聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 The Carlyle & District Lions Club celebrated 25 years and over $500,000 in funds raised at their annual supper, auction and raffle, held Thursday, March 3 at the Carlyle Memorial Hall.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lions member and event chair, Wayne Wilson said this year's event was a success before it started, due to the support of area communities.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's our 25th and the donations came in fabulous,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淲e've got a full house with just a few shy of 200 tickets sold, and everybody is having a good time.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎ll of the money we raise with this event goes to local community causes and over our 25-year history, we've raised over $500,000 total from this event alone.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to Wilson, the Carlyle Lions Club held the first fundraiser of this kind in 1992 in conjunction with the Estevan branch of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation. Four years later, the Lions became sole organizers of the event.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Lions have also made changes in an effort to distribute funds more effectively and efficiently. Currently, they ask those seeking funding from the Club to submit an application form that states the amount of money they are seeking.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淣ow, we ask organizations requesting funds to submit an application to the Lions,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淲e ask them to tell us what they need and it's a much better system, because they know what they need and how much it will cost, better than we do. That way, we're not overfunding a worthy cause and underfunding another.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Lions member Myrla Holland says that the club has also contributed in non-monetary ways throughout its history.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 went through all of the old ledgers from our 50th anniversary a few years ago,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he Lions have also done things like deliver Meals on Wheels, hold birthdays at Moose Mountain Lodge, collected used eyeglasses, lots of things like that.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur motto is 'We Serve' and for 53 years, this club has done just that,鈥� adds Holland.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This year's fundraiser kicked off with a social hour, which gave attendees the opportunity to peruse the hundreds of auction, silent auction, raffle and door prizes on display.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After a turkey and pork supper catered by Linda Chapman and Eileen Corrigan, the evening's auction was once again conducted by world champion auctioneer and hometown boy, Ward Cutler, who has donated his time and talent to the fundraiser for 21 years.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's always good to come home,鈥� says Cutler. 鈥淥ver the years, I've auctioned honey, gold and eggs here-just to name a few. And this year, I'm auctioning some balloons-so I'm ready to get started.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 After the hundreds of live auction, silent auction, raffle prizes and door prizes were distributed, event organizer Wilson declared the evening a success.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓veryone really came through for us-with their donations, with their attendance, and in all the many, many ways they support us and their communities,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淎nd we saw some new faces here tonight, which is great. We couldn't do any of it without their support and we're very grateful to them all.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Simonne Therrien of Carlyle attended the fundraiser for the first time and said, 鈥淚 would definitely go again. It was wonderful to see all of the people there to support our community-things like the pool and the rink-especially during these difficult economic times.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Dale Gudmundson, a veteran attendee, agrees, saying simply, 鈥淚t was awesome.鈥�
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