Neighbors serving neighbors
In the club’s own words, its members are “men and women, your neighbors and your friends, from various walks of life” who share one vision: We Serve. The club is non-political and non-sectarian — and its members have fun doing it: service “with fun and fellowship.”
The Emmitsburg Lions Club serves Emmitsburg first — and, as part of Lions Clubs International, its service reaches the surrounding community, the county, and the global community. The club is best known for its sight programs: it supports SightFirst, the worldwide blindness-prevention effort, alongside its local eye-exam and eyeglasses help.
Service, by the numbers
- 35–40 residents a year receive eye exams and eyeglasses arranged by the club.
- 251 people from Emmitsburg, Thurmont and Fairfield were served at the club’s 20th Annual Health Fair.
- 50 pairs of used eyeglasses collected in a single quarter — the club even arranges rides to eye appointments.
- 160 Brave Bags for local students, packed in August 2026 with the Thurmont and Lewistown Lions Clubs.
- 16+ Lions work every chicken BBQ — cooking, serving and collecting payment.
Part of something bigger: District 22-W
Emmitsburg is one of about 75 Lions clubs in District 22-W, which covers Carroll, Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties in Maryland. The district’s 2026–2027 governor is Leon Cardiff. Our own president, Dianne Walbrecker, also chairs the district’s Region III (Frederick County) this year.
District dues and district projects support work no single club could do alone — including Lions Camp Merrick in Nanjemoy, Maryland, a camp for children who are deaf or blind, have type 1 diabetes, or come from impoverished homes (Dianne co-chaired the district diabetes effort that raised close to $10,000 to send diabetic children to Camp Merrick and Camp Charm City at Johns Hopkins), and the Lions Vision Research Foundation, supporting the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. Lions worldwide are gathering close to home soon, too: LionsCon, the 109th Lions Clubs International Convention, is in Washington, DC, July 2–6, 2027.
Lions Clubs International counts more than 47,000 clubs around the world, all working on five global causes: vision, diabetes, hunger, environment and childhood cancer.
What a dinner meeting is like
Meetings are sit-down dinners with a program, held at the Carriage House Inn, 200 South Seton Avenue — currently on the 2nd Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. (check the club’s Facebook for the current schedule). Expect dinner with fellow Lions, club business kept friendly, a program or speaker, and planning for the next BBQ, screening or food drive. Once a year, in May, Emmitsburg and Thurmont Lions hold a joint meeting at the Carriage House — a long-standing tradition between the two clubs.
Thinking of visiting? That is exactly how joining starts — Lions guidance is to contact a local club and ask to be invited to a meeting. Call the club at 301-447-2939 or send the membership interest form and we will save you a seat.
Leadership
| President | Dianne Walbrecker — also District 22-W Region III (Frederick County) Chair, 2026–2027. Contact: 301-676-1561 |
|---|---|
| Club phone | 301-447-2939 (Town of Emmitsburg community directory) |
| Mailing address | P.O. Box 1182, Emmitsburg, MD 21727-1182 |
| District | Lions District 22-W · mdlions22w.org |