The Gore Bay-Western Manitoulin Lions Club will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its incorporation

GORE BAY—The Gore Bay-Western Manitoulin Lions Club will celebrate its 40th anniversary in October.

“The roots of the Lions Club go back to the fall of 1981,” said Lion Norm Morrell. “Paul Schutz, who had worked for Manitoulin Transport and had been a former Lion, past Lion president and regional president of the Durham Lions, had the original idea of ​​having a Lions Club in Gore Bay. Jim Murphy, who was a member of the Waters Club in Sudbury, and Paul had known each other through Manitoulin Transport. They agreed that the town of Gore Bay needed a Lions Club.

“As such, a public meeting was held at Charles C. McLean Public School for anyone interested in joining the club,” Morrell continued. “There were a large number of people who showed up for the meeting.”

Mr. Morrell continued: “Jim (Murphy) was our guiding lion and attended our monthly dinners and business meetings for a year. Sadly, Jim passed away two years ago.

“Our club’s grand opening was in May 1982 when we officially received our charter,” Mr. Morrell said. “We had 29 to 30 people join the club. And the inauguration ceremonies took place in the Gore Bay arena.

“Over the years, we have done many projects to benefit the community, solely through our Lions Club, as well as partnering with the Gore Bay Rotary Club on several projects to support the Manitoulin Health Center as well as Gore Bay Medical Center. years,” Mr. Morrell continued.

“We have also supported the local hockey association, summer programs like Strawberry Point Camp, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind Dog Program and the INCA Eye Van for several years,” said Mr. Morell. “We have also helped many families with specific needs, such as those with medical issues over the years. We also ran the Christmas basket program for a number of years. It’s safe to say that we’ve helped support projects, some with other service clubs, across Canada and around the world.

Mr Morrell cautioned: “Like many clubs and service organisations, we are currently at a crossroads to keep our membership numbers high. Recruiting more members will be one of the things we will focus on in the future.

“We will be celebrating our 40th anniversary as a club at the GG restaurant in Evansville on Saturday October 1 with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and gathering and mixing from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. We will have leaders from our district area and hopefully members of local and island Lions Clubs and other service clubs as well as members of the public will attend,” said Morrell. He pointed out, “We are limited to a maximum of 80 people for the anniversary dinner. We ask those interested to register before September 23rd. This can be done by mailing checks, payable to Lions Club of Gore Bay Western Manitoulin, Box 217, Gore Bay, Ontario, POP IHO or by depositing checks to Tom Sasvari at The Manitoulin Expositor offices in Gore Bay or Little Current.

For more information, you can call Norm Morrell at 705-282-2430.