Fox’s election marks the first time in 42 years that a Pickerington Lion will serve as District Governor.

April 22, 2024
From the Pickerington Lions Club

Longtime Pickerington resident Lilane Fox was elected Governor of the Ohio Lions District OH7 at the recent annual District Convention in Marietta in March. Her term begins July 1.

District OH7 covers a 17-county area of southeast Ohio stretching from Knox County to the north all the way down to Lawrence County on the Ohio River. The district contains 48 Lions Clubs.

Fox, who has lived in Pickerington and Violet Township since 1991, is a past three-term president of the Pickerington Lions Club, of which she and her husband Brian have been members since 1995.

Fox has served in the Pickerington Club in a variety of positions, including Membership Chair, Treasurer, Board Member, Vice President and President. She has been active in all the club’s service and fundraising activities and has been particularly interested in the club’s eye screening projects.

Fox has also been active at the District and State Lions levels for many years. She has served in the areas of membership recruiting and development, sight and hearing programs, and eye screening projects. She founded the Ohio Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, which raises money to help clubs pay for eyesight or hearing care which might be more expensive than a typical club can afford by itself. She also served for six years on the Central Ohio Lions Eye Bank operating board, serving as chair of the board two of those years.

Fox’s election marks the first time in 42 years that a Pickerington Lion will serve as District Governor. Previous club members who became Governor were: Raye Richter, who served as Governor in 1967-68, Paul Kelley (1975-76) and Lee Burba (1981-82). Kelley was Fox’s sponsor into Lions.

Fox’s goals for her year as Governor center around bringing in new members but also making sure that current membership is engaged and satisfied. She plans to encourage clubs to greater service to their communities and to those in need.

“Lionism is all about service,” she notes. “That’s the one word that describes all Lions. When clubs ensure that their service is active, needed and relevant, those clubs will grow.” Lions Clubs serve their communities primarily in five areas: Sight, Diabetes, Hunger, Environment and Pediatric Cancer.