The Fairfax Lions Club hosted the James Bland Youth Music Contest on March 12 at Providence Presbyterian Church in Fairfax.  Eighteen instrumentalists and five vocalists ranging in age from ten to 18 participated.  Contestants performed compositions by Beethoven, Bellini, Caldera, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, and others.  Professional musicians scored each performance.  Goldie Woods (harp) and Alexander Moon (violin) placed first and second in the instrumental contest, while Logan Buckley (tenor) and Katherine Love (soprano) placed first and second in the vocal contest.  All four received cash awards.  Goldie and Logan will advance to the District 24-L Contest on April 16 in Alexandria.

Our guest speaker, at our March 7th meeting, was VA State Assembly Delegate David Bulova.  David represents VA’s 37th District which includes the City of Fairfax and parts of Fairfax County.  David is a life-long resident of Fairfax and works for us to build a vibrant and caring community, with common-sense leadership in the General Assembly to continue to build on our quality of life and to invest in our future.

David started his talk with a short VA civics quiz, and most of quickly realized we do not know too much about the VA legislature that originated 400 years ago (1619) as the VA General Assembly – the legislative body for the Colony of VA.  The House of Burgesses was added in 1642.  See:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Burgesses

At this meeting, he told us about the progess made in the recent legislative session, areas of common agreement and where differences exist.  David believes in working with, and not against, county and city governments to solve common challenges.  He also believes strongly in the value of public service, responsibility, honesty, hard work, and fairness. 

Gerard Culipher, Deputy Clerk of Fairfax County’s courts, spoke to Fairfax Lions at their Feb 7 meeting, on “Tips on Fraud Prevention.”

For 35 years, Lions Clubs have encouraged youth (age 11-13) to create art posters reflecting peace.  Those children everywhere have the chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art and creativity. 

This year’s Peace Poster contest theme was “Lead with Compassion.” Congratulations to Meryem Gurbuz, of Rocky Run Middle School, for winning the Fairfax Lions Club Peace Poster Contest and two cash awards. In addition, Meryem’s poster will be featured on the cover of this year’s program for Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County.

Fairfax Lions held their January 17th dinner meeting at the Pan Am restaurant, during the temporary closure of the American Legion facility.

Ashleigh Conrad of the local office of “Girls on the Run” told us about their activities with girls between grades 3-8, to underscore the connection between physical and emotional health, and address the whole  girl when she needs it the most. See: https://www.girlsontherun.org/

Guests are cordially welcome to visit any Lions Club meeting. Email us at: [email protected] or leave a message at 703-879-5795.

On December 19th, Lions Cub members assembled holiday food baskets to present through our partner – Main Street Child Development Center – to 30 qualified local families.