“What if men and women, driven by ambition for themselves, turned that same ambition toward the service of others? The true measure of a person’s success is not in wealth or power, but in the good they bring to humanity. When we serve, we rise together, and when we uplift others, we discover our highest purpose.” – Melvin JonesVisionary Beyond Self – Melvin Jones, Founder of Lions International
Melvin Jones was born on January 13, 1879, at Fort Thomas, Arizona, the 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 got associated with an insurance firm and at the age of 33 he was the sole owner of his own insurance agency in Chicago, Illinois.
He soon joined the Business Circle, a businessmen’s luncheon group, and was shortly elected secretary. “What if these men,” Melvin Jones asked, “who are successful because of their drive, intelligence 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. In 1950, Melvin Jones was conferred the title of Secretary General of Lions International for Life. Since that time, Lions organization has grown to over 1.4 million members in over 46,000 clubs.
Melvin Jones, the founder of this great service organization, died on June 1st, 1961, at 82 years of age. His philosophy of life, “you can’t get very far until you start doing something for somebody else,” lives in our motto “We Serve.”
