Looking back and how we have come so far

 Patrick Cox spoke to our club March 2, Texas Independence Day.  He shared some of the history of the Wimberley Lions Club. This allowed us to enjoy some of the early days that many of us lacked first hand experience.  Pat joined the Wimberley Lions in 1975 and became President of the club in 1979.  This was when the Wimberley Lions Club was celebrating its tenth year in existence.  The club had already accomplished much.  It had successfully moved the Market Days from the square to the first portion of Lions Field.  The concession (now known as # 1)  had been built. The pavilion was being erected but the Bar-B-Que was out in the open.  The bonds individual Lions had purchased were being retired or donated back to the club.  1979 was the first year the club gave a scholarship and sponsored a foreign exchange student.

One of the biggest problems then as is now, how to raise the needed donation funds and to equitably distribute them to the overwhelming needs of the community.  Even then, there were Lions lobbying for their favorite for emergency services, youth & education, and community services like the library.   Then as it is now, Texas Lions Camp is high on the list of funding priorities.  This photo shows Jim McCronklin and Dr. Bill Daniels presenting cowboy boots to a foreign exchange student from Germany.  Bill Daniels later became a District Governor and is a member of the San Marcos Noon Lions Club.  Bill will be inducted into the Texas Lions Hall of Fame this June at the State Convention.

This photo is of Bob Gweynn, Edne Mitchell, and Pat Cox.  Bob was one of the long time backbones of the Wimberley Lions and Edne was the volunteer librarian along with many other civic activities.

Pat mentioned that while he has served on the Board of many organizations, his first experiences on a Board of Directors was with the Wimberley Lions Club.  He learned from that experience.

Dr. Patrick Cox will be discussing his latest book Come to Order: How the Texas Speaker Became a Power in State and National Politics in Wimberley at WIC's May 10 lecture series.  He is Associate Director of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at UT Austin and a member of the Board of Directors of the Perdernales Electric Coop.