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History: Local: Community
Organizations
Sussex Lions Club & Lioness Club
Start
of the
Sussex Lions Club
In 1939, there was a need for a
fraternal and civic‑minded club in the Sussex area with a bent toward
including the business community. Earlier, this had been first fulfilled by the
Ashlar Lodge, then the Sussex‑Templeton Advancement Association and the
Sussex Fire Department, but these had found their special niche. While the
Ashlar Lodge and the Sussex Fire Department still existed, the Advancement
Association had fallen by the wayside. Into this vacuum came some enterprising
individuals, probably most notably the dynamic young principal of the 10-grade
Sussex State Graded School, Winston Brown.
In 1939, the area was ripe for a community-oriented organization and Dave Kerr,
a Hartland banker and Hartland Lions Club member, persuaded Winston Brown (who
had Hartland roots) that since the area didn't have any community service group,
a Lions Club could fill the void. After some discussion, Kerr and Brown met with
John P. Kraemer at the Mammoth Spring Canning Co. office, and the Lions Club was
born.
Kraemer and Brown, two gifted men, contacted community business and professional
leaders. In a short time, 20 charter members were signed up.
The charter meeting was held April 18, 1939 with an inaugural dinner at the
two-year-old Sussex Community Hall. Dr. E.C. Van Valin, a local general
practitioner, was elected the first president.
Of the first 20 charter members, 10 later became presidents. The charter members
who later became president were Van Valin, George Podolske, Rev. E.T DeSelms,
Milton Mantz, Claude Kaderabek, Kraemer, Harry Rodgers, Albin Halquist, Henry
Yuds and Roy Stier. The other charter members were Brown, Charles A. Busse, B.M.
Fobes, William Hardiman, Otis Kramer, Rev. W.D. Millen, Alfred Otto, Rev.
Charles Parmiter, and Lloyd Weaver.
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After the initial meeting at the Sussex Community Hall, other locations in the
community were used for periods of time such as, the Brook Hotel, Bernie
Krueger's Tap, the Paul Relot Tavern, (Old Templeton Inn), the VFW, Our Villa,
and presently Marchese's Danceland. |
1939-1979 Anniv pin
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In keeping with the aim of the Lions Club International, no president has ever
served more than one year.
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Yesteryear in
Sussex: Late 1960's the Sussex Lions Club honored its' past presidents,
awarding plaques. Seated, left to right: Anthony Schumann, John P.
Kraemer, Milton Mantz, Hilbert Keller, Roy Stier, and Ray Semrow. Back
row; Al Schroeder, Jim Van Valin, representing his father "Doc"
who was the first president of the club, Jerome Herzog, Eugene Ackatz,
Jerome Mudlitz, Ronald Halquist, Chuck Woodchick, Robert Stier, Wilmer
Marx, and Paul Fleishmann. Source: Sussex Sun, Tuesday, July 11,
1978. |
Source: "The First 150 Years
Lisbon-Sussex Waukesha County, Wisconsin" by Lisbon-Sussex
Sesquicentennial Committee, 1836-1986, Fred Keller - chairman.
Content edited - Mike Reilly
Sussex Lions celebrate 67 years,
hold 40th Lions Daze this weekend
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| by
Fred H. Keller, Sussex Sun Staff Writer |
July 12,
2006 |
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Founded in 1939, the Sussex Lions Club is celebrating
its 67th birthday this year.
The club started Lions Daze officially in 1967, but it
actually began a few years earlier when it was attached
to the then fledgling Sussex Olde Engine Show. The club
began to stage its own festival in July 1967—so the 2006
Lions Daze this weekend is the club's 40th.
The co-founders of the Sussex Lions Club were two
dynamic men, Sussex Main Street High School principal
Winston Brown and the man who is considered the father
of the Village of Sussex in 1924 and the Sussex Fire
Department in 1922, John P. Kraemer.
Brown began as a teacher at the first to tenth grade
Sussex school in 1936, later moved up to the principal's
spot and left in 1941.
Kraemer came to Templeton (now east Sussex)
right out of the service after World War I, and
headed up the family's $62,800 construction of
the Mammoth Spring Canning Co., Sussex-Lisbon's
principal business and employer.
