History of International Lions
On June 17, 1917 at the invitation of Melvin Jones, delegates met in Chicago. The only point of contention was the selection of a name for the new organization. Melvin Jones researched the idea of calling the new organization Lions. The name Lions was chosen on a secret ballot over several others because the lion stood for strength, courage, fidelity and vital action. The official name of the association is “The International Association of Lions Clubs” or simply “Lions Clubs International Foundation, (LCIF).
At the association's international convention in 1925, Helen Keller appealed to Lions to become "Knights for the blind…leading the way out of darkness." Since that time, sight preservation and sight-related issues have been a focus of the association and individual clubs worldwide.
Lions is the largest service club in the world. There are over 1.4 million Lions in over 48,000 Lions clubs in over 207countries.
History of Brandon Lions
The Brandon Lions Club was chartered in February 21, 1957. Then the population of Brandon was approximately 500. In 1962 the Club marked streets with street signs and gave every home and business a designated street number. They were also very involved in circulating petitions to establish the Brandon Water System and to incorporate the City. The Club was involved in coordinating the construction of the Tower in McHardy Park and the bridge over Splitrock Creek.
The Brandon Lins Club was the first Club in South Dakota to establish a Leo Club. A Leo Club consists of young people to organize and learn about what Lion do and particapte in projects, develope relationwhips and provided services to the Connumity.
The Club has always been very involved in the Brandon Community, mostly helping the visually impaired by funding vision projects and in donating eye exams and glasses to the needy. Currently we have 15 members.
For more information service, fund raisers and denotations check out “Projects” on the Side Bar.
