2017 was another successful year for Westbury Lions with a wide range of events organised.
The year kicked off in April with our annual Easter egg hunt in the grounds of the All Saints Church, much to the delight of the 100-plus children taking part and just two weeks later, over 100 older but ‘young at heart’ Westbury residents enjoyed the annual party at the Paragon Hall with afternoon tea and live music, Matravers School Choir and poetry recitals.
In May we celebrated Westbury Lions’ 43rd birthday with a Charter Dinner and Dance with live music. This event is attended by local dignitaries, friends of Lions and other Lions club members from around the region. The day after our Charter dinner a number of Lions attended a day out at Paultons Park. This event is hosted by Lions clubs to send children and their families who would not normally get a chance to spend a day at a theme park.
Local Lions and our Leos also took part in a ‘zone walk’ where members from around our region walked from Bradford on Avon, through Trowbridge to Westbury and then on the following day from Westbury, through Warminster to Mere. This walk was organised in celebration of a 100 years of Lions Clubs International, which was founded in 1917.
The Donkey Derby in June is one of our largest events, held at the White Horse Country Park. The new site created at the park was a great success for us, giving far more space than before and allowing people to park their cars much closer to the event.
In July we helped out at Cliveyfest, a local music festival in Dilton Marsh organised by local resident Annie Harris, with some Lions camping all weekend to ensure we were able to help with the breakfast rush! Although not a Lions-sponsored event, we were delighted that funds raised at Cliveyfest were donated to us to support local causes.
Our autumn 10K run was the best ever, with just under 150 people taking part on a lovely sunny day in October.
Membership continues to grow and we are expecting to badge up new members in January, and we always welcome interested members of the public to come along and join us.
We are very lucky to have nurtured a successful Leos club in Westbury, affiliated to Matravers School. The Leos club has over 20 members aged between 12-21 who are committed to serving in the community and around the world, both alongside and independently of the Lions. They all give 100% to whatever they get involved in, from street clean-up sessions to supporting the Donkey Derby. They wear their uniforms with pride and you have probably seen them around the town in their bright yellow shirts and purple tops. The help of the Leos has been invaluable at many of our events, and they work tirelessly developing their own fundraising activities within Matravers, while also supporting us. We are immensely proud of them!
Moving towards December we started our Christmas Float rounds, assisting Father Christmas as he travelled around Westbury, meeting children in the run up to the big day. We were particularly excited as Father Christmas could be tracked in real time as he travelled through the town (see westburylions.org.uk for details) and we also had the Santa postbox on the sleigh for any children who wished to write to him. He promised to write back if you added your name and address to the letter.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow Lions and friends of Lions for all their hard work throughout the year and the wonderful people of Westbury for their continued generosity and support which helps us help others. From all of us at Westbury Lions – we wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Lion President
Angie Fawcett
