Lions Club hosts successful Dinner In The Dark
Oct. 15—It can be difficult to do simple things when you can't see what you are doing. The guests at the Greater Athens Area Lions Club Dinner in the Dark learned that on Oct. 8 at the Athens Country Club. Guests experienced a little bit of life the way a visually impaired person lives.
The evening began with guests being blindfolded and lead to their table by a Lions Club member. There, guests attempted to find the Fried Ravioli appetizers and dips that were already on the table. The same went for the iced tea or water. Finding the glass and getting the sugar into it was a challenge. Some even confused the water and the tea.
Next, guests attempted to get the right amount of dressing on their salads, or get any of the dressing on their salad. Much of the dips and dressing ended up on the tables. They soon learned to communicate with those at their table and work together.
Lions Club Immediate Past President, Daniel Hunt, introduced Mark Prentice from Leader Dogs for the Blind. Prentice instructed guests to remove their blindfold, and they saw what they had been missing — and how much if it was on their shirt! He then gave a presentation on how much a leader dog means to visually impaired people. His presentation concluded with a video about how prison inmates train the dogs, and how it has impacted the lives of the inmates.
Two awards were presented to the Athens Lions. The first was by Prentice, who awarded the club with a Leader Dogs trophy for its work in promoting the leader dogs program in the community. Next, Angela Cases, Lions District 2X-3 Immediate Past District Governor awarded the Lions Excellence Award to Val Franklin, Secretary of the Athens Lions Club, for the largest increase in membership in the last year. The club grew by 300% in the 2022 fiscal year.
The dinner was attended by 57 people, and all said it was an "eye-opening" experience.
"It was fun watching everyone attempt to eat without being able to see," Hunt said. "It was an excellent way to demonstrate the challenges of being vision impaired while having a good time and great food."
"We are happy we were able to demonstrate the challenges of being vision impaired in such an effective and fun way," said Phillip Ballew, President of the Athens Lions.
The purpose of the evening was to have fun, while giving everyone an opportunity to learn the difficulties people with vision impairment deal with every day. The Lions Club will use the proceeds from the dinner to assist those less economically fortunate in the Athens area community to get free vision screenings, eye doctor visits, and glasses if needed. The club also wants to get into the local schools, and screen kids for vision issues that can still be corrected while they are young. Vision is the mission of the club.
The Club wants to thank all those who attended the dinner, as well as all the sponsors. The sponsors were Brinson Ford of Athens, Heaton Eye Associates, A.T. Staffing, B&W Video Services, Kevin and Jeaneanne Lilly's McDonalds, VeraBank, Trinity Valley Community College, Lions Club District 2X-3, Prosperity Bank, First State Bank, and E&E Services.
The Greater Athens Area Lions Club meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Roma's Italian Restaurant at 500 S Palestine Street in Athens.
