The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
They're not quite as synonymous with Flin Flon as mining, hockey and long winters. But after six decades of service, the Flin Flon Lions Club has left an undeniable mark on the community. 'That is a legacy that will live on forever,' said Lions District Governor Lloyd McCabe. McCabe, in from Brandon, joined more than 30 guests last Wednesday, Oct. 23 for the Flin Flon Lions Club's 60th Charter Night. It was a time to celebrate the untold hours, countless projects and hundreds of thousands of dollars pumped into the Flin Flon region by the venerable volunteer organization. 'It makes me feel very good to help other people,' said Roger Poirier, the current president. That sentiment permeated the Victoria Inn banquet room where the Lions gathered to enjoy dinner and hear McCabe deliver a thought-provoking speech on the virtues of Lionism. 'You change lives of people you may never know,' McCabe told the crowd. 'But know this: in the heart of the recipient of your gifts, someone who cherishes the generosity of Lions will live on forever.' The proud legacy of the Flin Flon Lions Club began when the club was chartered on Sept. 28, 1953. Lions were, and still are, the world's largest service club organization. The first Flin Flon club featured a modest 25 members, all men, led by president R.M. Locker. George Hamlin, the deputy district governor of the day, presented the club with its charter. Stan Brickman, president of the Dauphin Lions Club, brought a gong and gavel for meetings. The Lions wasted no time spreading their generosity throughout the community. They would sponsor a minor hockey team, install flooring at the Willowpark Curling Club and initiate a student driver training program. Coun. Bill Hanson, who attended last week's Charter Night on behalf of city council, shared the smile-inducing story of his first encounter with the Lions. Hanson was five years old when he and his little friends watched an unknown group of men install playground equipment at a new park in their neighbourhood. When his buddies asked him who was doing the work, Hanson, spotting a large Lions sign, replied that it was the Lions. But who were the Lions? 'I don't know,' Hanson told his friends, 'but they must be good guys, they're doing all this for us kids.'' The new playground turned out to be part of the Flin Flon campground, but it easily doubled as a neighbourhood park. Poirier, the club president, rattled off a lengthy list of other projects with which the Lions have been involved. See 'Park' on pg. Continued from pg. They sodded Centoba Park, helped install raised seating at the R.H. Channing Auditorium and provided children-identification kits, a proactive measure should a child go missing, to the RCMP. The club has its namesake park, the Lions' Spray Pool, in Creighton, and has contributed to numerous other parks in the area. Poirier is quick to note that the club focused not only on Flin Flon and Creighton, but also Denare Beach and Cranberry Portage. Projects in Denare Beach have included support for the Northern Gateway Museum; and in Cranberry Portage help with a school breakfast program. Of course all of that is merely a sampling of the club's endeavours. To list them all would fill this week's Reminders. The Lions have undergone many changes over the years, most notably the abandonment of its 'men only' policy. Good thing, since six current members are ladies. Another turning point came when the Cranberry Portage Lions Club folded, prompting several members to switch to the Flin Flon club. Three of them remain today. Club membership, once as high as about 60, has dropped to 20. Over the last decade alone, membership is down by half. The members who remain are as loyal as they are committed, but most are getting on in years. Without new blood, the years ahead are uncertain. Poirier for one is hopeful for the future, noting that the club picked up four prospective members among last week's Charter Night guests. He himself is among the longest-serving Lions, having joined as a young man in 1976. After his first meeting, he was impressed with what he saw. 'They've done a lot of good things for (the area),' Poirier says. A lot of good things indeed. And now after 60 years of service, these Lions are still proudly roaring.
