Brussels Lions Club to mark 80th with open house celebration
This year, the Brussels Lions Club will be marking its 80th anniversary with a special open house in the auditorium of the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre, a building so near and dear to the hearts of the club’s members.
The open house is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 25 and will run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members of the public are welcome to attend and the format will be casual and come-and-go in nature with memorabilia on display, cake and ice cream (beginning at 12:30 p.m.), slide show presentations and displays and presentations from a number of the organizations the club supports and an opportunity to meet with current members of the club and to learn more about the organization.
But, first, a bit about the last 80 years.
Brussels Lions have served the community since 1946. The first meeting of the Brussels Lions Club was held on March 29, 1946. The sponsoring Seaforth Lions Club was present to assist in the organization of the new service club and its first meeting.
The official charter night was held on April 17, 1946 in the basement of the Melville Presbyterian Church to induct the board of directors and club members.
The inaugural slate of officers installed consisted of R.B. Cousins, President; L.W. Eckmier, First Vice-President; R.J. Bowman, Second Vice-President; Rev. H.C. Wilson, Third Vice-President; R.E. Johnston, Secretary; R.C. McBride, Treasurer; M. Laycock, Lion Tamer; D.A. Rann, Tail Twister; K.L. Ashton, Director; A. Wood, Director; Dr. W.D.S.-Jamieson, Director, and M. Wineberg,Director.
Since that initial meeting, the Brussels Lions Club and its members have continued to live up to their motto of “We Serve”.
It did not take the Brussels Lions long following their charter night to get involved in a fund-raising project. In June of 1946, the club hosted the still-popular CKNX Barn Dance and collected clothing for the National Clothing Drive. Since that time, money to fund the many worthwhile projects have been raised in a wide variety of ways.
Halloween parties were held each year, beginning in 1947, until the early 1960s. In 1952, a car raffle was held, which raised more than $2,500 - quite an accomplishment for its time. Rodeos, minstrel shows, peanut sales, paper drives, bingo and the Barrel over the Dam contest raised funds throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1961, the first “Lions Hockey Draw” was held. Now in its 65th year, its popularity continues to grow year after year, and it has become a major source of funds for the club.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, “Polar Daize” provided locals with the opportunity to have fun and frolic in the cold, participating in skating carnivals, dances on the ice, the “Polar Dip”, and the ever-popular “Thunder Mug” races. “Radio Bingo”, walkathons and canoe and snowmobile races also helped contribute to the coffers during this period.
During the 1980s, the Lions helped to promote the local business community by sponsoring “Town and Country Tradefest” at the community centre. Large dances in the new arena to popular music groups were also major fundraisers for the club during the 1980s and 1990s.
“Duck Races” and “Christmas Raffles” were added in the 1990s and, in 2014, the club hosted its first-ever Fiddle Jamboree. In 2016, the Brussels Lions held its first community breakfast, which immediately proved to be a great fundraiser for the club.
During the mid-1970s, the Brussels Lions Club was one of the driving forces during the planning for and construction of the Brussels, Morris, and Grey Community Centre. With a donation of more than $18,000, the club was a major financial contributor towards the construction costs. More recently, the Brussels Lions Club contributed $50,000 towards the facility’s renovation program. To make these contributions, the club’s first Elimination Draw was held in 1972 and has now been an annual fundraiser for the club for nearly 55 years.
The single largest project in the history of the club however, occurred in 1984 and 1985 when the Lions Club undertook the construction of a swimming pool for the village and its residents. Approximately $50,000 was raised from various raffles and a door-to-door canvass to match an equal amount of government funding. Even though the facility was turned over to the municipality on opening day in 1985, the Brussels Lions have continued to financially support this facility; purchasing needed equipment, funding capital improvements and subsidizing the cost of swimming lessons and public swimming for local youth.
In addition to the larger benefactors of our fundraising activities, the Brussels Lions Club has supported countless other very worthwhile projects both locally and abroad.
The Brussels Lions contributed $20,000 to assist the municipality and its residents when the village’s Carnegie library was expanded and renovated and, in 2016, contributed $8,000 to the Brussels Legion’s accessibility and facility improvements.
Although the bulk of the funds raised are spent locally, the Brussels Lions Club is called upon to assist in other parts of the world through Lions International. These initiatives have included such things as collecting used eyeglasses for use in developing countries, funding for use in the prevention of disease such as leprosy and blindness as well as famine relief, literacy programs and providing financial help for victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.
Locally, the Brussels Lions continue to provide financial support to a vast array of community improvement projects and programs, including sports clubs, boys’ and girls’ clubs, school bands, area parks and recreation facilities, youth groups, home and school associations, church groups, the Brussels Santa Claus parade (and others), the Brussels Agricultural Society, six local hospitals and the food banks of North Huron, Seaforth and Huron County. Furthermore, the club has, over the years, supported a multitude of other charitable organizations including Huron Hospice, the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Ronald McDonald House, Lions Camp Dorset, Lions Dog Guides and Diabetes Canada “D Camps” for Kids, Huron County Christmas Bureau victims of disaster and many local families in need. Over the years, benefactors of the club have become too numerous to mention, with many still benefitting annually from the support of the club.
In 1976, the Brussels Lions organized the community’s first Leo Club, which was extremely popular with local youth for years, but faltered in the mid-1990s. In 2013, the club restarted the Leo Club with 15 members inducted on its charter night. It continues to be highly active and has taken on many fundraising programs and projects on its own since that time.
The Lions Club has been a long-time supporter of the Lions Youth Exchange program, both in providing financial support to local participants travelling to other parts of the world and hosting participants from other countries and assisting with the District’s Youth Exchange Camps.
Within the community, club members have assisted the local school board with vision screening programs and, in recent years, have made and donated comfort blankets to provide to children undertaking life-saving treatment at medical facilities such as Children’s Hospitals in London and Hamilton, as well as those attending cancer treatment summer camps.
Membership in the Brussels Lions Club has remained stable. From the original charter membership of 42, it dropped to 28 in the early 1960s, peaked at 59 in the early 1980s and presently sits at 41, a third of whom are female members. Each of the club’s members share a common interest in serving their community.
Since the club’s inaugural meeting in 1946, the community has entrusted the club with its money to do what needs to be done both at home and around the world. As a result of the very generous support of the citizens of Brussels and the surrounding area, it is estimated that close to $1 million has been raised and returned to the community by the Brussels Lions Club.
Members of the club are proud to say that, in 2026, they have served their community for 80 years and that they look forward to continuing that tradition for many years to come.