Celebrating Anniversaries
(from The Beam Summer 2017)
Dear Friends,
As Lions Club members from around the world prepare to come to Chicago for their international convention later this month, all of us at The Chicago Lighthouse extend a very warm welcome!
We also offer best wishes and congratulations to the Lions as they observe their centennial anniversary this year.
Founded just 11 years apart, our two organizations have enjoyed a special relationship during much of our respective histories. Through their generous support, the Lions have left an indelible mark on The Chicago Lighthouse. It would be impossible to list all the game-changing projects that the Lions helped fund over the years.
Most recently, we received a $100,000 matching grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation to develop a new seniors’ wing at The Lighthouse. From our perspective, several of our staff and program participants are also proud Lions. In fact, five Lighthouse representatives have served as president of the Chicago Central Lions Club, the very first Lions Club in the world known as the “Mother Club of Lionism” due to the fact that it was the home base of Lions founder Melvin Jones.
To showcase key highlights in the rich Lighthouse/Lions partnership, we will be unveiling a new shadowbox exhibit on June 27. The exhibit will include historic photographs, documents, Lions pins and other memorabilia. Joining me in dedicating the exhibit will be Lions International President Robert Corlew and several other Lion dignitaries.
Speaking of anniversaries, we are also proud to note that this year marks the 40th anniversary of Chicago Lighthouse Industries’ exclusive contract to manufacture clocks for the U.S. government. Four decades later, the program is still going strong. It provides steady employment for talented individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
To celebrate this very special milestone, we are proud to introduce an exciting new line of colorful fashion clocks and a distributor partnership with Target. Please see the feature article on the new clocks and also the profile of Mike Wallace, our very own “Ironman” who has been a mainstay of the clock operation since its inception.
Janet P. Szlyk, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
