History of MD-35

The "born on day" for the Lions of Florida and District 35 was December 15^th, 1920 if the day for organizing the Orlando Lions Club is used or April 9^th, 1922 if the date of charter is used. This first club in Florida was organized by R.J. Lewis of Cincinnati, Ohio. The first Convention of District 35 was held in Orlando, May 28^th – 29^th, 1925 and there were 13 clubs in the State.

 Franklin O. King was selected as the District Governor by Lions Clubs International for this convention and was then elected to serve again the following year. The following clubs were represented at the first convention of the district.

1. Orlando
2. Daytona Beach
3. Tampa 
4. West Palm Beach
5. Miami 
6. St. Augustine (Cancelled 4/30/36)
7. Jacksonville (Cancelled 5/25/45) 
8. Fort Lauderdale (Cancelled 4/30/34)
9. St. Petersburg 
10. Lake Worth
11. Miami Beach 
12. Redland’s District
13. Fort Myers (Cancelled 6/30/27)

Even though some of these original clubs surrendered their charter, it is worthy of noting that all organized at a later date and are still providing service to their communities.

By the time the second Convention was held in West Palm Beach, the number of clubs had grown to sixteen with 698 members around the state. The main goal at this convention was to draft and approve a constitution and bylaws for the district.

Millard Conklin was the only District Governor to be elected to two terms of office, 1936/1937 and 1937/1938. He then served as International Director the years of 1938/1940. The only other to serve as Governor twice was the first governor Franklin O. King, who was appointed by Lions International and than elected to serve a second term.

By the time the 15^th Annual Convention was held in St. Petersburg, the clubs in the district now total 67 and the number of members stood at 2,097. So a resolution was adopted for Florida to have two District Governors, Districts S (South) and N (North), with the approximate dividing line just South of Orlando, thereby designating District 35 now as Multiple District 35.

At the 23^rd Annual Convention held in Sarasota, May 4-6, 1947, a resolution was placed on the ballot that the Gulf Beach Lions would underwrite the cost of a Florida State magazine for the first year, with the members paying $1.50 for a year subscriptions fee. If at the end of the year, it turned out to be a good thing, it would then become a permanent item. This passed and the magazine was born.

At the 24^th Annual Convention held in St. Augustine, May 9-11, 1948, with the membership up to 5,609 and the number of clubs at 107, the delegates voted to change and divide the Florida districts into five, L,I,O,N and S.

At the 35^th Annual Convention, held in Jacksonville, the membership had grown to 11,542 and the number of clubs was now 289, thereby bringing forth a resolution to divide the State of Florida Multiple District 35 into seven districts, F, L, O, R, I, D and A, which it still is today. During this year fourteen  new clubs were organized.

Although the Multiple District had many International Directors, it wasn’t until 1965 that Dr. Walter H. Campbell, Past International Director from Florida, served as our Associations International President.

At the 50^th Annual Convention held in Jacksonville May 16-18, 1974 the delegates voted to bring Freeport Lions Club of Grand Bahama Island a part of 35-D, thereby making Multiple District 35 an International District.  In May 2007 at the 83rd in Orlando, the delegates again voted to expand the Multiple by including all of the Bahama Islands as part of District 35-D.

Multiple District 35 is alive and vibrant, welcoming many from all over the world daily and inviting all Lions from other areas to become a part of our great tradition when they retire and move to Florida.

District Chairs

BULLETIN CONTEST
Maria Baldwin (Mike)
19 Buckingham Dr
Ormond Beach , FL 32176
Hm: 386-441-2614
Ormond Beach Lions Club

campus clubs
Ken Anthony
19102 Sunlake Blvd.
Lutz, FL 33558
Hm: 813-948-1334  
4LLLL’s Lions Club

FLORIDA LIONS CONKLIN CENTER
President
Donna K. Spencer, PDG (Neil, PCC)
P.O. Box 320344
Cocoa Beach, FL 32932-0344
Hm: 321-783-8894
Bus: 321-867-8587
Cell: 321-501-3158
Cocoa Beach Seaside Lions Club

