Lake Sumter Lions Club

The Villages, Florida - United States

Look at What's Happening at our Meetings
and with our Members. 

We remember Lake Sumter Lions who passed before us.  Click here for their names.

Guest Speakers at Lake Sumter Lions Meeting

Four students and two staff members from the new Holy Trinity Transitional School visited the Lake Sumter Lions club meeting last week. Lake Sumter Lion Doris Ann Brennan (left) led the club's support of this special school.

  

 

Lake Sumter Lions Attend Zone Meeting

Twelve Lake Sumter Lions attended the Zone 3 meeting at the Fruitland Park Lions Den, to include FVDG John Hanna and Bernice Hanna and SVDG Sonia Hernandez Saylor and Todd Saylor. Good food and Good Fellowship. Thanks Zone 3 Chair Bruce Scheel.

  

 

Melvin Jones Fellows

Lions Bob Hatten and Todd Saylor were recognized as Melvin Jones Fellows.  They were chosen by the current MJFs in the Club for their  service to the Club and to our community.

 

President Jaci named Lion of the Year At the Awards Ceremony, Lion Annette Thomson was named Lion of the Year for her outstanding efforts she gave to the club and her community.

 

President Jaci presented Life Membership Awards

Tribute Brick from Leader Dog for the Blind to PDG Patrick and Janet Pignataro	Life Membership (Builder Step) from the Florida Foundation for the Blind (aka Lions Saving Sight) to Sonia Saylor and Doris Brennan	Life Membership from the Florida Foundation for the Blind (aka Lions Saving Sight) to Cecile Mills
Life Membership from Conklin Davis Center to John Thomson	Life Membership from the Lions Diabetes Awareness Foundation of MD 35 to Linda and John Bradshaw	Life Membership from the Project Right to Sight to Dennis Ryan, Linda Ryan, Chuck LeGare, and John Hanna.
Life Membership from Conklin Davis Center to Jean Hatten	President Jaci gave all members a Lake Sumter Lions "koosie."

 

President Jaci presented Awards at the End of Year Awards Ceremony

Outgoing Club President Jaci recognized members with Certificates and Awards of Appreciation at the Awards Ceremony at the American Legion. 

Award of Appreciation to Art Staus	Award of Appreciation to Bunny Hanna	Award of Appreciation to Jane Mello	Award of Appreciation to John Thomson
Certification of Appreciation to Bob Irvine	Certification of Appreciation to Doris Brennan	Certification of Appreciation to Gary Nelson	Certification of Appreciation to John Angiolo

 

Lake Sumter Lions Install New Officers for 2025-2026 Lion Year

District Governor Elect Maggiy Williams installed the new Club Officers at the American Legion Post 347 in Lady Lake.

President Sonia Saylor	Past President Jaci Newmark	3VP Steve Frederickson, 2VP Art Staus, and 1VP Dennis Ryan
Secretary Doris Brennan	Membership Vice Chair John Thomson	Admin Assistant PDG Patrick Pignataro
Directors Annette Thomson and Todd Saylor	Tail Twister Gary Nelson	Outgoing President Jaci is passing the gavel to Incoming President Sonia.

 

Awards at the MD35 Lions Convention

	Congrats to Lake Sumter Lion Janet Pignataro, who was recognized as a Melvin Jones Fellow at the MD35 Convention.
	Lake Sumter Lion Todd Saylor received a special award for being a grassroots Lion – a new award that was given for the first time this year by District 35-O.

 

Spring Zone 3 Lions Meeting

Lake Sumter Lions joined other Lions in attending the Zone 3 meeting at the Fruitland Park Lions Den. Region Chair Sonia Hernandez Saylor chaired the meeting. DG Bob Armstrong was guest speaker and FVDG Maggiy Williams inducted 2 new members into Lionism. Club Presidents provided an update on their club's activities. And Lion Sonia presented a gift to Lion Todd Saylor for his support this past year...as for future years as Sonia Hernandez Saylor is set to become SVDG next Lions year.

 

Years in Service Awards

	Congrats to Lake Sumter Lions John Wolf and Diana Wilson Zahorak. SVDG John Hanna presented Years in Service certificates and chevrons to John for 25 years and Diana for 15 years. Yea!

Membership Awards

	Club President Jaci Newmark presented membership award pins to Lake Sumter Lion John Thomson for his Builder Key Membership Award (for sponsoring 10 members) and to Lake Sumter Lion Jean Hatten for her Membership Key Award (for sponsoring 2 members). Congrats!!

