40 years of service

Their motto is "We Serve," and it's as simple as that.

The Carrington Lions Club has been an integral part of the community, doing important work for 40 years. Members celebrated the milestone at a special ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Chartered in 1983 with 28 members, the Carrington Lions Club currently has 46 active members. Within the past year alone, they've welcomed 14 new members.

At the Oct. 7 ceremony, charter member Gerald Paulson was recognized for 40 years of service to the local Lions Club. Charter member Robert Erickson is also an active member, although he was not present to be recognized.

District Governor Rick Stark presented Lions Jennifer Wede and Karla Michaelson with the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. This is the highest honor a Lion can receive.

For four decades now, Carrington has been enriched by the many projects and programs undertaken by the Carrington Lions Club. Straight from the pages of the Foster County Independent, here are some of the ways the Lions have served their community in just the past year.

● Sponsored a Tailgate Party at Cardinal Stadium the night of its dedication.

● Helped the Garden Club with the watering of the large flower pots lining Main Street for the months of June through August.

● Assisted with mobile food banks by Great Plains Food Truck in June and August.

● In August, they helped deliver Meals on Wheels for the Senior Center. They also worked at and co-sponsored the Community Picnic.

● Participated in The Market at City Park by handing out popcorn and promoting the Lions.

● Donated to the fireworks for the 4th of July, Youth Golf Camp, and Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention.

● Worked at Carrington Daily Bread and asked members to donate nonperishable food items at each monthly meeting for one year.

● Led bingo activities at Golden Acres Manor. The Lions covered the cost of prizes and held bingo twice a month for the residents of Golden Acres.

● Held the Carrington-New Rockford Annual Diabetes Walk on June 7 at their yearly picnic at the Carrington City Park.

● Hosted the annual Al Larson Memorial Golf Tournament at Crossroads Golf Course on June 9. Al Larson was one of the charter members of the Carrington Lions Club.

● Sponsored and coordinated a community blood drive on April 17.

● Presented two scholarships of $700 each to graduating seniors at CHS. Haley Wolsky received the Pat Roundy Memorial Scholarship and Allison Jarrett received the Al Larson Memorial Scholarship.

● Helped sell tickets and concessions at the East Region Girls' Dual Wrestling Tournament held Feb. 3 at Carrington High School.

● Hosted the local Peace Poster Contest in September. Last year's local winner, Mya Neis, was also named the District NE 5 winner at the State Lions Convention in Devils Lake.

● Volunteer at the Carrington Youth Center taking tickets and helping with concessions during the movies.

Members also clean ditches on Highway 281 south of Carrington twice per year, in addition to many other service projects throughout the year. Several Lions attended the State Lions Convention in Minot this past weekend, to network with fellow Lions from across the state.

Current officers of the Carrington Lions Club are Jennifer Wede, president; Heather Carr, 1st vice president; Danielle McClean, 2nd vice president; Karla Michaelson, membership chair; Tom Paintner, treasurer, Sharon Paintner, secretary; Illa Zink, Gerald Paulson and Mary Topp, directors; Jane Fredrickson, tail twister; and Charlotte Nelson, lion tamer.

Right now the local Lions are hosting the Haunted Fallout Shelter at the Carrington Armory. The festivities began last Friday and Saturday, and will continue on Oct. 27 and 28 from 7-11 p.m. For the kids who love Halloween but not the haunting, there's a special matinee with the lights on from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Admission to the matinee is $3.

Proceeds from the Haunted Fallout Shelter go to local charities. The money raised at the 2022 Haunted Fallout Shelter was donated to the following organizations: Carrington Fire Department, Healthy Communities Kids Experience, Carrington Youth Center and the Carrington Backpack program.

The Lions will also be involved with holiday events in the community, including Santa Day at the Carrington Youth Center in December.

The Carrington Lions Club holds monthly meetings the first Wednesday of every month at the Chieftain beginning at 5:30 p.m., and community members are welcome to attend to learn more about serving their community as Lions.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members of approximately 46,000 clubs serving in more than 200 countries and geographical areas around the world.

Globally, Lions focus their impact on five key areas of need: diabetes, vision, hunger, environment and childhood cancer. Right now they are on a worldwide membership drive with a mission to reach 1.5 million active members. For more information about Lions Clubs International, go to http://www.lionsclubs.org.