After the Jan. 30, 1922, fire that destroyed the
nine-year-old Main Street School, he led the
move to form a fire department as the leader
organizer and treasurer of the Sussex-Templeton
Advancement Association. The new fire department
was originally called Lisbon Fire Co. No. 1 and
was so well received that two years later the
same group incorporated Sussex as a village.
By 1939 the local area was ripe for a community
and charity oriented organization. Dave Kerr, a
Hartland banker and Hartland Lions Club member,
persuaded Winston Brown (originally from
Hartland) that since the Sussex-Lisbon area did
not have any community service group, a Lions
Club could fill the void.
After some discussion, Kerr and Brown met with
Kraemer at the Mammoth Spring Canning Co. office
(which was just torn down last month).
Similarly gifted with leadership, the two men
recruited 20 charter members from the community,
business and professional leaders they knew.
Ten of the original 20 would later become club
presidents: Kraemer, Dr. E.C. Van Valin,
harware store owner George Podolske, church
leaders Rev. E.T. Selms and Sussex Methodist
Church Pastor Milton Mantz, Henry Yuds from the
canning company, meat-market owner Claude
Kaderabek, quarry owner Albin Halquist, garage
owner Roy Stier, banker Harry Rodgers.
The other 10 were Brown, who later became
Waukesha County School superintendent, meat
market owner Charles Busse, longtime Village
President and County Supervisor Fred Fuchs,
Lisbon Telephone Co. owner B.M. Fobes, Walter
Hardiman of the Hardiman Oil Co., Malsch
furniture store owner Otis Kramer, Sussex Mills
owner Alfred Otto, the St. Albin's Episcopal
Church pastor, the Rev. Charles Parmiter, and
Lloyd Weaver of the Sussex-Lisbon founding
family and owner of the Brook Hotel (later the
old Sussex Place at what is now Clock Square
Park in downtown Sussex).
The first meeting of the Sussex Lions Club was
on April 18, 1939, in the federally financed WPA-built
Sussex Community Hall. Afterwards, the group
adjourned to the nearby Brook Hotel bar room.
Over the years the club has met at the Brook
Hotel, Krueger's Tap (Killarney's), Paul Relat's
Bar (Olde Templeton Inn), Our Villa (Sussex
Inn), Sussex Bowl, the Beier Cheese Factory
(where Hardee's front lawn is today) and at
Marchese's Danceland. It also held meetings at
the Sussex Village Park Lions Club pavilion on
the top of the hill and at the Quilted Bear in
Germantown (which was owned by two Sussex Lions
at the time).
Since the closing and imminent destruction of
Marchese's, the club has gone back to meeting
at Sussex Bowl.
The Lions Clubs try to keep their presidents
limited to one term of one year each, and that
is the way the Sussex Lions Club has operated
for all of its 67 years.
The Sussex Lions Club has a spawned several
spin-offs, including the Lannon Lions, the
Sussex Lioness Club and the youth-based Leos.
The Sussex Lions, which started with just 20
members, now boasts 90 members and is always
looking for more.
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©Sussex Sun 2007 |
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Sussex Lions Club
celebrates 70 years
By Fred
H. Keller
Posted:
Living Sussex Sun, June 30, 2009
The Sussex Lions Club held its
first meeting April 18, 1939, at the
old Brook Hotel - a tavern,
restaurant and hotel that stood
where the village clock stands today
in the mini park at the four corners
of Main Street, Silver Spring Road
and Orchard Drive.
The original 20 members
inaugurated the new group with a
dinner meeting followed by a
late-night party in the Sussex
Community Hall gymnasium.
The club grew by about 10 members
a decade, numbering in the 30s in
the 1940s, then escalating to more
than 100 members in the 1980s and
early 1990s. The club has declined a
bit in numbers recently, but still
boasts a membership in the upper
80s, along with its companion
Lioness Club, started in 1965, and
its junior affiliate, the Hamilton
High School Leo Club.
The Sussex Lions Club also
sponsored the founding of a Lannon
Lions Club, also in 1965.
