Brecon Lions Club was chartered (officially formed) on May 7 1972 with 22 members.
A group of business men got together in the January of that year and were sponsored by Ammanford Lions Club (referred to as our ‘Mother club’). The first president was Mr Geoffrey Harding the owner of a local furniture and household goods store in High Street, Brecon.
Brecon Lions Club is associated with Lions Clubs International (official name is ‘The Association of Lions Clubs International.) Lions Clubs International was formed in 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Our founder was a man called Melvin Jones, an insurance broker working in Chicago. He thought that his Business Club should do more for the community. So it was that he wrote to business clubs all over the US with suggestion that clubs could help those less fortunate and received a spectacular response. Thus, Lions clubs were formed as an association. Lions went International when the first club outside of the US was formed in Canada. Lions Clubs came to Britain in 1950. How did that came about?
The Canadian Air Force was stationed in Britain during WWII with some airman being members of Lions Clubs back home in Canada.
Canadian Lions had been providing invaluable support for children orphaned in the Second World War. To thank them, the then Queen Elizabeth (our Queen’s mother) sent her equerry Colonel Edward Wyndham (later Lord Leconfield) to Canada to investigate Lions Clubs. He was so impressed that Windsor (Ontario) Lions Club agreed to sponsor the first London club, with Lord Leconfield as its founding charter president.
The club has since changed it name due to a merger with another London club and is now known as London Central Host Lions Club. There is also ‘The Palace of Westminster Lions Club’ with MPs from all parties as members.
There are Lions Clubs in over 210 countries around the world. Lions is the largest ‘service organisation’ in the world with over 1.4 million members worldwide. The United Nations was formed after WWII and Lions Clubs International were involved in the formation of its Charter. We as Lions celebrate United Nations Day.
Brecon Lions Club were unfortunate in that a lot of the older members were quarantined during the Covid pandemic.
For a normally active club we were somewhat cut down in what could be done. Fortunately, we are now back in full swing and started back with ‘The Over 70s Lunch’ which is a free meal with entertainment for people over 70 years of age. Over the last three years we have lost three stalwart long standing members. Dr A. ‘Sandy’ Cavenagh, W. ‘Bill’ Garnett and A.’Tony’ Bell.
The club is governed by the International Association of Lions Clubs Rules and Regulatons. We as a club provide ‘Service’ to the community.
This also includes a commitment to international help which is about 12 per cent of our local collections. The rest goes to local needs.
A Lion member pays ‘dues’ which amount to about £7.50/month to run the club and the organisation both nationally and internationally. We are a charity and any monies raised from the public go to charitable causes. We do not use any monies raised for expenses etc.
The club follows International association recommendations to assist the five Global causes which are diabetes, environment, hunger, vision and childhood cancer.
We support internationally by contribution funding to our Lions Clubs International Foundation.
We have recently donated to Ukraine via L.C.I.F. with £500 which has purchased medical supplies.
We are 50 years young on May 5 2022 and will celebrate with a dinner attended by the most senior Lion in Britain at the Castle of Brecon Hotel on May 7 2022.
If you are interested in joining Lions then you are most welcome to attend this dinner but numbers are reserved so enquire early. Cost is £27.50 per person.