One Big Bear
On September 20, 2011, members of the Johnson City Ties for the Blind Foundation traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to attend the USA -Canada Lions Leadership Forum. The Ties for the Blind Foundation is a subsidiary service organization of the Johnson City Lions Club composed of volunteer past presidents of the Johnson City Lions Club. The Foundation raises money for service projects in Washington County, Tennessee, primarily by selling Lions Club embroidered clothing and other paraphernalia at Lions conventions.
The USA –Canada Lions Leadership Forum is an annual convention used to train recently elected Lions club officers for their new positions in their home clubs. The Forum is usually attended by a few thousand Lions, so it provides a great opportunity to sell Lions memorabilia and clothing.
Look carefully near the center of the picture – you don’t see one of these wandering around town very often.
The TFTB guys sold over $20,000 in clothing and other items in a 2-1/2 day period. Profits from the sale will be returned to Johnson City and donated to various charitable organizations. Although working long hours at the store was challenging, the volunteers managed to take a few hours off each evening to sample Alaska’s culinary delights including salmon, halibut and reindeer sausage.
On Saturday evening September 24, the tired Lions returned home on the red eye express, arriving in Johnson City early the next afternoon.