The Canowindra Lions Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
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Since its launch the group has been faithfully serving Canowindra community, making it a better place to live work and grow.
The Club began with 18 charter members at its first meeting on June 27, 1966, having been sponsored by the Orange Lions Club.
The current Canowindra Lions Club President Daryl Fliedner said the club would be one of the few that still had founding members around while still attracting new members.
“I’d be very surprised if there were any other clubs that still had founding members around.”
“We’re a great little group and we’ve slowly picking some up, with four new members joining this year, but we are always on the look out for more, we’d especially like a few younger members.”
“They (younger people) are often in weekend sports, but the Lions can be just as fun and exciting to participate in, and we help subsidise their membership as we do for all members. We don’t won’t the club to be a financial burden on them,” he said.
Mr Fliedner said the Lions club was the only community services club left in the town.
“Having lost the Apex and Rotary clubs, we’re the only service club left in town now, whenever something needs to be done they come to us, we do whatever the town needs us to do.”
“We help run driver reviver, we help perform clearing sales, members volunteer at the food basket and meals on wheels, community driving and we visit the elderly at their homes and in the retirement villages.”
“We’re a wonderful little club,” he said.
Mr Fliedner said that currently catering was the clubs main fundraiser.
“We cater at the Balloon Glow, Light the Night walks, the Illawarra leisure motorcycle club, who have been coming for the past 20 years and usually bring about 60 to 100 riders, they’re a lovely group of people.”
“We always have a stall at the show on both the Saturday and Sunday, we have an air castle as well that we use.”
Mr Fliedner said that the club had always involved themselves in the community with their fundraising going to local causes including supporting other Lions clubs.
“Our fundraising money always gets donated back into the community to local charities first and then if anything is left to world charities.”
“We’ve given $6000 dollars to the hospital for a mobility chair to help out the nurses, again this year we’ll be getting involved in Camp Quality Tractor Trek which always come through town.”
“We have also sponsored other Lions clubs in our 50 years, Manildra in 1972, Eugowra Lions in 1980 and Cudal/Cargo Lions in 1985.