By Ken Steadman / Sun contributor
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization. There are 1.3 million men and women members in 45,000 clubs located in 205 countries and geographic areas.
An international president is elected each year from these 45,000 clubs to work with a group of officers and international directors. The Lions were founded in 1917. Since that time, three presidents have been elected from the state of Tennessee, two of which are still living. Edward M. Lindsey served in 1966-67, and Austin P. Jennings held the position during the 1988-89 fiscal year.
In January of this year, the Tennessee Lions Charities (TLC) established the Lindsey-Jennings Fellow program to honor these two dedicated past presidents. Recognizing their lifetime of service at all levels of Lionism has been an inspiration to Lions around the world.
Each Lions Club in Tennessee is invited to make a financial contribution and select one of their members to be honored for humanitarian work each year. The first awards were presented in May 2009 to 25 charter members.
The Fairfield Glade Lions Club selected Roy Koskinen for his outstanding work on the KidsSite program. This program tests the eyes of children 12 months to 72 months old for possible eye difficulties. Catching problems at this early age that can be corrected will prevent permanent, lifelong situations. Roy is currently serving as state director of vision for the Lions Clubs in Tennessee.
In the future, each Lions Club in the state is encouraged to budget at least $1,000 annually to present one of their members with the Lindsey-Jennings Fellow award. This will help continue the reconnection of one member who has helped their club carryout humanitarian work in honor of these outstanding Past Presidents.
