The Holliston Lions Club celebrated their 82nd anniversary serving the Town of Holliston on January 23, 2023. Knowing they were not going to be meeting that evening, at their dinner meeting on Wednesday, January 18th, the Lions celebrated by presenting some special awards to special people.
Heart of a Lion
At the start of our 82nd year, 1st Vice President Mark Ahronian approached the Board and asked for authorization to proceed with a new concept. While Lions have several “internal” awards which recognize members for their outstanding service to the Lions Club, and Lions Clubs International more broadly, we had no award to recognize members of the community. That all changed with the concept of Heart of a Lion.
Holliston Lions Club members were asked to nominate people to consider for this award. After much deliberation, we narrowed our choices down to the final recipients of the award. These awards were presented to Bobby Blair (who is recognizable to all) and to the O’Connells, the founders of Timothy O’Connell Foundation.
Both these recipients have gone above and beyond in serving the needs of others. They exemplify the Lions motto “We Serve”. Both recipients were presented with Heart of a Lion plaques which were designed by the nominations committee. A plaque bearing the name of the award, as well as the name of each recipient will be placed in the Holliston Town Hall alongside the Citizen of the Year recipient’s plaque.
State Representative James Arena-Derosa and Tina Hein were on hand to present citations from the state and town and to assist President Mike McKenna and 1st VP Mark Ahronian with the presentation of this brand new award. Our heartfelt thanks to both recipients for your ongoing commitment to serving those who are in need.
Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Sight Awards
One of the many awards which Lions Club members are eligible to receive is a Sight Award. Named the William T. Murphy Sight Award, this recognition is for those Lions who have gone above and beyond in assisting the Club raising the necessary funds for Mass Lions Eye Research to enable them to award grants to researchers who are seeking new treatments and identification for preventable blindness.
The Holliston Lions Club recognized Lion Dennis Murphy (left) and Lion Steve Hedrick (right) this year and presented them both with plaques and pins which are provided by Massachusetts Lions Eye Research. Congratulations to these well deserving Lions.
The Holliston Lions Club is proud of their record of service and proudly serves the community. If you want to learn more about the Lions Club or our upcoming events, please visit our website. https://hollistonmalions.org/
