Two regional awards mark growth and diversity
DCTC Campus Lions Club Leaders Kayla Frandrup and Gerardo Garay
Dakota County Technical College prides itself on diversity and growth. How fitting it was for the DCTC Campus Lions Club to win two regional awards in November in these two areas. Earning the Award for Membership Diversity and the Award for Membership Growth are distinctions that recognize that the DCTC Lions Club is on the move, or perhaps more fitting, the “prowl,” for even more diversity and growth in 2013.
Lions Club International held its regional banquet on Nov. 14, 2012, in Burnsville, Minn.. Six DCTC Lions attended. Lions Club International District Governor David Dominick announced the two awards at the ceremony. The Award for Membership Diversity and the Award for Membership Growth were two of the six categories awarded at the ceremony.
The district governor recently visited DCTC and saw firsthand the energy of the DCTC Lions Club. Dominick was invited to attend the November monthly Lions meeting and eagerly participated in one of the activities.
Gerardo Garay | DCTC Lions Club President
“The DCTC Lions Club meeting was a lot of fun, and it was great to see the creative energy of the group,” said Dominick at the regional banquet. He added that he loved the DCTC Lions Club’s own slogan, We Rock and Roar, noting that it “pretty well summarizes the spirit of the group.”
DCTC Lions Club President Gerardo Garay accepted the awards on behalf of the club. “It’s good that the other clubs see us as a part of them, too. Not just the club in school, but being involved outside in the community,” he said.
In addition, Dominick asked the DCTC Lions Club Vice-President Kayla Frandrup to speak extemporaneously on a few of the events the DCTC Lions Club held. “I was thrown off guard,” she said, “but it was an honor for our club to attend the banquet and speak.”
Kayla Frandrup | DCTC Lions Club Vice-President
Frandrup spoke passionately and eloquently on the latest event: the collection of used shoes and eye glasses to distribute to those less fortunate. Frandrup explained that to illustrate what it’s like to not have shoes or good vision, they had volunteers stand in a bucket of ice and wear someone else’s glasses and try to throw darts at a dart board. The crowd roared with laughter as Dominick added that he “was the first to give it a try.”
The DCTC Lions Club added six new members in October 2012 alone. “It’s great to know that our club is growing so much,” said Garay.
The criteria for diversity included gender, age, and ethnicity. Potential DCTC Lions must first volunteer a minimum of 10 service hours before becoming a registered Lion. The DCTC Lions Club currently has an e-mail list of approximately 60 DCTC students interested in joining.
The DCTC Lions Club’s awards are available for viewing in the Student Life Center display cabinet.
For more information about the Lions Club at DCTC, contact:
- Brett Kolles
DCTC Campus Lions Club Advisor
651-423-8395 - Laura Gardner
DCTC Campus Lions Club Co-Advisor
651-423-8526
What a great article! Hurray for Gerardo and Kayla for all they have brought to the Lions Club as President and Vice President! It was an honor to go to the Burnsville Lions dinner and participate with other Lions clubs. I am amazed how excited other clubs are about the DCTC Lions club. We certainly have the youngest membership, and we are inspiring to the other clubs! It shows that you can have fun and be creative and help others.
The Lions are doing a lot of good things and having a fun time doing it. If you’re looking for a fun, productive, and good group of folks to hang out, you found it here.