Back in 1939, the Sussex-Lisbon
community needed a new fraternal and
civic-minded betterment club to
promote the business community.
Earlier in its history, the
Sussex-Templeton Advancement
Association and the Sussex Fire
Department had somewhat filled this
niche, but they had a narrower
focus. Even earlier, the Sussex
Ashlar Masonic Lodge had filled a
broader role, but now a more modern
civic, fraternal and
business-oriented club was needed,
its founders felt.
At this juncture, two men -
Sussex Main Street School principal
Winston Brown and Mammoth Spring
Canning Co. leader John P. Kraemer -
joined forces to found the new Lions
Club.
Kraemer was also considered the
father of the Sussex Fire Department
in 1922, the village incorporation
drive in 1924 and the Sussex park
system in 1958.
Brown moved to Sussex in the late
1930s and made an instant impact as
teacher then principal of the first-
through 10th-grade Main Street
School.
He also coached the Sussex High
School basketball teams. It didn't
hurt that Sussex had the best junior
high school basketball gym in the
tri-county (Waukesha, Dodge,
Washington) area - the 1936
WPA-built Sussex Community Hall for
$26,000 - back in the Depression. He
parlayed this coaching into
multileague and tournament
championships for Sussex. Now he
compounded this popularity by
marrying the most-liked woman
teacher in the school, Julianne
Klatt. Initially, in 1935, he had
been just a teacher at Sussex Main
Street School, but by 1937 he was
the principal of the 10 grades, and
would hold that position until July
1941 when he made a big step up to
superintendent of Waukesha County
schools.
Meanwhile, Kraemer was a longtime
Sussex Fire Department member and
Sussex Village Board trustee,
besides being the big honcho at the
main employer in Sussex, the Mammoth
Spring Canning Co. While village
doctor Erwin Van Valin was the first
president of the Sussex Lions,
Kraemer would serve as sixth in
1944-45.
One of the boasts of the Sussex
Lions Club was that in 70 years
never has one person served more
than one year as president.
The 20 original members were the
Rev. E.T. DeSelms, the Rev. W.D.
Millen, Albin Halquist, Charles
Busse , B.M. Fobes, Walter Hardiman,
Harry Rodgers, Claude Kaderabek,
Otis Kramer, Milton Mantz, Alfred
Otto, the Rev. Charles Parmiter,
George Podolske, Harry Rogers, Roy
Stier, Lloyd Weaver, Henry W. Yuds,
Kraemer, Brown and Van Valin.
Immediately the Sussex Lions Club
became a factor in Sussex and
Lisbon, both as an aide to the blind
and eye impaired, and various civic
improvements that grew as the club
matured.
The club didn't have big
money-makers for the first 28 years
but were a factor in the then much
smaller community. Then after
tasting the big time for a couple
years, aligned with the Old Engine
Show, the group struck off by itself
as the first Lions Daze was held in
the summer of 1967 at the
instigation then Lion President
Marvin E. Burg Sr. in the "bowl
area" of Sussex Village Park.
It was a money-maker from the
start, and it got bigger, becoming
an annual homecoming for the
community of Sussex-Lisbon, Hamilton
and Lannon.
The Lions Club did so many small
and big things for the communities
it's almost impossible to name them
all, but their efforts included the
lights at the high school football
field, scholarships for students,
and many buildings in the Sussex
Village Park, plus in later years
donations to Lisbon parks and both
Sussex and Lisbon Fire Departments.
Now the club's latest project is
to fund a major press box at the
Hamilton Grove Field, to the tune of
$50,000.
The communities have also
benefited as other organizations
have booths in the park during Lions
Daze, some often making their most
lucrative profit for the year there.
This year Lions Daze is a little
earlier than usual, July 10, 11 and
12. The annual parade down Main St
will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 11.
The Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical
Society Museum will be open from 1
to 4 p.m. before the parade, and
will have on display memorabilia of
the Lions Club and previous Lions
Daze. Get your chairs in place on
the street edge, and then use the
wait to visit the museum and see
some of the history of the local
Lions. 
