Marlene at her home in Yass. As president of Yass Lions she is looking to take the club to a new level.
Yass Lions will target the community’s younger generation in an effort to increase member numbers and bolster the club’s profile this year.
The local Lions club was founded in 1959 and the first president was Ray Boyd. Today Marlene Wilson has the top job and she has some big plans for her beloved club.
“We just want to get out and about more,” she told the Tribune earlier this week.
“Traditionally we haven’t been hugely active but we will be running various projects and holding raffles that we hope will change that.”
Marlene said where Lions have fallen short in the past is their ability to tap into the younger generation. She said the club needed to become more proactive if it was to lure in some younger members.
“We have traditionally been a club with older members. We want to change and include all ages, because new members mean newer ideas, which will help us move forward.”
Marlene said that there were numerous events scheduled for Lions that may be able to raise the club’s profile among younger members of the Yass community.
Some of these include a literary project that “proved very successful last year”, awards evenings, which includes the Youth of the Year accolade, the end of year ham wheel, grocery grabs, raffles and various other fundraisers.
According to Marlene the club will also make their presence felt by pounding the footpath, hosting sausage sizzles and filling donation buckets.
There is also the possibility of a Leo Club being set up, which are popular around Australia. They are linked with Lions but are made up of only young members.
“They have worked in many places around Australia. At the moment it hasn’t worked in Yass, we are a very sport-orientated community, but I think it is a possibility in the future,” she said.
Yass Lions are also set to host a special dinner on November 1 as Peter ‘Muddy’ Wates will be passing through town on his journey from Sydney to Melbourne on a wheelchair scooter.
It is a 12-day trip for Mr Wates, who suffers from cerebral palsy, who is making the journey to raise money for Variety (the children’s charity) and the Lions Children’s Mobility Foundation.
Yass Lions meet at the Soldiers Club for dinner on the first and third Thursday of every month from 7pm.
“We are always, always looking for new members. Only good things can come from having more and more people involved,” Marlene said.
Call Marlene on 6226 3467 to become involved in this great local service club or to find out more information.
