Millis Lions Club Celebrates 8 Decades of Service to Others
Celebration dinner planned for spring
For 80 years, the Millis Lions Club has been helping those in need in Millis and around the globe.


It all began in the late fall of 1944, when a few men from the Medfield Lions Club (formed earlier in 1944) met with a small group of Millis gentlemen over beverages to discuss the ideals of Lionism, the importance of giving back to their community and helping those in need. Among these Millis gentlemen were Clyde F. Brown, the namesake of the Millis elementary school, doctors Bob Grandfield, Murdock Sampson and Jacob Siegel, and musician and teacher, Edward Winiker. Just a few short months later, on February 21, 1945, under the sponsorship of the Medfield Lions Club, the Millis Lions Club was officially formed.


The original founding (charter) members of the Millis Lions Club were James E. Ackroyd, Clyde F. Brown, Loring A. Brown, J. Wendell Burtt, Richard F. Clancy, Charles S. Dukelow, Stephen Dmytryck, Robert D. Frink, Howard W. Gould, Dr. Robert F. Grandfield, Russell Keough, John F. Kilmain, Charles Lipsett, Lloyd Lipsett, Robert W. McDonough, Edgar H. Main, Abraham Margolis, Harold E. Olson, Wilbur A. Powers, Lawrence J. Reardon, Dr. Murdock J. Sampson, John F. Sawyer, Dr. Jacob Siegel, Ivan R. Tate, Harold V. Voye, Harry N. Walker, Ralph H. Welch, Curtis H. White and Edward Winiker.
The charitable work and fundraising of the Millis Lions is unmatched, with involvement in many local and international initiatives. Through the Millis Lions’ 80 years, they have done amazing things to help those in need by making significant donations to fund cutting-edge vision research through the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund (www.mlerfi.com), donating to the Millis Food Pantry and Millis Fund, collecting bottles and cans at their trailer at the Millis Transfer Station (no sticker needed to drop off recyclables), collecting eyeglasses and hearing aids, offering scholarships for high school seniors, supporting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and all Millis youth sports teams. They support NEADS Dogs, the Carroll Center for the Blind, the Perkins School for the Blind, National Braille Press (Boston), and The Barton Center for diabetic children.
The Millis Lions have hosted public speaking contests for high school students, Peace Poster drawing contests for middle school students, Halloween parties for elementary school students, and sponsored the Millis High School Leos Club which is the youth arm of the Lions. There have been comedy nights, 5-Ks, brew-fests, Polar Plunges, canoe races on the Charles, trivia contests, senior citizen holiday dinners, golf tournaments, auctions, holiday craft fairs and participation in Millis Pride Day, battle re-enactments and town parades. They have volunteered an untold number of hours to help build handicap ramps and stair lifts, build playgrounds, plant trees, plant flags to support our veterans, screen children and adults for vision impairment and hearing loss, serve meals to senior citizens, and beautify parks and thoroughfares throughout the town.
Through the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF - www.lcif.org), the Millis Lions have helped those who have lost everything from natural disasters, most recently, they worked with other Lions Clubs in Massachusetts to send seven very large box trucks packed with supplies to those affected by the torrential rains in western North Carolina, and are working with LCIF to support those that have been affected by the devastating wildfires in California.
The Millis Lions Club is best known for its annual Super Bowl Breakfast, which takes place on Super Bowl Sunday every February, this year marks its 44th year.
“Joining the Millis Lions Club was the best decision I ever made,” said past president and “chef”, Robert “Bob” Braman, a member of the Millis Lion for more than 50 years. “As a business owner in Millis for many, many years (Braman Screw Machine Company), being part of the Millis Lions afforded me the opportunity to get out into our community and meet amazing individuals while helping those in need. I have been very fortunate to form lifelong friendships with people I met in this Club.
“The Lions are like our family. The husbands were friends with each other and the wives were friends with each other, and the children of our members grew up together in the town. We all would come together to help with fundraisers, breakfasts, parades and town-wide events. We were families helping families.”