CREDENTIALS
C. David Lloyd (Carol)
1505 Weatherford Dr.
Sun City Center, FL 33573
Hm: 813-634-9159
Sun City Center Lions Club

CRUSADER AWARD
Blanca Hernandez (Alex)
7050 N.W. 173rd Dr. #403
Miami, FL 33015
Hm: 305-828-0528
Bus: 305-828-2641
FAX: 305-828-3724
Miami Lakes Lions Club

CONSTITUTION & BY-LAWS
E. Robert "Bob" Lastinger, PID (Lois)
29743 Morwen Place
Wesley Chapel, FL 33543-6738
Hm: 813-994-9604
FAX: 813-994-0844
Plant City Lions Club

Neil R. Spencer, PCC (Donna, PDG)
P.O. Box 320344
Cocoa Beach, FL 32932-0344
Hm: 321-783-8894
Bus: 321-867-5590
Cell: 321-501-2893
Cocoa Beach Seaside Lions Club

William E. "Bill" Pace, PDG (Gwen)
3743 Longchamp Circle
Tallahassee, FL 32309
Hm: 850-893-5034
Cell: 850-510-5921
Tallahassee Lions Club

DIABETES AWARENESS
Norma Callahan (Jim)
128 W. Howry Ave.
Deland , FL 32720
Hm: 386-785-0815
Deland Lions Club

DISASTER RELIEF
Allen May (Connie)
3421 NE 22nd Ct
Ocala, FL 34479
Hm: 352-732-2639
FAX: 352-732-2639
Ocala Lions Club

ELECTIONS
Marilyn Anderson
250 E Columbia St ,
Lake Alfred , FL 33850
Hm: 863-956-5418
Lake Alfred Lions Club

ENVIRONMENTAL
Ellen Durling, PDG (Moe)
P.O. Box 160
Homosassa Springs , Florida 34447-0160
Hm: 352-628-4146
Homosassa Lions Club

EXTENSION DEVELOPMENT
Ray "Rocky" Siracusa, PDG
P.O. Box 11673
Daytona Beach, FL 32120-1673
Hm: 386-756-1274
Ponce Inlet Lions Club  

FLORIDA LIONS CAMP
Lois Lastinger (Bob, PID)
29743 Morwen Place
Wesley Chapel, FL 33543-6738
Hm: 813-994-9604
FAX: 813-994-0844
Plant City Lions Club

FLORIDA LIONS EYE BANK

Executive Director
Elizabeth Fout-Caraza

Richard M. Vidal, PDG (Mariaelena) - President
6895 Pinehurst Dr.
Hialeah, FL 33015-2303
Hm: 305-829-3119
FAX: 305-829-8114
Miami Biltmore Lions Club

FLORIDA LIONS FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND
Lois Q. Malecky, PDG - President
4110 South Colony Terrace
Homosassa, FL 34446-1426
Cell: 813-245-4102
Bus: 352-621-5500
Homosassa Lions Club

FLORIDA & GBI LIONS MAGAZINE

19260 San Carlos Blvd.
Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931-2266
Breeze Newspapers
Ph: 239-463-4421
Fax: 239-463-1402  

GOVERNOR'S ACHIEVEMENT & GOLDEN CHAIN
Lino De la Hera, PDG (Clara)
580 South Drive
Miami Springs, FL 33166-5948
Hm: 305-888-6106
Bus: 305-592-1684
FAX: 305-592-1820
Miami Buena Vista Lions Club

 HEARING AND SPEECH ACTION
Dot Myers, PDP
5428 Pecos Street
Orlando , FL 32807
Hm: 407-277-6416
FAX: 407-823-8550
Oviedo-Winter Springs Lions Club

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Neil R. Spencer, PCC (Donna, PDG)
P.O. Box 320344
Cocoa Beach, FL 32932-0344
Hm: 321-783-8894
Bus: 321-867-5590
Cell: 321-501-2893
Cocoa Beach Seaside Lions Club

