The Elgin Lions Duck Train is a familiar sight as it chugs along in the Elgin Stampede All-American Kiddie Parade on July 8, 2023.

ELGIN — The Elgin Lions Club is one of the more active civic clubs in Elgin with 35 volunteers ready to serve, improve, support and encourage their community at events throughout the year.

The club hosted one of its fundraisers, a two-day basketball tournament at Elgin High School, the first weekend of December with teams from Elgin, Baker City, Pendleton and Huntington.

Jared Rogers, Lions secretary, is the basketball tournament chair and oversees this fundraiser. The tournament used to be run by the Stampeders, but they asked the Lions to take it over in 2010 due to a lack of volunteers. The Lions started hosting it, and with the exception of 2012 and 2020, the club has carried on the tradition.

Rogers said it requires 14-15 Lions volunteers to cover the various duty posts for the tournament. Some volunteers staff the hospitality room where food is available for the coaches, bus drivers, school administrators and referees. On both days of the tournament, there are two-hour shifts split between eight volunteers each day, and six volunteers in teams of two take turns at the admissions entrance.

“Since it’s the first weekend that the high schools can compete, we call it the Lions’ Kick-off Basketball Tournament. It is a fundraiser for our Lions Club,” Rogers said.

The Lions Club in the past gave trophies to the winning girls and boys teams, but with the skyrocketing price of referees, the club has opted to forgo the trophies in lieu of awarding “All Star” medals to selected players. They can pin the medals on their letterman jackets.

“To me it’s all about sportsmanship, so we’re going to try something different,” Rogers said.

After each game, one team selects a player from the opposing team and award that player with an “All Game” medal based on his or her performance, their sportsmanship and anything else they think is important in awarding that medal. The captain of that team presents the medal to the selected player on the other team. The other team does likewise.

The Lions members hope this type of recognition will build some camaraderie among the kids because “it isn’t all about competition,” Rogers said.

Volunteerism central to service clubs

“Volunteerism is important to the Elgin Lions Club, and we’re fortunate because we’re a little older group of people, and we don’t have trouble finding people to do things,” Rogers said. “Physically there are some things some people can’t do, but they always fill in at other things they can do.”

Like other groups, however, the Lions Club struggles to find younger people to join their ranks and volunteer.

“We need to do something to get them to volunteer,” he said. “We recruit every year, but it gets tougher and tougher every year.”

Rogers, who is also a volunteer firefighter in Elgin and a volunteer member of the Elgin Health District, observed that groups dependent on volunteers throughout the county face the same challenge of a dwindling number of volunteers. As their members age out, there are few to replace them.

“For example, the number of volunteer firemen have dwindled all over the county. It’s harder and harder to get EMTs,” he said. “It’s tough to get the younger ones to volunteer for something that’s in the betterment of their community. I blame it on electronics.”

Rogers believes the Lions are exceptionally active.

“Our Elgin Lions Club is the most active civic group in Elgin,” he said. “We have 45 members and we had 37 in attendance at our last meeting. They are active and come out.”

The Lions Club fundraises to support its philanthropic work such as vision and hearing screenings, donating to food banks, and buying musical instruments for the music program at the Elgin High School.

“It takes money to do those things so most of our planning is around the money-making events, and the donations come easily,” Rogers said.

The Lions want people to reach out to them when there is a need.

“We like to have a group make a presentation at our meeting to hear what their needs are so we know how we can help them,” he said.

How they serve others

“Right now is a very busy time for the Lions,” Rogers said. “We have the basketball tournament, Light Parade, erecting the Christmas tree downtown, and we take a family holiday shopping at Walmart each year.”

The club members also volunteer as ushers at performances at the Elgin Opera House.

“We like to show people their seats and visit with them a little before the performance starts,” Rogers said.

Several years ago, when the Good Sams Club dissolved, the Lions took over the RV dump on Highway 204, and since then have spent $15,000 on that and also improved the appearance.

Riverfest is another Lions-sponsored event each June that has been developed progressively, featuring a firemen’s breakfast, citywide yard sales, a car show, vendors, book sales and more. The club built a duck train to give kids a ride at Riverfest and on other occasions, such as local parades.

In late June, the members sell a lot of fireworks, Rogers said, and that’s another fundraiser each year, as are the club’s games held weekly nine months out of the year.

The Lions have some beautification programs that include their assigned two miles of “adopt-a-highway” along Highway 82 where they pick up trash twice a year. They water the downtown flower baskets and barrels each summer and keep the pocket park looking nice. They also plant trees around downtown and at schools each year.

Throughout the year, the Lions donate to multiple school clubs and classes. The club buys supplies for the schools annually and sponsor community gardens where kids grow food. Members also help with the annual grade school walk-a-thon.

“We also help with the football camp at school,” Rogers added. “We pretty much help anyone who asks us.”

Each fall the Elgin Lions Club hosts an apple cider event where people can enjoy cider, pie and homemade ice cream in downtown Elgin. The club puts on food drives twice a year and donate those items to the Elgin Food Bank.

At the Elgin Community Center, Lions volunteers take their turn every third month to help serve dinners at the Elgin Social Club meals (formerly senior meals).

The Lions are currently working on a project to put in a public restroom by the train depot.

“We’re saving for that,” Rogers said.

These are the many ways the Elgin Lions Club serves the community with a focus on making the place they call home a little better with every passing year.

“If you want to become a member of the Elgin Lions Club, talk to any of the Lions and they will help you out,” Rogers said.

“Our Elgin Lions Club is the most active civic group in Elgin. We have 45 members and we had 37 in attendance at our last meeting. They are active and come out.”

— Jared Rogers, Elgin Lions Club secretary