The Perry Lions Club held their annual Spouse Appreciation Dinner at the Hotel Pattee Monday, Sept. 8. Eleven members of the club and seven of their spouses attended, and the hotel served a delicious buffet meal of Swedish meatballs, chicken breast, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, salad and dinner rolls. For dessert the Lions and Lionesses chose between two flavors of cheesecake.
Perry Lions Club President John Andorf presented Past President Dr. Harley McGuire with a certificate of appreciation for his service to the club. McGuire has served six terms as president of the club.
Lion Gary Becker presented the evening’s program, detailing his participation in an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C. with 175 other veterans of the U.S. military on May 7, 2025. The group included service men and women who served in armed conflicts and those who were on active duty during peace time. Becker was in the U.S. Army from October 1965 to October 1967 and was stationed in the Dominican Republic and in Germany.
The Honor Flight tour group left the Fort Dodge Airport at 4 a.m. on a charted flight to Washington, D.C., and arrived back in Fort Dodge at 10 p.m. that same day. Becker said it was a busy day but enjoyable and very interesting. The party was given a tour of our nation’s Capitol, and Becker said they saw all of the memorials on the Mall Grounds that were dedicated to all the soldiers who served in America’s military.
The veterans visited Arlington National Cemetery, the Viet Nam Memorial Wall, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Ford’s Theater and several more. After presenting a video, Becker told the gathered Lions more details about the tour and then answered questions. He said he was most impressed with the U.S. Marine Corps Monument with the sun shining through the American Flag and the U.. Air Force memorial.
Ray Harden is the secretary of the Perry Lions Club.
