For decades, the Sequim Valley Lions Club has stepped up to support youth programs, provide health screenings, build wheelchair ramps for those who need them and provide other assistance for the betterment of the community without ever charging a dime for their services.
On Friday, Dec. 5, club members and supporters gathered at 7 Cedars to celebrate the club’s impact – and its 70th birthday.
“The importance of our event is to honor our heritage of 70 years and to thank the people who have supported us and to reward those that have helped us over the years,” said David Blakeslee, zone chairperson.
The charter for the Sequim Valley Lions Club was adopted on Dec. 5, 1955. The club was sponsored by the Lions Club in Port Angeles after a determination was made that the growing communities – and their growing needs – called for a chapter in each city.
Today, the Sequim Valley Lions Club has almost 50 members. Its longest-serving member is Pat Phillips, who joined in 1976 – almost 50 years ago.
The Lions Club motto sums up succinctly what they do: “We serve.”
“That’s it in a nutshell,” Cely Alhaddad, the club’s marketing chair, stated in an email to the Sequim Gazette. “When we see a need in the community, we jump in to see how we can help. From building freedom ramps for those that would be stuck in their homes to financing the new paved walkway around Carrie Blake Park, when there is a need… there is a Lion.”
Over the years, the Sequim Valley Lions Club has offered free or low-cost hearing and vision screenings for people of all ages in the hope of catching any issues early and connecting those people with any care they might need. The club also assists low-income residents in obtaining eyeglasses and hearing aids.
In addition to building wheelchair ramps and the paved walkway at Carrie Blake Community Park, the group has installed a sprinkler system and constructed dugouts at the local ball fields, built a stage and annex at the Guy Cole Event Center, and assembled bleachers at the site where the annual logging show is held.
The list of service projects undertaken by Sequim Valley Lions goes on and on: reading programs for elementary school students; scholarships for high school seniors; the purchase of playground equipment and picnic tables; painting rooms at the Sequim Boys and Girls Club; and volunteering at Sequim Food Bank.
The club’s list of donation recipients is about as long as its list of service projects. Organizations that have received funding from local Lions include Habitat for Humanity, Scouts, the food bank, the senior center, Salvation Army, Clallam County 4-H Camp, Captain Joseph House and many more.
One of the ways the group raises money is through its hot dog wagon, an initiative that began in 2020. According to Alhaddad, seven to 10 members help work the hot dog wagon at any event, offering a hot dog, chips and drink for $10. (Due to rising costs, prices will be going up to $12 in 2026, $14 for festivals.)
Anyone interested in joining the Sequim Valley Lions Club can contact membership chair Steve Sahnow — or just come to a meeting. The group meets every second and third Thursday at Paradise Cafe, 703 N. Sequim Ave.
Alhaddad, who moved to Sequim from Texas a few years ago, said she joined after her neighbor, at that time the president of the Sequim Valley Lions Club, invited her to a meeting as a way to get to know people in the community.
“As a working mother of twins, my time is limited, so it’s nice that I can volunteer when I’m available without a lot of pressure,” she said. “Being able to contribute to our community and have fun doing it? Doesn’t get much better than that.”
Sequim Gazette file photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Sequim Valley Lions Club members Vanessa Mills, Stan Dame and June Nicholas prepare plates of Dungeness Crab at the 12th Annual Crab Feed in Pioneer Memorial Park in June 2025.
