Long-time Lions Club volunteer recognized for more than 40 years of community service Mounties Report

By Casandra Turnbull

If you’ve attended an event hosted by the Paris Lions Club, odds are you’ve run into Lorne Reid.

He’s spent more than 40 years serving the community and doing whatever he can to make Paris a better place to live. Those efforts have not gone unnoticed as last weekend he was given the Paul Harris Fellow Recognition award, presented by the Rotary Satellite Club of Paris

This award recognizes individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, to the Rotary Foundation. It was established in 1957 to encourage and show appreciation for substantial contributions back to the community.

Reid’s involvement with the Paris Lions Club, whose motto is “we serve” dates back to the summer of 1981. He’d just moved to Paris and was looking for a way to give back to the community

“It was a great way of meeting people in the area,” Reid recalls. And more than 40 years later he’s just as active as the day he started. While he most certainly appreciates the recognition, he prefers to shy away from the limelight.

“I was certainly taken back and it’s kind of hard to put in words (how it felt) as I was totally surprised and thrilled to receive a Paul Harris Fellow,” said Reid

The recognition was presented by the Rotary Satellite Club of Paris, nominated by Rotarians Andrea Clendening and Brian Stolp. Clendening is also a long-time Paris Lions Club member and volunteers alongside Reid on a regular basis

“Lorne and I have run the Maple Syrup Festival together for at least 10 years,” explained Clendening. “He is great to work with, easygoing and very funny,” she shared

Lorne Reid was the recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow recognition award, presented by the Rotary Satellite Club of Paris during last weekend’s Maple Syrup Festival Rotary members pictured with Lorne Reid, left to right, are Andrea

Over the years, Reid has held many positions with the Lions Club and spearheaded several community projects. He currently serves as the secretary but is always willing to lend a helping hand where required.

This past weekend, for example, you might have noticed him running around with jugs of water to help make those delicious pancakes – a last minute job that came up the morning of the festival when organizers realized the water pipes froze! But that’s who Reid is – someone who is willing to pitch in and lend a helping hand.

So why does he continue to volunteer year after year? “The satisfaction of knowing my efforts go to helping people in need, locally and worldwide,” he said, referring to many Lions Club initiatives that extend beyond the community and benefit people worldwide, like the Guide Dog Program or the eyeglasses recycling program Taking a walk down memory lane and recalling many Lions Club projects, Reid said his favourite continues to be the ongoing development of Lions Park

“Just to see the faces of kids light up when having a great time on some of the equipment there,” makes it worthwhile, he said. Reid’s list of accomplishments through volunteerism is long, but he doesn’t seem to see an end in sight anytime soon.