There was one name that stood out above the rest when members of Cooroy Pomona Lions celebrated their 50th milestone last Saturday, and that was Barry Stewart.
Since the club began Barry has been a member, the Lions stalwart having become the man to see if there’s something you need to do or something you need to know, club president Ashley Stephenson told guests at the club’s anniversary celebration.
Lions district governor Timothy Fraser congratulated the club for its 50 years’ service to the community and was on hand to present the club with an award for delivering the district’s top project event.
“It’s a pleasure to come to this club,“ he said.
“You’ve done an amazing amount of work for the community for 50 years, particularly with the King of the Mountain and done a lot of work to raise money for the community.“
Barry said it had been a privilege to have been in the club for 50 years and he’d enjoyed some wonderful times and great friendships.
“Like most clubs it’s had its ups and downs but we’ve been able to keep it going. We’ve put Pomona on the map with the King of the Mountain.“
Barry said like all clubs they needed new members and he encouraged people to join and “enjoy the friendships“ as he has done.
Lions members from Cooroy-Pomona and neighbouring clubs, other club members, club sponsors and local politicians paid tribute to the club and the service it had provided to the community.
The club was chartered in May 1972 but its 50th celebrations were postponed a year, mainly because of earlier Covid restrictions.
Over 50 years the club has undertaken numerous projects and fundraising activities which have helped to improve local facilities and the lives of many people and organisations in the community.
For the past 44 years Pomona’s King of the Mountain Festival has been a project of the Cooroy Pomona Lions Club.
Most of the infrastructure in Stan Topper Park including the arch, the stage, the light pole and the barbecue shelter were built by the club. The Lions Den had been an old school building that had fallen into disrepair when Lions took it on and turned it into a community facility. A shed added in 2020 has become the Lions Book Shop which now contains about 8000 books and has become very popular with locals and visitors, providing a great recycling project as well as raising funds for various Lions projects.
Local schools, SES, facilities for medical care, rescue helicopter, youth projects, support for the elderly, families in need, disaster relief, community events have all benefitted from the work of Lions.
Mayor Clare Stewart congratulated the club on its milestone.
“If there’s anything the community needs you are there and for that we are grateful,“ she said.
