Lions Club to receive charter

In the summer of 2024, Holton resident Terry Weldin announced the formation of a new Lions Club that would serve Jackson County, six years after the Holton Lions Club disbanded, the new club getting some assistance from Lions in Sabetha.

On Saturday, Feb. 21, the new Jackson County Lions Club will be chartered as a stand-alone entity at a special ceremony to be held at the Jackson County Senior Center, and anyone who would like to be a part of the special event is encouraged to contact Weldin and make a reservation by this Friday, Feb. 13.

“We don’t want to come up short of food,” said Weldin, who noted that a dinner will be served as part of the Feb. 21 chartering ceremony.

It’s the culmination of a group effort to get a new Lions Club started to serve all of Jackson County after members of Holton’s club announced in the spring of 2018 that the club would disband later that year after 80 years of existence due to a decline in membership.

“This is not the first Lions Club I’ve chartered,” said Weldin, who helped establish a club in his former hometown of Burlington back in 1995 and who noted that the new Jackson County club plans to expand its services to the county beyond free vision screenings for children and recycling of “soft plastic” items.

The new Jackson County Lions Club was first announced in September of 2024 as a branch of the Sabetha Lions Club, with members of the Sabetha club joining efforts with former Holton Lions to form the new club. At present, Weldin said there are 22 members of the Jackson County club, and monthly club meetings are being conducted online.

“The Jackson County club is now separate from the Sabetha club, and we thank them for supporting this effort to grow a complete Lions Club in Jackson County,” Weldin said. “We did joint projects with the Sabetha club by doing free Lions vision screenings in Nemaha County, as well as other Sabetha club activities.”

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