Fifty years of service

A new dawn is rising for the Kalispell Sunriser Lions Club, which is celebrating its 50th year.

It was in 1967 that Lions Club District Governor Don Aadsen tasked Kalispell Lions member Les Tinseth and zone chairman Tony Pepe with spearheading the formation of the morning service club.

The Sunriser Lions began meeting in 1968 and were officially chartered in March 1969. There was a total of 36 members and Tinseth served as president. Fifty years later, Tinseth is once again president.

Since then, members have met at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays to share in the community service and camaraderie offered by the club.

Tinseth said the early start was geared to people whose job schedules might not otherwise allow them to participate. Other clubs were meeting at noon or in the evening.

“The basic membership, when started, was made up of teachers, coaches and state employees like Forest Service [rangers],” Tinseth said, noting that educators wanted to meet before the school day started and Forest Service employees wanted to meet early in the week, since they often traveled the rest of the week.

The Sunrisers were interested in projects that focused on supporting youth.

“Our first project was the Kalispell Timberettes, which was an all-girls track team,” Tinseth said. At the time, the Timberettes coach Neil Eliason and Flathead High School Athletic Director Neil Hart were charter members of the Sunrisers.

The Sunrisers raised money to cover travel expenses and uniforms for the team, and continues to support youth athletics today by sponsoring teams. The club recently completed the 49th Peewee Baseball Firecracker Tournament, which was started by charter member Leonard Herbst, who was principal of Kalispell Middle School.

Soon after the Sunrisers were up and going they launched a Leo Club for youth. While no longer in operation in Kalispell, Tinseth said restarting a chapter is something to consider if there is interest.

Over the decades, the Sunrisers have provided financial assistance to many nonprofits, scholarship programs, athletic teams and individual families during the holidays. The Sunrisers, along with other local Lions Clubs, also contribute to operational costs and management of the Bitterroot Lions Camp in Marion.

Recently, the Sunrisers have supported causes tied to the Lions Club International’s focus on vision and diabetes. Tinseth said the Sunrisers have committed to covering veterinary, food and other care costs of a diabetic-alert service dog belonging to a Lakeside girl diagnosed with Type I diabetes. The club also purchased a braille embosser, valued at $3,600, for West Valley School. The embosser prints braille for people with visual impairments.

People might know about the Lions eyeglasses recycling program, but the Sunrisers are also responsible for conducting vision screenings. In the 2017-18 school year, vision screenings were conducted on 9,602 children in the valley, Troy and Libby, according to David Falcon, past president of the Sunriser Lions Club, and trustee for the Montana Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation.

“We have an amazing vision screening program led by David Falcon,” said fellow Sunriser Dr. Steve Weber, a retired ophthalmologist. “It’s a tremendous thing for our community.”

One of the reasons Weber joined the Sunrisers when he moved to Kalispell in 1976 was the organization’s mission to preserve vision.

Weber said he was also at point in his life where he wanted to plant roots in the community where he had opened an eye clinic.

While an individual can donate some time here and there volunteering at organizations, Weber felt more change can be affected by joining a club that had structure and global connections.

“There’s strength in numbers,” Weber said.

Heading into the next 50 years, the club is hoping to see a renewed interest in the service club. Tinseth, who was in his early 30s when he initially joined the Lions, noted that there was as much interest then, as is there is now, to recruit younger members.

“We’re looking for new input, people and projects,” Tinseth said.

People interested in joining the Sunriser Lions may attend the next meeting Sept. 10 at 6:30 a.m. at the Red Lion Hotel. Annual membership dues are $75.

People who may not have the time to join the club can support the Lions in other ways.

“We want community members to tell us what needs to be done in the community,” Weber said.

People may also support the Sunrisers’ causes through donations. One of the club’s big fundraisers will be held during the Northwest Montana Fair scheduled Aug. 15-19. Members will be parking cars in the front and back of the post office and Three Rivers Bank located on North Meridian Road for $5.

“Anything we take from the public goes back to the public,” Tinseth said.

For more information call 406-871-5458 or email sunriserlions@gmail.com.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.