Waltham Lions Club Elects First Woman President

WALTHAM, MA — For the past 80 years the members of the Waltham Lion's club have quietly supported the community — through funding those in need, helping coordinate eye exams, and by raising funds to help with eye research and prevent blindness. Throughout those eight decades, the club has been led by men. Until now.

Last month the club elected its first woman president since it came to Waltham in 1931.

"It was always a male's club in Waltham, although it was started by and affiliated with Helen Keller," said Liz Pulice the new president. "The mission comes from a woman, and yet people still think of it as an all male's club."

Although the international club began accepting women within its ranks in 1987, just seven of the 80 members in Waltham are women. But that number is growing in recent years as younger members are joining and more are learning about the mission.

For Pulice, the newly elected president, and Dr. Nicole Ross who works at Perkins School for the Blind as a low vision specialist is the first secretary that is a woman, the change represents an opportunity to help Waltham and help refocus the local group's vision.

Although the international club is known for its eyeglasses mobile, its mission also centers around four other core global causes: hunger, diabetes, the environment and childhood cancer.

Pulice said part of her vision as president is to challenge members to increase their club's service by 20 percent. Each year the events and efforts are tallied and sent to the main organization.

"I'm challenging the Lions in my organization to think about ways to serve, both small and large," she said. "While they may not be able to do things they way they did in the past, with the pandemic, there are ways to help."

And speaking of the coronavirus pandemic, it has meant plenty of opportunity to help, for the Lions. From working with the Brownie troop to send letters to the elderly, to helping set up for food distribution, the Lions have been there.

"This year has made the needs in the city of Waltham more visible than ever," she said. "There is the gravity of the pandemic: We don't know what that impact will look like long term."

Pulice said the club's first project will align around hunger projects. She said the club is working on partnerships with Waltham Fields Community Farm around local food access for fresh produce and with Healthy Waltham to pack food for distribution.

She also said she hopes to expand partnerships with organizations the Lions have worked with in the past, but also with Bentley and Brandeis universities as well as youth organizations like the Boys & Girls Club and the Girl Scouts.

By engaging younger people with services opportunities it may help connect the club to the community in new ways, she said.

The Lions this year would like to work with city councilors to help meet specific needs in their wards, added the new president.

"One of the things that the Lions has," said Pulice, "is an eye-mobile that offers free vision screenings. We want to offer any health services in the districts where it's most needed, or make food more accessible in districts where it's farther away from central Waltham."

Pulice said her neighbor AJ Rourke, a long time puppy raiser was talking to some people who were raising and training guide dogs to help lead the blind when she found out that several of them belonged to Lions clubs across the country.

She contacted the service organization to learn more and realized the core values, the mission to help and serve, fit. Rourke and Pulice were intrigued. They both joined in 2016, the first women to join the Waltham club.

"There are 1.4 million Lions volunteering in different countries. And it is a very, very diverse across the world," said Pulice who is a VP of sales for an area company and is used to being in rooms full of men.

Pulice would rather focus on the group's mission, she said.

"To me it represents an opportunity to bring the service of the Lions globally to the forefront of the City of Waltham and to shine a light on 'where there's a need there's a Lion.'" she said. "We just want people to know we are here."

The club receives letters and calls weekly asking for help in some form. Members review the request, see if it's aligned to their five pillars and either help directly, or research who might be able to. The club is also always looking for new members. For more info: go to the Waltham Lions Club.

The new executive team, also one of the youngest in recent memory:

President - Liz Pulice
Vice President - Geoff Stanton
2nd VP - Ricard Cincotta
Secretary - Dr. Nicole Ross
Treasurer - Paul Benjamin