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12828 Canal Rd,
Sterling Heights, MI 48313 - 586-254-9433
- Come Learn More About the Lions Club
- Meetings Are Held 2nd and 4th Wednesday 6:30 PM
Most Lions join our association for the opportunity to serve and use their time and talents to help those who are less fortunate. This has been the principal focus of Lionism since Melvin Jones stepped forward to establish the organization in 1917. Few Lions join to foster and achieve personal recognition.
Lions at all levels do recognize that some of the members go far and beyond what is expected from the average member. They become outstanding leaders and high achievers for our organization. Even though they do not seek recognition, it is fitting that outstanding Lions are recognized by their peers from the local Lions Club level all the way up to international level.
Many Lions have no idea what some forms of recognition mean or just how rare and important some are. This guide will help Lions understand the concept of fellowships, awards and other forms of special recognition bestowed on our members for outstanding effort and service.
Some districts award a district “Lion of the Year.” Many also give various fellowships to honor Lions who have provided outstanding service at the district level. Districts also nominate members for intemational awards which may be presented at the district convention.
Additionally, some Lions Clubs honor a member annually with a club “Lion of the Year”. Recognition plaques and pins are frequently given to club officers and to outstanding committee and project leaders.
A fellowship in Lionism is a form of recognition where a sum of money is given to a Lions charity or organization, typically in honor of a particular Lions member. The donated funds are intended to continue the work of Lionism to which the honoree is committed to furthering.
The International President is restricted to a maximum of 35 awards annually at this level. Lions may receive it only once. It is most often awarded to International Directors when they are at the end of their term. Many recipients are Melvin Jones Fellows at progressive levels of 10-25 or more.
This recognition is usually initiated by the District Governor with a recommendation to the International Director. It occurs when the International Director is a guest speaker at the district’s convention.
The International Director will then recommend candidates to the International President. Normally each district has 2-3 awards at this level each year. With 747 districts in the world, the annual total for this award is in the 2000 – 2500 range.
Past International Director Sheehan served 2 terms as District Governor prior to being elected to the International Director’s post. He worked in Public Relations for the Boy Scouts Council of Michigan Upper Peninsula. Lion Ralph, in addition, served as the President of the Community Chest, President of the Michigan War Finance Committee, and President of the United War Funds of Marquette. PID Sheehan served in a host of other community organizations.
Single District 10 selects one Lion per year to receive the Ralph M. Sheehan Award. Lion Ralph was the first International Director elected from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He served from 1944-45 and he was from Marquette, Michigan.
The Melvin Jones Fellowship is named in honor of our founder. It is the highest honor from the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF). A minimum donation of $1,000 is required to name a Melvin Jones Fellow. Those that have been named more than once are known as Progressive Melvin Jones Fellows. Lions’ clubs and Lions’ districts often recognize outstanding members with the Melvin Jones Fellowship. The recipient does not have to be a Lion member.
The S. A. Dodge Award is the highest award given by Multiple District 11 (Michigan’s Lower Peninsula). Only two awards are given each year.
S.A. Dodge was elected International President at the 36th Annual Convention in July 1953, serving as Michigan’s third President of Lions Clubs International. As President of LCI, he traveled extensively, visiting Lions Clubs on all continents of the World. He was decorated by several foreign governments and later was named Ambassador of Good Will.
President Dodge became a member of the North West Detroit Lions Club in 1926, a few weeks after it had been chartered. He was President, Zone Chairman was elected Deputy District Governor. He then was chosen as District Governor. During his tenure, he won the 100% Governor’s Award which was at the time when all of Michigan was one District. He was one of the Founders of Leader Dogs for the Blind and one of the first Chairmen of the newly-created State White Cane Committee.
Honorees receive a hardwood plaque and lapel pin. Progressive honorees receive a
certificate and progressive lapel pin.
John S. Noel was a charter member of the Grand Rapids Lions Club in 1919, and he was Michigan’s 1st President of Lions Clubs International in 1923-24. John helped establish much of the structure and many of the policies that we now enjoy as Lions.
KIDsight Fund Honorees receive a certificate, medal and lapel pin. Progressive honorees receive a certificate and progressive lapel pin.
Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880, Helen Keller developed a fever at 18 months of age that left her blind and deaf. With the help of an exceptional teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan of the Perkins School for the Blind, Helen Keller learned sign language ELLOW
and braille. A few years later, she learned to speak.
