Founded in 1947, the Mill City group
meets twice a month on the second
and fourth Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. at
Mountain Edge Cafe on Hwy. 22 in Mill City.
The next meeting is May 8.
There are no meetings in July and August.
New members are always welcome.
For information, contact Sandy Lyness 503-551-2645;
Dan Lemke 503-897-3014 or Joe Uffelman 503-897-2324.
When it comes to giving back to their community, Mill City Lions Club members have taken it to a whole new level.
Some of the 14 members and their families will be spend a few hours on May 8 cleaning up Highway 22 between Gates and Mill City. In groups of two, they’ll put on their safety vests and team up with the highway department in the name of community beautification.
“It’s like a family gathering along the roadside,” treasurer Sandy Lyness said. “It’s really amazing how our members will bring their families to help.”
The clean-up efforts happen rain or shine, Lyness said, which may explain why this decade long tradition led the group to officially adopt the “Boener Award.”
No, it’s not a real bone – it’s a bone replica, attached to a wood plaque that’s awarded to the person who tops the year with the goofiest blunder.
The bone plaque was created by member Dan Lemke and was originally awarded to Harold Boener, who tumbled off the side of the road and through some blackberries during one of the early highway clean-up efforts.
Most recently, the award went to Marlee Clark for a minor ticket slip up. Last year, member Kathy Kindred held the title.
Recipients of the “Boener Award” are recognized at the club’s annual Sweetheart’s Dinner, said Lyness, a tradition with widespread respect for raising money for local causes. In reality, that’s what the Lions Club is all about, Lyness said.
“We really to want to keep everything we do in our community,” she said.
The Sweetheart’s Dinner last February raised more than $4,000 for student scholarships. The group has already committed another $500 to Santiam Elementary School’s new playground.
They work with national Lions Club groups to bring services to the Santiam Canyon. One of the programs brings the health screening van, which travels to communities to help low-income people get free vision and hearing tests. Vision health plays a big part in the history of the Lions Club.
“The vision program was inspired by Helen Keller, and we used to do these ‘eye runs,’” which is where members of the group pass a viable eye transplant – Pony Express-style – between volunteer Lions Club members in Bend, to the recipient in Portland.
At the time, it was the fastest way for them to help. Now, the funds they raise in the local club are added to the national group’s and these “eye runs” have been updated to a organization van with a dedicated goal of moving transplant organs.
“Every penny we raise from the public must go back to the public, according to rules of the organization,” said Dan Lemke, the program chair. They maintain zero overhead costs.
The group holds three annual fundraisers: 4th of July Breakfast, Sweetheart’s Dinner and the community calendars. More important even than the fundraisers are the people behind the scenes that keep the group strong. For 66 years, club volunteers have supported the community.
Community members, 18 and older, are invited to join the Mill City Lions Club to help support its mission. Their goal is to create and foster the spirit of understanding among all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international cooperation.
