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A simplified guide of how Multiple District 13 (MD13) evolved from 1917 to
the present.
By PDG Bill Keller (Past MD13 webmaster)
I want to stress that this page is under construction and by no means is a
complete guide at this time.
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Lions Clubs began as the dream of Chicago businessman Melvin
Jones. June 7, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois, an organizational meeting was held and the "Association of Lions Clubs" was formed. A national convention was held in Dallas, Texas, in October of that year. A constitution, by-laws, objects and code of ethics were approved. Complete list and photo's of all the Past International Presidents of Lions Clubs International. |
| 1918:
The associations first tentative grouping of the states into nine districts. Ohio was included in the Ninth District, which included Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Eastern Wisconsin. The first District Governor of the Ninth District was George W. Milligan of Chicago, Illinois. The First Lions Club Magazine published on November, 1918. Click here to read the complete magazine.  (Best
viewed at 75%) |
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1920: March 13, the first Lions Club
“Cleveland Host” was organized and 12 Clubs in Ohio rapidly joined. The first
District Convention was held in Columbus, Ohio on October 14. International
President Dr. C.C. Reid of Denver, Colorado presented all 13 Clubs their
charters; the Ashland Cub was organized later that year.
Dr B.W. Beatty of Dayton was elected to be first District Governor, and Ohio is now known as
"Ohio District".
John Ress of Columbus was the District secretary and a Advisory Board was put
into operation.
The association became International when the first club in Canada was
established in 1920.
Complete list of
MD13 District & State Conventions 1920 to present.(Updated
9/1/2019)
MD13 Convention,
International Guest, and Guest speakers 1920 to present.
(Updated 9/1/2019)
Complete list of
District
Governors 1920 to present.(Updated
9/1/2019)
Organization
Charter and Closed Dates of Lions Clubs in Ohio 1920–2009.
 Dr B.W. Beatty |
1921:The second District
Convention held in Dayton. Dr B.W. Beatty was elected to serve as Governor, that
same year Dr. Beatty was elected to be Third Vice President of Lions
International, Beatty resigned as District Governor and Orson C. Norton of
Toledo was appointed to serve as District Governor. Editors Note: see Ohio's Chronological Participation In International Leadership for Ohio's International family details here .Ohio Lions Past International Officers. |
1922: International re-districted the entire country and re-numbered them, Ohio
became known as District 13.
Orson C. Norton was elected to serve as District Governor and three trustees were
elected at the third District Convention held in Lima, Ohio.
Child Welfare was adopted as a Club/District project. Ohio now has 16 clubs and
1,018 members.
1923: May 24th at the fourth annual convention of District 13 in Akron, it was
decided to take over as a District project, the publication and free distribution of the
"Juvenile Braille Magazine" which the Cincinnati Lions Club had undertaken for
several years before. It was voted unanimously
to publish the magazine and send it to every blind child in Ohio. Albert Elton
of Youngstown was elected District Governor and three trustees.
Ohio now has 19 clubs and 1,078 members.
1925:The ninth annual International Convention held in conjunction with the sixth
District 13 Convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, Helen Keller challenged Lions to
become "Knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness."
Read
Helen Keller's full speech
here
. Click on
program for larger image.
Edward S. Babcox of Akron was elected to serve as District Governor and four
trustees were elected.
Governor Babcox appointed E.H. Boylan of Akron as District Secretary and John Ress of Columbus
as District
Treasurer.
Later that year Governor Babcox organized the State officers.
1926:Ohio Lions
adopted first State Constitution.
The
first Lions song book issued.
Horace Kerr of Columbus
was elected to serve as District Governor at the seventh District 13 Convention
held at Columbus and he appointed nine Lieutenant Governors.
Ohio now has 40 clubs and 1,806 members.
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1927: Horace Kerr of Columbus was elected to serve a three year term as International Director at the 11th annual International Convention held in Miami, Florida. Walter Schmitt of Cincinnati was elected to serve as District Governor and Chet Moreland of Cincinnati was named District Secretary/Treasurer at the seventh annual District convention in Toledo. The District was to be administered in nine sub-districts each under a Lieutenant Governor. |
1928: The Juvenile Braille Magazine had now been adopted by Lions International.
1,886 copies were sent to blind children in Ohio.
Ohio now has 48 Clubs and 2,159 members.
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1932: John Lloyd of Portsmouth was elected to serve a two year term as International Director at the 16th annual International Convention held in Los Angeles, California. See the Ohio Lions District 13 Convention Programs from the 1930's here. |
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1933: District 13 Ohio divides into Multiple District 13 (MD13) composed of
13A & 13B. Don Gibbs of Urbana was elected District Governor of 13A and Harry Shanks of Dayton elected District Governor of 13B at the fourteenth annual convention held in Cleveland. Click on image for larger picture or a even larger printable map is available here. |
1934:Ohio Lions have always been active in blind work and the visitors at the
fifteenth annual District convention of Ohio Lions in Cincinnati had the privilege of
witnessing the printing of the Juvenile Braille Monthly Lions magazine
for blind children, printed by the blind women of
Clovernook.
