I see a child wearing glasses and I know that the Lions probably detected this disability early and made the future of one more person more productive. I see an adult with a guide dog and I know that person’s life has been made more complete by the efforts of the Lions. I hear of children disappearing and I think how much easier recovery would be if everyone had the Kids Identification kit that the Lions around me are spreading. I see people with sight disabilities having whole worlds opened to them by the recorded books of a Lions sponsored organization. And I know that these are but a few of the good results of Lions support. There are more people and more organizations that are quietly creating lives out of the contributions of my fellow Lions but like the Lions, I shall not extend the extravagance of words to cover these acts here.

There is also a selfish reason for being a Lion. And that is because it offers a community of friends to me - friends who care not only for my acquaintance but also for the common goals of sight saving that are so important to me. These productive people who have decided that it is better to serve by action than to sit around and complain are a support and a community of role models that buck me up by their contributions when I need that encouragement. As I participate with them, I soon learn that when all is said and done by this word cliché, these are the people that have done more than they have said.

But in the end it is all very personal. It comes down to when the ophthalmologist who treats my wife says that she will need cornea transplants that I am thankful to be able to participate in the organization that will facilitate the supply of this tissue and that has promoted the research that has transformed this operation to a simple “out patient” event from a major surgical risk in just 30 years. Yes, it is this close-at-hand experience as well as the glow that I feel when I see complete strangers affected by the fund raising and the passage of knowledge that Lions do while wearing that simple gold and yellow pin of the Lions that answers the question of why I am proud to be a Lion.