LIONS roared long and proud at Moree Services Club on Saturday afternoon as Moree Lions Club celebrated 70 years’ active service to the town and district.
Local Lions icon Barrie Brooks, 86, held back tears when district governor Yvie Kearns proudly awarded him a certificate of appreciation for 54 years’ involvement with the Moree club.
Mr Brooks, a retired motor mechanic, joined Moree Lions in 1970 and is a four-times Moree club president and twice district convention chair.
He has been zone chairman six times and Moree Golden Grain Festival chair three times.
“I’m still a financial member and try to get to as many Lions’ dinners and meetings as I can. Being awarded this is an absolute honour,” he smiled.
Moree Lions Club was officially formed in 1954 and chartered the following year on November 11.
Many former Moree Lions’ members returned home to join current members and special quests, including district governor Yvie Kearns and her husband Kel, zone chairman Bob Percival from Narrabri, district chairman Vince Haire, also from Narrabri, and district vice-captain elect Narelle Peters.
Moree Plains Shire Council deputy mayor Wayne Tighe and Moree Services Club board president Garry Maidens and his wife, Donna, were greeted by current Moree Lions Club president, Brett Farlow and Lions secretary, Pauline Gugala.
Mr Tighe said 70th birthday celebrations were well-deserved for an organisation that has raised millions of dollars over seven decades for communities across Moree’s black-soil plains.
“Today is not just a celebration of years that have passed, but a reflection of the incredible impact Moree Lions Club has made on our community,” Cr Tighe said.
“In 1954 – 70 years ago – a small group of dedicated inndividuals came together with a shared vision of service, compassion and of making a difference.
“From those early days, the Lions Club in Moree has grown to become a pillar of our community, embodying the core values of integrity, kindness and a commitment to help others,” he said.
Special awards for extended service to Lions Clubs across the zone went to David and Jill Emanuel from Tamworth for 20 years’ service, Bob Percival from Narrabri (45 years) and Gerard Cross from Hallidays Point (55 years).
Lee Roger from Kootingal Lions Club received an award for excellence and Moree’s own Barrie Brooks was recognised for his ongoing service to Moree Lions.
Guests were entertained by the Moree Ukelele Group and members of the Moree Xavier Drama Group, led by tutor Nora Carrigan.
Grace and Matilda Harvey, Issie Goodworth, Ned Dawson and Lachlan Bowhay expertly delivered poetry and prose from the pages of Mary Gilmour, Marco Gliori, Robert Louis Stevenson, Banjo Paterson and EB White.
Moree Lions Club president, Brett Farlow, said his journey to Lionism began more than 20 years ago.
“In the years following induction I was invited to join the club board as bulletin editor and in subsequent years positions on the board and various stints as club secretary,” Mr Farlow said.
“Many members have come and gone, and some are still here. There has been many constants in the service we provide to the community – barbecues being the mainstay.”
But while every Lions Club in every corner of the world is known for flipping steaks on a barbecue at community events, the money raised and distributed back to communities is incalculable.
In Moree alone, millions of dollars have found its way back to the local community in various ways.
Cash injections to local organisations across seven decades runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars but a monetary value cannot be put on the civil projects and man hours undertaken by Lions members during that time
Zone chairman Bob Percival congratulated Moree Lions for 70 continuous years of fundraising and community service.
“It’s great to be here to celebrate with Moree Lions Club, and also many thanks to the people who travelled to Moree and Zone 12 to join us in these celebrations,” Mr Percival said.
“This celebration is something very special, and there’s certainly been a lot of effort put in to make it happen.
“I was in second grade at Nundle Central School in 1954 when the Moree club was formed, but I’ve been to Moree plenty of times since joining Lions at Narrabri in 1980,” he smiled.
