Honoring the History of the Dallas Founder Lions Club Since 1916

The Dallas Founder Lions Club has been serving the community since 1916, when a group of civic-minded leaders came together with a simple but powerful goal: to make Dallas better through service. Founded on March 31, 1916, and officially chartered on September 19 of that same year, the club quickly became an important part of the city’s civic life and helped establish a tradition of community leadership that continues today.

In those early years, the club took on projects that made an immediate difference in everyday life. One of its first major efforts was supporting the Dallas Baby Camp, an innovative healthcare initiative that cared for sick infants from low-income families while also educating mothers on infant care. The club also invested in civic improvements, including lighting for the Oak Cliff Viaduct, now known as the Houston Street Viaduct, and
restoration of the Dallas County Courthouse clock tower. From the start, the
Dallas Founder Lions Club focused on practical service that improved lives and
strengthened the city.

The club’s impact reached far beyond Dallas when its members played a central role in the creation of Lions Clubs International. After meeting with businessman Melvin Jones in Chicago in 1916, Dallas members helped shape what would become a global service movement. On October 8, 1917, the first International Convention was held at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, where twenty-five founding clubs gathered to establish the International Association of Lions Clubs. Dallas members helped draft the original constitution and code
of ethics and influenced the adoption of the motto “We Serve.” The Dallas Founder Lions Club is also home to three International Presidents of Lions Clubs International, and it remains the only club in the world with that distinction.

As the years went on, the club’s story continued to beclosely tied to some of Dallas’s most notable places. The club met for many years at the Adolphus Hotel, later at the ballroom at Dallas Union Station, and then at the Park Cities Club. Today, in a meaningful return closer to where its story began, the club meets just blocks from its founding at the historic El
Centro Campus of Dallas College in downtown Dallas.

The Dallas Founder Lions Club has also long been a leaderwithin the local Lions district, with members serving in numerous leadership roles over the years. Most recently, the club is proud to be the home club of a Past District Governor and the current Second Vice District Governor, continuing a long tradition of service-driven leadership that extends beyond the club itself.

That commitment has always gone hand in hand with action. During World War I, the club supported the Liberty Loan Campaign, purchased bonds to aid the national effort, joined the Red Cross as a unit, and contributed to the welfare of soldiers stationed at Fair Park. Over the decades, the club has continued to evolve while staying true to its founding
mission. With a strong focus on vision care, education, and community
well-being, Dallas Founder Lions has supported vision screenings, provided
eyeglasses to children and adults in need, offered scholarships, and supported
youth programs, diabetes awareness efforts, environmental causes, and disaster
relief.

The club has also helped expand Lionism itself, sponsoringthe formation of several other clubs across Dallas and beyond, including Park Cities and Oak Cliff in 1929, as well as additional clubs in the years that followed. Its influence even reached internationally, including support for the establishment of a Lions Club in Cairo in the 1970s.

In recent years, the club’s long-standing commitment toservice has continued to earn recognition. The Dallas Founder Lions Club has received a Club Excellence Award along with multiple achievements in membership growth and service, reflecting both the strength of its legacy and the energy of its current members. The club has also been featured in Lions Magazine, and members have presented at the Lions International Convention, further highlighting Dallas Founder’s ongoing role as a leader in Lionism at both the
local and international levels.

Today, to carry on the legacy of our club’s history, the Dallas Founder Lions Club proudly supports a wide range of charitable efforts that reflect our long-standing commitment to service. Our club contributes to Lions Clubs International Foundation, Texas Lions Camp, Texas Lions Foundation, Lions Sight & Tissue Foundation, Leader Dogs for the Blind, Lions World Service for the Blind, Julien C. Hyer Youth Camp, Sports Extravaganza, and the Texas Lions Eyeglass Recycling Foundation. In addition to supporting these impactful organizations, we lead and participate in ongoing service projects throughout the Dallas community, advancing our mission of meeting local needs while strengthening Lions initiatives across Texas and around the world.

The Dallas Founder Lions Club remains guided by the same spirit that inspired its founders in 1916: leadership, compassion, fellowship, and service. More than a century later, the club continues to meet the needs of the moment while honoring a history that has shaped both Dallas and Lions service around the world.

Club meeting announcement in the Dallas Morning News from 1916