MD20 Lions - New York State, USA and Bermuda

History

The International Association of Lions Clubs began as the 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 Dallas in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics were approved.

Among the official objects adopted in those early years was one which read, "No club shall hold out the financial betterment of its members as its object." This object has remained one of the association's main tenets ever since.

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 1950s and 60s.

Perhaps the single event having the greatest impact on the association's service commitment occurred in 1925 when Helen Keller addressed the Lions at their international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio USA. It was there that she challenged Lions to become "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness."

In 1990 Lions launched their most aggressive sight preservation effort to date, SightFirst. The more than US$130 million-plus program strives to rid the world of preventable and reversible blindness by closing the gap between existing health care services and those that remain desperately needed.

Broadening its role in international understanding, the association helped the United Nations form the Non-Governmental Organizations sections in 1945, and continues to hold consultative status today. Each year, during The Lions Day With The United Nations ceremonies, an award is presented to the grand prize winner of the Lions International Peace Poster Contest.

Since those first years, the association has grown to include 1.4 million men and women in more than 44,000 clubs located in approximately 192 countries and geographical areas.

They are volunteer members of clubs grouped under an International organization, where they enjoy fellowship, and dedicate part of their free time to help those in need all over the world, while making their individual communities a better place to live in.

One of the first tasks of the Directors of the newly established Association of Lions Clubs was to divide the US into Districts for their organization and administration, and to appoint a District Governor over each. In the first sectioning, there were nine districts, throughout the United States. Some parts of the country - where there were no Lions Clubs - had no Districts at all. The first nine Districts were created right along with the Association of Lions Clubs, on 7 June 1917.

Lionism spread rapidly, to states not affiliated with any district, and in some areas Lions clubs were too numerous for one District Governor to handle! So, in 1921 our entire nation was re-divided into seventeen districts and subsequently renumbered. The original (1917) schema had clubs numbered geographically from the Pacific coast, with ascending numbers eastward. But, in the 1921 district numbering revision, the Lions' "home" state of Illinois was numbered District #1. Thereafter, numbers were granted on the basis of a region's Lions' membership ranking. Texas, having the most numbers of clubs as well as members, became District #2. A close follower, Oklahoma, became District #3. In like fashion, all 17 districts were renumbered - including District #16, which contained all of New Jersey, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and the entire State of New York.

In January of 1922, New York State became detached from District 16 - that number staying with New Jersey - and New York State became the 20th District. By this time each district was numbered according to their sequence in becoming a district of the association. So MD-20, New York State was the 20th District of the Association.

New York District 20's first five (Lions) clubs were: Midtown Lions in New York City on 30 July 1921; with Brooklyn Lions Club following on August 10th; New York City's Down Town Lions Club on August 24th; Rochester Lions Club on 2 September; and, Long Island City Lions Club on September 22nd, 1921.

District 20 was the entire state of New York from 1921 until 1938. District Governors serving in this period were:

Past District Governor Herbert Dye (1935-36) was a strong proponent of the notion to further divide district 20, and spearheaded these divisions to create 5 sub-Districts in 1938; N, Y, S, L, and A (New York State Lions Association).

A tremendous growth in population to the area necessitated yet another new District sub-division and in 1949, New York State was re-divided into 8 sub-districts; N, E, W, Y, O, R, K, and S.

In the 1960-1961 Lions year 20-Y was split into Y1 and Y2.

In the 1961-1962 Lions year 20-K was split into K1 and K2.

During the 1972-1973 Lions year, the New York State Council of Governors approved the splitting of Districts 20-E and 20-R into two districts each for a current total of 12 sub-districts:
N, E1, E2, W, Y1, Y2, O,R1, and R2.