[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE 50TH CHARTER NIGHT ANNIVERSARY OF THE CASEYVILLE, ILLINOIS 
                              LION'S CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 18, 2001

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the 50th Charter Night anniversary of the Caseyville, 
Illinois Lions Club.
  Lions Club International is the world's largest service club 
association. The Lions Clubs organization has 1.4 million members in 
more than 44,500 clubs in 185 countries and geographical areas. The 
Lions are men and women who volunteer their time to humanitarian 
causes. The International Association of Lions Clubs began as a dream 
of Chicago businessman, Melvin Jones. He believed that local business 
clubs should expand their horizons from purely professional concerns to 
the betterment of their communities and the world at large. Jones' own 
group, the Business Circle of Chicago, agreed. After contacting similar 
groups around the country, an organizational meeting was held on June 
7, 1917 at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago. The new group took the name of 
one of the groups invited, the ``Association of Lions Clubs'', and a 
national convention was held in October of that year in Dallas, Texas. 
A constitution, bylaws, objects and a code of ethics were approved.
  Just three years after its formation, the organization became 
international, when the first club in Canada was established in 1920. 
Major international expansion continued as clubs were established, 
particularly throughout Europe, Asia and Africa during the 50's and 
60's. Perhaps the single event having the greatest impact on the Lions 
Club occurred in 1925 when Helen Keller addressed the Lions at their 
international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. It was there that she 
challenged the Lions Club to become ``knights of the blind in the 
crusade against darkness''. They responded, and now the Lions Club 
organization is best known for their sight-related programs, including 
SightFirst, the world's largest blindness prevention program.
  Second only to the Lion's commitment in aiding the blind and the 
visually impaired, is a strong dedication to serving young people. The 
Lions Youth Outreach Program challenges young people to learn, to 
achieve and to serve. By focusing on volunteerism, young people are 
steered away from harmful behaviors and become involved in youth 
activities. The Leo Clubs program, International Youth Exchange, 
International Youth Camps and the Lions International Peace Poster 
Contest are all youth activities sponsored by Lions Club International 
that promote international cooperation, peace and understanding. The 
Lions Club International conducts its official business in 11 
languages, including English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, 
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
  The emblem of the Lions Club consists of a gold letter ``L'' on a 
circular purple field. Bordering this is a circular gold area with two 
Lions profiles facing away from the center. The word ``Lion'' and 
``International'' appear at the top and bottom. The Lions are meant to 
face both a proud past and a confident future. This emblem was adopted 
at the 1919 convention and today Lions throughout the world are 
recognized by it. The Lions motto, ``We Serve'' precisely explains 
their mission and their slogan, ``Liberty, Intelligence and Our 
Nation's Safety'' means LIONS.
  The Caseyville Lions Club is part of an organization that not only 
helps those in need, but offers its members opportunities to develop 
personal friendships and gain valuable leadership skills. They share a 
common spirit and have been united in a single cause; helping those 
less fortunate. The Caseyville Lions Club helps tackle tough problems 
like blindness and combating drug abuse, as well as diabetes awareness 
programs and finding help and training for the deaf, disabled, 
underprivileged and the elderly. In fact, wherever the community needs 
help, the Caseyville Lions Club, like the entire Lions Club 
organization, is there.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the 50th 
Charter Anniversary of the Caseyville Lions Club and to honor its 
members both past, present and future.

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