PRTS Life Certificate to PDG Patrick

	SVDG John Hanna present PDG Patrick Pignataro with a Life Membership to District 35-O Project Right to Sight (PRTS) at a recent Lake Sumter Lions Club meeting.

Guest Speakers at Meetings

		Christian Care Center. We had a full room as Lake Sumter Lions welcomed guest speakers Hailey Burger and Gina Grimes from the Christian Care Center in Leesburg. Thanks Lions Dennis Ryan and Linda Ryan for suggesting we hear about the Christian Care Center.
		Hands of Everywhere Home.  Our guest speaker at a recent Lake Sumter Lions meeting was Tina from Hands of Mercy Everywhere. H.O.M.E provides residential homes for teen mothers and their babies and for girls at risk for sex trafficking.
		PDG Bob and Jeannie Roland from the Swannanoa Lions Cub, NC, visited the Lake Sumter Lions Club this week.They described the aftermath of hurricane Helene which hit their hometown (11 miles east of Asheville, NC) in September 2024. Lions throughout the US responded with financial donations, to include the Lake Sumter Lions who donated over $1100.
		Villager Mike Jastram was our guest speaker at the Lake Sumter Lions meeting. Mike, along with his son-in-law and a friend, rode their bicycles coast to coast (starting in Feb 2025) to raise funds for multiple myeloma, a type of white blood cancer. Club President Jaci Newmark presented Mike with a donation check, alongside Lion John Thomson.
		Lake Sumter Lions welcomed Jim from The Villages Honor Flight as our Guest Speaker.  This Honor Flight group has honored over 2400 veterans since its start.

 

Guest Speaker on Imagination Library

At a recent Lake Sumter Lions Club meeting, Debi Weinert spoke on behalf of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. 

  

 

Lions Present Certificate of Appreciation

Lake Sumter Lion Annette Thomson presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Antony Hall, who is the owner/operator of Culver's located on Rt 466A. Culver's host our quarterly fundraisers there. We are impressed with Culver's and Antony's commitment to family and community. Thank you!

 

Guest Speaker on Alzheimer

Lake Sumter Lions welcomed Dr. Craig Curtis. He spoke on Alzheimer disease...a relevant topic (unfortunately) for us in The Villages.

 

Guest Speakers from Love, Inc.

The guest speakers at our Lake Sumter Lions meeting were Linda and Nancy from Love, Inc. Linda talked about the beginnings of Love, Inc (located in Summerfield) and how Love, Inc serves seniors in Lake County and The Villages.

 

   Guest Speakers at Club Meetings

Program Chair Lion Ron does an excellent job of inviting speakers to our Lake Sumter Lions membership meetings.

	Our Guest Speaker for a recent Lake Sumter Lions meeting was Robert Cooper, Founder and CEO of Zero Hour Life Center, a recovery (from addiction) community organization (RCO). RCO is a peer led and peer governed by people in recovery from substance use disorder.
	Our guest speaker and program for the Lake Sumter Lions meeting was Nancy Larger from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Nancy is looking for volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Sumter County.

 

Club Meeting Guest Speaker

Lake Sumter Lions welcomed Ed Latimer from the Friends of the SOZO Kids.  Program Chair Lion Ron and the Club's SOZO Kids Coordinator Lion Eileen posed with Speaker Ed.

  

 

Club Meeting Guest Speaker

Lake Sumter Lions welcomed Amber Lamoreaux as their guest speaker for the Club meeting. Amber is President of the Citizen Support Organization for the Dade Battlefield Historical State Park. 

  

 

  Club Meetings Guest Speakers

Program Chair Lion Ron Clark set up two great guest speakers for the November and December Lake Sumter Lions meetings.

Kacey Edmundson Educational Foundation of Lake County	Dennis Kellenberger Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches

Guest Speaker Sally Moss, Sumter County School Board Member, was guest speaker at a recent Lake Sumter Lions meeting.  She was introduced by Program Chair Ron Clark.  Ms Moss explained the structure of the Sumter County School District.  She emphasized that the goal for all high school graduates was that they were employed, enrolled or enlisted.

 

Guest Speakers: Sumter Co Sheriff Office

What great guest speakers we had from the Sumter Co Sheriff Office at the last Lake Sumter Lions meeting...Under Sheriff Pat Breeden and Capt Robert Seimer. Capt Seimer briefed us on the various programs that the Sheriff Ofc sponsors, to include the Vial of Life and the Peace of Mind. There was a robust discussion afterwards on the round-abouts and golf carts driving in The Villages. Thank you Sumter County Sheriff Office!

