Mountain Roar: January 2026

Happy New Year to all of you from the Mt. Hood Lions Club. Let’s hope we have a great 2026!

Christmas Toy Drive Dinner, “The Polar Express“

That mean old Grinch couldn’t derail “The Polar Express.“ Thanks to all of you for attending our Christmas Toy Drive Dinner the evening of Saturday December 6th. We had a great turnout with about 160 in attendance. There were lots of toys contributed for the local children. This year we will also be giving out lots of gloves to folks. The dining room was beautiful, decorated by Lion Sarah O ‘Dowd with her crew of creative Lion Elves.

The dinner was wonderful, prepared by Lion Chef Craig Calvert and his crew of very capable and hard working Lions.This year’s event was chaired by Lion Marlyne Casley, who, along with all of us at the club, offered special thanks to St. Michaels Church for the use of their kitchen equipment. Thanks, too, to Welches Clackamas County Bank, Welches Mountain Building Supply, Coffee House 26, The Brightwood Tavern, Mt. Hood Cannabis, and the Whistle Stop Tavern for the sale of our tickets. We appreciate you all!

Donations of food items were also made to the Hoodland Community Christmas Basket Program. 

I was at the dinner, sitting across from a woman who was asking me all kinds of questions about this Lions Club project. People kept coming up to her and introducing themselves. Maybe she’s a food critic or a reporter? 

Then she said, “ So are you from up here?” 

“Yes,“ I said. 

“Do you know any of the Lions?” 

“Yes.“ 

“They seem like they are all working and having fun, right?” 

“Yes they are a well oiled machine, never a hiccup.“ 

“How long have they been doing this project?” 

 “Since 1996.“ 

“Wow, are you a Lion?” 

“Yes.” 

“Have you ever worked on this project?”

 “Yes.“ 

“Why aren’t you working tonight?“ 

“This is the first time I’ve been allowed to eat in the dining room, I guess so I could visit with you, right?“

 “Oh, I think I’ll have seconds.“ 

And off she went.      

Bingo!

Please remember that Bingo will resume again on Friday January 9th, 2026, and continue running until mid May, 2026. Doors open at 6:00pm and Bingo starts at 7:00 p.m.. We hope to see you there! 

Red Cross Blood Drives coming up!

We have scheduled two Red Cross Blood Drives. The first is scheduled for Saturday February 21st 9:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. and the second Saturday April 18th, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. 

Some Important Information from our Sight and Hearing Committee Chairman Lion Brian Strothmann:

The Oregon Lions’ Sight and Hearing Foundation (OLSHF) sponsors three programs to help qualified individuals with sight and hearing needs. The Foundation programs include LEAP (vision), ROAR (hearing), and Patient Care (vision or hearing surgery and treatment).  

Qualifications include there are no other insurance coverages available to cover the supplied services, and total income does not exceed a certain level, which is currently set at 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

The sight program (LEAP) will provide an eye exam and eye glasses.  If glasses are needed, there is an out-of-pocket fee of $20 for the fitting. Lenses can be single vision, lined bifocal, or lined trifocal. The glasses come complete with frame, clear polycarbonate lenses, case and lens cleaning cloth. Mt. Hood Eye Care in Sandy is the current provider of this service.

The hearing program (ROAR) will provide an audiogram and, if needed, hearing aids, at the out-of-pocket cost of $200 per hearing aid. Gateway Hearing Aids in Gresham is the current supplier of this service.

In order to receive these services, one can go to olshf.org, click on the Get Help form link at the top right of the web page, fill out the form online, and submit it.  

If the online option is not available, please contact the Hoodland Senior Center at 503-622-3331 or contact the local OLSHF chair, Brian Strothmann, at 503-622-6134, for additional assistance or information.

OLSHF also administers the Lions Eyeglass Recycling Center (LERC), one of 18 LERC’s worldwide. Collection boxes are stationed in the Mt Hood area to collect used eyeglasses, hearing aids, and cell phones. Boxes are stationed at Orchid Health, Hoodland Senior Center, Clackamas Credit Union, the Lions Club, Whistle Stop, and Welches Mountain Hardware.

Mt Hood Lions Club 50/50 Raffle Reminder

We have 2000 Raffle tickets for sale! Tickets are $5 each and are available at Lions Club events or ask any Lion! We may also be asking if some of our usual business outlets would be willing to sell some of these tickets. We will have three winners: 1st prize is 25% of the gross proceeds, 2nd prize is 15% of the gross proceeds, and 3rd prize is 10% of the gross proceeds. A special drawing will take place at our Mexican Dinner on May 16th 2026. The proceeds of this Raffle will go to help support our 2026 Swimming Lessons program held at Camp Arrah Wanna. Lion David Buoy is our Swimming Lessons Chairman.  

Coming up in 2026:

Our Lion President David Anderson will be keeping us busy this 2026. Along with our many projects we will also be celebrating our 75th anniversary this May. Lion Dave is our Anniversary Committee Chairman and he promises a memorable event. We are gathering old pictures and stories about our club, and are also planning to invite all Past Presidents so that they may be recognized. More to come.

It’s Great to be a Lion!