Philomath Lions Club on the recruiting trail

Sitting around a long table in a room at the local fire station over the noon hour, seven members of the Philomath Lions Club discuss ways to improve publicity and community engagement.

Last month, the club’s treasurer spoke to the City Council to share information. One of the group’s recent additions volunteered to give the Lions Club more of an online presence. And at this particular meeting, a local reporter interested in writing a story was invited to sit in.

It’s uncertain if it would be accurate to say that the Philomath Lions Club is at a crossroads — it might be a little too soon for such a declaration. But with a dwindling and aging membership, the local group definitely needs some younger blood to carry on a mission that has been serving the community for 77 years.

“We need replacement members. I mean, how much longer am I going to be around?”

Those were the words of club treasurer Tom Wright, who will be turning 88 this fall, and was just one member of several at the table in their 60s, 70s or 80s. He recalls that when he joined the Lions nearly 25 years ago, there were about 25 people in the meeting each week. Lunches were even catered.

Nowadays, members say it’s a good meeting if they get 10.

“We used to have a lot more fundraisers,” Wright said during his appearance at last month’s council meeting, “but unfortunately some of our members have passed on or moved and we are at a point where we had to cut back.”

One of the more popular events that the club had to give up a few years ago was the annual garage sale over the summer at the rodeo grounds.

“The garage sale went on for years and years and years and we don’t have the membership to support that anymore,” Lions Club President Bruce Spediacci said. “It was a pretty good fundraiser but again, as Tom said, the group’s getting older.”

Members also had to quit serving breakfasts and lunches at an annual event put on by the Corvallis Historic Auto Club.

Seth Williams serves as the club’s vice president. Overall, the current number of members stands at 15, Wright said, with 10 to 12 that can be counted on to help out at fundraisers.

City Councilor Rich Saalsaa, who is also a Lions Club member, called Wright at the February meeting one of the community’s “unsung heroes.”

“Tom and the rest of the group are the epitome of that level of volunteering,” Saalsaa said. “There are so many things that Tom touches and really is the voice of the Lions Club.”

Lions Club International does have minimum membership requirements in place but Wright indicated that it doesn’t seem to be enforced.

“I think all volunteer groups are having the same problem and I think they’re looking the other way a lot on having enough members,” he said. “I think they look at a small club like what we are and what we do in the community and they’re not going to throw us out.”

Don’t be fooled — the Philomath group isn’t about to fold up the tent just yet. The Lions Club members that remain active show a real commitment to the community through the events that remain along with several initiatives and activities that benefit local residents of all ages.

Said Wright, “I don’t think the average person in Philomath knows what we do.”

Although an earlier version of the Lions Club existed in Philomath as early as 1931, that group disbanded a few years later in favor of organizing a new civic organization. The current club received its charter in 1948.

These days, the biggest fundraiser for the organization can be found each year at the rodeo grounds where the Lions hold a three-day book sale.

“Tom started the book sale 18 years ago from scratch and he’s developed it — this year we’d like to have about 18,000 books for the sale and we are three-quarters or more there for this year and next year,” Spediacci said. “Probably in two or three months, we’ll have enough for the next two sales.”

Roughly 50% of the club’s revenue comes from book sales.

In addition to the various connections for books that Wright and other members have established — a list that includes bookstores in Corvallis, Albany and Lincoln City — the club also accepts individual book donations. Plus, there are book sales at Philomath Liquor Store with money going to the club.

The club awards two $750 college textbook scholarships each year to PHS graduates.

“When we started doing the book sale here, it generated more money than we really had a use for at that point and so we wanted to tie that together with the scholarships,” Wright said.

The Lions Club also donates money to the Battle of the Books programs in the local schools and participates in Read Across America by giving free books to primary school and elementary school students.

Other primary fundraisers for the club include ad sales in calendars that are distributed to students, a Fourth of July fireworks stand and the Frolic and Rodeo breakfast during rodeo weekend.

“Every dollar we raise in our fundraisers stays here in Philomath,” Wright said. “We believe we are a local group and we want to make an impact.”

The Lions Club has made major contributions over the years to various efforts, including a shelter at the rodeo grounds. In the future, there are plans for the club to cover the expense of a new gutter system on the rodeo grounds shelter that covers an 82-foot long table, which is widely used and will be refinished.

Within the past decade, the Lions provided major funds to the Randy Kugler Community Hall at Philomath City Park and paid for a sculpture from a local artist in the vicinity of the hall and the park’s gazebo. The club has also done work at Triangle Park and more recently donated to the Frolic and Rodeo’s grandstand project.

The club also provides Music in the Park concessions at the midweek concerts each month but that is primarily a volunteer effort with limited revenue generated. The club doesn’t even include it as a line item in the budget and Wright estimated that they might make an average of $400 for the summer.

The club volunteers for various activities around town, including putting up holiday decorations at Philomath Community Library and sponsoring a visit from Santa. In addition, the club provides U.S. flags to each local second grader and for years has been involved with maintaining landscaping on the center median located on the Applegate-Main Street curve across from Oregon State Credit Union.

Financial support is directed toward organizations such as the Philomath Youth Activities Club, Philomath Food Bank and Holiday Cheer, Philomath News, Philomath Flower Baskets, Philomath Volunteer Firefighters Association, Philomath Elementary School choir, Philomath School District robotics, Senior All-Night Party and the school district’s cross-country programs.

Lions Club International has been involved with sight-related initiatives for nearly 100 years and at the local level, the Philomath group organizes eye screenings each fall at local schools, including Blodgett and Kings Valley.

“There’s a representative from the Lions Club that comes in and they train us on how to do the machines,” said John Booker, who heads up the club’s sight and hearing efforts. “It’s a really easy system — you point it and it takes a picture of the eyes of the children and they get a result. If their eyes are bad, then they’ll get a referral.”

The club also helps local residents young and old access eye exams, glasses and hearing aids.

In addition, the club’s Recycle for Sight program remains in place in which folks can donate used eyeglasses.

The club meets on the first and third Wednesdays at Philomath Fire and Rescue’s station on Main Street. For those interested in joining, call Spediacci at 541-929-7991 or Wright at 541-929-5006.