Letter From Our President

As a lion, the most gratifying aspect for me has been having the opportunity to work with individuals who are blind, deaf, or even both, providing them with experiences they would not otherwise have. The Lion’s slogan “we serve”, to me, means a true “hands on” approach to providing assistance. If you give a financial contribution, you can feel the satisfaction of knowing you have helped someone less fortunate, however that pales in comparison to the feeling you get actually being there to witness the smile, or even tears of joy that your efforts have created.
    In the 1970s, while volunteering at Camp Dogwood, I first started to realize that the most change for the good that you can make in the life of any person with a handicap is to convince them, and assist them, to execute any activity they did not think was possible. Whether they were riding a horse, or even water skiing, as I witnessed campers exceed their own expectations, I noticed an enormous change in the self esteem of people often told, their entire lives, what they “can’t do”. At that point, the actual activity becomes secondary.
   The revelation experienced by the disabled person often changes them drastically. A new confidence and desire to excel permeates every other aspect of their lives. They begin to ask “Who says I can’t have gainful employment, maintain a household, learn to use a computer, or anything else?” With today’s adaptive equipment, and technologies, there is almost nothing a blind or deaf person can’t accomplish. Even after decades of working with deaf and/or blind people, I am still often astonished at their accomplishments that I witness.
    In that context, I would like to introduce you to the Hickory Grove Lion’s Blind Golf Program! After years of working with the Waxhaw Lions Club, my club (Hickory Grove) has taken over organizing and funding the activity. For many years our programs have been very successful with as many as 34 participants, however, because of limited resources we are always limited in the number of blind golfers invited to participate. Although no one in my lions club could be considered a golfer, including myself, we intend to provide a program this fall for as many blind golfers as possible. I ask that anyone willing to assist us in this endeavor either financially or by volunteering, PLEASE CALL ME at (704) 562-3455.
    I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who helped us in the past, and thank you in advance for your assistance in the future!

Yours truly,

Lion Rick Conder
President: Hickory Grove Lions Club