Fund Raising

Little has been said about how the club raised all this money. Fund raising methods have been as ingenious as they have been varied. The best known was the Lions Fair and Jamboree that started with the July 1 celebrations in 1939. Midway companies brought in the rides and Lions and their wives ran the booths which included hot dog stands, games of chance, crown and anchor, fish pond, and cake booth. For three warm summer nights kids and townsfolk flocked to the annual fair. Times change and after nearly 35 years, escalating prices finally overtook this major and best known fund raiser. As previously mentioned, the Minstrel Shows were very successful and later the club held the Big Bash, a gala evening featuring fine cuisine, big band dancing, and low returns for everyone except the caterer and the band.

Other fund raising projects over the years included donkey baseball, 120 club, the sale of light bulbs, peanuts, fruit cake and maple syrup. Two long-standing projects spanning many years are the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup draws. We must tip our hat to former Lion "Spindle Byers" and his network of ticket sellers who for many years would sell upwards of 1/3 to 1/2 of the tickets. In recent years we have found our best fund raiser to be the annual steak barbecue held at Lion Ed and Bruce Clark’s marina, as well as the annual Lions Golf Tournament. Some members don’t swing a golf club any better than they did the bat at donkey baseball. But when we can raise money by having some fun at the same time as working hard - we’ve hit on the winning formula that keeps Lionism healthy in our community. Recent fund raising efforts include bingos, and selling Nevada tickets.