Presidents of the Sussex Lions Club
At the 45th banquet of the Sussex Lions Club, a
photo of the former presidents of the club was taken for the Lions
history book. The 45th celebration was held in 1984, and 2014 marks
the club’s 75th anniversary. From right, the former presidents are
(front row): Bill Bierman, Ron Halquist, Paul Fleischmann, Al
Halquist, Kurt Kneiske, Art Manke, Don Edmonds, Jerry Robinson, Bill
Marx and Kim Kais. (Back row): Nick Wolfe, Jim Nettesheim, Jim
Zindle, Larry Erdman, Bob Stier, Al Schroeder, Ray Semrow, Carl
Klug, and Harry Hincliffe. Five of those pictured will be attending
this year’s 75th anniversary celebration. Fourteen have passed away.
by Fred H. Keller, Historian Posted: March 11,
2014, Living Sussex Sun
The Sussex Lions Club is having a
monumental 75th anniversary year of
celebration in 2014, having been
founded in April 1939. In the 75
years, no president has ever served
more than one year, which is a
testament to the long success of the
club. Many other such fraternal
charity and community betterment
clubs have a history of presidents
serving for more than one year.
The club started with 20 members,
and today, it has approximately 105
members. However, there are also
side clubs affiliated with them, be
it the Sussex Lioness Club or the
now very successful Hamilton
High-Templeton Middle School Leos
Club, which collectively have nearly
150 members.
Probably the most notable member
was its co-founder John Kraemer, who
besides being something of a
"father" of the Sussex Lions Club
(with Winston Brown) is also
accorded the honor of the Father of
the Sussex Fire Department, Father
of the Village of Sussex Park
system, which has a jewel, the
Sussex Village Park, where the
annual Sussex Lions Daze Festival is
held.
Of the presidents, the first, Dr.
Erwin Van Valin, was a longtime
Sussex-Lisbon community doctor who
made house calls.
Two presidents served as Lisbon
Town Chairman: Marv Burg Sr. and Art
Manke.
Two served in World War I:
Kraemer and Claude Kaderbek.
Hib Manke, Wilmer Marx, Ron
Halquist, Joe Mudlitz, Tony Schumann
and possibly a couple of others
served in World War II.
Four served as Sussex fire
chiefs: Kaderbek, George Podolske,
Roy and Bob Stier, Fleichmann, Roy
Stier and Paul Fleischmann served as
President of the Village of Sussex.
Two Lions have served for many
years on the Hamilton School Board:
James Long and Gabe Kolesari.
Local banking leaders were Eugene
Acketz and Harry Rogers.
Serving on the Sussex Village
Board as trustees were Hib Manke,
Wilmer Marx, Joe Mudlitz, Herb
Beier, Kurt Knieske, Roy and Bob
Stier, Milton Manz, Kraemer, Glenn
Moody, Podolske, Wilmer Marx,
Fleischmann and Ray Semrow (and
possibly others).
Milo Hardiman served for more
than a quarter century as the
elected clerk of Sussex.
Brothers Albin (Al) and Ron
Halquist served as president with
Al's grandson Tom also serving.
Two Nettesheims served as
president, Mark and nephew Jim.
Of the first 40 presidents, only
one is alive today: Jim Zindle.
Of the 20 deceased charter
members, the last two active members
were Al Halquist and Roy Stier.
