Lions Club poised for growth under first female president

THE Lions Club of Portarlington Drysdale has installed its first female president.

Dianne Porter, who was officially appointed to the position last week at the club’s annual changeover dinner, said she was excited for the new challenge and was looking forward bringing some new and fresh ideas to the role.

“I’m really looking forward to this, and the confidence coming into this club has given me, has let me take this next step.

“It’s because of my fellow Lions who have given me the friendship and the different opinions to strengthen my confidence to go forward in this role.

“Every one of those Lions has an input into my leadership, because without them supporting me, I can’t be a good leader.

“I’m not a one; I’m a many.”

Eager to raise awareness of the Lions Club’s work within the community and shift the misconception it only hosts barbecues, Ms Porter has plans to expand the club’s community programs, elevate its visibility and further reinforce its strong links with the communities it serves across Clifton Springs, Drysdale, Indented Head, St Leonards and Portarlington.

The club supports the wider community through a broad range of initiatives, including flood and fire relief, childhood cancer research, the Lions Mobile Skin Cancer Screening Van, the Lions eye health primary school program and the Lions Hearing Dogs training program.

“There’s so much that we do that people don’t realise… and my aim is to make the community more aware of what their Lions Club is about,” she said.

Ms Porter, who has been a Lion for almost six years, first joined the organisation while she was living in Tasmania before transferring to the Lions Club of Portarlington Drysdale three years ago.

At the time, she was the Portarlington Drysdale club’s first female member.

“It just gives you a [feeling of] warmth [to know] that you’re helping the community,” Ms Porter said.

“It’s lovely to go out…and meet a whole variety of different people, and it’s really lovely when you’ve done maybe just a little small job for somebody, but the appreciation that you get back is tenfold.”

She encouraged those interested in joining the Lions Club, particularly women, to “take that step and come forward” and said female members help to bring “more balance” and a “different perspective” to the organisation.

“It’s a journey that we go on and it’s not a destination. There’s no middle and there’s no end, but there is a beginning.

“Each of us, we strive to make a positive change in our lives and in the lives of others and to put some good back into the world.

“In every project that we do and every donation that we make, we contribute positive change to our community and the communities around us.

“We serve. [That] is what our motto is and that’s what I want us to do going forward: we serve.”

For more information, or to join the Lions Club of Portarlington Drysdale, email [email protected]