Lions Club marks 100 years in Wisconsin

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - For the hundreds of Lions Clubs around Wisconsin, this year marks a milestone.

And hundreds of those Lions members are in Green Bay today and tomorrow for their annual state convention and to celebrate the many ways Lions have served their communities for a century.

More than 400 Lions have converged on Green Bay’s KI Convention Center for their convention.

For those in attendance, it’s a rare break from giving back to their communities.

“Our motto for Lions is we serve, and I think one of the powers of our organization is every club is individual, and we look first at our local communities, what are the needs there,” says Susan Selner, a member of the Denmark Lions Club.

Whether it be providing glasses and hearing aids, student scholarships or assisting food pantries, Lions raise funds through community picnics, auctions and flower sales to name just a few.

Currently Wisconsin ranks in the top five nationally in membership.

“We have a little under 17,000 members in our multiple, we’ve got about 520 clubs, we have 10 districts that are organized in that regard and people stay, they love to serve their community and they get to do it and we’re probably the world’s best kept secret,” says Connie LeCleir-Meyer, Lions Past International Director.

In Wisconsin since 1921, the Lions Club reach, and impact, around the world today is astounding.

“When we have 1.4 million members globally and we’re in over 200 countries around the world, it’s an automatic impact in what we do and it really makes you proud that you’re part of this organization and you’re part of the solution and not part of the problem,” says Brian Sheehan, Lions Clubs International 2nd Vice President.

The Lions’ global causes include vision, hunger, diabetes and the environment.

And whether it’s on an international level, or the tiniest of towns, for Lions, it’s all about putting others first.

“My impact goes throughout the world and there’s not many organizations that can say that,” says Selner.

“It just makes you feel good, it really does, and especially in this day and age, oh boy, much needed,” adds Sheehan with a smile.