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Date: 5/8/2023
MONSON — Lions Club District 33A recently elected Monson Lions Club member Curt Jameson to the position of governor.
Jameson has been a Lion since 2002. He served as second vice district governor, then first vice district governor, and has been preparing for his new role as governor, he said.
Jameson will be inducted at the Lions Club International Convention in Boston by Lions Club International President Brian Sheehan, along with 750 other district governors, he said. Jameson said he “waited to throw his hat in the ring for governor” until the convention was closer to home, saying that next year’s convention will be in Australia and Boston is an easier commute.
“It is a big role to fill, with a lot of time commitments, and little compensation,” Jameson said, on why he is the first to take on the role of governor in many years. District 33A supports 49 Lions Clubs and more than 1455 Lions. Jameson said the span of District 33A covers a range of towns from Monson to Athol to Grafton, to name a few, and there is a lot of traveling involved with the role of governor.
As part of his duties, Jameson said he has to meet with all of the district governors in the state. “We have five different districts, 33Y which covers Western Mass., 33A, 33N covering the area east of Worcester, 33K which is north of Boston, and 33S which is south Boston and the Cape,” he explained.
Jameson is on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund Inc., and said they are “one of the major contributors to the five Boston hospitals that deal with sight, and last year donated over $600,000.”
Jameson is also on the board of directors of the District 33A Sight and Hearing Fund, which he said helps people get hearing aids and hearing and eye care. Jameson said one of the things people don’t realize about the Lions Club is that they are available to anyone who needs help with hearing or sight. He encourages those in need to reach out and can do so by visiting lionsdist33a.org.
“Part of my duties is to get people together and spread the word of Lions and see how we can help people,” Jameson said. He would like to start getting more clubs and towns to work together, and uses the motto “I can’t, but we can.”
As part of his many duties, Jameson is looking forward to visiting the Clara Barton Camp for children with Type 1 juvenile diabetes. Jameson said diabetes is the number one cause of blindness. Jameson said the Leo Club, a part of the Lions Club on the high school level, will be at the camp helping paint the railings.
He said the Leo Club is “a great opportunity for kids to learn how to serve their communities and it’s really nice for them to get a sense of helping people.”
“Theres just so many things we do as Lions that I could go on forever,” Jameson said.
Jameson said he became a Lion because of his father. “My dad was a Lion for all my life,” he said. “Last fall we unearthed a time capsule put in place 40 years ago by a Worcester Lions Club that is no longer there, and just last week started taking apart some of the envelopes. I happened to get a directory from 1967 and I found my dad’s name in there. When dad got sick and was in his last days, I told him I would be in the club,” Jameson said.
He added his time with the Lions has been invaluable, and watching people help other people through being in the club “gives you a whole new faith in humanity, and I’ve made great friends, learned, it’s been a great experience.” Jameson said he is looking forward to his new role as governor.