Portland Bentham
Lions Club

History of the Bentham Club

The Portland Bentham Lions Club was chartered in May, 1954 and was sponsored by the Portland Downtown Lions Club. With the encouragement and efforts of then District Governor, Lion Henry Nelson, thirty charter members began their service to Lionism. These professional and business men from the Portland Metropolitan area committed themselves to the Lion's Motto: "WE SERVE."

The Portland Bentham Lions Club has supported many projects over the years such as the Oregon Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation, the White Cane Drive, the Sunshine Division, the Portland Center for Hearing and Speech, the Salvation Army, Lions Quest, and the Reach Center.

During the 1960's and '70's, the Club held fund raising projects to include, the sale of golf balls, the famous HUKILA dinners at the Crystal Ballroom, the variety shows at the Flower Drum Restaurant, sponsoring the AAU boxing programs, and sponsorship of the concerts of The Bohemians, a singing group of some renown.

The 1980's and 90's has had the Club raising funds by selling Christmas trees, collecting newspaper, selling Lion's Mints, having garage sales, selling Gyro sandwiches at Portland Oktoberfest, selling food at PSU football games, selling entertainment books, holding flower sales, and selling fireworks for the Fourth of July celebration.

The Portland Bentham Lions Club has supported numerous service projects such as Camp Taloali (a camp for the deaf), delivering eyes for the Lions Eye Bank, volunteering services at the Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation, Flags for First-Graders, and the Peace Poster Contest.

During 1977, the Club twinned with the Shimonoseki Lion's Club of Shimonoseki, Japan. In 1986, the Portland Bentham Lions Club twinned with both the Lahti Laune Lions Club and Kiminki Lions Club, Finland. The Club twinned with the Sapporo Murayama Lions Club during 1991.

As an outgrowth of our twinning with clubs from both Japan and Finland, the Portland Bentham Lions Club has hosted over twenty students from both countries and has sponsored at least ten Portland area students to Japan and Finland.

The Portland Bentham Lions Club has also made significant contribution to Lionism at the District and International level. The Club has been involved in the Mane Event Auction, the Journey for Sight, Operation Phonebook, and all State and Mid-Year Conventions. The Club co-sponsored the Greater Portland Lions Club of the Deaf, the first such club west of the Mississippi and only the third deaf club in the world.

During 1993, the Portland Bentham Lions Club made a commitment to become a model club for Campaign SightFirst, one of only two model clubs in Oregon and one of a select few clubs to earn this designation nationwide.

For over forty years, Bentham's spirit has remained consistently high. The Club continues its strong commitment to the ideals of Lionism. The Portland Bentham Lions members will continue to serve humanity, and our club will forever prosper as we continue to say: "WE SERVE."

Lion Don Roach, March 1998