Lions District 2-A1, the A-1 District!

1989-1990  Lt. Governor Robert L. "Bob" Noyes of the Big Springs Evening Lions Club was selected to be the 31st District 2-A1 Governor. Lion Ernest Barbee of the Midland Downtown Lions Club was selected by the District Cabinet to be the Lt. Governor after obtaining approval from Lions Clubs International.

Governor Bob was the first Governor of District 2-A1 to have lady Lions on the Executive Board with the appointment of First Lady Jan Noyes as Cabinet Secretary, Lion Suncha Christensen as the Cabinet Treasurer and Lion Vera Westbrook as Membership co-chairperson.

The District Convention was held in Big Spring on April 27-28, 1990 and was sponsored by Governor Noyes' home club. At the Cabinet Meeting the Lions selected Lion Ernest Barbee as the Governor for the 1990-91 year. Lion Paul Palmer became the Lt. Governor-Elect. At the Convention, a District Diabetes Awareness Essay Contest and a Drug speech contest for High School students was held for the first time. Also, the first annual District Contest for the International Peace Poster Contest was held. Governor Noyes nominated Lion PDG Conner Scott to the Texas Lions Hall of Fame.

At the Texas State Conference held in Wichita Falls on June 7-10, 1990, the District 2-A1 Queen was selected as the State Queen. On July 1, 1989, membership was 2710 in 67 Clubs, with 12 Lioness clubs with over 210 members. Several Lions clubs began accepting ladies and increased their membership. By July 1, 1990, however, membership had dropped to 2623 in 66 clubs, a continuing trend not only in the District and State, but also nationwide. Governor Bob was instrumental in promoting Club growth with the acceptance of lady Lion members. He also promoted combining the Texas Lions State office and the Texas Lions Foundation as one. This would promote a central location and authority to the Foundation.

The Webb Lions Club was re-instated from Status Quo. The Eden Lions Club was dropped. Lake Brownwood Lioness Club was also dropped, but the members joined the Lake Brownwood Lions Club. Midland Suburban Lioness was dropped in June 1990, but many members joined the Midland Suburban Club.

Governor Noyes promoted the purchase of a travel trailer, equipped with Glaucoma Testing equipment for use by the clubs. Governor Noyes and First lady Jan attended the International Convention in St. Louis, Missouri on July 11-14th, 1990. Governor Bob was the State Parade Chairman. He organized a Texas-wide Sweepstakes Contest that raised over $30,000 to send 100 Canadian High School Band members to the International Convention held in St. Louis, Missouri. Governor Noyes was awarded a 100% District Governor's Award.

Lion Ernie Barbee was elected as District Governor for the year 1991-92. Lion Paul Palmer of Early was elected as Lt. Governor. Midland Northside Lion Carey Behrends was appointed as Cabinet Secretary.

1990-1991  Lion Ernie Barbee became the 32nd District 2-A1 Governor. Lion Paul Palmer of the Early Lions Club was the Lt. Governor. Midland Northside Lion Carey Behrends was appointed as Cabinet Secretary.

The District Convention was held on April 26-27, 1991, at the Holiday Inn in Sweetwater. During Governor Barbee's year, the District gained one new Lions Club, the Westbrook Lions, with 26 members. Governor Barbee received the International Leadership Award, the Governor's Retention Award, the Melvin Jones Fellowship and the 100% District Governor's Award. Lt. Governor Paul Palmer was elected as District Governor for the new year 1991-92. Lion Bill Leach was elected Lt. Governor.

1991-1992  Lion Paul Palmer was elected as the 33rd District 2-A1 Governor. Lion Bill Leach was elected as Lt. Governor. Lion Dale Palmer was appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Newsletter Editor.

On July 6-7, 1991, Governor Paul and Lion Dale were in Kerrville to attend the "Meet the Children Conference." Governor Palmer announced his "Special District Project." He proposed that District 2-A1 fund and build a 2,400 sq. ft. concrete block building in Cuidad, Acuna, Mexico. This building would be the home of Lions Health Clinic of Cuidad, Acuna. The clinic will be the site for free eye examinations, eye surgeries and other services performed by Dr. Stephan Kelly and others on a volunteer basis. A request was made to LCIF for a $50,000 grant for the "Sight First" building project in Cuidad Acuna. In January 1992, Governor Paul, wife and First Lady Dale, and Lion Doug Hill traveled to Acuna to observe Dr. Kelly and staff perform 24 cataract surgeries. They also delivered more than 1600 pairs of recycled eyeglasses.

