29-L Cabinet meeting November 18, 2023

Reprinted with permission of the Times West Virginian. 

Reporter and Photo credit-Esteban Fernandez

FAIRMONT — Despite the weather, the Fairmont Lions Club still did their best to push apples for vision care in the parking lot of the Learning Land Daycare on Fairmont Avenue on a recent Saturday. The organization regularly holds fundraising events to help pay for their work in community service.

“Well, it’s wet and it’s a little chilly and we’re selling some apples,” Bob Moffett, club secretary said. “I hope we do better as the day goes on. It got off to a wet dark start this morning.”

Not long after, a red hatchback pulled off of the road and parked next to the apple stand. An older couple emerged and bought one or two bags from the stand. They were on their way to get fruit from a different venue when they saw the sign for the sale on the side of the road.

The apple stand saved them a trip. Before them sat West Virginia’s Official State Apple — the Golden Delicious — Granny Smith and Fuji apples were laid out for picking. Granny Smith apples are particularly good for baking pies.

Club treasurer and president Robert Brummage said that the money the club raises goes to help provide people with eyeglasses as well as child eye screenings. They also contribute to Connecting Link through their fundraisers. Connecting Link connects individuals in need to community assistance here in town and the surrounding area.

Brummage said that the Lions Club is the largest service organization in the world.

“We were called by Helen Keller to be knights for the blind,” Brummage said. “So we help with vision problems and we are in all the states and several countries around the world. It’s a service organization and our motto is, ‘we serve.’

The apples themselves came from Spring Valley Farms in Romney. Brummage said that the orchard supports people that do fundraisers. Thanks to a program that the orchard does, the club is able to get a little help with the pricing of the apples.

Events like this give the community the ability to perform a degree of self care.

“The government does some things, but the government doesn’t do everything,” Moffett said. “We have people in our community that need some help. And if we can help some people in the community, that’s what we’re about. We’re not doctors. We’re not the optometrists. But we can do a vision screening and detect if a child needs to be referred to one.”

Although the local club is limited in scope, the statewide one has more flexibility. Moffett said it has collaborated in the past to help residents who needs cataract surgery, which is important. He said a similar opportunity exists for hearing needs as well.

The club’s newest member also had news of his own. He was one of the lions helping with the event. Fred Cannon, who transferred here from a club in Virginia, brought an e-waste recycling program to the Fairmont Lions which kicked off on Thursday. The program takes used electronics, such as printers, laptops, tablets and cell phones and trades them to a recycling business for cash. The cash is used to fund club community service projects.

“Our clubs down there have embraced it and it’s worked out great,” Cannon said. “It’s helped them raise money. We’re taking people’s trash instead of begging for money.”

The club is always looking for new members to join and help it fulfill its mission. More information on the club’s activities can be found at Fairmontlions.org. Anyone interested in learning more about the recycling program can email Cannon at Sarasdad2000@yahoo.com.