  

 

Tour of the Southeastern Guide Dog Facility

Thirty-seven (37) Lake Sumter Lions, OBG Lions, Eastport Lions and guests traveled to Palmetto, Fl to visit the Southeastern Guide Dog (SEGD) facility. Attendees were broken into smaller groups for the tour, seeing the main building, visually impaired student rooms, preschool puppy play, and demonstrations by tour guides. Lions were extremely impressed with the "highest degree of comprehensive training" that is provided to the dogs and their visually impaired handlers. A worthwhile trip!

  

   

  

 

Lion Norm Rose - 55 Years in Service!!

Lion Norman first joined the Hialeah Industrial Lions Club having been invited to join by a VP of a local bank.  At that time, Norman was Secretary/Treasurer of a family owned printing business and was the youngest member of the Lions Club.  The Hialeah Industrial Lions Club merged with the Palm Springs Lions and Norman's second Lions club became the Greater Hialeah Lions Club.   In the mid 1980's, Norman joined the Hialeah Miami Springs Lions Club until 2001.  Then, Norman moved to the Miami Lake Lions Club which was in a residential community.  In 2013, Norman and his wife Carreen moved to The Villages where he joined the Lake Sumter Lions Club, his 5th Lions Club.

 

It's a First - Inducting New Member via Zoom

 

Sponsoring a New Lion via FaceTime

 

Guest Speaker: Education Foundation of Lake County

Audrey Dick from the Education Foundation of Lake County was a recent guest speaker at the Lake Sumter Lions Club meeting.  The Education Foundation operates for the benefit of students and teachers in Lake Co. Public Schools. It's mission is to serve as the connection between the community and public education, evaluating needs and securing resources to enhance the quality of education.  Click here for more info.

 

 

 

Guest Speaker: Helping Hands

At a recent Lions meeting, Bill Gottsphalk presented the program on Helping Hands, a medical equipment loan service of the VHA.  Villagers can obtain a variety of medical equipment on loan, free of charge. Villagers can also donate medical equipment to this non-profit organization.  Click here for a list of equipment and contact phone number.

 

Meeting Lions in Ireland

Lions Diana and Kathy traveled to Ireland for a brief visit and met with Lions from Galway, Ireland.  Lions Diana and Kathy were presented their the Galway Lions Club banner which, in turn, they presented to King Lion Chuck upon their return to the States.

  

Guest Speakers

At a recent Lake Sumter Lions Club meeting, Dr. Shelly (Director) and Cantel Buck (CEO), from the New Vision for Independence, presented a interactive program to members.  Ms Buck demonstrated techniques that visually impaired people deal with money and with eating and serving drinks to others.  Below blindfolded Lion John (right) learned how to pour water for himself and others. Then, blindfolded Walter (left) learned how to handle both paper and coin money.   A donation check was also given to New Vision from the Club.  (See Giving Back section of the web site.)

   

 

Members Travel to Visit LV Lions Club (among other things)

Lake Sumter Lions John, Glenn, Larry, Gary and Ed traveled to Las Vegas, NV to attend the Las Vegas Host Lions Club meeting.....among other things.

Five old Lion geezers left Florida and came back as five young studs!???

 

 

Lake Sumter Lions Celebrate Their 10th Charter Night

It was in December 2007 when the Lake Sumter Lions received their charter from Lions clubs International with 30 Charter Members.  Ten years later the Club is prospering with over 50 members.  To celebrate our 10th Anniversary, the Lake Sumter Lions held  a special Celebration on December 1 at the Canal Recreation Center in The Villages.  Guest Speaker was District Governor "Tito" Navarro.  Master of Ceremonies was Lion (and Charter Member) Bob Mills.  King Lion Ralph Long presided over the meeting.  Each Lake Sumter Lion received a 10th Anniversary pin.

  

  

 

 

At the 10th Anniversary Celebration, DG Tito also inducted a new member Lion Mary Alice into the Lake Sumter Lions Club. Her sponsor is Lion Bob, the MC for the event.

Charter Members from 2007 were also recognized.

Below is a news article from The Daily Sun, dated Dec 6, 2017.

 

What is Pink and Roars?

Lion Gary strikes a pose for folks to read the back of his pink Lions sweatshirt.  Our thoughts and prayers go with those who have or who have had breast cancer.