PDG Oscar Cook was appointed as the District Lioness Chairman and urged all Lioness Clubs to convert and become Lions Clubs before June 30, 1992, as requested by Lions International.

The District Convention was held in Brownwood and Early on April 10-11, 1992. Lt. Governor Bill Leach was elected as the District Governor for 1992-93. Midland Northside Lion Henry Goulet was elected Lt. Governor. Lion Vernon Shock was elected Lions Camp Director. During the business meeting, Governor Palmer announced that the $50,000 grant from LCIF had been approved.

Three new Lions Clubs were chartered: Three Rivers Lions Club of San Angelo, the Concho Pearl Lions, formerly the East Angelo Lioness Club of San Angelo, and the Blackwell Lions of Blackwell. Midland Tall City Lions celebrated their 20th anniversary on November 30, 1991.

On April 12th, 1992, the District was saddened to learn of the death of PDG E.C. Grindstaff of Ballinger. He had been a Lion for 57 years and was the father of PIP and PDG E.J. "Ebb" Grindstaff.

The ground breaking ceremony for the Lions Health Clinic building in Cuidad Acuna, Mexico was held on Friday, May 22, 1992. Governor Paul Palmer was the principle speaker and laid the first stone for the structure. At the end of Governor Paul's year, the number of clubs had increased from 67 to 69. Membership increased from 2612 to 2678; a net gain of 66 Lions. Three new clubs were chartered, but the Big Spring Webb Lions Club dropped it charter for a net increase of two clubs.

1992-1993  Lion Bill Leach became the 34th District 2-A1 Governor.

The 1992-93 year began with 2648 members. At the end of December membership had declined to 2627, and 2578 by the end of June 1993. Three District Clubs: Ballinger Noon, San Angelo Downtown and Midland Downtown, received the Campaign Sight First Top 5 Honor patch for leading the District with the highest per capita contributions.

The District Convention was held in Sweetwater on April 16-17, 1993. Lion Henry Goulet was elected as the District Governor for the year 1993-94. The Coleman Evening Lions Club celebrated its 25th anniversary at a special meeting on May 20th. The Midland Downtown Lions Club was appointed to receive, process and distribute eyeglasses for the Sight First program.

1993-1994  Lion Henry Goulet was the 35th District Governor of District 2-A1. He was a member of the Midland Northside Lions Club. Lion Jim Wilkes of the Sweetwater Downtown Lions Club served as Lt. Governor.

Governor Goulet served on the Eye Bank Board simultaneously with his duties as District Governor and had a part in moving the Eye Bank to San Angelo. A District meeting was held at Howard College in Big Spring. Sponsored by the Big Spring Lions Club, club supplies were for sale; only the second time that a Club made supplies available at a District 2-A1 meeting.

The District Convention was held in Midland on April 10, 1994. Lt. Governor Jim Wilkes, was elected as the 36th District 2-A1 Governor. Lion John Hancock of the San Angelo Downtown Club, was elected to serve as Lt. Governor for 1994-1995.

1994-1995  Lion Jim Wilkes, a member of the Sweetwater Downtown Lions, was the 36th District 2-A1 Governor. Lion John Hancock of the San Angelo Downtown Club, served as Lt. Governor.

At the beginning of the year, there were 65 clubs and 2623 members in the District. There were four inactive clubs with a combined membership of 63. The Brownwood Lions Club celebrated its 75th anniversary in October 1994. The Rowena Club was re-organized with 17 members and had their installation meeting on December 28, 1994, a fitting way to end the year.

The District Convention was held in Sweetwater on April 28-29, 1995. Lion John Hancock was elected as District Governor for the 1995-96 year. Lion Ike Fitzgerald was elected as the Vice District Governor, a change in title from the traditional position of Lt. Governor. PDG Paul Palmer was re-elected as Texas Lions Camp Director.

At the Governor's Banquet, guest speaker International Director William Iannacone presented Presidential Citations to Governor Wilks, PDGs Verchel Smith, Paul Palmer and Leonard Hanson.

San Angelo experienced a devastating wind and a rain storm on May 28. Several hundreds homes received extensive roof and structural damage. In June, LCIF provided a $5,000.00 emergency grant, and TLF granted $2,000.00.

