Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club offers a chance to Serve
President Bob Adler and treasurer Lars Leland go over some new ideas.
MATTAWA - The Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club, which is about 25 members strong, is launching a campaign to attract new people who want to serve their community.
"We can always use new members, President Bob Adler said. "The community's needs are many, and it takes a lot of community-minded people to serve them."
The Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions was launched late in 1999 by 44 enthusiastic charter members. For various reasons, the membership has declined over the past 16 years. According to Adler, it's time to attract new blood.
The local Lions Club is part of Lions International, which standardizes the goals and administration of local clubs. Lions Club International has more than 46,000 clubs and more than 1.35 members in 200 countries.
Lions Club International was started by Melvin Jones in Oak Brook, Illinois in 1917. His goal was an organization that would serve community needs.
Jones' motto was: "You can't get very far until you start doing something for somebody else."
On a grand scale, Lions International's core programs include sight conservation and hearing and speech conservation. According to Adler, the Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions carry out these missions and serve several local needs as well.
Once a year, the Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club sponsors a visit to the community by the sight and hearing van. It has arranged for an electronic communication device for a Wahluke School District teacher and a student.
The local Lions are most visible on Easter weekend. They organize and run Easter egg hunts at the parks in Mattawa and Desert Aire at the same time on the same day.
The Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club may be best known for the Hot Desert Nights celebration every August in Desert Aire. A golf tournament, drag races, a classic car show, a dinner and a dance make for a lot fun. They also raise most of the funds the club uses for charitable work.
Another key fundraiser is the Lions Club Crab Feed, which is held at the Sagebrush Senior Center in Desert Aire. Because of space, it is limited to 100 tickets. This year's crab feed will be held on Saturday, March 21.
The Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club's local charitable work includes:
* Northwest Lions Foundation
* Scholarships for Wahluke High School graduates.
* The Mattawa Area Food Bank.
* Cozy Comforts of South Grant County.
* Grant County Fire District No. 8 Fire Fighters Association.
* Children's Wishes/Dreams.
* City of Mattawa park improvements.
* Desert Aire Association park improvements.
* Desert Aire Airport.
* Walk for Diabetes.
* Mattawa Community Days.
* Red Cross blood drive.
"Our club is looking for new members who are willing to serve our community," Adler said.
If you are inclined toward community service and wish to know more about membership in the Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club, you may call Adler at 439-0250, member Lars Larsen at 439-9422 or Treasurer Lars Leland at 831-5971.