District Governor visits Smoky Lake Lions Club

By Irene van der Kloet

Every month, the Smoky Lake Lions Club holds a club meeting. This month, the meeting was attended by District Governor Suzanne Leshchyshyn and her husband, Dave.  Suzanne spoke about the work of Lions clubs in her district, which stretches from Red Deer to the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife) and up to the east and west provincial borders, with some clubs in northwest B.C. also being part of her district. She plans on visiting all clubs in her year as District Governor, which means 89 visits in a year. Lions International holds conferences throughout the year across the world. Suzanne emphasized the importance of attending a conference – one coming up in Camrose on January 27 – 28, for networking and learning. There is so much to learn in the world of Lions, and there is even a Lions University where one can earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree, or even a doctorate, in Lionism. Smoky Lake Lions Club has had seven new members in the past year, and whereas some of these members have already been inducted, other, more recent members have not. In front of their club, the new members, Galia Alexander and Christopher Wolanski, pledged allegiance to the Lions Club and Lionism (a term for the spirit of serving communities). Three other members, Larry Saunders, Ben Evans and Maggie McGill, could not attend this event and will be inducted later. The induction is a festive event and an important moment for the member, who can now call themselves a Lion. “Lion” does not only refer to the wild animal with the beautiful mane; it is an acronym for Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety. Lions serve these values. Suzanne then awarded eight Lions with long-term membership recognitions: Gerald Babichuk, Clarke Pickett, Delmor Huchulak, Dave and Kathleen Dalby, Brenda Dalby-Adamson, Lorrie Verspeelt, and Steve Zarusky. Dave Leshchyshyn’s turn was to inform the club about developments in the guide dogs field, in which he is closely involved. He spoke about the challenges facing dog trainers and the dogs themselves and how each dog needs to be trained for a specific purpose. The most well-known guide dogs are probably those that guide vision-impaired people, but some dogs warn their owners of an epileptic episode or support a person with autism. It takes time, patience and much money and care to get these dogs to the point where they can function. Then, not every dog matches every person, so sometimes it takes time for a person to find the dog that matches their personality. The Smoky Lake Lions Club is growing and is inviting new members to join the club and support the community. Anyone interested in joining the Smoky Lake Lions can contact the President, Dennis Jonker, at 780-777-2709 or go to Pappy’s.