The International Association of Lions Clubs
began as the dream of Chicago businessman Melvin Jones. He
believed that local business clubs should expand their horizons
from purely professional concerns to the betterment of their
communities and the world at large.
Jones' group, the Business Circle of Chicago,
agreed. After contacting similar groups around the United
States, an organizational meeting was held on June 7, 1917 in
Chicago, Illinois, USA. The new group took the name of one of
the invited groups, the "Association of Lions Clubs," and a
national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, USA in October of
that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics
were approved.
Among the objects adopted in those early years
was one that read, "No club shall hold out the financial
betterment of its members as its object." This call for
unselfish service to others remains one of the association's
main tenets.
Just three years after its formation, the
association became international when the first club in Canada
was established in 1920. Major international expansion continued
as clubs were established, particularly throughout Europe, Asia
and Africa during the 1950s and 1960s.
Interested in finding out more? - then contact our
membership officer Lion Fred Broom (MJF)
Tel: 01460 72305
Crewkerne
Lions Club