The Grantsville Lions Club held their 56th Anniversary Charter Night at Grace Community Church in Grantsville. The speaker was Second Vice District Governor Lenny Gares. Perfect attendance awards were presented and several yearly awards from Lions Clubs International were presented. New member, Jeremy Layman was officially inducted by First Vice District Governor Gerry Beachy. Membership in Lions is by invitation and Lion Jeremy’s sponsor was Lion Duane Stein, II.
The Grantsville Lions Club is part of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service organization having over 46,000 clubs and over 1.4 million members in over 200 countries around the world. Lions Clubs are unique, supporting sight programs, assisting the disabled, feeding the hungry and providing disaster relief assistance. Grantsville Lions have projects and activities in the community that include sponsoring a circus in May, coordinating the annual Grantsville Days celebration the last weekend in June and raising money through their chicken BBQ’s, kettle corn sales and car raffle ticket sales. All money raised is given back to the community in the form of scholarships for Northern High School graduates, eye examinations and glasses for the needy, and monetary support for many organizations including the Maryland Eye Bank (Keralink), Lions Camp Merrick diabetes camp, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Lions Vision Research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), and the Town of Grantsville for the Grantsville Park. LCIF gives grants to worthy Lion projects and provides disaster relief grants around the world. The Grantsville Lions were instrumental in developing the Grantsville Park by securing Project Open Space grants and providing volunteer help. The Park now has 2 ballfields, a basketball, tennis and volleyball court, 3 pavilions, 2 playgrounds and a recreational pond. Pavilions can be rented by contacting the Town of Grantsville at 301-895-3144.
The Grantsville Lions are a volunteer organization presently with 41 members meeting on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. Membership in the organization is by invitation. If you would like to join the club, contact club secretary, Gerry Beachy at gbeachy@comcast.net or by phone at 301-707-7200.
