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Scotts Valley Host Lions
History of Scotts Valley Host Lions
The SCOTTS VALLEY HOST LIONS CLUB was formed in 1969. It was sponsored by the EAST SANTA CRUZ LIONS CLUB. The Scotts Valley Host Lions Club began with 30 members. Today the membership averages about 50 members, making it one of the largest clubs in the 4-C6 district.
History of Lions Club International
In 1917, a Chicago insurance agent named Melvin Jones convinced his luncheon club, the Business Circle of Chicago, that it should ally itself with other independent clubs to form a national organization that would be dedicated not only to networking for business and social purposes, but to the improvement of the community as a whole.
Among the groups invited was the Association of Lions Clubs, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana and led by Dr. W.P. Woods. At the time of the meeting, June 7, there were several Lions clubs already in existence, some having been organized in 1916. They were an outgrowth of a now-defunct fraternal organization called the Royal Order of Lions.
The Business Circle and other clubs agreed to rally under the Lions name, and a convention was called for October in Dallas, Texas. Thirty-six delegates representing twenty-two clubs from nine states heeded the call, approved the "Lions Clubs" designation, and elected Woods as the first president. Guiding force and founder Jones was named acting secretary, thus beginning an association with Lions that ended only with his death in 1961.
The convention also began to define what the association was to become. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, the colors of purple and gold approved, and a start made on the Lions Club Objects and Code of Ethics.
Remarkably, considering the materialism of the era, both Objects and Ethics encouraged Lions to put service ahead of profit, and to uphold the highest standards of conduct in business and the professions.
Community leaders soon began to organize clubs throughout the United States. The association became "International" with the formation of a club in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1920. Clubs were later organized in Mexico, China and Cuba. By 1927, membership stood at 60,000 in 1,183 clubs.
In 1935, Panama became home to the first Central American club; the first club in South America was organized in Columbia the following year. Sweden, then France, brought Europe into the association in 1948. Japan had clubs by 1952, and the so-called "Eastern Bloc" was unblocked in 1989 with the formation of clubs in Hungary, Poland and Estonia. In 1990, a club was chartered in Moscow and today over 100 Lions Clubs are demonstrating the value of service in countries once closed to voluntary action.
Origin of our Organizational Name
The January 1931 issue of our international magazine, "The Lion" provided the following explanation for how the term "Lion" was chosen for what would become the world's largest service organization.
"Our name was not selected at random, neither was it a coined name. From time immemorial, the lion has been the symbol of all that was good, and because of the symbolism that name was chosen. Four outstanding qualities - Courage, Strength, Activity and Fidelity - had largely to do with the adoption of the name. The last mentioned of these qualities, Fidelity, has a deep and peculiar significance for all Lions. The lion symbol of Fidelity through the ages and among all nations, ancient and modern. It stands for loyalty to a friend, loyalty to a principal, loyalty to a duty, loyalty to a trust".
Contact Information
The Scotts Valley Host Lions meets Tuesday mornings at 7:00 am and at 6:30 pm on the second Tuesday of the month, at the Scotts Valley Senior Center, 370 Kings Village Road. We invite you to attend one of our meetings. Our meetings are open and Guests are welcome!
If you have any questions about our club, please contact our club at:
- Telephone
- 831-345-8766
- Postal address
- PO Box 66602
Scotts Valley, Ca 95067- Electronic mail
- General Information: scottsvalleylion@aol.com
Membership: scottsvalleylion@aol.com
Webmaster: SVLionsWeb@FatIguana.com
