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The Lawton Northeast Lions Club held it's organizational meeting on Saturday, 22 February 1975 at the Sandpiper Motor Inn. The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by District 3-L Governor James A. Dunn, to whom our club is dedicated.
The host club was the Lawton Northwest Lions Club. Charter members at that time were; Jim Hobbs, Bud Dyer, Barry Koren, Gerald Pellerin, Kenneth Mack, Donald Tate, Charles Taylor, Don Thomas, Horace Whetsone, Jacob Prince, Claxton Bone, William Prout, Raymond Polk, James Smith, Donald Burton, and Bobby Nipps.
Don Thomas was elected as the President of the newly formed Lions Club. President Thomas asked the membership for suggestions as to the time and place for meetings, and for a name for the new club. The club membership voted to meet the first and third Saturday of each month at 7:30a.m. at the Sandpiper Motor Inn, and to name the club the Lawton Northeast Lions Club.
The club's Charter Night was held on 25 April 1975. The Charter Officers of the new club were; President - Donald W. Thomas, First Vice-President - Charles Taylor, Second Vice-President - Kenneth Mack, Third Vice-President - Don Tate, Secretary-Treasurer - James S. Smith, Tail Twister - Horace Whetsone, Lion Tamer - Tom Curl, One-year Directors - Ray Polk and Bob Nipps, Two-year Director - Jere Thorpe.
On July 25th, 1975, the Northeast Lions Club was notified by the International Associations of Lions Clubs that our charter was now considered complete with 32 members after the addition of Lions P.E. Franklin, D.J. Lopes, T.A. Thomason, L.R. Thorne, J.C. Thorpe, H.P. Wood, L. Zimmerman, C. Stien, and R.M. Sterret.
On July 14th, 1977, Lion Charlie Taylor received the first 100% President's Award for the Northeast Lions Club from the International Association of Lions Clubs.
On June 1st, 1978, Lion Jere Thorpe became the first member of the Northeast Lions Club to receive the Membership Key Award from the International Association of Lions Clubs.
On August 19th, 1978, the Northeast Lions Club was the sponsoring club for the Los Amigos Lions Club, which held their Charter Night at the Montego Bay in Lawton.
On March 23rd, 1979, Wayne Gilley - Mayor of the City of Lawton, proclaimed the week of March 25 to be "White Cane Week".
On Friday, March 4th, 1979, the Northeast Lions Club donated the marquee for the sign in front of MacArthur high school. Taking part in the event were Lions Leo Thorne, Bob Sterret, Bud Dyer, and Wendell Ward.
On May 14th, 1979, Northeast Lions Club volunteers began to help build a partition between the boys' and girls' sections of the Marie Detty Youth Center. Lions Jim Hobbs and Dale Swordes accepted a Certificate of Appreciation from Dick Hoffman - Chairman of the Citizens Advisory Board of the Comanche County Juvenile Bureau. The certificate was presented to the Northeast Lions Club for the more than $2,000 worth of labor donated by lions to construct the partition. The club contributed more than 100 man-hours towards the project.
On April 19th, 1980, the Northeast Lions Club celebrated our Fifth Anniversary at Montego Bay in Lawton.
In May of 1980, the Northeast Lions took part in the annual Armed Forces Day parade held in Lawton. The $75 dollar Second Place prize for the best entry in the parade went to the Northeast Lions. Our entry was a burro-pulled cart towing a "lion" on roller skates.
On September 26th, 1980, the Northeast Lions Club donated a brand new $500 school zone warning signal to Pioneer Park elementary school in Lawton. Participating in the event were Lions Bud Dyer, Gene Day, Charlie Taylor, and Leo Thorne.
The Northeast Lions Club continues on with this proud legacy of service to the community. We award scholarships to deserving students each year and recognize students of the quarter from each of the local high schools in Lawton. White Cane Day is held faithfully each year. We hold an annual "Can Dance" to donate canned goods to the Pleasant Valley Senior Citizens. The Northeast Lions hold an annual Christmas dinner for these Senior Citizens, as well as an annual picnic. Club members put out flags on holidays throughout the City of Lawton. Our club collects glasses to be recycled for those who cannot afford to purchase them. We have continued our support of the Oklahoma Boys' Ranch and local Eye Banks. We honor the achievements accomplished during the first 25 years of our club, and we all look forward to a bright future living up to the motto "We Serve".