By Katie V. Jones
Photo Credit: Aiesha Solomon
For 92 years, the Laurel Lions Club has been active in the community. Whether providing medical equipment like wheelchairs and hospital beds to those in need, collecting eyeglasses to donate or co-sponsoring city events such as Spooktacular and Eggtravaganza, the club has prided itself on its community service.
It takes time, funds and many hands to do all the Lions do; Donald Danneman, Laurel Lions’ head lion, noted that the club is in short supply of all three.The club made the decision to disband by January 2025.
“Laurel is going to miss us,” Danneman said. “I just felt there was no way to keep up.”
Once boasting more than 70 members, the club now has only 10, Danneman said, and three of those members, including himself, live out of state. The club couldn’t host its popular steamed crab fundraiser this year because of lack of volunteers to help. A few years ago, the club stopped holding its Christmas tree sales, an annual event that raised $43,000 at its peak.
“If you don’t have a fundraiser, what do you have?” Danneman said. “How do you support all your events?”
The group has actively tried to recruit new members, attending various city events to offer information on what the club does, but to no avail.
“People are not interested in joining a service group,” Danneman said. “It takes a lot of time. People are busy with family and this and that.”
At one time, the club had a “star-studded career” with a “a lot of movers and shakers of Laurel” as members, according to Bob Mignon, a member since 1994 and a former king lion.
“It’s a sign of the times,” Mignon said, noting that many of the services the Lions provided over the years are more broadly available now. Eyeglass exams, which the club used to provide, are now offered in schools, and free use of medical equipment, another Lions service, is largely covered by health insurance now.
Even the club’s camaraderie can also be found elsewhere, he said.
“Younger people, many have challenging jobs and careers, are starting a family, and their children play sports and different extracurricular activities,” Mignon said. “The need for camaraderie is met through other avenues.”
The club consistently provided donations to the city’s police department, rescue squad, fire department and the Fourth of July committee, but had to stop offering scholarships to graduating seniors at Laurel and St. Vincent Pallotti high schools.
“There is a huge hole to fill with them leaving,” said Bill Bailey, head of the city of Laurel’s Parks and Recreation Department. “It is a shame there is not enough people stepping up to keep this organization running.”
The city will continue to host the Spooktacular and Eggstravaganza events, Bailey said, and will look for other groups to co-sponsor them. The Lions donated funds for candy and plastic eggs and volunteered at each event.
The club has already emptied a city shed where they used to store medical supplies, Bailey said. Danneman took some supplies to donate to a Lions Club in Pennsylvania, and the city will distribute the rest through senior programs and to its multi-service building, which is slated to open this fall.
“If you don’t have a servitude heart, you don’t want to do this kind of work,” Danneman said. “You won’t get anything in return. Just the satisfaction you’re helping other people.
“I don’t think you will find anyone starting a new Lions Club in Laurel after we go,” he added. “I was always asking people to join the Lions club.”
