Reg Hipwell joined the Bradford Lions Club back in the mid-1980s.
Recently, he received the '100 Percent Attendance' pin, for 36 years of perfect attendance. On the very rare occasion that he missed a meeting, Hipwell made sure that he made up the hours in other ways.
“I enjoyed it. It was something to do,” he said - and a way to give back to the community.
Hipwell had been introduced to the idea of service at an early age. “My father was in the Rotary Club,” he noted, but since his dad passed away when he was only 15, Hipwell had no real connection with Rotary.
He was introduced to Lions after moving to Bradford by long-time members Merle Woodcock and Billy Lotto, and immediately decided it was the right fit.
“I just like helping people,” Hipwell said, which is exactly the goal of the Lions Club.
It wasn’t only the club’s support for the Lions Dog Guide Program and Vision programs, supporting CNIB and recycling used eyeglasses – the Bradford Lions recently sorted through 2,000 donated used glasses, to be refurbished and sent to countries in need – it was all the other ways that Lions helped in the community.
The Lions Club of Bradford provided support to minor sports, Scouts and Guides, the local food bank, Santa Claus Parade, other charitable organizations, and quietly, to individual families in need.
Lions have also raised money to fund the ball diamonds at Magani Park, handicapped access at the old Bradford Community Centre, provided $250,000 toward the Lions Aquatic Centre at the BWG Leisure Centre, and a $125,000 pledge toward the Field House at Henderson Memorial Park.
Over the years, Lions have supported the Whipper Watson therapy pool and other programs at Southlake Regional Health Centre – living up to the motto, “Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion.”
“We’ve done a lot for the community,” Hipwell said, “but that’s what the club is all about.”
It was a different kind of service organization, back when Hipwell joined. The local club had 55 members and was considered to be at capacity; they had to make a special exception to let him join, Hipwell noted.
At the time, Lions Clubs were ‘men only.’ Women could not join, although they were welcome to join a Lioness Club.
Times have changed. Club membership here and elsewhere across Ontario has declined. Women are welcomed as members of Lions, and now play a key role in helping to keep the clubs active and vital.
Hipwell has always helped out wherever and whenever there has been a need, filling almost every executive position at the club, except President.
He has also come out to assist at most Lions events - barbecues, Canada Day celebrations, the Breakfast with Santa held every year at the Bradford Community Centre, and especially, the annual Mammoth Car Draw, the club’s main fundraiser.
For the past three years, he has been one of the club’s top ticket sellers, selling over 200 tickets to the car draw, by reaching out to the community he has called home for the past 56 years.
Now 76 years old, Hipwell admits he’s beginning to slow down, but he plans to keep active in Lions - and sell car draw tickets, “as long as I can. As long as I can walk!”
Helping others is just part of who he is. Hipwell is on the board of his Condo building, doing whatever needs to be done to maintain the building and deal with complaints - and he helps his neighbours whenever he can, even if it's as simple as holding open a door.
When he first joined Lions, Hipwell was working full-time, driving a truck and delivering cement blocks that he picked up at a plant located down in the city, near Woodbine racetrack. It was a long commute and hard work, but he always made time to give back to his community.
“I just made time. I tried my darnedest to get to Lions on time,” he said.
Hipwell has not only been recognized for his 100 Percent Attendance record, he has received a Melvin Jones Fellowship, one of the highest honours in Lionism; is a Guardian of Camp Huronda – a Lions Camp for kids with Juvenile Diabetes; was chosen Lion of the Year by the club in 2006; and was presented with a Shadow Award, for “casting a positive shadow on his club, his community and the world.”
Lions International has recognized his contributions with a Life Membership.
But it’s not about the honours. “I just enjoy it,” he said. “You meet new people, and if you’re interested in travelling, you can go to different towns to attend a meeting.”
Lions is the largest service organization in the world, with an estimated 1.4 million members in 200 countries – but it’s the local clubs and their local impact that make Lions so important to the community, and to Hipwell.
He recommends the club to anyone new in town, “if they like to help people, and have spare time. It’s rewarding.”
He smiles. “At least, to me it is. I enjoy Lions.”
For more information on the Bradford Lions Club, click here.
