Phelps Lions Club to celebrate 50th anniversary
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
By MIKE MASLANIK

Finger Lakes Times

PHELPS - Despite all the advances in medicine and technology over the last half-century, many people in the area and throughout the world could still use a helping hand.

"It's just amazing, all the things that have happened, [and] in the end the Lions Club has still stayed strong to help people," said Dan Moracco, president of the Lions Club in Phelps. "We've gone from black-and-white TV sets to the Internet, but no matter how far we advance there will always be people in need of assistance."

The local chapter will celebrate 50 years of service to the community, and to children all over the world, at an anniversary banquet set for 6 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Phelps Hotel.

The dinner is open to all past and present members as well as non-members who have been affected by the club's long tradition of charity. The club's original charter will be on display, along with photographs of past members and events accumulated throughout the years.

Charter members Don Coston and John Sweeney will be on hand for the event, which will also feature a keynote address by Wayne Wagner, a former Lions Club district governor and member of the Penn Yan chapter.

"I feel quite honored," Coston said of being an original member. "I think that we do an awful lot."

The Lions Club has a lot to be proud of, Moracco said, pointing to the numerous local and international programs it's contributed to.

Every year, the club donates every bit of the $5,000 to $10,000 it raises, mostly through its annual calendar sale, to various local charities, Moracco said.

The Lions Club was founded after deaf-mute icon Helen Keller challenged a group of Chicago businessmen to be "knights of the blind," he said, and the local chapter carries on that tradition.

In one of its biggest initiatives, the club collects used eyeglasses, which are then repolished, reset in new frames and given to people in Third World countries.

"The program saves them millions of dollars every year," Moracco said.

Closer to home, the club provides monetary and volunteer support to Camp Badger, in Spencer, Tioga County, a summer camp for children who are blind, disabled or suffer from speech impediments.

It also sponsors free eye exams for kids up to 5 years old using a special camera that can spot future vision problems.

The club's long list of other causes include Midlakes sports, the House of John Hospice in Clifton Springs and disaster relief for local families.

Members also prepare gift baskets for needy families and the elderly at Christmas and help clean up after the Sauerkraut Festival.

Although membership has gone down significantly since Coston first joined, Moracco said the club is roaring back, welcoming 11 new members since the late 1990s. At one point there were only five members whose average age was 74, he said.

Moracco urged everyone to attend the banquet and be let in on "the best kept secret in the area."

"We don't spend money on advertising," he said. "We just get the job done and serve people when they need us."

Tickets to the event are $25 per person. Anyone interested in attending should contact Alyson Holloway at 885-1514.

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mmaslanik@fltimes.com