Seeley Lake Lions Attend 2026 District Convention
This past April 17-18, 2026 we held the convention in Columbia Falls. While I’m sure the host Lions club will be posting an article, this one was special for Seeley lake. Our own Lion Jon Kimble was voted our new District 37 Governor and our 2nd Vice governor was elected 1st Vice District Governor. As an extra surprise and well-deserved accolade was the presentation of the International Presidents Award to Lion Cheryl Lewis. All of us in Seeley Lake are proud of all three of these Lions and their dedication to service and our community. They are very deserving of these accomplishments.
Everyone had a great time with guest speakers Miss Montana and Miss Teen Montana both giving very heartfelt and inspiring speeches. Thank You Columbia Falls Lions for hosting such a terrific convention with training, great accommodations, food, music and lots of laughs.
By Seeley Lake Lions ClubLions Easter Seeley Lake Style
Easter is a great time of year and this year was no disappointment. Our Easter Egg Hunt Committee pulled off another great event over two days.
First, we had the stuffing of all the eggs on Friday April 3rd. We had 17 members and 3 Leos there to help stuff them with candy, chocolate eggs and special prizes. Many hands make light and fast work, so in two hours we had them all done. Everyone was treated with pizza and refreshments.
On Saturday April 4th, we all gathered to spread the 3,100 eggs we prepared the night before. Again, we had 18 members on hand and another 3 Leos to help. All the kids gathered around 12:30 and at the start at 1:00pm, the mad dash started. Smiles were to be found everywhere and parents were very appreciative of the Lions hosting this annual event. Lions – “We Serve”
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration – Seeley Lake Lions
Each year the Senior Citizens of Seeley Lake put on a dinner celebration featuring all the usual Irish fare including Corned beef and cabbage, potatoes, carrots and a specially prepared Irish Stew. The event was held on March 14th at the Senior Center.
Lions Liz Britt, Rob Shaffer and Clay Creek were responsible for cooking the delicious meal while other Lions helped with tickets at the door, serving, clearing of tables and we even had some Leos there helping us to sell 50/50 tickets. Several people donated items for a silent auction to help raise money for the center. There was also a cake walk where donated goodies were won by people participating in the fun game. Players enter the game for a dollar and walk in a circle on numbered spots. Music is played and when it stops they pull a number from a hat and if you are on that number you win the cake!
Lots of smiles, plenty of food and everyone was Irish for a day!
Seeley Lake Lions-Fund Raising for Scholarships
Polaris Raffle
Recently we were blessed with a donation of a Polaris General with a snowplow by one of our newest members Lion Michael Williams. Our goal was to raise at least $8-10,000, however, we exceeded that and brought in a whopping $15,000! It was a great effort by many in the club to sell tickets and through the generosity of residents of Seeley Lake and nearby towns we were able to pull off this miracle. On top of that we had a local resident be the lucky winner!
These scholarships, which we give out on an annual basis, will go to help high school students here with academic, merit and performance based. Last year and this year we also gave out trade scholarships which is equally important for those students are not going to college but need assistance in a trade. Helping with this cause was our local Leos club. Out of 98 students at the school 24 are Leos and they contributed $500 in sales and learned the responsibility of getting this done on time and accurately. We budget for these each year but with the addition of this money, it will help students for years to come as we can add to the amount we decide to hand out. A huge congratulations goes to Lion Rich Westin for being the driving force behind ticket sales.
True Lionism in Action!
Winterfest 2026
For the past few years, we in Seeley Lake are trying to find new fund raisers. We have done a couple of shows with either live talent or lip synching. We call this Winterfest and the theme was Showtime! Put together by Lion Ginger Williams with support from countless other members, we were able to gather 15 different acts for the January 24th performance.
Lion President Michael Feretich was the MC and kept the show moving with inspiration and humor. Lion Cory Thompson donated all of our refreshments while countless others donated items for our silent auction. All totaled with admission, refreshments, the silent auction and the raffle of the Polaris General we were able to bring in almost $20,000!
It was outstanding that we had so much help from our small town. Lots of old faces plus many new ones enjoyed an evening of music and entertainment we don’t normally see.
Seeley Lake Lions-December News
GIVING THANKS
At a time when families are planning for the holidays with lavish meals and relatives traveling to be with one another, not everyone is as fortunate. Some families wonder if they will see relatives or what kind of meal they will have. One of our own members , Lion Cory, who owns Cory’s Valley Market here in town, each year, puts together food baskets to be distributed to those less fortunate. In the baskets will be either a turkey or a turkey breast, complete with stuffing, vegetable, milk and of course a pumpkin pie!
Members of the Lions in Seeley have already met months in advance to find out who in town is in need of such a wonderful gift. Then we gather a few days before Christmas and load up the boxes to be hand-delivered to each house in need. I can tell you from first-hand experience that every one of these deliveries are received with grateful arms. We hand out at least 35 of them in conjunction with a local church that also has a list. True Lionism in action in Seeley Lake!
CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS SEELEY STYLE
Submitted by Michael Feretich
Christmas would not be the same if it wasn’t for a Christmas Party with the Lions! This year was a little unusual dealing with adverse weather conditions. Just a day before the meeting we were hit with a violent wind and ice storm that left most of the town without power. Crews from Missoula Electric Cooperative worked round the clock to take care of families in the dark.
Unfortunately our hall, where our meetings take place and all the decorations had been set up, was without power for several days. We had to wait it out, but they came through for us and had the hall up and running in a few days. So we rescheduled and had about 35 members show up with all the small finger foods, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts to make this a festive party. We had an ugly sweater contest and a White Elephant gift exchange. Of all the many good things I can say about this club is we have fun and I am proud to be their president.
Seeley Lake Lions Receive Membership Satisfaction Award
Yay Seeley Lake Lions Club!!!
Seeley Lake Lions Club was the proud recipient of the Membership Satisfaction award from our International President Fabricio Oliveira. For our little town in Montana to be recognized in this fashion is truly an honor.
All of the members are part of this and the reason we continue to succeed in Seeley Lake. This award is not frequently given. We are hot!!
Once again because of our hard work and drive to sustain and increase our membership, we have been recognized by the International President for the great work we continue to do. I can’t stress enough the importance of continuing to get out the word about our club and getting new members in to help move us into the future. Remember, every little bit helps when it comes to the activities we perform in our town and that comes from you, the members. Thank you for all that you do!
Seeley Lake Lions – Having Fun!
Each year the Lions in Seeley Lake not only gather to have our General Monthly meeting, but October is especially fun as we don our costumes for Halloween – funniest, scariest and of course a Lion President!
Our Culinary Committee, headed by Lions Clay and Sharon Creek coordinated the meeting’s meal, and this one was prepared by Lions Sherry and John Fulton. A meal made of beef , lamb or chicken skewers was prepared as well as a salad and cheesecake for dessert. Yum!
We changed our format of the meeting and inducted three new members before going through our meeting agenda.
Then the fun began with a parade of the members in costume judged by other members to decide the winners of the contest. Mother Nature took First Place while Cleopatra and King Tut took Second place. The Cheerleader and The Graduate took third. The one thing I have to say is we have fun at ALL of our meetings and events, not just Halloween.
And we continue to bring in new members. Since June we have inducted at least 12 new members and more to come. Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seeley Lake Lions Respond – We Serve
One of Seeley Lake’s Residents, Mary Welch, was viciously attacked by a dog on July 27, 2025 near her home, leaving her hospitalized for a week. She required over 200 stitches and two surgeries with the possibility of a third coming up. She had power washed her house and was saving up to have a local carpenter build her a new porch, but the attack left her unable to do anything.
Lions John and Sherry Fulton sprang into action forming a special committee to get quotes on materials and enlist the help of other members and residents. A few weeks later, with some hard labor in the sun, nine Lions, two volunteers and 215 hours of time resulted in not only building the porch, but painting her house complete with trim! We then sent over a truckload of firewood for the upcoming winter season from our wood shed that we keep stocked for residents in need in Seeley Lake.
Seeley Lake Club News-Park Stewardship Award
Seeley Lake Lion Recognized by Missoula County for Stewardship –Kai Williams | Aug 14, 2025
An enthusiastic crowd of Lions Club members, families and friends gathered at the Seeley Lake Lions Park on Wednesday, August 6th to witness Missoula County commissioners award a longtime Lion for his stewardship.
Rich Westin was the 2025 recipient of the Missoula County Parks and Trails Steward Award. A press release from Missoula County stated this award is given to people and organizations who dedicate years of service to building and improving facilities across the county for the public to enjoy.
Missoula County Commissioner Juanita Vero delivered a proclamation celebrating Westin’s work with the Seeley Lake Lions Club to kick off the celebration.
Honored Leaders in Seeley Lake
We give out all kinds of awards to dedicated Lions within our organization. Some are fun awards like the Repeat Offenders award or Rookie of the Year award. However, sometimes members just go above and beyond the “We Serve” credo to really serve their community. In that case we have the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award.
The Melvin Jones Fellowship (MJF) is the backbone of our foundation. Presented to those who donate US$1,000 to LCIF or to people for whom a donation was made by others, it’s a tremendous contribution to humanity and to the legacy of our founder, Melvin Jones.
This year we were proud to present the award to to a husband and wife team of Lions Cheryl and Gary Lewis for all the time and effort the they donate not only to the club but to the town of Seeley Lake. We are lucky to have them and we lean on them for their past experiences to help guide us along the way. Both have served as President over 8 times over the years and several committee chairs. Currently Lion Gary is our 2nd Lieutenant Governor while Lion Cheryl is assisting in the duties of our Treasurer.
We thank them sincerely for all they do for us!
