Leading the Duluth Lions Club into its next century

WhenBarb Oswell joined the Duluth Lions Club in 1990, it was undeniably a different world. Women had only been allowed to join the group three years earlier, and the service organization was still pretty much known as a men’s group.

Thankfully, 27 years later, much progress has been made. Barb, the freshly-minted Lions Club president, says, “In 2003, the percentage of female members internationally was at 14 percent. Today, the Duluth Lions Club is made up of 47 percent women. Women are now the fastest-growing segment of Lions Clubs International.”

Barb is proud to be the 13th female President, bringing a year of fresh leadership to the Lions Club. She is thrilled to usher in the club’s 100th anniversary, which will feature lots of exciting Centennial activities. And as a new retiree, Barb Oswell is grateful that she now has the surplus of both passion and time the club rightly deserves.

What is the Lions Club?

The Lions Club was founded by Chicago businessman Melvin Jones in 1917. Jones was interested in creating a group of people who could work together in service and leadership to improve the community.

Today, there are more than 1.4 million members in more than 46,000 Lions Clubs worldwide. Men and women work side-by-side, following the motto “We Serve.” service. The Duluth Lions Club supports hunger initiatives, helps sponsor and works at the kids’ Whipper Snapper races during Grandma’s Marathon, screens preschoolers for vision problems, and supports Duluth’s Lighthouse Center for Vision Loss. In 2012, the Lions managed a $10,000 grant to help residents in Duluth and surrounding areas with flood relief. In addition, it offers scholarships and work on environmental cleanup projects.

The club does many great things for communities worldwide, but five of the club’s top initiatives include improving access to diabetes care, youth services, access to services related to hearing and sight, and the environment.

Pancake Day!

Barb still recalls encountering a woman she met many years ago, who was down on her luck. “If it weren’t for the Lions Club,” the woman said, “I wouldn’t have a pair of glasses.”

Duluth Lions

The Duluth chapter of the Lions Club, now 72 members strong, was officially chartered in 1945, but began meeting informally back in 1920. Meetings are held at the Holiday Inn downtown every Tuesday at noon. The group is focused on community

Famous Duluth Lions Club fundraising events include Pancake Day (which just celebrated its 60th anniversary), an apple harvest sale, a caramel apple sale, and mint sales. Barb shares that a couple of years ago, leadership behind the Pancake Day decided to add bacon to the menu, and people were very happy about it.

“This year, I was known as ‘Bacon Barb,” she says. “Because I cooked bacon during much of the event I earned the name.”

Pancake Day alone, which usually serves about 10,000 hungry people, nets $50,000 per year for club initiatives. The majority of Lions Club funding is raised from these well-known events, and 100 percent of monies realized from these activities are used to further the club’s service projects.

Lifelong Duluthian

Barb has lived in Duluth all of her life, and recently wrapped up a 45-year career, which was mostly spent working in the hospitality industry. After 15 years working with the railroad, she began working for the Duluth Convention & Visitors Bureau (now known as Visit Duluth). The purpose of her positions as group tour director and PR director were to introduce people to the wonders of Duluth and Lake Superior. Her career also included working for a local hotel and resorts along the North Shore.

Despite joining the Lions Club in 1990, career obligations took her away from Lions activities in 1995; she returned in 2010, and joined the club once again. “I specifically wanted a leadership role in the club,” she shares. “I knew it would help me in my career.”

Barb lives in Canosia Township; her late husband Denny was from the area, and she decided to remain there after his passing. Barb enjoys living close to her in-laws and many friends in the neighborhood, and looks forward to more time with her church community at First Lutheran.

She retired three years ago, and now relishes in having extra time to share with the Lions Club. Along with her role as president, where she will serve a one-year term, she is also involved in the Lions’ membership committee, convention committee and diabetes committee.

When she’s not volunteering, Barb loves to read non-fiction books, travel, grow flowers, and make improvements to her home. She’s also considering getting a canine companion someday, who would certainly have plenty of space to roam on her eight acres of land.

A Family of Lions

Many members of the Lions Club retain their membership for decades, and Barb is no exception. She is proud to have started out as a regular member, and worked her way up to becoming president.

She shares that the Duluth Lions are always looking for new members who are interested in community service. “Even if people aren’t sure that they want to become full-fledged members,” she says, “we invite folks to contact us and come to a meeting, to learn more about what we do.”

Although Barb is usually on the service side of the club, the love and caring categorically flow both ways. When Barb’s father and husband both passed away within four months of each other, fellow Lions immediately rallied around to help. “It’s truly like we’re a family of Lions,” she says. D

For more information about the Duluth Lions Club, please visit e-clubhouse.org/ sites/duluthmn, send an e-mail to duluthlions@gmail.com, or find them on Facebook under the name Duluth Lions Club.