Lions of Iowa State Office Building 2300 South Duff Avenue Ames, Iowa   50010

WELCOME!

The Clarion Hotel 1-877-949-2992 has extended the room reservation date until May 1st. After that date rooms will be at least $99 plus taxes and subject to availablility. Time is now to make reservatuions for the State Convention in Cedar Rapids May 30-June 1. Lion Peter Lynch, Executive Administrator of Lions clubs International will be our featured guest. Come join us for a great time in Cedar Rapids. Get more details in the "Iowa Lion".

Iowa is a part of a special initiative to start 100 Lions Clubs in the United States by June 20, 2008. Can you help? Contact SST/Fr Gary Fry at the State Office for details. 515-232-2215.

We just received a quote for a bus to the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum in Saskatoon for September 2008. The bus would leave from Altoona early on the morning of September 16th and go north on I-35. Pickup stops to be determined along the route. The cost would be $622/person for double occupancy, $576/person for a triple and $561/person for a quad. These prices include the transportation, 3 evening meals and 3 breakfasts plus the use of the bus in Saskatoon. We will return leaving early Sunday morning and return to Iowa Monday evening. If you are interested please contact PID Gary at the State Office.

The Agendas for the Council of Governors' meeting and the Iowa Lions Foundation meeting April 25th and 26th have been posted to this website.

Has your Club donated to the Iowa Lions Foundation? "Our" Foundation is the major way for us to help with projects that are beyond the abilities of our individula clubs. Our budget for this year is $283,500 and to date just about half has been raised. Money is raised from a number of sources but Club donations are a key part with $210,000 being budgeted this year from Clubs. to date only about $95,000 has been donated by less than half the Clubs in Iowa. You can quickly check to see the status of your Club by checking under the Foundation heading the donations by Club section. this section is updated at the beginning of each month and currently reflects donations received as of March 31, 2008. If you have any questions or need a presentation, please contact your District Trustee or the State Office. "Our" Foundation needs all of us to support its activities.

We have just received verification that MD9 Peace Poster winner, Natasha Chang, from Fairfield Middle School has been named a merit award winner in this year's contest. She was sponsored by the Fairfield Lions Club in District 9SE. Congratulations Natasha.

Membership Totals for 2007-2008, through March 31, show the following numbers; 9EC +8; 9MC -10; 9NC -38; 9NE -16; 9NW -48; 9SE -84; and 9SW +35.

Thank you for visiting the Lions Clubs of Iowa official web site. We hope you find these pages both interesting and informative. We will do our best to keep the information updated as much as possible.

If this is your first visit to our web site, there are links at the left of this page that will lead you to different areas of Lions involvement in the State of Iowa.

Also, if you are not currently a member of a Lions, Lioness, or Leo club in Iowa, please consider becoming a part of the world’s largest service organization. More information on being a member is under the “Membership” link at the left of this page.

Our Lion’s motto is “We Serve”.

CONDENSED HISTORY OF LIONS OF IOWA

Current designation for Lions Clubs of Iowa is Multiple District 9, or MD9. The original District 9 included Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Eastern Wisconsin.

The first Lions Club in Iowa was the Sioux City Host Club, organized June 6, 1918. The Des Moines Host Club was formed in 1920, and is the oldest continuous club in Iowa.

Lions State Conventions are held each year, and the first was in Cedar Rapids in 1921.

Also in 1921, William Westfall of Mason City was elected District Governor, and in 1926 Lion Westfall was elected Lions International President. He is the only President ever elected from Iowa.

In 1927, Iowa and Nebraska were split into two Districts.

In 1928, the Lions International Convention was held in Des Moines, Iowa.

1942 was the first Key Breakfast ever held.

A Leader Dog representative attended the State Convention for the first time in 1950, and the delegates adopted the program as one to donate money to.

Through the years, there have been several Lions who have served as Lions Clubs of Iowa State Secretary. Art White was selected as the first State Secretary in 1953, followed by Art Fogarty in 1958. In 1964, his replacement was Dean Moore, and Bernie Zinsli became State Secretary/Field Rep Extension in 1972. Lion Bernie traveled Iowa, Nebraska, and part of Illinois helping establish new Lions Clubs. 1982 brought PDG Dale Anderson to the Lions State office as Secretary, and in 1991 PDG Matteo Cardella became Secretary. PID Gary Fry became State Secretary/Field Representative in 2003. As with Lion Bernie, PID Gary is also involved in chartering new clubs in the State of Iowa, plus his duties as Secretary.

In 1954, the Iowa Lions Sight Conservation Foundation (ILSCF) was started in Des Moines. This is the fund and grant making arm of Lions Clubs of Iowa. In 1978, with hearing as a new project, the name was changed to Iowa Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation. In 1994 the name was shortened to “Iowa Lions Foundation”, the current title.

As part of Foundation services, a Mobile Screening unit for detecting Glaucoma was approved in 1963 and placed in service in the fall of 1965. Iowa Lions were pioneers in the nation for providing this type of service through Lions Clubs. In 2005, after 40 years of continuous service, this screening service was discontinued.

Another segment of the Iowa Lions Foundation is the Iowa Lions Eye Bank. Established in 1955, and a part of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa, the Eye Bank collects and disperses corneal tissue for corneal transplants and for research. The Iowa Lions Eye Bank became a charter member of the Eye Bank Association of America in 1962.

In 1994, Lions of Iowa were hosts to the USA/Canada Leadership Forum held in Des Moines.

“Coming to Your Senses”, a screening program to detect vision problems in youngsters age six months to four years, was established in 1999, and continues to be an excellent service. As of July 1, 2007, this screening operates under a new name, IOWA KIDSIGHT.

Redistricting from 9 Districts in the state to 7 took effect July 1, 2007. The new district designations are: 9NW, 9NC, 9NE, 9EC, 9SE, 9MC, and 9SW.

mission statement:

TO CREATE AND FOSTER a spirit of understanding among all people for humanitarian needs by providing voluntary services through community involvement and international cooperation.