Apalachin Lions Club's
50th Anniversary
Vince  Hawley
Chair Public Relations ALC

 This month, the Apalachin Lions will informally celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding. The club first met at the Little Brown jug in Apalachin and was chartered as a member of Lions International in March of 1956. A formal celebration of the club's founding will take place in April at the Owego Treadway  Inn.

 The Apalachin Lions have served thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations in the Apalachin, New York and Little Meadows, Pennsylvania service area. Service has included aid with eye care; hearing aids; Christmas baskets; Back To School Program; reuniting a family which had been separated for over 30 years; help with food, clothing and shelter and just about every other problem that people have had to deal with over the years.

  In addition to helping individuals, the Lions have supported youth activities such as scouts and youth sports, the Apalachin Fire Department, a scholarship program, and the Waterman Center. The Lions  financed and ran the Special Olympics Program in Apalachin for more than 20 years,  sponsored the Senior Citizens Club, donated to the Apalachin Library, and aided numerous fund drives and appeals for help on the local, regional, national, and international level.

 The Lions have not only contributed money but they have also put in thousands of hours on projects such as building a park, maintaining skating  rinks, rebuilding a home in Elmira after a flood, cleaning up after several fires, cleaning up highways and building the pavilion in Muth Park. 

 The Apalachin Lions have played a major part in developing the Lions' district and state goals, contributing three District Governors, soon to be four,  sponsoring the Nichols Lions Club, developing and teaching numerous training seminars for district officers and providing major support for the Lions New York State Speech Camp in Spencer, New York. 

 The Apalachin area has seen many changes over the last fifty years but the need to offer a helping hand has remained constant. With the generous support of the community the Lions have made a difference and plan to continue to live up to the Lions motto "WE SERVE".