Cullman Lions Club has first female member
CULLMAN, Ala. – Some residents may only know the Cullman Lions Club as the “people at the fair,” but its reach and efforts across the county are so much greater than support of the Cullman County Fair each year.
The Cullman Lions Club was founded in 1954 by Powell Blair, T.L. Harless, Thurman Harris and James H. Smith. Just 33 years after the chapter was founded, the exclusively male Lions Club International voted to allow women to join its ranks. Although the Lions Branch Club (formerly known as the Lioness Club) is available for female membership, it was 36 years before a woman joined the Cullman Lions Club. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, Dean Twilley’s membership was transferred from the all-female Lions Branch Club to the Cullman Lions Club. Twilley is the first woman to sit on the club’s roster, pay yearly dues and operate as a full-fledged member.
Ginger Hogeland, president of the Cullman Lions Branch Club, said she is excited that Twilley decided to make the jump. Said Hogeland, “Dean Twilley’s decision to transition from our all-women Lions Branch Club to the Cullman Lions Club (parent club) is a testament to her dedication and commitment to breaking down traditional barriers. Her move symbolizes the ongoing journey towards inclusivity and diversity within our Lions community. As we bid farewell to Dean Twilley, we celebrate her commitment to Lionism and look forward to continued collaboration with our parent club, fostering a stronger and more diverse Lions family.”
Twilley, a longtime member of the Lions Branch Club, said she felt a calling that she needed to reach a larger audience for her community involvement. The mingling of the sexes at meetings isn’t uncommon, but instead welcome and encouraged. Twitty noted that Lions often sit in on the branch club’s meetings and vice versa; while the Lions Branch Club is also a philanthropic civic organization, the reach of the branch club isn’t anywhere near as encompassing as the larger parent club.
“I decided I wanted to be on a bigger scale. It was a door that needed to be opened; it probably should have been done before now,” she said. “I just felt led to do it. There was no woman on their roster and that needed to change.”
Her calling to remove barriers and challenge what had been the “norm” for so many years paid off. Twilley asked to have her membership transferred, and within hours the deed was done.
“We had a board meeting with the men After they handled their business, I let them know that I wanted to transfer my membership from the branch to the parent club. I sent the official email last night (Jan. 22) and got the response this morning from the secretary that he had changed my paperwork and gotten me into Lions Club International,” said Twilley. On the support from her new Lion family, she chuckled as she said, “A lot of them have reached out. They already sent me a bill for my dues.”
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