Members of the Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club celebrate their first anniversary at the Villa Russo Catering Hall in Richmond Hill. Photo Courtesy the Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club
The Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club recently celebrated the community service organization’s first anniversary with an elegant function at the Villa Russo Catering Hall on Lefferts Boulevard.
Billed as the club’s First Year of Service Celebration, the Nov. 10 event drew more than 150 members and supporters, including several senior Lions from other districts and prominent residents of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park.
The Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club was chartered just about one year ago, with its executive committee headed by Romeo Hitlall as president.
Immediately after being founded, club members set about on a busy schedule of community service. The list of activities included visits to senior home to bring cheer to the residents, a cleanup of Smokey Park, actively participating in relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, a book collection for underprivileged residents, and more.
The club’s record-breaking achievement was the establishment and charter of its Leo Club – a youth community service group – durings its first year in existence; most clubs do not launch a Leo Club for at least several years after being chartered.
The group’s celebration got underway with an opening ceremony led by the city Ceremonial Unit’s presentation of the colors, followed by the National Anthem. A number of individuals heaped praise on the new group, including Lions leaders, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, and Deputy Inspector Jeffrey Schiff, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct.
The club also honored George Russo, who owns Villa Russo Catering Hall, for his help and support over the past year and presented him with a Lion recognition award, the Robert J. Uplinger Distinguished Service Award.
Following the ceremony, the guests were treated to the rhythmic Indo-Caribbean sounds of the Amman Tass Group and other entertainment from the Soundextreme DJ system.
The Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club is one of more than 46,000 clubs around the world. With about 1.35 million members, it is the world’s largest service club organization.
Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder presented a citation from the state Assembly honoring the Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club during the ceremony. Photo Courtesy NYS Assembly
