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Methven Lions Mt Hutt Open Day Great early snow at Mt Hutt in March. Click the graphic above for an overview of the day. Methven Lions are a group of about 70 locals who volunteer their time and skills for the benefit of the local community. Many fundraising activities are undertaken including the Mt Hutt Open Day with the proceeds distributed locally. Mary-Lynne and I took the opportunity to attend this event and learn a bit more about what Lions is about given that our two organisations share an emphasis on “service”. And what a great event they put on with Mt Hutt’s massive six-seater chairlift carrying families, walkers, bikes and bikers to the summit where they enjoyed unrivalled views of the Southern Alps & Canterbury Plains. Activities included ascending & descending the chairlift, walking or biking down from the summit, music, market stalls, bar & café, BBQ, scenic helicopter rides and a ski area inner-workings tour. This year was especially interesting as the field had received 50-6-cm of fresh snow the week before and which meant skiing and boarding was also available: a 1st for so early in the year. On visiting the Lions website, I found it interesting to see that there were quite a few similarities with Rotary. Like us, for example, Lions have a similar motto: “We serve”. They describe themselves as ordinary, kind and generous people from all walks of life who enjoy getting together to help by working on projects to improve communities and protect the environment. I counted way in excess of 70 Lions in attendance across the entire mountain. The end result was they raised ~$40,000 for use in the local greater Methven community. To find out more about Lions and their parallels with Rotary click here. |
