Spann named Lion of the Year

Lions Club secretary Rudy Spann was presented with the Lion-of-the-Year award for his service. Spann took over the secretary's duties after the previous secretary abandoned the job leaving the clubs records and finances in disarray. Spann cleaned up the mess and brought the clubs records up-to-date in short order. In addition Spann has been a valuable addition to events such as Pancake Day and working the concession stand at the Youth Rodeo. From left: Outgoing president Monte Curtis, secretary Rudy Spann, former Lion-of-the-year Mike Brown and incoming president Cindy Johnson.

February 20, 1924, is a date that Nevada Lions Club members are very proud of. It is on that date that the Nevada Lions Club was organized.

The original Nevada club had a diverse group of men with backgrounds in education, banking, and retail markets predominating. The current group of people in the Nevada club also have varied backgrounds.

Tuesday the club held its annual meeting at the Moore-Few Community Room and several distinguished guests joined them. The former director of the International Lions Clubs, Leland Kolkmeyer and district governor Tom Rayfield were among them. Kolkmeyer presented outgoing president, Monte Curtis with a patch honoring the 85 years the club has been in existence.

Rayfield swore in the incoming officers for the club and charged them with carrying out their duties faithfully.

In the 85 years since its founding the club has seen many changes.

The Nevada Lions Club was one of the first clubs to welcome women into membership once the International organization admitted women in the 1980's. The membership of the local club is now fully integrated with women serving in leadership roles. The members of the Nevada Lions Club are an integral part of our community, often participating in other organizations that serve the community in many ways. The motto of the Lions clubs, We Serve, exemplifies the many ways members help better their communities, nations and the world at large. The Nevada club participates in the many international efforts undertaken by the parent organization as well as many purely local ones.

Recent local projects include funding the Laser Eye Treatment Center at NRMC, the Lions Scholarship at Nevada R-5 schools, nursing home Christmas gifts, Children's Miracle Network, United Way, Vernon County Fair Board, Nevada Little League and Missouri Boys State.

One of the main priorities of the Nevada Lions Club is pre-school screening for ambliopia, which is often referred to as "lazy eye" or blurred vision and can hinder the learning ability of a child and can even cause blindness in an eye. The screening is offered free of charge to all children ages 6 months to 6 years old. Once the screening is completed the pictures are sent to The Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation for evaluation.