Club started in 1938 with 36 members

Published in the Sept. 18 issue of Morgan Hill Life:

By Staff Report

Jerry Smith

Jerry Smith

The Morgan Hill Lions Club will celebrate its 75th year of helping out the region as a service organization at a special barbecue at Morgan Hill Cellars.

The Morgan Hill Lions Club is part of Lions Clubs International, a global service network with about 1.35 million members around the world. Dedicated to upholding a motto of “We serve,” Lions Club International was founded in 1917 by Melvyn Jones, a Chicago businessman. Jones had a personal code of: “You can’t get very far until you start doing something for somebody else.”

The Morgan Hill Lions is an informal, service-minded group made up of members who are interested in taking active roles in the club’s leadership and activities for the South Valley region, said club president Jerry Smith.

“The most rewarding part for me has been to see the impact our high school scholarships have for deserving students who are faced with the escalating costs of a college education,” he said. “It is also heartening how reliable our members are in their participation of events such as fundraising for our pancake breakfasts, the distribution of Thanksgiving dinners for families in need, breakfasts for Relay for Life walkers, as well as their involvement in the Morgan Hill Mardi Gras.”

The Morgan Hill Lions Club was chartered Sept. 15, 1938 with 36 members, said Bill Adams, a former Lions member who has studied the history of the local club.
“The Morgan Hill club has done many things to help in the community,” he said. “My special memories are of when I was scholarship chairman and interviewing students for scholarships. I was able to meet many outstanding students.”

The Lions began its widely recognized work to help blind and visually impaired people after Helen Keller spoke at the organization’s international convention in 1925 and charged the group to be “Knights of the Blind.” The Lions Eye Foundation is affiliated with Lions Clubs International. In the 1970s, the Villa Mira Monte property, where the Hiram Morgan Hill House stands, was left in a will by a prior owner to the Lions Eye Foundation, Adams said.

The Morgan Hill Lions Club has done many things over the years to help the community, Adams said. In years past, the organization purchased equipment that tested students’ vision and donated it to the Morgan Hill Unified School District. The club also bought glasses for students and others who could not afford them and has given many scholarships throughout the years to local students.

“They have helped many organizations and individuals with monetary donations,” Adams said.

At the barbecue, Mansmith Catering will provide a meal of tri-tip, chicken, salads, baked beans, garlic bread and beverages and dessert during the barbecue. Fathead Eric & the Surfriders will play 60s blues and rock and roll.

CELEBRATION

When: 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 22
Where: Morgan Hill Cellars, 1645 San Pedro Ave.
Tickets: $25; available at (408) 892-1500