Half a century of service

Two members of the Tomah Lions Club just celebrated 50 years of Lions membership.

Vincent Rowan, 90, and Don Nelson, 74, received plaques from the club for their years of service. 

Rowan had begun his membership with the Rib Mountain Lions in Wausau, but transferred to Tomah a few years later. Nelson has always been a Tomah Lions Club member.

They have both seen major changes in the Tomah Lions Club over the years.

"Things change, it’s always changing," Rowan said, adding that meeting attendance has dropped tremendously, from about 150 each time to around 25 members attending most meetings.

The professions of members has also changed.

"We had lot of farmers, we had a lot of school teachers and we had a lot of businessmen," he said. 

Nelson was one of those teachers. "I taught band, junior high, middle school," Nelson said.

He remembers Bill Melin, high school band director, inviting him to his first meeting.

"He was a District Governor," Nelson said. 

Over 20 years later, Nelson became president of the Tomah Lions and, later, Secretery, Foundation Director and District Governor, which allowed him to travel to places like Australia and Germany for conventions. 

Both men said the early Tomah Lions Club meetings were a kind of "guys night out." 

Back then, there was a separate group for women, the "Lioness" members, which dissolved completely a few years ago. 

Rowan said about 20 years ago, the group "evolved."

"For me, the biggest change was when women joined," he said, adding that it changed from a "men's club" to a "social club."

With the addition of women, some men dropped out, keeping the membership about the same. 

"The women had a lot of good ideas, though," Nelson said.

There are about 1.2 million Lions Club members throughout the world, who help provide funds for disaster relief (such as the flooding of the Kickapoo River and tsunamis in other parts of the world), screenings and supplies for people dealing with sight or hearing loss, diabetes awareness, and aid for refugees, such as those from Afghanistan who were at Fort McCoy.

They also fund the Lions Foundation, who provide camping opportunities for blind and other disadvantaged individuals.

"There's Lions all over," Rowan said. "When something happens, they know what's needed."

Locally, the Tomah Lions have provided shelters in many parks and sidewalks in certain areas throughout the city.

Both Rowan and Nelson say they joined to help their community.

"I joined because I wanted to give back," Rowan said. "I feel everybody should give back."

Nelson agrees. "We’re still giving back to the community and the entire state," he said. "We're now doing a lot more than we used to."