There were 7 Melvin Jones Fellows reported: Governor Wilks, PDG Leonard Hanson, Lions Tandy Curlee, Lewis Elliot, Harold Gilbert, Weldon Barton and Bill Collins.

Final membership at the end of June 1995 was 2578, a net loss of 10 members.

1995-1996  Lion John Hancock became the 37th District 2-A1 Governor. Lion Ike Fitzgerald of Midland was elected as Lt. Governor. Governor John's first official function was to attend the 78th Lions Clubs International Convention in Seoul, Korea. Governor John's motto was "Living Up to Our Name."

The year began with 2578 members. The San Angelo Westside Club became the first club to make a 300% contribution to all Lions charities. In October 1995, Governor Hancock introduced Campaign 2000, a new project implemented to enable Texas Lions Camp to expand and improve its facilities to meet the goal of being able to accommodate 2000 children annually by the year 2000. In October Doctor O.H. Chandler of Ballinger was honored for 60 years of humanitarian service. He has been a member of the Ballinger Lions Club since 1936 and was presented a Melvin Jones Fellow from that club. Also in October, Governor John had the honor of inducting the "oldest" new member in the world into Lionism; Lion Maggie Cook and 95 years young! Lion Maggie was a member of the Lake Brownwood Lions Club and said her entire life had been one of service to others. In November, the Lions Council of Governors accepted two resolutions recommending PDG Jimmy Ross (2-T1) and PDG Freddie Wolters (2-S5) for the office of International Director from the state of Texas.

On January 22, 1996, the Concho Pearl Lions Club presented a resolution endorsing Lion Joan Caldwell for the office of Vice District Governor for the year 1996-97.

Through the Campaign Sight First Program, 140 million dollars was raised to fight the war against blindness. San Angelo Westside gave $292.00 per member. This ranked them 14th out of 1060 Texas Clubs. The East Angelo Lions contributed $3,400.00 to Texas Lions Camp Director Paul Palmer. The San Angelo Downtown Lions became a 400% contributor to all Lions charities.

The District Convention was held in San Angelo on April 19-20, 1996. More than 250 lions attended. Lion Ike Fitzgerald was elected as the next District Governor for the year 1996-97. Lion Joan Caldwell, of the San Angelo Concho Pearl Club, was elected Vice District Governor, the first woman to be elected to a high cabinet office in the district.

1996-1997  Lion Ike Fitzgerald, a member of the Midland Downtown Club since 1949, was elected as the 38th District 2-A1 Governor. Lion Joan Caldwell of the San Angelo Concho Pearl was elected as the first woman Vice District Governor. The Cabinet Secretary was Denisa Marston.

Governor Ike wore several "hats" during his term, that of Governor, Construction Chairman of the Eyeglass Recycling building, eyeglass coordinator, and he spearheaded the adult clinic for the State of Texas.

In May 1996, at the State Convention in Houston, PDG Paul Palmer was selected to be in the Lions Hall of Fame.

The 2nd Council of Governors meeting was hosted by the eight Midland clubs at the Eyeglass Recycling Center on November 8-9, 1996. All sixteen governors from Multiple District 2 were in attendance. There were also guests from El Salvador, Mexico; Oklahoma and California. International Director Jimmie Ross, PIP Ebb Grindstaff and PID Mike Butler were among the dignitaries present.

The Midland Downtown Lions raised $84,000 and received a $75,000 grant from LCIF for the MD-2 Eyeglass Recycling Center.

At the District Convention held in Midland in April 1997, Lion Joan Caldwell was elected District Governor and Lion George Costlow was elected as Vice District Governor for the year 1997-98.

1997-1998  Lion Joan Caldwell of the San Angelo Concho Pearl Club became the 39th District 2-A1 Governor, and the District's first woman Governor. Lion George Costlow of the Stanton Noon Lions was elected as Vice District Governor, and Lion Joyce Downie, of the San Angelo Concho Pearl Club, served as the District Cabinet Secretary/Treasurer.

Governor Joan was born in England and met her husband Bill Caldwell while he served with the 8th Air Force in England. Lion Joan is a 19-year member of Lionism, being a Charter member of the East Angelo Lioness Club. She holds two Life Memberships and is a Century Club member of the Texas Lions Camp. She also has a Life membership in the West Texas Eye Bank Alliance.

