When Doug Kalvig was in sixth grade, he told his teacher that he was having a hard time seeing the board in class. He was concerned that his family might not be able to afford a pair of eyeglasses, but his teacher responded, “Don’t worry. The Lions can get them for you.”
At the time, Kalvig wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and his family ended up being able to buy him the glasses. But in 1979, Kalvig joined the Kalispell Lions Club and never looked back.
A Chicago businessman named Melvin Jones founded Lions Clubs International in 1917 with the motto “We Serve.” This year marks the 100-year anniversary for the parent organization and the 75th anniversary for the Kalispell branch, which was chartered in 1942.
Ted and Pat Witzel, who have been Lions members since 1958 and 1964 respectively, and Lori Malcolm, a three-year member of the Kalispell Lions, corroborate Kalvig’s assertion that the organization’s current and future goals remain true to its historical aims.
Ted Witzel explains that Lions Clubs International’s original purpose was to provide eyeglasses and eye care to the less fortunate, free of charge. This is the work Kalvig’s teacher hinted at, and it’s exactly what Kalvig is doing all these years later via a Lions program called Plus Optix, which screens elementary school students for potential eye issues and connects them to the resources they need.
“Thousands of kids are screened every year,” Kalvig said.
While providing eyesight services remains the organization’s core mission, the Kalispell Lions also impact the community on many other fronts. They offer hearing aid assistance, fund college scholarships, partner with food banks and annually honor members of local law enforcement.
Malcolm was drawn to the Kalispell Lions when she learned that they partner with Kalispell Regional Healthcare to promote diabetes awareness, a cause she firmly believes because of a long history of diabetes in her family. Malcolm is also passionate about Flags for First Graders, a program in which Lions members go to Kalispell and Evergreen elementary schools and present students with mini American flags. The students are taught the history and significance of the flag.
Kalvig sums up the Lions mindset: “It’s not about me. It’s about what we can do to help where we live.”
The Kalispell Lions Club has had an enduring impact on the community, illustrated through current programs as well as historic community projects, such as the Bitterroot Lions Youth Camp, established in 1948, or the Lions Park along Highway 93 South, founded in 1961. They have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars — and volunteered just as many hours — to make Kalispell the best place it can be and give its residents a higher quality of life.
Yet, as the Witzels point out, helping the world at large is just as important as supporting the community. The Witzels have traveled to Chicago, Colorado, Canada, Mexico City and Tokyo for international Lions conventions.
“Lions ultimately seek to promote world peace and understanding between different countries and civilizations,” Ted said.
All four members believe the best way to commemorate the Kalispell Lions’ 75th anniversary is to increase membership. In its heyday, back in the 1950’s and 60’s, the group had more than 75 members. Now it has about 30.
“We need young people to get involved,” Kalvig said. “I’m one of the younger members and I’m 65 years old.”
He also mentioned the organization’s relative lack of female members. Women were granted membership to Lions Clubs in 1987. Before, women like Pat Witzel belonged to female-only Lioness Clubs. Kalvig estimates that the current makeup of the Kalispell branch is still 75 percent male and 25 percent female.
“We welcome anyone,” Malcolm said.
She encourages young people to come to a Lions meeting, held each Tuesday at noon at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell. She adds, laughing, that the meetings never fail to be interesting: “Some of our older Lions are quite the characters.”