Fish Hoek Lions celebrate 50 years of service

The Fish Hoek Simonsbay Lions Club celebrated 50 years of service and dedication to the far south community earlier this year.

The club, generally referred to as the Fish Hoek Lions Club, was chartered on July 11, 1973, and its first president was Gert Goosen.

The club’s current president, Brent Proctor, said it had remained apolitical, focussing on its charitable and community-oriented goals during apartheid.

The club services the Fish Hoek area and surrounds and is part of a larger district that covers the Western and Northern Cape region as well as Namibia.

“Over the past five decades, this Fish Hoek Lions Club remains a force for positive change under the Lions International slogan, ‘we serve’, leaving a mark on its community and beyond,” Mr Proctor said.

In its earlier years, club meetings took place at members’ houses until the club grew to a membership where this was no longer possible.

Meetings were then moved to various hotels in Simon’s Town and Glencairn and then later to a prefab garage behind the old lifesaving club on Fish Hoek Beach in 1985, which became the official clubhouse for a few years. The venue proved to be popular with membership showing an increase at the time.

After the new lifesaving club was built in 1995, meetings were moved to the 1st Fish Hoek Sea Scouts Hall, on Recreation Road, and later the Fish Hoek Baseball Club’s clubhouse after the Fish Hoek Lions Club saved it from demolition.

“The building was renovated by members of the club who worked during their spare time and at their own personal expense showing commitment by the Lions members,” Mr Proctor said.

The club also helped to revive junior and senior baseball teams.

In the 1990s, the club chartered a Fish Hoek Lioness Club, which was later rechartered as the Silvermine Lions Club.

The club also chartered a Fish Hoek Leos Club for young adults aged 18 to 30.

“What began as a small group of individuals with a shared vision has evolved into a dynamic force that adapts to new challenges while staying true to the Lions International foundational principles of service, compassion, and community building,” Mr Proctor said.

Three of the club’s members later became district governors: Clive John, Moira Theron, and Aidan Ewers.

In 2000, the Lions parted ways with the baseball club and held their meetings at the St James Retirement Home, and in 2018, the club utilised the Fish Hoek Bowling Club, where it now meets on the second Monday of every month, at 7pm.

Today, the club has 24 members with a management team that oversees projects related to hunger, vision care, environmental initiatives, childhood cancer support, diabetes awareness, and disaster relief. A new president is elected annually and sets the club’s strategic direction.

In March this year, the club chartered a Leos Club for children aged 12 to 18. It has 20 members with its own board.

Mr Proctor said the club had embraced technological advancements to streamline communication and coordination.

“Social media platforms, online collaboration tools, and virtual meetings have become integral to the club’s day-to-day operations, enabling efficient information sharing and decision-making among members, volunteers, and partners,” he said.

“The Fish Hoek Lions are always looking for new projects where we can improve our community and new members are always welcome.”

Major projects undertaken since the club’s inception

• The Morning Market at the Fish Hoek Civic Centre.

• The senior's Christmas dinner/dance held annually at the Fish Hoek Civic Centre where all Lions and their partners prepare and serve meals and entertain the guests.

• Beach projects during the Christmas festive period, which include the building of sandcastles.

• The annual Easter egg project collecting from schools and distributing to the less fortunate.

• The Christmas Shoebox project for the Sinethemba Special Care School.

• The planning and building of the Happy Valley vegetable garden enclosure to keep out baboons.

• The Matthew Wingreen fund-raiser for a specially designed wheelchair.

• The weekly/monthly bread collection and sandwich-making projects.

• The Fish Hoek Valley Museum facelift.

• The Tears cattery water project for fire prevention and water for the cats during water restrictions.

• Annual Christmas cakes sold to raise funds for charity.