Our History --
Our club was originally chartered on October 14, 1925 but folded in 1929 due to the economy. It was the 2nd Lions club in Forsyth County. Thanks to the Greensboro Host club, we were re-chartered on September 22, 1938 with Lion James R. Blackwell as our first president. At one time, we had over 100 members but currently are at 60. In 1948, we sponsored the Walkertown Lions club. A Lions Club's primary focus is the visually impaired, including eliminating glaucoma in the world. Our last surviving charter member, Harmon Linville left the club with an endowment of $25,000 to be used at the clubs discretion to continue Lionism in Kernersville.
Fund Raising Activities --
Over the years, we have tried virtually every possible fund raising activity except a 'toe sucking contest'. Some of our most productive fund raisers have been:
Horse shows--popular in the olden days of 40's-50's-60's-70's, ours took place on Labor Day and was very labor intensive.
Benefit Dinner--began in 1981 as a replacement for the horse shows, the first several featured a Cadillac to the winner of the reverse drawing. Traditionally, our immediate past president chairs this major project.
Spring Folly food booth--began in 1993 in conjunction with the Tour DuPont bicycle race. Has evolved into a major fund raiser for our club. Lion Larry Martin has chaired this very worthwhile project and continues to lead it.
Pork Butt Project--began in 2009, this has been a surprisingly successful project for us. We pre-sell 5-7lb cooked pork shoulders within the community and then cook and distribute them the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Lions Ned Mabe and Jerry Medford have chaired this project from inception.
Car Show - Began in 2022 this is the newest fundraiser and was a fantastic success. Antique and classic cars from all over the Triad were on display and numerous awards were given in several "best of" categories. Crystal Tanner managed the project and we had many volunteers. Looking forward to a repeat in September 2023!
Community Activities --
Donated $5,000 to Kerners Folly for maintenance of folly
Donated picnic shelter and flag pole at Harmon Park to Town
Provided manpower & funding to help with renovating the ticket office & bathrooms at the Depot.
Donated flag pole at the Depot
Donated $6,000 for building campaign for Crisis Control & Shepherd's Center
Pay for eye exams and eye glassess for qualified residents & students as needed
Donated $20,000 to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital for retinitis pigmentosa research.
Youth Activities --
Provide vision screenings at area schools-- -- we began vision screenings in local schools in 1995 and are currently doing 11-15 per year. We have screened over 50,000 students since then, with 10-12% being referred to doctors for additional evaluation. This project was initially chaired by Lion Bill Maurer, now chaired by Lion Crystal Tanner. In 2008 the club spent $4200 to purchase two visual acuity machines to help with future eye screenings. In 2011, the club approved expending approximately $11,000 to purchase a PediaVision Spot Photoscreening Device for a more accurate vision screening of younger children, allowing us to expand this program to pre-schoolers. ​We now screen 6-10 pre-schools per year in the Kernersville community.
Provide youth scholarships to local youth to YMCA & sponsor youth sports teams
Contribute to 'Kernersville cares for Kids" (KCK) annually
Sponsor 3 $1500 student scholarships annually to public high school seniors at EFHS, Walkertown & Glenn HS
LEO Clubs -- Under the able leadership of Lion Caroline Domenig and Debbie Warren, we have sponsored 2 LEO Clubs that get youth involved in community service at Glenn High School and East Forsyth High School. The Walkertown Middle School LEO Club has disbanded.
State and International --
Vision Van -- We contributed financially to the North Carolina Lions Foundation for the purchase of a $500,000 vision van that was placed in service in 1999. This van is used throughout North Carolina for vision screenings at schools, nursing homes, malls, etc sponsored by various Lions clubs. Our club was the first club in Forsyth County to use the vision van.
SightFirst -- We contributed $10,000 to this Lions International project to eradicate glaucoma.
Lions Club Honor Roll --
Past District Govenors:
L. Joyner BURNS (dec) (1959-1960)
Danny L. JEFFERSON (1999-2000)
Life Members:
Dr. Billy POPE (dec)
W. J. O'BRIEN (dec)
G. S. "Solly" COLTRANE (dec)
W. J. JOHNSON (dec)
Dr. Don GRIFFITH (dec)
Rev. Amis DANIEL (dec)
Bernie HALE
​ Bill KIRK (dec)
Leon CAMERON
Dr Bob DALTON
Melvin Jones Fellows:
Danny JEFFERSON (6/86)
C. Arnold STONE (dec) (6/89)
W. J. O'BRIEN (dec) (2/94)
G. S. "Solly" COLTRANE (dec) (2/94)
Dr. Robert DALTON (2/94)
Rev Amis DANIEL (dec) (2/94)
Cletus FITZGERALD (dec) (2/94)
David HOLT (dec) (2/94)
John LAIN (dec) (2/94)
J. Harmon LINVILLE (dec) (2/94)
Dr. Billy POPE (dec) (2/94)
Raymond D THOMAS (2/94)
Raymond WARREN (dec) (2/94)
Leon CAMERON (6/01)
Dr. Don GRIFFITH (dec) (6/03)
Art DRENNAN (5/11)
Bob HICKS (2/15)
Bernie HALE (7/16)
Bill MAURER (2/20)
Larry MARTIN (2.20)
Marvin BARE (2/20)
Mike LEWIS (6/20)
John L. "Jack" Stickley Award:
Caroline DOMENIG (6/05)
Bill MAURER (2/15)
​ Larry MARTIN (7/18)
William L. Woolard "Partner In Service" Award:
Marvin BARE (6/05)
Caroline DOMENIG
Lion of the Year:
2009-2010 Bill MAURER & Larry MARTIN
2010-2011 Roger STOCKTON
2011-2012 Marvin BARE
2012-2013 Mike LEWIS & Ned MABE
2013-2014 Marvin BARE
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