The Carrollton Evening Lions Club (CELC), which is part of Lions Clubs International’s District 2-X1, conducted its 35th Annual Officer Installation & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, June 28, 2018, at La Hacienda Ranch in Carrollton, Texas.

CELC’s 2018-2019 officers and committee chairs include: 

• Lion Nancy Smith, Carrollton, president;
• Lion Jim Marks, Lewisville, first vice president and Membership Committee chair;
• Lion Minoo Varma, Carrollton, second vice president;
• Lion Veronica Marks, Lewisville, secretary and Marketing/Communications Committee chair;
• Lion John McGinnis, Carrollton, treasurer;
• Lion Patricia Velazquez, Carrollton, Lion tail twister;
• Lion Jimmy Horiates, Lewisville, Lion tamer;
• Lion Richard Kaiser, Carrollton, director, 2017-2019;
• Lion Kelli Hickman, Carrollton, director, 2018-2020;
• Lion Joseph Montag, Carrollton, director, lifetime;
• Lion Frank Pickens II, Richardson, director, lifetime;
• Lion Joseph Gerhart, Fredericksburg, Va., director, lifetime;
• Lion Dan Gilbert, Carrollton, immediate past president; and
• Lion James Lawrence, Carrollton, Community Service Projects Committee chair.

Notable awards presented during the event included the CELC Lion Estelle Dickens Award, which is the highest club-level honor bestowed upon a member, and the CELC Lion of the Year Award. Recipients were Lion Jay Finlinson, Plano, and Lion Patricia Velazquez, respectively.

About CELC

CELC members have been serving the greater Carrollton community and lending neighborly assistance since 1983. CELC meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Coyote Ridge Golf Club's Grill 19, 1640 W. Hebron Parkway, Carrollton, Texas 75010.

Over the years, CELC members have worked on a variety of service projects in Carrollton, as well as throughout the Metrocrest and in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Lewisville independent school districts. Some service projects have included: providing free vision clinics for local school children; collecting used prescription eyeglasses and building wheelchair ramps for those in need; providing magic shows and movies for children; sponsoring physically challenged children at the Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville; assisting visually impaired children at the Sports Extravaganza in Irving; hosting international youth through the Julien C. Hyer Lions Youth Camp; providing bicycles and protective vests to the Carrollton Police Department; providing medical equipment to the Carrollton Fire Department; and more.

CELC’s fundraising efforts support the following charities: Julien C. Hyer Lions Youth Camp, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Lions Clubs International Foundation, Lions Sight & Tissue Foundation, Metrocrest Charities Foundation, Metrocrest Services, New Horizon Diabetic Day Camp, Sports Extravaganza, Texas Lions Camp, Texas Lions Foundation and World Services for the Blind.

For more information about CELC’s activities, visit www.carrolltoneveninglions.com, email texaslionchick-info@yahoo.com or call (214) 708-7973. Follow the club on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Lions Clubs International

Lions Clubs International is the largest service club organization in the world. More than 1.4 million members in 48,419 clubs are serving communities in over 200 countries and geographical areas around the globe. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired, championed youth initiatives and strengthened local communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit www.lionsclubs.org.