The 1st Cabinet Meeting was hosted by the Kingsland Lions Club, a first time for Kingsland to host a Cabinet meeting. During the year the Colorado City Lions celebrated its 75th anniversary. During Governor Joan's year, she and husband Bill attended the 1997 International Convention in Philadelphia, the Council of Governor's Meetings in Kerrville and Lubbock, Leader Dog for the Blind School in Rochester, Michigan; USA/Canada Forum in Syracuse, NY; and the 1998 International Convention in Birmingham, England.

The San Angelo Eyeglass Recycling Center celebrated the processing of 250,000 pairs of glasses. PDG was awarded one of the Top Ten International Awards for "Understanding and Cooperation." This year only two awards were given to recipients in the USA and PDG Ike was one of them.

The Mid-Winter Conference was held in Sweetwater on January 9-10, 1998 and hosted by the Sweetwater Lions Club. Mint Chairperson Sabino Garcia gave an informative and humorous report on the Mint Campaign! One item of business voted on was to increase the scholarship for the District Queen from $350.00 to $500.00. On February 28, 1998, the Acuna Clinic celebrated its 5th anniversary.

The District Convention was held in San Angelo on April 17-18, 1998. Past International Director Don Banker was the Guest Speaker at the Governor's Banquet. PDG Ike Fitzgerald was presented the Presidential Award. Lion Larry Evans of the San Angelo Southwest Club was awarded the District 2-A1 Lion of the Year Plaque for his work with handicapped children and adults. A Texas Fellow Plaque was presented to Lion Bill Caldwell by Governor Joan in appreciation of his support and help during the past year.

Vice District Governor George Costlow from the Stanton Lions Club was elected as the District Governor for the new year. Lion Robert (Bob) Edwards was elected as Vice District Governor. Lion Joyce Downie of the Concho Pearl Lions Club was appointed as the District Cabinet Secretary and Treasurer. Lion Robert Simpson was elected as District 2-A1 Camp Director. The District began the year in July 1997 with 2386 members and ended June 30, 1998 with 2323 members, a net loss of 63.

1998-1999  Lion George Costlow was the 40th District 2-A1 Governor. His Vice District Governor was Lion Robert "Bob" Edwards. PDG Bob Noyes was appointed as the Cabinet Secretary.

Governor George was born and raised in Texas, became a Lion in Colorado City in 1958 and has been active of the Stanton Lions Club since 1959. Governor George served on the Eye Bank Board and is a Century Member of both the Eye Bank and the Lions Children's Camp. Lion George was installed as District Governor of 2-A1 at the International Convention in Birmingham, England in July 1998. Governor's Costlow's Motto is "Harmony, Fellowship, Service." At the First Cabinet Meeting, a resolution was made by the San Angelo Downtown Lions endorsing Lion Alvin "Al" Owen for candidate for Vice District Governor for the year 1999-2000.

Governor George visited the Leader Dog School in Rochester, Michigan in August 1998. In November 1998, Governor George, along with seven other Lions from Texas, traveled Guatemala to provide Eyeglass Recyling Training for the Lions of Guatemala.

At the Mid-Winter Conference held in Brownwood on January 22-23, 1999, a resolution was presented by the Brownwood Lions Club supporting Lion Melvin Phelps as candidate for the Texas Lions Camp Director.

The Texas Lions Camp celebrated its 50 year anniversary on March 12, 1999.

The District Convention was held in Midland on April 9-10, 1999, at the Midland Downtown Lions Activity Center. International Director John Baum presented Lion Sabino Garcia, of the San Angelo Southside Lions Club, a Certificate of Appreciation from International President Kajit Habananand for his 38 years of service to Lionism. Lion Denisa Marston also received a Certificate of Appreciation for her outstanding work in Lions service. VDG Robert (Bob) Edwards was elected as District Governor for the year 1999-2000. Lion Al Owen was elected Vice District Governor. Lion Melvin Felch was elected as Director of the Texas Lions Camp.

In May 1999, Governor George attended the State Convention in Bryan/College Station. PDG Connie De La Garza was chosen to be Texas' candidate for International Director. Governor George escorted the Wild West Riders through the District on May 26-29, a fundraiser for the Texas Lions Camp. The Riders were riding their bicycles to the International Convention in San Diego, California.