INTERNATIONAL FOUNDER ( 1879 – 1961 )

It was Melvin Jones, a young American insurance broker whose vision and dedication to the concept of international humanitarian service gave birth to the Lions movement.

Jones, a member of a lunchtime business circle, pioneered the group’s community service program which eventually led to amalgamation with several other service groups.

One of these was LIONS and this named adopted for the fledgling organisation.

In 1917 this acronym was appropriately determined to mean:

L – Liberty
I – Intelligence
O – Our
N – Nations
S – Safety

When Melvin Jones, the associations first General Secretary, died in 1961 Charles f Kettering wrote:

“Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, Some man believed that it could and some man willed that it must.”