The Monday meeting of the Perry Lions Club was touched by sadness when Lions Club President Lou Hoger presented longtime Lion’s Club Treasurer Dwayne Hochhalter with a commemorative plaque in recognition of his 35 years of service as the treasurer of the Perry Lions Club.
Dwayne and Mary Hochhalter are moving to the Kansas City area to be closer to their daughters and grandchildren after 50 years’ residence in Perry.
Mary was teacher for many years in the Perry Elementary School. Dwayne served on the Perry School Board and was the school system’s treasurer for many years. He sat on the board of directors of the Bach Family Foundation board and was active many other civic and social organizations over the years.
“Dwayne’s leadership and service to the Perry community will be greatly missed,” Hoger said as he presented the plaque to Hochhalter, who said Monday’s meeting was the first time he ever attended a Lions meeting without the club’s check book.
On a happier note, the evening’s program was given by the Rev. Jeremy Winter, pastor of the Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Perry. Winter spoke to the Lions about housing projects planned for the Perry area by Dallas County’s Habitat for Humanity.
The Habitat for Humanity was reactivated in the community in 2015 and participated in 12 projects. In 2016 the group took on 22 projects in the county, and 10 were in Perry. At this time, five projects are scheduled for 2017.
Habitat for Humanity’s “Rock the Block” projects help low-income and elderly residents with household repairs the owners are not able to do. Winter said the group is looking forward to building a house from the ground up on property the organization owns in Perry.
Winter urged the Lions to consider volunteering for the Habitat efforts. He said volunteers at all levels of building skills are needed.. He also discussed the legal and financial conditions the occupants and owners of the properties must agree to as part of the projects.
