Ukiah Host Lions Club
Ukiah Lions Club has been serving the valley since 1926 when the local club was founded. I was invited to join in 1999 and with a bit of prompting from my Dad (a former Lion, himself) I became a member. The Lions have been in Ukiah for many decades and have made many contributions including building Anton Stadium and the North Ukiah Little League field. I remember the Pancake Breakfasts at the Band Review when I was young, and of course there's the football program. Lions Football was under Pop Warner at the time, coached by Brad Shear. In fact, Brad was President when I joined the club.
The Club has done more than community projects. Since 2000 alone the club has given well over $150,000 to local youth, sports, education and other charitable organizations.
Before I joined Lions, I gave some thought to other service clubs, but the decision was easy. In 1997 and 1998 I worked with the "Relay for Life" visiting all of the local service clubs for a presentation urging them to form a team for Relay. It gave me a couple chances to see every local group in action, from Kiwanis and Rotary to Elks and others. The Lions have fun and they enjoy themselves. There's a lot of time and effort involved in fundraising, work groups, concession stand and whatever else comes, and the guys do a great job while having a fun time. It is just a great group.
In 2005 I was able to return the favor for my Dad, convincing him to return to club after nearly two-decades.
The club has a website at UkiahLions.com.