By David F. Rooney
After 47 years of community service the Revelstoke Lions Club is on the verge of fading away for good.
“The basic problem is we’re getting older and we’re not attracting new members,” says Club President Buddy Rozander. “The new crowd in town is different and we don’t know them.”
The club was chartered on January 15, 1966, 22 then-young and -enthusiastic members “Our mission then — as it is today — was to contribute to the needs of the community with fundraising and service projects and to promote fellowship and commitment among our club members,” Rozander said in an interview last Friday, May 31.
“Today after 47 years we are happy to say we still have two active original charter members. Unfortunately the club has shrunk to 12 members. Our health and age have restricted our ability to do the fundraising and community service projects that we are asked to do.”
He said the club needs new blood to continue on into the future but the gap in age between current members and the new people in town makes it difficult to contact and reach potential new club members.
It used to be in the not-too-distant past that if you walked into Coopers you knew — or at least recognized — just about everyone you saw in the aisles. However, that hasn’t really been the case since at least 2007.
“Our future is in jeopardy and we need new members with new ideas and the enthusiasm that the original 22 members had when they chartered the Lions Club of Revelstoke.”
The Lions Club supports a broad range of charities and services in Revelstoke including:
- CNIB Guide Dogs;
- Cops for Kids Bike Ride;
- The Community Connections Food Bank;
- Local minor sports clubs;
- RSS Scholarships;
- The Revelstoke Museum & Archives;
- The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 46;
- The Arthritis, Diabeties,and Heart and Stroke foundations; and
- The BC Lions Society’s Camp Winfield and its Easter Seal Houses.
“Locally we are especially proud of our Citizen of the Year project as it is rewarding to recognize someone in the community who makes a difference in Revelstoke,” Rozander said.
The club meets on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 pm at the Knights of Pythias Castle at 201 Third Street West. Membership is open to men and women over the age of 19.
If you are new to town — or have been here a few years — and would like to make a difference in our community please contact one of the club’s present members who can answer any question you may have about the Lions:
- Buddy Rozander 250-837-3346,
- Tom Jones 250-837-3958,
- Rose Lund 250-837-4690,
- Una Mcinnes 250-837-3150,
- Paul Olsen 250-837-4328,
- Tony Scarcella 250-837-4354
- Barry & Marina Ozero 250-837-6675,
- George & Jessie Olson 250-837-4047
- Jurgen & Sharon Reichel 250-837-5767
