By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
The Santa Fe Lions Club celebrated its 65th anniversary on Saturday. Officials with the Lions of Texas traveled from San Antonio and Kerrville to honor the day’s celebration.
Ernesto Tijerina, past international director for Lions Club International praised the Santa Fe club for its legacy of service and the impact it has had on the local community. He added that the Lions look forward to this local club continuing its service.
“They made the mark and will continue at the same level for the next 65 years,” Tijerina said.
Betsy Miller of Santa Fe has been a Lions Club member since 1999 and served as the secretary and treasurer of the club for 25 years.
“The club was down to just two members — my dad and another man,” said Betty’s daughter, Santa Fe Club Marketing Chair Diane Miller said. “One of the ways to boost the club was to invite women to join. My mom was the first woman to join the Santa Fe Lions Club,”
Betty Miller is 91 years old and continues to serve her community as a member of the Santa Fe Lions Club. Her husband, Garrett joined the club in 1969. He was awarded his 50-year pin in 2019 and passed away in 2020.
Errol Jones is the current president of the Santa Fe Lions Club. Like Tijerina, he is excited about the club and the service that it offers to members of the community.
“I love volunteering! I like to help people, and with Lions we do a lot of helping.” Jones said. “We provide food to HIS ministries; we give eyeglasses to people who need them; every April our club goes to our camp in Kerrville to help set it up for the summer. We just help as much as we can.”
Lions Clubs International is an international association that has just under 1.5 million members in 49,000 clubs across the globe, according to the website for the international association. The clubs are known for their vision care but also provide other humanitarian services.
To learn more about the Santa Fe Lions Club or about Lions Club international, please visit https://e-clubhouse.org/sites/santa_fe_tx/.
