Stanton Lions Club

By David Parikh

--1951

The Stanton Lions Club was chartered on December 8, 1947.  It was formed by a group of concerned Business Men who wanted to make the community a better place.  Work soon commenced on building a community center and park.  The Lions Community Clubhouse gave community groups a place to meet and was equipped with a kitchen.  Local leaders gave helped the lions build the Clubhouse.  Walter Knott loaned the Lions Club money to cover construction costs, Orco Block donated building materials, and the Lions volunteered their time to construct the clubhouse.  Our Clubhouse was completed in 1951.  (Click on pictures to enlarge)

The Clubhouse was the only facility of its kind in the area and hosted community meetings, Boy Scout Meetings, youth group meetings and regional Lion Club meetings for many years.  When the community was in need of space for education, it even served as an elementary school classroom.  

As the community changed from agricultural to suburban, the lions recognized that children needed a safe place to play.  The Stanton Lions provided a two acre park to serve the local children.  It had baseball fields and other sports facilities.  Soon, however, the lions realized that more could be done with the park to help kids.  Thanks to fundraising by the lions, Lion volunteer hours and a donation from the James Irvine Foundation, a youth center was built at Stock Lions Park. See press release page [1] [2].  As local government began to provide parks and other facilities, the Stock Lions Park and her facilities were sold.  The proceeds were used to fund a charitable foundation which gave money to charity.  This amounted to more than $300,000.

In 1972 the lions organized Stanton's first classic car show to raise money for charity.  The Lionesses--a woman's' group associated with the Stanton Lions--also raised money by holding their annual Christmas Dinner in the Clubhouse.  In the late 1980's the Stanton Lions Club was one of the first to admit Lady Lions into their Lions Club, and the Lionesses merged with the Lions Club.  

-1975 day at the races social event

--1976 The Blacks were one of the first father and son lions in the Orange County District.

-- 1978 Group Photo

-- 1980 Richard (Dick) Juline receives 35th anniversary award.  Dick was a sports reporter and helped a great deal with the Stanton Baseball League.  He organized the annual "Stanton Lions Base Ball Night."  This consisted of a dinner for the local teams and was often attended by players from the Los Angeles Dodgers.   The Dodgers signed autographs, talked about playing in the big leagues, and gave pointers to the youth.  Mr. Juline is also the recipient of the Melvin Jones award.

1981 Photo of Stanton Lions and Lionesses.

1987 Lion Ed Mendic talks about the plans for the upcoming year.

November 19, 2007 we celebrated our 60th Annaversory

Lion-Stanton Councilman Al Ethans, Lion President Barbara Dotson, Stanton Mayor David Shawver, Lion-Stanton Vice Mayor David Cadena

Lions name John Doogan, name, Jon Casteel, David Hubbard, Barbara Dotson

Lion Official Chuck Overby discusses the importance of Lionism

David Cadena is initiated as a Lion Lion name, David Cadena, Lion Chuck Overby

Lion President Barbara Dotson, Lion David Parikh, and Lion Milt Blumenthal

International Association of Lions

The International Association of Lions Clubs began as the dream of Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. He believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their communities and the world at large.

Jones' group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed. After contacting similar groups around the United States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The new group took the name of one of the invited groups, the "Association of Lions Clubs," and a national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics were approved.

Among the objects adopted in those early years was one that read, "No club shall hold out the financial betterment of its members as its object." This call for unselfish service to others remains one of the association's main tenets.

Just three years after its formation, the association became international when the first club in Canada was established in 1920. Major international expansion continued as clubs were established, particularly throughout Europe, Asia and Africa during the 1950s and '60s.

In 1925, Helen Keller addressed the Lions international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, USA. She challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." From this time, Lions clubs have been actively involved in service to the blind and visually impaired.

Broadening its international role, Lions Clubs International helped the United Nations form the Non-Governmental Organizations sections in 1945 and continues to hold consultative status with the U.N.

In 1990, Lions launched its most aggressive sight preservation effort, SightFirst. The US$143.5 million program strives to rid the world of preventable and reversible blindness by supporting desperately needed health care services.

In addition to sight programs, Lions Clubs International is committed to providing services for youth. Lions clubs also work to improve the environment, build homes for the disabled, support diabetes education, conduct hearing programs and, through their foundation, provide disaster relief around the world.

Lions Clubs International has grown to include 1.4 million men and women in 44,600 clubs located in 190 countries and geographic areas.

View a multimedia presentation on The History of Lions Clubs International, which is part of the Lions Learning Center. Visit the Lions Learning Center for directions on viewing the presentation or to view more presentations.