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FOUNDER OF LIONISM

Melvin Jones
Founder of Lionism

Melvin Jones was born on January 13, 1879 in Fort Thomas, Arizona, son of a
United States Army captain who commanded a troop of scouts. Later, his father
was transferred and the family moved east. As a young man, Melvin Jones made his
home in Chicago, Illinois, became associated with an insurance firm and in 1913
formed his own agency.

He soon joined the Business Circle, a businessmen's luncheon group, and was
shortly elected secretary. This group was one of many at that time devoted solely
to promoting the financial interests of their membership. Because of their limited
appeal, they were destined to disappear. Melvin Jones, then a 38-year-old Chicago
business leader, had other plans.

"What if these men," Melvin Jones asked, "who are successful because of their
drive, intligence and ambition, were to put their talents to work improving their
communities?" Thus, at his invitation, delegates from men's clubs met in Chicago
to lay the groundwork for such an organization and on June 7, 1917, Lions Clubs
International was born.

Melvin Jones eventually abandoned his insurance agency to devote himself full time to
Lions at International Headquarters in Chicago. It was under his dynamic leadership
that Lions clubs earned the prestige necessary to attract civic-minded members.

The association's founder was also recognized as a leader by those outside the
association. One of his greatest honors was in 1945 when he represented Lions
Clubs International as a consultant in San Francisco, California, at the organization
of the United Nations.

Melvin Jones, the man whose personal code – "You can't get very far until you start
doing something for somebody else" – became a guiding principle for public-spirited
people the world over, died June 1, 1961 at 82 years of age.

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