilion Bay Lions Club’s annual Family Snow Derby that drew 120 riders this year and saw the drawing for our winter raffle of a 2013 Arctic Cat snow machine, a 2013 Arctic Cat ATV, and a trailer that can carry both of them to the winner’s desired destination. The winner of this raffle was Murray Graver of Ignace who purchased his ticket at the Dryden Husky in Dryden. It is noteworthy that this year’s raffle has been the most successful to date for the Vermilion Bay Lions Club and will be a key factor in the Club’s ability to continue to support its community and charitable commitments. The Club wishes to thank all those who supported the raffle through both the sales and purchase of tickets.
Also in keeping with the theme of renewal, the Lions Vision Care Centre at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre reached a fundraising goal of $33,900.00 toward the purchase of a new Laser Camera for the Lions Vision Centre which serves upwards of 200 people per day. This was accomplished with wide-ranging support from many Lions Clubs in NWO & Minnesota. The Vermilion Bay Lions Club contributed $2,000.00 toward that goal. The overall funds raised will allow the Lions Vision Care Centre to leverage funds from both the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Lions Club International Foundation to reach the total of $135,600.00 needed to purchase the new camera.
Renewal will once again be the theme for a joint project between Lions, Kinsmen, and Kinette Clubs that will host a WHEELS FOR SCOTT McEWAN DAY on March 9, 2013, to replace a much needed mode of transportation for Scott. Scott gives so much to our community and beyond through his dedication to KINMEN and here is an opportunity for us to show support for him. This event will include such activities as a pancake breakfast, a snow mobile derby, a fish fry, an age of majority dance, and a bake sale and pie auction. Complete information on this event can be found in a separate item in this newsletter. Donations for a silent auction will be gratefully accepted through any member of the Vermilion Bay Lions, Kinsmen, and Kinettes Clubs.
And for a different kind of renewal, the Vermilion Bay Lions Hall washroom renovations have taken another step forward. A number of design options have now been considered and from those, one has been chosen as the best to meet the needs of the Club and the community regarding both facility improvement and accessibility. The next step will be to develop estimates for the needed work to provide the information required for grant applications. Look for updates on this project in future issues of the Messenger.
One of the causes supported by the Vermilion Bay Lions Club is the Leader Dog Program that provides highly trained dogs to assist people with visual impairments. It was wonderful to see that the Lions Foundation of Canada and its Dog Guide Program was featured on the Rick Mercer Report on February 26, 2013. This television show has a weekly viewership of some 1.7 million people which provided a great publicity opportunity for this very worthwhile program.
If you are looking for more information regarding Lions activities both locally and internationally, you can access our website using this link: e-clubhouse.org/sites/vbay. Visit and learn more about Lionism next time you are online.
For rental of the Vermilion Bay Lions Hall, please contact Al Koroniak at 227-5483. To access the health care items available to the public through the Lions Club, or to find out what is available, please contact Gary Hutchison at 227-2449.
