Printer Friendly Version - 2019 Off to a Good Start for Essex Lions Club

Essex Lions Club members (from left) Tom Langlois, Denise Hagan Dudek, Cathy Shanley, and Kathleen Hagan Kelemen were honored in January for their outstanding commitment to the organization at the annual Connecticut Regional Melvin Jones Awards Banquet.Photo courtesy of the Essex Lions Club

Most visible for its traditional late summer lobster bake fundraiser, the Essex Lions Club does a lot more than just cook up tasty tidbits. Most recently the club, which has approximately 50 members, presented a $2,500 donation check to Alex Breen of Essex Veterans Memorial Hall in Centerbrook in support of its project to provide a centralized comfort station in Centerbrook.

Once completed the comfort station will have the capacity to provide cooling or warming relief for up to 50 people and will be available to all.

In addition, four Essex Lion Club members were recognized for their outstanding commitment to the organization at the annual Connecticut Regional Melvin Jones Awards Banquet held each January. The honorees were Denise Dudek, Katie Kelemen, Tom Langlois, and Cathy Shanley.

“Its been a while since someone from the Essex Lion Club has been recognized, so we were extremely proud to have four members recognized this year,” said Kerry Desmond, head of publicity for the club. “These four members are outstanding people and we are very lucky to have them in the club.”

The Lions also conducts service projects throughout town to enrich the community all year long, such as providing free pediatric eye screening in area schools and storm clean up at the Essex Land Trust property. The Lions also provide the food at the annual Ivoryton Pumpkin Festival and members volunteer their time at the Essex Steam Train when Thomas rolls into town.

“We have a great time together and work hard for the betterment of the town in anyway we can,” said Desmond.

“It’s a fun group that has a good time, while doing good things and we are always looking for more people to join,” he added.

Each year the Lions Club holds its largest fundraiser the Lobster Bake at the end of the summer on the first Saturday in August. This event brings in close to $15,000 in donations, which the Lions put right back into the community explained Desmond.

Essex Lions Club meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6 p.m. at the Essex Veterans Memorial Hall, 3 Westbrook Road, Centerbrook.

For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page (its website is currently under reconstruction).