By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
About 100 volunteers pitched in on Saturday morning, November 14, to clean up ice storm damage to Surrey Hills Lions Club Park, located on W. Hefner Road right beside Surrey Hills Elementary School, 10700 Hastings Avenue in the Yukon Public Schools District.
The Rev. Joe Brannen of Grace Communion Church Surrey Hills, and Greg Welch, Bishop of the 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oklahoma City said there were about 100 volunteers who completed the work in about an hour.
Lynn Wilson, Surrey Hills Lions Club member, the manager of the park, organized the event, and said, “This park is used a lot, and is an important part of our community. Since the ice storm, people have been using it even though we have a lot of tree damage.”
Wilson said, “We had a joint planning meeting at the park Wednesday evening before the clean-up day. We planned four work areas throughout the park with chainsaws, and a goal to stack the branches and debris toward the older area on the south and east side for chipping. Grace Communion Church Surrey Hills and the 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oklahoma City provided volunteers and equipment. We also had volunteers from the Surrey Hills Lions Club. And the churches also provided food.”
All of the Surrey Hills Lions Club 2020 events were canceled due to COVID-19, so the group has raised no funds this year. The club primarily uses its funding for the park, where they maintain a small, full-size basketball court, a pavilion, an area for volleyball, and picnic tables. Soccer teams, other groups, and families use the park as well. The club also uses funding to provide eye glasses for people who need them but can’t afford them, and also financially helps support the Lions Meadows of Hope in Perkins. Formally the Boys Ranch, it is now a venue to help those in foster care.
To connect with the Surrey Hills Lions Club, or to donate to their causes, email Drinehard1@cox.net.