Ohio now has 86 clubs and 2,760 members.
1935:
John Lloyd was elected to serve a one
year term as International Director at the 19th
annual International Convention held in Mexico City, Mexico to fill the
unexpired term of Walter F. Dexter of Whittier, California.
Guy W. Brentlinger was elected to serve on the Executive Council Board of
Directors of Lions International.
1936: A.H. Alexander was elected to serve on the Executive Council Board of
Directors of Lions International.
1937:At the eighteenth annual District 13 convention in Toledo a new District Governors organization was adopted.
Each Governor was to have a Deputy Governor and Zone chairman. District
Committees at the time where: Executive & Advisory Committees, Credentials,
Resolutions, Constitution & By Laws, Custodian of Brail Fund and Controller and
a Convention Committee.
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1941-1942: MD13 divides into 4 new sub-districts 13A, 13B, 13C, & 13D. |
| 1943: The Twenty Seventh Annual Lions International Convention was held at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland on July 20-23, 1943. |
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1945: Guy W. Brentlinger of Lima was appointed to serve a two year term as International Director there was no International or District Convention due to the war. Each sub-district held it’s own meeting for general business and election of officers. |
1947: MD13 divides from 4 sub-districts to 6 sub-districts and adds 13E &
13F.
Clarence Jenkins named 1st
State Secretary of Ohio Lions; Jenkins passed away suddenly and was
replaced by George Bormuth.
Constitutional changes were made to accommodate the office of State Secretary
and the State office was opened in October 1948 in the Southern Hotel in
Columbus. This was an outstanding year for Ohio, 23 new clubs had been
organized making a total of 207 Clubs and
11,295 members.
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1948: MD13 divides from 6 sub-districts to 7 sub-districts and adds 13G. A. Blee Dredge of Springfield was elected to serve a two year term as International Director held at the 31st annual International Convention in New York, New York. |
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1950: MD13 divides from 7 sub-districts to 8 sub-districts and adds 13H. |
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1951:William C.
Wiseman of Dayton was endorsed as a candidate for International Director but was
appointed as Chairman of the Board of International Relations at LCI.
A.B. Dredge was killed in an automobile accident on August 1951.
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1953:
Dr. Dan Martin of Greenville was elected to serve
a two year term
as International Director at the
36th annual International Convention in
Chicago, Illinois.
Lions International building dedicated in Chicago, Illinois. The first Eye Research contribution of $1200.00 was presented to Dr. Doan, Dean of the Medical College at Ohio State University at the thirty-fourth annual State convention of Ohio Lions held in Columbus on May 8-10,1953. |
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1957: Sub-District 13A divides into (2) new sub-districts A-1 & A-2. W.R. “Dick” Bryan of Doylestown was elected to serve as International Director held at the 40th annual International Convention in San Francisco, California. Ohio Lions Eye Research becomes incorporated and trustees are elected. We now have 445 clubs and 19,452 members. Council of Governors photos 1957-1959. Click on image for larger picture or a even larger printable map is available here. |
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1959: Clarence DenHerder replaced Loomis as State Secretary. Sub-District 13F divides into (2) new sub-districts 13F-1 & 13F-2. Click on image for larger picture or a even larger printable map is available here. |
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1960:Change in District designation from 13A-1,A-2, B, C, D, E, F-1, F-2, G, and H
to 13A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I and J. Click on image for larger picture or a even larger printable map is available here. |
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Also in
1960,
Ralph Blaney of Old Fort
was elected to serve
a two year term as International Director at the
43rd
annual International Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Each Multiple District or
State issued a small pin usually in the shape of their state for their delegates
to trade at the International Convention. These pins where called FRIENDSHIP
PINS. See Lions International
Pin Trading Club
for more information.
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1961:Founder of Lions International, Melvin Jones passes away in his home at
Flossmoor, Illinois on June 1st.
Click on magazine for larger picture. And read the article here. (Best viewed at
100%)If you look closely at the bottom of the first page, it was published in Dayton, Ohio. 1962:Carl Yingling replaced DenHerder as State Secretary. The first Mid Winter Confrence held on January 20, 1962. Here is the list of Winter & Fall Confrences from 1962-present. (update 11/19/2019) |
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1963: District 13I changes letter designation to 13K. The reason was not to be
confused with MD131. Click on image for larger picture or a even larger printable map is available here. Homer Hoover of Wooster was elected to serve a two year term as International Director at the 46th annual International Convention in Miami, Florida. |
| 1964:Ohio Lions Uniform Chairman was Alton B. Moore, he held this position until 1974. (Updated 11/9/2019) | |
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1966: Another statewide redistricting took place and was done all over MD13 to
make a more equal distribution of clubs and membership among the sub-districts.
