 2nd Vice President Jim Minnich
Lion Jim Minnich, who is a
member of the Wilmington Gateway Lions Club of Wilmington,
Delaware, has been a Lion for 38 years with perfect attendance
for 38 years. He has served his Club as President for three terms. .
Family is Lion Jim’s #1 priority. He is married
to Lorraine who usually attends all Lion functions
with him. They have three daughters: Kate, Jenifer, and
Jamie, and five grandchildren: Billy, Curtis, Evan,
George, and Mary.
Pin collecting began in 1969 when Lion Jim
acquired his first pin at a Multiple District Convention. He was hooked
from that moment on! His current focus is State pins; however, there is
room in his collection for anything that strikes his fancy. He trades
by mail with more than 86 collectors from all states and also trades at
as many swaps as time permits him to attend. By the way, he is still
collecting Indian pins as he got a late start – approximately half way
through that particular frenzy. Lion Jim loves pin trading and
collecting and the special bond of friendship that develops over the
years. It’s always special to meet and greet anyone who is part of the
pin trading family.
Lion Jim is now a happily retired educator, after
42 years of service. During his career, he taught grades 6-12 and many
subjects including language arts, social studies, reading, world
history, U.S. history, English, drivers ed and phys ed. The last
twenty-nine years he served as a high school guidance counselor.
For the past 14 years, Lion Jim has been an
active trustee of the Lions Eye Bank of the Delaware Valley, serving as
CEO in 2000. Although he serves on several committees, he is the chair
of the newly-established Endowment Committee which has a fund-raising
goal of $4 million. Bi-annual cruises are just one of the
fund raiser projects of this committee and Lion Jim is the chair of the
Cruise Committee. Past cruise destinations include Bermuda and
New England/Canada and the immediate future destination (August, 2008)
is Alaska. (Brief commercial message: everyone is welcome to come along
. Details upon request.)
Some of Lion Jim’s Lion positions have been
District Governor, MD22 Convention Chairman, most District
Cabinet positions, and many MD22 committee chairmanships. He is a Life
Member of LCI, a progressive Melvin Jones Fellow, and a progressive
Gene Polgar Fellow (Lions Eye Bank of the Delaware Valley). Among the
awards he has received are an International President’s Award,
President’s Leadership award, and the Eye Bank’s Sight Seeker Award.
In the pin trading arena, Lion Jim is President
and Bulletin Editor of the MD22 PTC. Since he became President,
membership has grown from approximately 60 members to over 200 members.
Lion Jim is proud that his MD22PTC ice cream cone sale was the first
project for Sight First II. This project was a sell-out!
Back in June, Lion Jim was responsible for the
social/hospitality room in Chicago during the LCI Convention.
Currently, he is looking forward to and planning for the LITPC
fun/social/hospitality room in Jefferson City, MO.
Home Updated: December
21, 2007
|
