Lions Club hosts open house, struggling to find new membership
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Strathmore Lions Club hosted an open house and information meeting, April 22, at the Strathmore Golf Club, to discuss the history of the club, as well as to potentially recruit new members.
“The purpose basically is to provide more information to the public on what exactly the Lions Club is and what they do, and also I encourage them to maybe join the club if it sounded like something they would be interested in doing,” said Wayne Herdman, president of the Strathmore Lions Club.
It was originally anticipated for approximately 30 people to show up to the open house. Herdman explained the event was poorly attended, with only two people coming out to attend.
As it currently stands, the Strathmore Lions Club consists of 25 members, of which, only about half are active.
Herdman explained he has ongoing concerns regarding membership and the future of the club, which lead to wanting to host the open house.
“We are trying to get more people involved in it. It is very hard with the membership that we have to maintain our fundraising programs – Heritage Days, the live auction, and things like that,” he said. “I am very concerned about it and we need to build up the membership.”
Herdman said he has not yet had an opportunity to speak with board members, nor other members of the club about continued recruitment efforts and what the best way to continue forward may be.
Though nothing is definite, he suggested hosting another information session, targeting a different audience, as well as to take more to social media to get the word out.
The Strathmore Lions Club has been present in the local community since its inception in 1938, boasting an 86-year history.
“I am confident that we can build up the membership. It will be a struggle for the club for a couple of years, but I think we can build up the membership maybe not as high as it had been in previous years, but I think we can do it,” said Herdman. “A lot of the fundraising too like Heritage Days and the live auction, we get a lot of support from the community, so I think we can still function to do what we do. Our Lions motto is ‘We Serve,’ so we want to be able to serve the community and I think we can do that.”
He described the club as being in desperate need of membership. Seven years ago, the club had 55 active members. Herdman’s ongoing goal is to once again hit 25 active members to continue carrying on club activities.
Herdman can be reached via strathmorelions@gmail.com or ewherdman@outlook.com to learn more about the Lions Club or to inquire about potential membership.