Westminster Lions Club announces fall activities

The 2007-2008 Lions' year started with their first Sunday Breakfast on Sept. 16 at the Westminster VFW. The Lions Club holds these events on the third Sunday of every month from September through June. Breakfasts are served from 8 to 11 a.m.

The proceeds for these breakfasts go to local organizations. During the past year the Lions have held breakfasts for the Westminster Boy Scouts, Oakmont Youth Soccer, Westminster Youth Basketball, Oakmont Basketball, the Oakmont-Overlook Marching Band, Westminster Little League, and the Overlook SOAR program.

The breakfasts raised over $2,300 to help defray costs to these local programs. The club sometimes has open dates for breakfasts. If an organization would like to schedule a breakfast, please send a note to the club and the club will look for available dates. The address is: Westminster Lions Club; PO Box 618; Westminster, MA 01473.

In addition to the monthly breakfasts, the Westminster Lions sponsor several other events.

At the group's dinner meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 26, the Westminster Lions presented Joseph Camarda awards to Peter Yraola and Mike Dauphinais for their dedication and work over the past year. Nell Naidith was recognized for her work with the Lions' Sightmobile at this year's Neighbors Helping Neighbors event.

The award is given for outstanding work in a Lions Club. Joseph Carmada was a past District 33A governor and also the Lions International Director from 1982-1984.

This month, the Westminster and Ashburnham Lions are sponsoring the Peace Poster contest at Overlook Middle School. This year's theme is "Peace Around the World."

Sixth grade students attended an assembly about the annual contest, where students received contest directions and were able view examples of past winners to help them with their posters The contest will end in early November and winners will be chosen from the submitted entries.

Ashburnham and Westminster will each have a winner. Winners will then go on to the District 33A contest.

On Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m, Oakmont and Montachusett Vocational Regional Technical high school students who have been inducted into the National Honor Society will be invited to a banquet at Monty Tech hosted by the Lions.

Members of the club along with the culinary staff at Monty Tech will prepare and serve the dinner to the students and their parents. A highlight of the evening is the recognition of the members and their parents.

On Monday, Nov. 19, at 6:30 p.m., the Lions will hold their annual Co-captains' Banquet at the Westminster Village Inn to honor the captains of the Oakmont Spartan and Gardner Wildcat football teams before the traditional Thanksgiving Day game.

The head coaches for both schools will be present and the usual banter will take place after dinner. The meal gives the captains of each team an opportunity to get to know each other before they meet on the gridiron.

The Lions have hosted this banquet for over 30 years.

The Lions will hold their annual Christmas tree sale from late November until all the trees are sold. The tree sale has become a popular event that is anticipated by many town residents. Trees are sold on a lot that is adjacent to the Westminster VFW.

While the Westminster Lions support many local organizations throughout the year, they continue to support Lions International goals to prevent blindness and diabetes. Many of the fundraising events like the Christmas tree sale, the June auction, and the tent rental program help the group meet their commitment to Lions International.

- Submitted to the Journal