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The Farmville Lions Club hosted the Lions District 24-I Serve from the Heart fall conference on Saturday, Nov. 20, at Longwood University. The event drew in over 125 Lions from all over Virginia, with one local Lion and one local business owner earning awards.

Farmville Lion, Jennifer Kinne and J.R. Tharpe Trucking owner, Tim Tharpe were presented with the Melvin Jones Fellow award, which is the most prestigious award the Lions offer to members that have committed to their club consistently through service to their community. According to the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) website, “…it’s a tremendous contribution to humanity and to the legacy of our founder, Melvin Jones.”

During the event, Lions had an opportunity to donate to the Roc Solid Foundation Ready Bag drive. The Roc Solid Foundation prepares “Ready Bags” for families who find out their child has cancer as many of those children are admitted to start treatment right away, according to their website. The bags help provide necessary items to families for daily living during those unexpected hospital stays.

Approximately 40 Lions participated with over 2,000 personal toiletry items collected and $455 raised in donations. The Virginia Beach Public School Division’s Advanced Technology Center’s Technology Student Association (TSA) members counted and sorted all the donated items.

The Lions also honored District 24-I winners of this year’s Peace Poster Contest. The LCIF states, “Creating peace posters gives children everywhere the chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art and creativity.” Eight winners were awarded and one will continue on to the state level contest. Clara Nelson of Central Middle School was the winner of the Peace Poster Contest from The Farmville Lion’s Club with her poster entitled, Friendship Bracelet.