By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
The Crestline Lions Club held its installation of officers at the San Bernardino Elks Lodge on Perris Hill. The view from that hilltop location is spectacular; from there the view of the mountaintop gives the club members a different perspective on where their Crestline service projects are benefiting. The Lions motto is “We Serve.”
The club is very actively involved in the community, supporting many local and international projects. Last week, the Lions members were at the Mountain Health & Resource Fair in Valley of Enchantment, giving diabetes screenings and eye exams. Lions International’s focus is on eye care, vision screening and collecting eyeglasses for distribution to those, internationally, who need them. The club also provides eye exams and glasses for those in need. They also support the Friends in Sight program, Kids Sight, Lighthouse for the Blind, Guide Dogs of the Desert and Canine Companions and the Ronald McDonald House, where their pull tab collection netted over 20,000 tabs this last year, which go toward creating syringes.
New Crestline Lion President Dann Lahr with outgoing Lion President Catherine Johnson.
During the installation, Dann Lahr was installed as the first male Crestline Lions president since it was re-established four years ago. The original Crestline Lions Club was established in 1939 and the Lioness Club was in existence for over 40 years before it was transformed back into this new Lions Club.
Catherine Johnson, who just completed her second non-consecutive term as president for this club, presented Courtney Hebert with an Award of Merit for her willingness to step up and do the hard stuff, such as moving and donating firewood each year for their raffle. Kathy Ogaz was honored with the Lion of the Year award and a lovely pin. Many other members were thanked for their dedication and for supporting the many Lions projects this last year.
There were many high-ranking Lions district officers attending, which demonstrates the off-the-mountain Lions Clubs in the district are supportive and recognize the significant difference the Crestline Lions Club is making in the mountain communities. Attending were Diana Havey, Zone chair for North Citrus and City of Hope Representative, Steven Gwinn, Kathy McCracken, Global Service coordinator and Diana Rios, Southern California Citrus Zone chair.
Vice District Governor Stephanie Gwinn inducted a new member, Erik Mesropian, into the Crestline Lions Club. He was sponsored by new Crestline Lion’s Club president Dann Lahr. Mesropian sells specialized carbon fiber bicycle frames and has lived in Crestline for 13 years. He was honored to be inducted during the installation ceremony.
The new officers for the Crestline Lions Club, who held their installation at the Elks Lodge on Perris Hill in San Bernardino.
New officers are: President Dann Lahr; 1st Vice President Patti Barry, Secretary Kathy Ogaz, Treasurer Bonnie Hawes, Lion Tamer Raymond Johnson, Tail Twister Diana Spencer, Bulletin Editor Phillip Conway, LCIF Chair Catherine Johnson and members of the board of directors Tom Parker, Patricia Belisle and Barbara Rhodes.
Some of the local projects that Lions is involved with include the monthly Crestline Corks & Hops, where they give out pretzel necklaces and water; Jamboree Days, collecting the donations for the fireworks; and Rebuilding Together Mountain Communities.
They also conduct various food giveaways and support the Crestline Food Bank, the Mountain Communities Boys & Girls Club, City of Hope, Crest Forest Seniors, Mountain Meals on Wheels, Rim of the World Scholarship Fund, Mountain Pregnancy Center, Camp Paivika and the Mountain History Museum.
The Crestline Lions Club meets at Leisure Shores at 24658 San Moritz Drive in Crestline on the fourth Tuesday of each month. They invite all who are interested in joining with them to visit one of their meetings. Call President Dann at (254) 498-2086 to learn more about the goals of the Crestline Lions Club, to RSVP for dinner and for directions on coming to a meeting.
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