Ohio now has 447 clubs and 20,800 members. W.R. “Dick” Bryan of Doylestown was elected 3rd Vice President of Lions Club International 49th annual International Convention, held in New York, NY. Click on image for larger picture for map. |
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1969:
W.R. “Dick”
Bryan
of Doylestown was
elected President of Lions Club International 52nd
annual International Convention, held in Tokyo, Japan. “Ohio’s
First International President”. |
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1972: Merle W. Hartle of Piketon was elected to serve
a two year term as International
Director at the 55th
annual International Convention in Mexico
City, Mexico. |
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1977:
William P. Leibensperger of
Columbus was
elected to serve a two year term as International Director held at the 60th annual
International Convention in
New Orleans, Louisiana. The first USA/Canada Lions Forum was held in
Rosemont, Illinois. |
1982/1983: PID William "Bill" P. Leibensperger
endorsed by the Lions of Ohio at the MD State Convention in 1982 as a candidate
for 3rd
V.P.
Read the story of PID Bill "A Lion On The Verge of Obtaining the Presidency of
our Association" by PIP Jim Coffey
here
1984:The Ohio Lions All State Youth Band was started.
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1986:
Daniel W. "Dan" Cole of
Marietta was elected to serve a two year term as
International Director held at the 69th
annual
International Convention in New Orleans,
Louisiana. OLF State committee formed. Ohio Lions Uniforms & products taken over by C. Lee Weddell ( C.L.W. Distributors) sold Lions goods until 1997. |
1991:"The
Ohio Lion " Newsletter was published and the editor was PDG Bob Lowry.
James T. Coffey was elected 2nd
Vice President of Lions Club International 74th annual International
Convention held in Brisbane, Australia
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1993: James T. Coffey of Toronto was elected President of Lions Club
International 76th annual International Convention held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Editors Note: see Ohio's Past International Presidents and Directors photos and biographies here. Title of Senior Deputy Governor is now Vice District Governor and Junior Deputy Governor is now Deputy District Governor. Click on magazine for larger picture. James T. Coffey's Inaugural Address |
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1995:
Floyd Newberry, Jr. of Sardinia was
elected to serve a two year term as
International Director held at the 78th
annual International Convention in Seoul, Republic of Korea. A State Office building was purchased on March 10th in Grove City. |
2000: PDG Bob
Woodside takes over as full time editor of The Ohio Lion Newsletter and held
this position until 2003.
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2002:
Title change from State Executive
Administrator to Multiple District Secretary/Treasurer (MDST) Membership, Extension, Retention, and Leadership (MERL) Coordinators formed.
PDG Judy Strawn (13K) was elected to serve as the first woman Council of
Governors Chairman at the MD13 State convention in Akron. |
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2003:
Gary L. Brown of Urbana
was
elected to serve a two year term as
International Director held at the
annual International Convention in
Denver, Colorado. First on-line Fall issue
newsletter called "The Ohio On-Lion News" produced by Lions Mark
Page and Bill Keller. |
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2006: At the 87th Annual State Convention May 20th, 2006 in Cincinnati, PCC PDG Steven Sherer is elected and is endorsed by the Lions of Ohio to run for ID in Boston. Steven D. Sherer of New Philadelphia was elected to serve a two year term as International Director held at the 89th annual International Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. The 30th Annual USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum was held in Columbus. |
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2008-2009: A state wide Club blitz
took place producing 18 new clubs into MD13. 2009:At the 90th Annual State Convention May 16th, 2009 in Dublin, PDG Jerry Smith is elected and is endorsed by the Lions of Ohio to run for ID in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A constitutional name change of VDG to 1st Vice District Governor and DDG to 2nd Vice District Governor also took place at the State convention. Blue Frog Promotions takes over as Ohio Lions Uniforms & products provider. Jerry Smith, from Wauseon was elected to serve a two year term as International Director at the 92nd International Convention, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota July 6-10, 2009. |
2009: Lion Bill & Cindy Keller resign as co-editors of the State newsletter, a monthly newsletter is now produced by Lion Becky Thornton
.(2009-2014)(2014-2016)
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2016: July 1, A statewide redistricting takes place and was done
all over MD13 to make an equal distribution of Lions Clubs and
membership among the sub-districts. Sub districts are renamed to
OH1-OH7.
Click on image for larger picture of map. Organization Charter and Closed Dates of Lions Clubs in Ohio 1920-2019 as of the
redistricting in 2016 to present. |
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2018:Steve Thornton, from Wooster, Ohio, was elected to serve a two year term as international director of Lions Clubs International at the association’s 101st International Convention, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 29 through July 3, 2018. |
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2022:Ron Keller, from Millersport, Ohio, was elected to serve two year term as international director of Lions Clubs International at the association's 104th International Convention held in Montreal, Canada, June 24-28, 2022. |
History researched from:
Ohio Lions Inc. ©® 2023