Sussex Lions Club List of
Presidents
| 1939 |
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|
Dr. Erwin Van Valin |
| 1940 |
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|
George Podolske |
| 1941 |
|
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Rev. Emmot DeSelms |
| 1942 |
|
|
Milton Mantz |
| 1943 |
|
|
Claude Kaderbek |
| 1944 |
|
|
John Kraemer |
| 1945 |
|
|
Harry Rogers |
| 1946 |
|
|
Albin C. Halquist |
| 1947 |
|
|
Henry Yuds |
| 1948 |
|
|
Roy Stier |
| 1949 |
|
|
Kurt Knieske |
| 1950 |
|
|
John Zimmerman |
| 1951 |
|
|
William Allen |
| 1952 |
|
|
Herbert Beier |
| 1953 |
|
|
Anthony Schumann |
| 1954 |
|
|
Jerome Herzog |
| 1955 |
|
|
Milo Hardiman |
| 1956 |
|
|
Charles Woodchick |
| 1957 |
|
|
Raymond Semrow |
| 1958 |
|
|
Joseph Weber |
| 1959 |
|
|
Hilbert Keller |
| 1960 |
|
|
Allan Schroeder |
| 1961 |
|
|
Jerome Mudlitz |
| 1962 |
|
|
Paul Fleischmann |
| 1963 |
|
|
Robert Stier |
| 1964 |
|
|
Eugene Ackatz |
| 1965 |
|
|
Wilmer Marx |
| 1966 |
|
|
Ronald Halquist |
| 1967 |
|
|
Marvin Burg, Sr. |
| 1968 |
|
|
Hilbert Manke |
| 1969 |
|
|
Jack Feltz |
| 1970 |
|
|
William Zahnow |
| 1971 |
|
|
William Bierman |
| 1972 |
|
|
Don Roskopf |
| 1973 |
|
|
James Zindle |
| 1974 |
|
|
Donald Peplinski |
| 1975 |
|
|
Mark Nettesheim |
| 1976 |
|
|
Gerald Robinson |
| 1977 |
|
|
Lawrence Erdmann |
| 1978 |
|
|
Arthur Manke |
| 1979 |
|
|
Jim Nettesheim |
| 1980 |
|
|
Don Edmonds |
| 1981 |
|
|
Nick Wolfe |
| 1982 |
|
|
Carl Klug |
| 1983 |
|
|
James Kais |
| 1984 |
|
|
Harry Hinchcliffe |
| 1985 |
|
|
Glen Moody |
| 1986 |
|
|
Gus Gansemer |
| 1987 |
|
|
Gabe Kolesari |
| 1988 |
|
|
William Fischer |
| 1989 |
|
|
Eugene Marx |
| 1990 |
|
|
David Roisler |
| 1991 |
|
|
James Long |
| 1992 |
|
|
David Schroeder |
| 1993 |
|
|
E. James Skarda |
| 1994 |
|
|
Tom Halquist |
| 1995 |
|
|
Paul Schmidt |
| 1996 |
|
|
Thomas Rapp |
| 1997 |
|
|
Patrick Handlos |
| 1998 |
|
|
Jim Wanke |
| 1999 |
|
|
Paul Newman |
| 2000 |
|
|
Kurt Simons |
| 2001 |
|
|
Ted Spliger |
| 2002 |
|
|
Bob Zahn |
| 2003 |
|
Bob Van Aacken |
| 2004 |
|
|
Bob Johanning |
| 2005 |
|
|
Ralph Modjeska |
| 2006 |
|
|
Kevin Cumming |
| 2007 |
|
|
John Haunfelder |
| 2008 |
|
|
Erik Olsen |
| 2009 |
|
|
Glenn Repose |
| 2010 |
|
|
Rick Vodicka |
| 2011 |
|
|
Bill Evers |
| 2012 |
|
|
Jeff Carlson |
| 2013 |
|
|
Ronald Buschke |
| 2014 |
|
|
Greg Mears |
Sussex Lions Club
celebrates 75 years
by Fred
H. Keller
Posted:
April 21, 2014, Living Sussex Sun
In April 1939, the Sussex Lions
Club was born as a group of men had
their first charter night banquet at
the Brook Hotel, what is today a
minipark with the large Sussex
Clocktower as the key noticeable
feature.
After the food and a few
celebratory beverages they walked a
block east to the 1937-built Sussex
Village Community Building for a
formal charter meeting.
This year marks the 75th
anniversary of this influential
organization.
There were 22 charter members at
this first-ever charter meeting.
They were three local ministers —
Rev. Charles Parmiter of St.
Alban's, Rev. E.T. DeSelms of Lisbon
Methodist, and Rev. W.D. Miller of
Sussex Zion — along with B.M. Fobes
of Lisbon Telephone Co.; Wiston
Brown, the Main Street School
principal; Claude Kaderabek and
Charles Busse who opera ted two
competing Sussex butcher shops; John
P. Kraemer, Hank Yuds and Milt Manz
from Mammoth spring Canning Co.;
Fred Fuchs, owner of the former
Sussex Creamery; Harry Rogers, a
Sussex F&M banker; Otis Kramer of
Malsch Furniture Store; Walter
Hardiman of Hardiman Oil Co.; Al
Halquist of Halquist Quarry; Alfred
Otto of the Nettesheim & Otto feed
mill (Sussex Mills); George Podolske,
of Podolske Hardware; E. C. VanValin,
a local physician; Roy Stier, a
blacksmith and garage owner; and
Lloyd Weaver, bartender at the Brook
Hotel.
