Prestigious award for Lions club president Neil in recognition of his dedicated service

Prestigious award for Lions club president Neil in recognition of his dedicated service

8 December 2021

DOWNPATRICK Lions Club president Neil Hamilton has been presented with the prestigious Melvin Jones Fellow award in recognition of his dedicated service on behalf of the Lions Clubs International Foundation.

The presentation was made to him by District Governor Ann Ellis during her visit to the Downpatrick club’s November meeting when there was discussion on the ongoing Lions International work on combating diabetes. 

Neil has been involved with the widely acclaimed Downsound talking newspaper for many years. Launched in November 1977, it provides those with visual impairments with a round-up of articles and features in local newspapers.

There are six volunteer readers who take time to read the stories which are recorded on tapes and distributed to members of the community who are blind or visually impaired. 

The coronavirus pandemic curtailed the volunteers from coming in to record the tapes, however Neil used the time to consider other creative options. And once the volunteers got back to recording, Neil set in motion his idea to transform Downsound into a podcast available online. 

Now in addition to local listeners, the podcast it is picking up listeners from the USA, Germany, Ireland, England, Scotland and New Zealand, with the volunteers delighted that they now have an international following.

Anyone interested in listening to the Downsound talking newspaper podcast can do so via a smart speaker system, search the internet of via the Downpatrick Lions Club Facebook page.

In addition, anyone interested in volunteering or who would like to know more about Downsound is asked to get in touch via the Facebook page or email, downpatricklions@gmail.com. 

Lions Club officials have also revealed this week that the recent small change matters street collection raised over £1,300.

People were asked to gather up all the small change lying about their homes and to donate it to the street collection, with Lions Club officials delighted with the community’s response. 

As a result of people’s generosity, a cheque for £700 was presented to Action Cancer and was received on behalf of the charity by Mark Irwin-Watson.

Lions officials say people’s small change really does matter and are encouraging them to keep collecting and donating it to help the club support worthy causes.

The Lakeside Inn is home to Downpatrick Lions Club when it comes to holding meetings and fundraisers, with members indebted to the support, friendship and commitment of owners Margaret and Geoffrey Ferguson.

They say the cups of tea, warm fire, special events and quiz nights and the great craic are greatly appreciated.

At the club’s November meeting, Neil presented Margaret and Geoffrey with a small token of their appreciation. 

He said: “They say that home is where the heart is and Downpatrick Lions Club’s heart is truly and most assuredly resides in the Lakeside Inn, Ballydugan.”