HIGH POINT LIONS CLUB HISTORY

The High Point Lions Club was chartered on November 5, 1929; however, February 24, 1930 is recognized as the club's official birthdate, as it is the date the original 24 members signed the charter. Three of the original charter members maintained active membership: George Johnson, L. A. Welch and Paul Williamson.

Except for decreased activity during the depression years, the club has been a most active organization. The club formerly met at the Elwood Hotel. The meeting place was moved to the Sheraton Hotel in 1940, where it remained until moving to the Sky Room on top of the Furniture Exposition Building between 1950 and 1953. The club has since met at the Woman’s Club of High Point, First Baptist Church, and currently meets at Tex & Shirley's Pancake House.

The club's featured activity through the years has been sight conservation and the prevention of blindness. The club has also participated in other community services. These services, for the most part, have been financed through fundraising projects such as the Horse Show, which began in 1943; the sale of brooms and other products made by the visually impaired; Gumball Machines; Furniture Market Parking; and more recently, Pancake Breakfasts and Flower Sales.

In 1944, the High Point Lions Club sponsored a new club that would go on to become the Asheboro Lions Club, with Lion James Lane as its first President. The High Point Lions Club sponsored a second club in 1953 that became the Oakview Lions Club, with Lion Ray Willard as its charter President. High Point Lions Club membership reached a high of 125 Lions in 1950. However, by the time the club merged with the Oakview Lions Club in September 2010, membership dwindled to 44.

Notable High Point Lions:

• Lion Emmet V. Stone served as District Governor in 1957-1958
• Lion Walter Huber served as District Governor in 1962-1963
• Lion Raymond C. Bottoms served as District Governor in 1965-1966
• Lion Vernon Jones of the former Oakview Lions Club served as District Governor in 1971-1972
• Lion John Howell of the former Oakview Lions Club served as District Governor in 1979-1980.