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Stacey W  Jones, CC (Mary)
19140 NW 22nd Place
Miami , FL 33056-2649
Hm: 305-624-1116
FAX: 305-624-3373
Miami Kendall West Lions Club

INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING
Luis Giraldo de la HOZ
314 Meridean Ave., Apt. 16
Miami Beach , Florida 33139
Hm: 305-532-3342
 

LCIF
Gunter Hirsch, PDG (Chris)
6109 N.W. 112th Place
Alachua, FL 32615
Hm: 386-462-3702
FAX: 386-418-0525
Cell: 352-538-9709
Alachua Lions Club

LEADER DOG FOR THE BLIND
Dorothy "Dotti" Hornak, PDG
4747 SR 33 North #278
Lakeland, FL 33805
Hm: 863-688-1289
Lakeland Downtown & North Lakeland Lions Club

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Gary Nieskes, PCC (Sandy)
56 S. Buena Vista Ave.
Englewood, FL 34223-5112
Hm: 941-474-3932
FAX: 941-474-3932
Engelwood Lions Club

LEO CLUBS
Elizabeth "Betty" Hennighan, PDG (Jim, PDG)
2626 Hoffman Dr.
Orlando, FL 32837-7443
Hm: 407-245-9512
South Orange Lions Club

LIONS EYE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPLANT
Chris O'Leary
1715 Daylily Dr.
New Port Richey, FL 34655
Cell: 727-372-7115

Dennis Harvin (Patti)
114 Browns Fish Camp Road
Crescent City , Florida 32112
Hm: 386-467-8969

LONG RANGE PLANNING
One Member from each District plus Council Chair

MD-35 CONVENTION
Stacey W  Jones, CC (Mary)
19140 NW 22nd Place
Miami , FL 33056-2649
Hm: 305-624-1116
FAX: 305-624-3373
Miami Kendall West Lions Club

MD-35 CONVENTION COORDINATOR
Carl Harrell, PCC (Joan)
P.O. Box 1021
Welaka, FL 32193-1021
Hm: 386-467-2595
 Jacksonville Beach Lions Club

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Edward F. "Joe" Price
6523 Enzor St.
Panama City, FL 32404
Hm: 850-871-6170
Bus: 850-785-5007
Cell: 850-814-6176

NOMINATIONS/RULES/RESOLUTIONS
Nancy Cummins, PDG (Orbie, PDG)
313 Somerset Bridge Rd.
Seagrove Beach, FL 32459-6423
Hm: 850-231-2766
FAX: 850-231-2766
Sandestin Lions Club

NORTH FLORIDA LIONS EYE BANK
Walter McLanahan
7812 Blakeford Mill Ln.
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Hm: 904-538-9441
FAX: 904-757-1579

PEACE POSTER CONTEST
Ellen Durling, PDG (Moe)
P.O. Box 160
Homosassa Springs, FL 34447-0160
Hm: 352-628-4146
Homosassa Lions Club

PILOT AWARD
John R. Lovill, PDG (Nina)
2169 N.E. 14th Street  
Ocala, FL 34470-4713
Hm: 352-629-2751
FAX: 352-875-8886
Cell: 352-236-2792
Silver Springs Lions Club

PUBLIC RELATIONS/INFORMATION
Mario L. Echevarria, PDG (Shelly)
399 Golden Beach Blvd.
Golden Beach, FL 33160
Hm: 305-932-5092
FAX: 305-682-1742

RETENTION DEVELOPMENT
Alex Hernandez (Blanca)
7050 N.W. 173rd Dr. #403
Miami, FL 33015
Hm: 305-828-0528
Bus: 305-828-2641
FAX: 305-828-3724
Cell: 305-979-8072
Miami Lakes Lions Club

Sergeant at Arms
Thomas ‘Tom’ Mize (Janet)
4254 Plute Dr
Beverly Hills , FL 34465
Hm: 352-527-0962
Beverly Hills Lions Club