The Boothbay Region Lions Club met for a regular meeting on Jan. 8. We enjoyed delicious appetizers provided by those attending.

Our guest speaker was 2nd District Governor Jeff Woolston. He began by recognizing Neal Reny (not in attendance) for 35 years as a Boothbay Lion.

Woolston is a teacher and retired Air Force colonel. He was the town manager in Winthrop and is currently working on a degree in building fine furniture and cabinetry.

As district governor, Jeff visits clubs all over the state. He suggested that we should all check out the District website, which has lots of information on various clubs in the state. It is also possible now to live stream meetings and webinars, making it easier to stay active in Lionism without leaving home. There are even cyber clubs, which are the wave of the future and particularly appealing to Millennials.

The next Red Cross blood drive will be Thursday, Jan. 16, and several club members will be volunteering to help out.

Maine Lions District 41 will, once again, be holding a Speak Out contest for high school students. Lion Pete from our club is working with Boothbay Region High School, and the students interested will be at our meeting on Feb. 12 to present their speeches for judging. The purpose of the Speak Out contest is provide students with an opportunity to think about important current issues, to organize their thoughts and ideas, and to effectively present these ideas publicly.

We voted to donate $300 to the Boothbay Region Educational Fund with the stipulation that the monies be used to help students with financial needs for sports equipment in grades 7 through 12.

Woolston inducted our newest member, Barbara Wallace. He asked us all to close our eyes and think about what it would be like to be blind. He read from Helen Keller’s challenge to the first Lions members, which have since grown to 1.45 million worldwide. Lions members today serve not only the vision impaired but the hearing impaired and those with diabetes and drug addiction. It was good to be reminded of what Lionism is all about.

Our next meeting will be Jan. 22. For more information, visit us on Facebook.