Two leaders of the Perry Lions Club were presented with awards at the club’s September meeting Monday night at the Hotel Pattee.
Perry veterinarian and 48-year Perry Lions Club member Dr. Harlyn McGuire was presented with the Melvin Jones Fellowship, named after the founder in 1917 of the Lions Club International. The Melvin Jones Fellowship is the highest award bestowed by the Lions Club International Foundation.
McGuire joined the Perry Lions Club in 1973 and served as the club’s president in 2002 and in again 2018. He has been responsible for feeding hundreds of people over the years at the flight breakfasts at the Perry Airport and at two RAGBRAI breakfasts, and he was a chief cook for the BRR Breakfasts and the spring picnics at Sportsman Park.
Perry Lion Richard Saemisch, a fellow Melvin Jones Fellows, presented McGuire with a special lapel pin, a plaque and a congratulatory letter and thanked him on behalf of the membership for his long service to the Perry community.
“He is very active and a leader in our club,” Saemisch said, “and when Harley is in charge, the club members know the project will be done right.”
In the second award ceremony, Perry Lion Lou Hoger was presented with the Perry Lions Club Community Service Award by Perry Lion John Andorf.
Hoger joined the Perry Lions in 2013 after enjoying membership in the Manson Lions Club from 1998 to 2002. He served as the Perry Lions’ vice president from 2012 to 2016, president in 2016 and treasurer since 2017.
A retired Lutheran minister and leader of the Perry Ministerial Association, Hoger works as the site coordinator for the Perry Area Emergency Food Pantry and is the Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselor for Dallas County.
“Lou has spent many hours in training and many more hours working with the citizens of Perry, helping them understand their choices for health insurance,” Andorf said. “The Perry Lions and the Perry community is grateful for his service.”
Perry Lions Club President Rick Hoesing thanked his fellow Lions for their attendance and praised the hotel’s kitchen staff for their attentive service and the excellent boeuf bourguignon.
