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Lions celebrate 75 years of service

William Mowery receives club’s highest honor

Sentinel photo by JULIANNE KILMER Burnham Lions Club President Dennis Clark, right, and District Governor John Harker, middle, present Lion William Mowery with a Melvin Jones Fellow award at the 75th Charter Night, held Saturday evening at the Burnham Lions Building.

BURNHAM – The Burnham Lions Club is celebrating 75 years of service to the community.

Members gathered Saturday evening at the Burnham Lions Building for the 75th Charter Night, which included dinner, guest speakers and special awards.

District Governor John Harker, of Lions District 14-L, was in attendance. He congratulated the Burnham club for its longevity and spoke briefly before turning the microphone over to Burnham Lions Club President Dennis Clark.

Clark encouraged current members to recruit new partners.

“We need (to bring) new people into our organization to help us continue the things we’ve been doing in the past,” he said.

According to an event booklet featuring a timeline of the clubs’ activities, its service has been unique and varied.

In its founding year (1945 to 1946), the Lions helped to secure mail service for Burnham. They secured petitions for the postmaster general and numbered all the homes in Burnham. Club members obtained sample mailboxes and mail slots and went door to door selling them.

Other well-known projects throughout the years include ongoing donations to the Burnham YMCA, installation of area playgrounds and construction of a community pool.

During Saturday’s celebration, Lion William Mowery was honored with a Melvin Jones Fellow award. The award, named for Lions Club International Founder Melvin Jones, is the highest form of recognition and honors individuals for exemplary service to their club.

Clubs may bestow the award upon an individual member by making a donation in their name to LCI. Awards are also presented to Lions who make individual donations of $1,000 to LCI. According to the LCI website, there are more than 440,000 MJF recipients worldwide. Recipients are invited to the annual luncheon held at the international convention.

The Burnham Lions Club holds regular meetings on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at the Burnham Lions Building. For more information, visit online at www.burnhamlionsclub.org.

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