As an adult she became a tireless advocate for people with disabilities. And in 1925, she attended the Lions Clubs International Convention and challenged Lions to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against
darkness.” The Lions accepted her challenge, and our work, ever since, has included sight programs aimed at preventable blindness.
Honorees receive an acrylic plaque and lapel pin. Progressive honorees receive a certificate and progressive lapel pin.
Ken E. Lautzenheiser served Lions for over 45 years, and he was a charter member of the Inter-lakes Lions Club. Ken was elected to the Board of Lions Clubs International in 1985, and he has served Lions in almost every capacity.
Ken was instrumental in organizing the Lions of Michigan Foundation in the early 1980’s.
He believed there was a definite need in Michigan for an organization that could address the medical needs of individuals that had no insurance and nowhere else to turn. Ken knew that if Lions Clubs combined resources for a mutual cause, Lions could have a greater impact on their communities and do more to help people in need.
The A. Charles Weir Sight Conservation Fellowship is a recognition opportunity for those who donate $500 or more in one fiscal year to Eversight Michigan or for people for whom a donation was made by others. Sight Conservation Fellows receive an attractive silver lapel pin, certificate and a congratulatory letter.
Sight Conservation Fellows who make additional $500 donations to Eversight Michigan, or in whose name $500 donations are made, become part of the Sight Conservation Progressive program. Progressive Fellows are awarded a new lapel pin and congratulatory letter for each subsequent donation. The first lapel pin is a 1-stone gold pin, and for each $500 donation thereafter, another stone is added.
In recognition of humanitarian work, a William “Doc” Barr Knights for Vision Fellowship is awarded to those who donate $1,000 or more in one fiscal year to Eversight Michigan or for people for whom a donation was made by others.
Vision Fellows receive an attractive gold lapel pin, certificate, and a congratulatory letter. Knights for Vision Fellows who make additional $1,000 donations to Eversight Michigan, or in whose name $1,000 donations are made, become part of the Knights for Vision Progressive program. Progressive Fellows are awarded a new lapel pin and congratulatory letter for each subsequent donation.
The first lapel pin is a 1-stone platinum pin, and for each $1,000 donation thereafter, another stone is added to the pin.
The Lions of Michigan Foundation officially opened the Lions of Michigan Hall of Fame on July 29, 2009. It was created to celebrate the rich history of Michigan Lions at the local, state, district, and international levels. The first 18 inductees included our Past International Presidents and Past International Directors from Michigan.
Nominations for the Hall of Fame are accepted annually, no later than March 1. Nominations may be initiated by an individual, a club, or a district; however, all nominations must have the endorsement of the District Cabinet of the district where the nomination was initiated. Nominees not selected for induction will be reconsidered the following year upon submission of a written request from the seated District Governor of the original nominating district.
I am the emblem of the world’s largest service organization, worn or displayed by more men, women, and children than any other emblem of its kind. I represent service to mankind. You see me looking to the past and the future—thus, the two faces on the emblem.
I look to the past with pride in what Lions have done to improve the quality of life in our communities, and I look to the future to see all those in need that Lions can and must help.
By wearing or displaying me, I give people a sense of pride for the work they do for their fellow man, expecting nothing in return, in the name of Lions. I also give Lions members a sense of purpose, for it was Helen Keller who charged the Lions to be “Knights of the Blind.” However, Lions are not limited to working only with the blind. Lions build hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and residences for the blind. They provide eye and hearing care, support research for vision problems, and help develop youth programs, including those addressing drug abuse. Lions take time out of their busy lives to travel to foreign lands, providing medical and vision care to the less fortunate—all in the name of Lions.
So, what do these men, women, and children get for all these efforts? Little recognition, but a sense of accomplishment that cannot be purchased anywhere.
What do I, the emblem of this great organization, provide our members? I identify the time and place where a club meets. I serve as a passport to friendship and a sense of purpose. I offer a respite from a long, weary week for a traveling Lion. I am the universal sign of “friend” in the world of Lions.
Because of the activities Lions engage in, I lend credibility to those who wear me. When I am seen on a lapel, collar, blouse, car, or business window, people see someone who cares—someone who unselfishly gives their time and talent to help those in need. Lions are seen as a symbol of what is good in this world: people who care. As an organization, Lions live their motto: “WE SERVE!”
1st Edition: PDG Wayne Schultz – March 2012
2nd Edition: PDG Wayne Schultz – October 2012
3rd Edition: PDG Clem Ruiz – June 2017
