SPRINGHILL - There's a lot of excitement in the air as the Parrsboro Lions Club mentors a new pride here in Springhill.
Tonight will become the charter night for a reinvigorated Springhill's Lions Club. Those in attendance and who pay their charter-dues will have their names recorded on the Springhill Lions Club Charter, which many are hoping, will stand the test of time.
"This is really exciting," Parrsboro King Lion Frank Hartman. "We had a large attendance for starting a club and being part of creating a charter is a really big deal."
It's not every day someone gets to say they helped create a new service club in a community, Hartman says, and charter members receive a unique pin easily recognized by other Lions Club members that identifies they were there in the beginning.
Noting a high attendance of young adults as well as new residents to the community, Springhill Mayor Allen Dill lauded the grassroots beginnings of the new club.
"When new people came to the community they realized we didn't have a service club to look to and had to travel to Amherst, Oxford and Parrsboro to become part of one," Dill said. "Evidently people sensed the loss and are bringing back something to the community that will continue to give to the community. The opportunities are unlimited to this community when we have citizens who want to make our community a community of choice."
Entrenched in making sure tonight's meeting goes without a hitch and that the club starts with a healthy membership, Springhill's Drew and Wendy Fraser have been working with Hartman to make sure all the bases are covered, taking names of prospective members and observing the Lions bylaws and procedures. The Lions Club, Drew says, can become a vehicle for restoring the community's legacy as well as creating fun opportunities.
"Being from Springhill and knowing the history of loss and the disasters...I see a partnership in helping restore the old Lam Cabin and I'd like to see a few new playgrounds in neighbourhoods that could use it."
"Once you get a Lions Club started you want to get everyone involved and partnerships are so important," Hartman said.
The charter for the Springhill Lions Club will be forged tonight - Thursday, Sept. 1 - at the Springhill Fire Department at 7 p.m. Becoming a charter member requires a cheque or money order of $30 payable to Lion Club International.