Steady growth
Records show that the club had 48
members at its 25th anniversary; 69
at the 30th; 76 at the 35th in 1974;
83 at the 50th; and rose after that
to 100. Today the club has about 110
members, and also has a Leo's Club
of possible future members of more
150 students at Hamilton High and
Templeton Middle schools. It is the
largest Wisconsin Lions club.
The Sussex Lions Club is a
service and fraternal club with
charities supporting those
challenged by vision and hearing
problems, and diabetes, and
supporting Camp Rosholt, a youth
camp for handicapped individuals.
Fund-raising in the early years
was tough after a spectacular
misfire when the club got involved
with the Lynndale Farms subdivision
auto racing venture. This venture
was doomed by rains, mosquitoes and
the fact that the event never caught
on.
However, in short order the Lions
turned things around with the Olde
Engine Show in the Village Park, and
they used the experience to start
Lions Daze under the leadership of
then-president Marv Burg Sr. in
1967. The successful "homecoming
carnival" is an example of the local
betterment projects that have
followed through the years.
Lights, and more
Personally I benefited from the
Lions Club as I had two sons who
played Hamilton football. With no
lights on the field, my older son
played games on Friday afternoons.
As sports editor in 1982, I ran a
Sussex Sun sports page appeal
labeled, "Let there be light at the
football field," and shortly Sussex
Lions member Wilmer Marx stopped at
my home, telling me that the Lions
Club would be paying for the
installation of the lights at the
Hamilton field (now the Coach Stan
Grove Field).
It happened in 1982, and I could
watch my second son play football
under the lights, starting at 7 p.m.
Today Friday night football is a big
happening at the Charger field.
Recenty the Sussex Lions totaled
up their locally aimed charitable
giving, which is approaching $1.5
million.
A broad impact
This funding has benefited the
Pauline Haass Library; playground
equipment for the Sussex-Lisbon
Parks, plus shelters and buildings;
the football lights; cornea tissue
transplants; lights at the softball
diamond in the village park; Fire
Department equipment; Boy and Girl
Scout units; the Sussex teen center;
Hamilton drug-free night; flag
football; Junior Prom; senior
citizen busing; the Hamilton
Education Foundation; student
scholarships; Hamilton Charger
Robotics Team 537; eye-glass
collections; blind outdoor leisure
equipment; visually handicapped
individuals; the Make-a-Wish
Foundation; the Kidney Foundation;
and SOS Sussex Food Pantry for the
needy.
2014 is the 75th anniversary year
of the Sussex Lions Club, and they
plan big things for this anniversary
year.
Sussex
Lions
celebrate
their
75th
anniversary
By
Jon
Olson
Posted:
May
6,
2014
9:33
a.m.,
Living
Sussex
Sun
Talk
to a
member
of
the
Sussex
Lions
Club
and
he
will
tell
you
his
story
—
why
he
joined
the
club,
what
he
does
for
it,
what
it
does
for
him.
But
that
same
member
would
be
quick
to
tell
you
that
what
makes
the
Lions
successful
isn't
his
particular
contributions,
but
the
power
of
the
members
working
together.
"We
come
from
many
walks
of
life,
but
share
a
common
purpose:
We
serve,"
said
Sussex
Lions
Club
President
Ron
Buschke.
Buschke's
comments
Saturday
night
capped
a
four-hour
dinner
and
celebration
marking
the
75th
anniversary
of
the
club.
Born
in
1939,
it
has
climbed
over
the
years
to a
membership
of
more
than
100,
the
largest
of
the
47
clubs
in
its
district.
