The Cabrillo Lions Club was established in 1961 and one of its current members, Dave Chamberlain, former Dentist was one of its charter members as well as Tom Schmida, former Pediatrician. Lions Clubs International has currently over 1.4 million members worldwide and celebrated 100 years of community service during 2017.
The Cabrillo Lions club has members from all over the County of Santa Cruz but their area generally spans from Live Oak, Soquel, Capitola, Aptos, and Corralitos to La Selva Beach. The local Lions Zone 1 is comprised of Santa Cruz Host Lions, Scotts Valley Lions, Freedom Lions and Cabrillo Host Lions with a Santa Cruz Veterans Lions Branch club focused on Veteran’s projects and fundraising.
The installation ceremony was held on July 13th at the Cabrillo Host Lions Clubhouse in the Aptos Village Park for incoming officers. Dan Nielsen was elected as the club president for 2017-2018 year of service. Nielsen has been an active member of the Cabrillo Host Lions Club since 1984. Krista Brassfield was elected to serve as the new club Secretary and was Past President of the club in 2016-2017. The club’s 1st Vice President is Elaine Cole and the club’s 2nd Vice President is Janet Sparks.
Bingo, the club’s number one fundraiser is held every Wednesday at the Our Lady of Help Church 2401 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, in the Kennedy Youth Center starting at 5:30 pm. During 2017, the Cabrillo Lions donated $16,000 in scholarships to students at Soquel High School and Aptos High School. The funds were recently expended to help the recipients enroll in universities near and afar, this Fall.
The Cabrillo Lions Club spearheaded, helped to fund, manage, and facilitated the erection of a new Restrooms and Concessions Facility that was completed during 2016 at the Polo Grounds County Park through a partnership with the County of Santa Cruz Parks Department and a core group of Lions Service Projects Committee team members consisting of Lions Jay Johnson (Johnson and Johnson Construction Co.), Krista Brassfield, Tim Piumarta, Keavin Shine, Barry Scott, and George Piumarta (who passed away in 2016), and many other Lions and partners with like in kind donations such as NHS, Granite Rock Co., Corix Underground, Mike Jackson, Olive Springs Quarry, Tom Santorro Trucking, and Aptos Landscape Supply.
During 2016, the club also pledged funds for another County Parks’ project, the Leos Haven All Inclusive Playground that will be built at the current site of the Chanticleer Park on Chanticleer. Secretary Krista Brassfield, and Lions Zone Chairperson, met Tricia Potts at a Santa Cruz County Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in 2014 while obtaining approvals for the Polo Grounds Restrooms project. The fortuitous meeting led to the Cabrillo Lions Club inviting Tricia to present the Leos Haven Playground project to their club during 2016.
Tricia Potts and her husband, Bob Potts and family members are still actively promoting the project and are pursuing funding and matching funding through a Lions International Grant and other non-profit and private funding sources. To make a tax exempt donation to this much needed playground, which will be Santa Cruz County’s first All Inclusive Playground to allow children of all ages and abilities to interact and play alongside one another, please go to: www.santacruzplaygroundproject.org or contact Tricia Potts directly at [email protected] or 831-706-8760.
The Cabrillo Host Lions club increased their membership by 29 members last year to a total of 56 at this time. The club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 6:30 pm at the Cabrillo Lions Clubhouse in Aptos Village Park, 100 Aptos Creek Road, in Aptos.
Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. The club is holding a special sale of Santa Cruz Skateboard apparel before the holidays on Saturday, December 2nd at 10 a.m. at the Cabrillo Lions Clubhouse. For more information or to get involved with the Cabrillo Host Lions Club, please contact club President Dan Nielsen at [email protected] /831-428-2399 or Secretary and Membership Chairperson, Krista Brassfield at [email protected] /831-331-0432 and visit www.e-Clubhouse.org/sites/cabrillohost
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Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with more than 1.4 million members in approximately 46,000 clubs in more than 216 countries and geographical areas around the world. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site at www.lionsclubs.org.