Millis Lion and past Massachusetts Lions District 33K Governor, Debbie Hayes says, “It is the dedication the citizens of Millis, the respect and camaraderie the members have for each other and the fun we have working together, that makes the Millis Lions Club such a wonderful group.
“Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do things we do in our community without the incredible support of our neighbors and friends, and all of the terrific business owners. Their support of our fundraisers and projects have made it possible for the Lions of Millis to help our citizens in times of need and to help beautify our community.”
Millis Lions Club President Dan White said, “We have a wonderful organization. The Millis Lions are very accepting of anyone who wants to join and serve. It really comes down to an open heart and a willingness to give back. It is the joining of people in our community to help others.”
Millis Lion and Club Secretary Mike O’Shaughnessy said, “There are over a million Lions around the world, no matter where you travel, be it in the US or Europe or Australia, you will always be welcome by a fellow Lion…There is a bond that unites us and that is service to others.”
Lions Clubs International (LCI) was established in June of 1917 by a Chicago businessman named Melvin Jones who encouraged other business leaders to come together to help families in need during World War I.
It wasn’t long after its formation that Helen Keller charged the Lions to become the “Knights of the Blind” in her speech at the 1925 Lions Club International Convention in Cedar Point, Ohio. “This is the opportunity I offer you, Lions—to foster and sponsor the work of the American Foundation for the Blind. Will you not help me hasten the day when there shall be no preventable blindness, no little deaf blind child untaught, no blind man or woman unaided? I appeal to you, Lions—you who have your sight, your hearing, you who are strong and brave and kind—will you not constitute yourselves ‘Knights of the Blind’ in my crusade against darkness?” (www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/books-essays-speeches/afb/address-lions-clubs-internation....
blue t-shirts - Polar Plunge for Mass Lions Eye Research Fund, Lake Pearl, Wrentham April 6, 2019. The Millis Mice team (Lions) Ed Perry, Shelbe Doliner, Shefali Desai, Keith Gagne, Carol Baker and Allison LeBel Lubin. Courtesy photo
For the last 100 years, it has been the number one mission of Lions around the globe to end blindness, and the Millis Lions have been actively supporting this mission since their inception.
“Tens of thousands of dollars have been raised through our bottle and can collection efforts and every cent is donated to the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund,” said Bottle & Can committee chair and immediate past president, Ron Paulo. “This Fund provides grants for conceptual research being done at some of Massachusetts most prestigious hospitals and academic institutions. This research has brought about many medical advancements and medical devices that have helped those with vision impairment. It is my (our) sincere hope that we will be able to eradicate blindness and vision impairment in the next 20 years.”
Said Paulo, “We hope that the community of Millis will continue to donate their bottles and cans to help fund this very important research that might one day help them or a loved one.”
First Vice President Allison LeBel-Lubin said, “I am so proud to be part of this wonderful organization. ‘We Serve’ is our motto, and the Millis Lions Club members have proudly ‘served’ this community and left an indelible mark on the Town of Millis for the last 80 years. I look forward to working side-by-side with our great members for many, many years to come.
The Millis Lions Club is one of more than 49,000 individual clubs around the world. Together, these 1.4 million members make up Lions Clubs International, the largest international service organization in the world. From its humble beginnings in Chicago, Illinois in 1917, LCI has expanded into more than 240 countries and territories and every club has the same mission... to improve the health and well-being of everyone, strengthen communities, and support those who are suffering and in need through humanitarian service and grants that impact and change lives, and encourage peace and international understanding.
Second Vice President Tom Downs said, “The Millis Lions Club does have annual dues, but we do not have a ‘lodge’ or ‘clubhouse’ like some other organizations. We meet once a month for a social hour and dinner, and if you can make it, that’s great, and if you can’t, that’s okay too. We come together to conduct business, share a meal, and laugh a lot. It’s a great group.”
The Millis Lions are planning an 80th Celebration Dinner event in the spring.
The Millis Lions Club is currently accepting and welcoming new members. As a Lion, you will have the opportunity to help others, meet new people, and use your talents to make an impact in the community. For more information, visit www.millislionsclub.org.
Submitted by the Millis Lions Club