O n January 13th, 1879, a man was born in CampThomas, Arizona Territory, who would in later years have a profound effect on millions of people world wide. This man was Melvin Jones, founder of Lions Clubs International. In 1917, dissatisfied with the actions of a local club in Chicago to which he belonged, he arranged for a meeting of delegates from several service and professional clubs, and out of this meeting came the founding of Lions Clubs. The organization went International in 1920 when a Lions Club was chartered in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and has since spread to every continent in the world, listing nearly 1.5 million members in 43, 771 clubs.

In the middle 1950s a movement was started to erect a monument to him at Ft.Thomas, Arizona. It was not until 1962, however, that the movement really got going. Land was secured and deeded to the Arizona Lions by the Southern Pacific Railroad, and construction began on a 50 foot monument. This was completed and dedicated in June, 1965 under the leadership of the Safford, Arizona Lions Club. The International Board of Directors of Lions International have proclaimed January 13th each year as a day of rededication and memory to Melvin Jones and the ideals of Lionism.

On the Saturday nearest the 13th of January each year, there is a rededication ceremony held at the Memorial Park in Ft. Thomas, attended by Lions not only from Arizona, but from several other states and some foreign countries. The next rededication ceremony will be held on Jan 13th, 2001 beginning at 11:00am and followed by lunch at the Ft. Thomas school. There will be numerous International Officers present including Past International President James Coffey. Time is allotted for a tour of the Memorial conducted by members of the Board of Directors of the Melvin Jones Memorial Park.

In conjunction with the USA/Canada Forum, the official dedication of the Melvin Jones Memorial will take place on Sept. 20, 2000 followed by a dinner at Eastern Arizona Junior College. There will be a Postmistress present to cancel any First Day Covers desired by collectors, as well as the sale of Memorial shirts and pins. Many International guests are expected, including the current International President of France. The emcee for the dinner and program will be Past International President Dick Bryan. It is hoped that the number of guests from outside Arizona won't exceed Lions from Arizona. How about it... have you gotten your reservation in yet? If not, it needs to be in ASAP to Lion Pat Bennington of the Buckeye Club.

The Memorial is located on the north side of U.S. 60 on the west side of Ft. Thomas and cannot be missed due to the height of the Memorial. It is an easy drive from almost anywhere in Arizona, but there are several fine motels in Safford located nearby for those wishing to spend more time in the area. Plan to attend the rededication, or if traveling in Arizona at any other time of the year, plan to visit the Memorial during your stay in Arizona.

At the International Lions Convention held in San Diego in 1999, the International Board of Directors approved the Memorial as an International project. In the past this project has been supported mainly by Lions in Arizona, it will now receive support from Lions Clubs through out the world. A mailing is in progress to every club world wide to further inform them of this action and to solicit their support of this project. Without Melvin Jones foresight there would be no Lions Clubs and therefore very little, if any, of the sight and hearing assistance to give to those needing it would be achieved.

You may direct any questions about the memorial, the rededication ceremony or the Lions Clubs in general to P.L. Phillips via eMail at kk7bj@futureone.com.