The
weekend
party
was
attended
by
158
people,
including
local
dignitaries,
Lions
from
neighboring
clubs,
Lion
affiliates,
spouses,
and
leaders
at
the
district
and
national
level,
including
Immediate
Past
International
President
Wayne
Madden,
who
oversaw
during
his
term
the
1.3
million
members
of
Lions
Clubs
worldwide.
Making
contributions
Through
fundraising
events
such
as
Lions
Daze,
golf
outings,
an
annual
car
show,
personal
financial
contributions
and
sweat,
the
Sussex
club
puts
its
total
contributions
at
$1.3
million
over
the
years
toward
countless
programs,
including
flag
football
for
youth;
lights
for
Hamilton
High
School
football
and
soccer
fields;
playground
equipment,
signs
and
buildings
in
community
parks;
Sussex
Outreach
Services;
a
robotics
programs,
among
many
other
things.
More
important,
perhaps,
are
the
ways
in
which
the
club
has
changed
individual
lives.
Sight
and
vision
improvement,
for
example,
are
one
of
the
Lions'
signature
efforts.
Through
the
Lions
Eye
Bank
of
Wisconsin,
Jerry
Wille,
treasurer
of
the
eye
bank
and
a
past
Lion
district
governor,
said,
"We
gave
the
gift
of
sight
to
500
people"
last
year.
A
few
years
ago,
a
Sussex
woman
was
a
recipient
of
cornea
tissue
transplants
in
both
eyes.
The
Lions
role
in
the
eye
bank
is
not
doing
surgery,
but
providing
transportation
for
the
corneas
—
from
the
site
where
they
are
removed
from
donors,
to
the
eye
bank
near
the
Madison
airport,
to
the
surgery
centers
where
they
are
implanted.
"It's
like
a
pony
express,"
Wille
said.
The
strength
of
the
Leos
To
Wille,
who
belongs
to
the
Oconomowoc
Lions
Club,
one
of
the
strengths
of
the
Sussex
club
is
its
high
school
Leo
Club
community
service
program.
Leo
Clubs
are
not
unique
to
Sussex,
but
here
there
are
more
Leos
—
116
—
than
the
104
Lions.
Virtually
all
of
the
Sussex
Lions
are
men,
though
women
are
allowed.
Many
women
choose
to
become
involved
in
the
Lioness
Club,
which
has
about
40
members.
Highly
organized
For
Greg
Mears,
who
will
be
the
next
president
of
the
Sussex
Lions
Club,
it
is a
measure
of
the
size
and
strength
of
the
club
that
in
75
years,
no
member
has
served
more
than
one
one-year
term
as
president.
He
describes
the
process
of
moving
through
the
various
posts
below
president
as
"like
conveyor
belt."
"You
start
as a
tail-twister
and
you
work
your
way
up,"
through
treasurer,
secretary
and
three
VP
positions,
he
said.
While
most
of
the
Sussex
Lions
Club's
contributions
stay
close
to
home,
Lions
Clubs
in
208
countries
and
the
Lions
Club
International
Foundation
broaden
the
reach
of
local
clubs.
Madden,
in
his
address
to
the
club
at
the
anniversary,
gave
a
slide
presentation
depicting
his
heavy
travel
schedule
in
his
year
as
international
president.
Italy,
Colombia,
Thailand,
Japan,
Taiwan,
Cambodia,
Haiti,
India,
the
Philippines
and
Switzerland
are
just
some
of
the
countries
he
visited,
in
addition
to
many
U.S.
locales,
to
see
Lions
Club
funds
at
work.
He
attended
the
World
Economic
Summit
in
Davos,
Switzerland;
worked
with
Bill
Gates;
and
met
with
members
of
Congress.
Some
clubs
struggle
Despite
the
strength
of
the
Sussex
club,
other
clubs
in
the
district
are
struggling,
and
some
in
Milwaukee
County
have
closed,
said
District
Gov.
Cary
Kraemer.
He
made
a
plea
for
increased
recruitment
and
the
development
of
more
leaders.
"We
have
guys
that
own
businesses,"
Mears
said,
"guys
that
are
retired,
we
have
engineers,
technicians,
managers,
bankers,
we
even
have
college
students."
Anyone
can
be a
Lion.
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