Garwin Lions Club’s newest member, Derek Kienzle, right, pictured receiving his certificate of membership this past March from Lions member Matt Deam. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GARWIN LIONS CLUB

GARWIN – The Garwin Lions Club had a productive fiscal year (July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024). The club, which consists of 18 members, hosted five fundraisers, participated in five community projects and were able to disburse $3,100 in donations to the community and other organizations.

Fundraisers

To raise money for the projects and donations, the Lions hosted the following community activities:

*July 3, 2023 Breakfast, Community Center

*Nov. 4, 2023 Breakfast, DD Auction House

*Election Day Soup Supper, Yilek Grocery Store

*March 8 Fish Fry, Yilek Grocery Store

*March 22 Fish Fry, Yilek Grocery Store

All of the events were free-will offering and were well-attended by people from Garwin and surrounding communities. After expenses, the club raised $4,800 from these fundraising activities.

Activities

The Club participated in various community projects including the following activities.

*KidSight screenings (GMG, South Tama, Meskwaki Settlement): Coordinated by Mike Richardson, elementary students have their eyesight screened and reported to the Iowa Lions Kidsight program. Participation is voluntary and screening is intended to detect any eyesight problems which are then communicated to parents. Richardson and his crew were able to screen 79 students in the late fall and early winter.

*Sand volleyball court refurbishing: The Lions coordinated the sand donation, transportation and donated funds to assist in this project. Some Lions and lots of community members did the actual work to refurbish the court. This should provide another avenue of activity to community members.

*Tree planting in Garwin Park: The City of Garwin received a grant from Alliant Energy for trees to be planted in the city park. Lions Club members dug the holes, planted and staked the trees.

*Upgraded eyeglass / hearing collection boxes: New collection boxes were placed at the Garwin branch of Lincoln Savings Bank and the American Legion. Used eyeglasses and hearing aids can be dropped off at these locations during normal business hours.

*Upkeep of Garwin’s Welcome Signs: This is a yearly project which is chaired and organized by Ron Groth.

Donations

The Garwin Lions routinely donate money to various organizations, concentrating on local groups. The club donated a total of $3,100 to the following organizations:

*Garwin Fire Department Building Fund

*Iowa Lions Foundation

*Lions Club International Foundation

*Garwin Lions GMG HS Scholarship

*South Tama County Food Bank

*Camp Courageous – Monticello

*GMG After-Prom

*Camp Hertko Hollow (diabetes)

*Garwin Scout Troop 394

*American Legion Post 71

*Meeting presentations

Our members, our meetings

The club holds monthly meetings, striving to have a program during each meeting. These are coordinated by Kenny Mayo and have been very informative. The programs were:

*2024 Tama County Beef Queen Kaylynn Murty

*2024 Iowa Pork Queen Lilly Bru

*Jim Sandquist Farm tour

*Distinguished Iowa author Joe LeValley

*Conifer Power, Salt Creek Wind II project

*Garwin Mayor Matt Deam, city update

Current Garwin Lions Club members include Curt Bacon, Keith Barloon, Matt Deam, Abe Dieleman, Leland Frahm, Jaimie Gargas, Ron Groth, Jim Hlas, Matt Jackson, Willie Karsjen, Derek Kienzle, Alan Kouba, Kenny Mayo, Mark Polich, Mike Richardson, Jim Sandquist, Ron Smith, and Leroy Thomsen. In March of 2024, Kienzle became our newest member.

The Garwin Lions Club always welcomes new members; people interested in joining a group dedicated to serving the community, can attend one of the meetings and see what Garwin Lions is all about. Meetings held are the second Thursday of each month beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Garwin Community Center.