Leo History
Coach Graver Started the Ball Rolling
In 1957 Coach Jim Graver started the Leo ball rolling. Chances are,
that ball was a baseball.
Graver was the coach of the Abington High School, Pennsylvania,
USA, baseball team and also an active member of the Glenside,
Pennsylvania, Lions Club.
With fellow Lion, William Ernst, Graver talked about starting a
service club for high school boys. "The Kiwanians had their Key
Clubs and the Rotarians had their Wheel Club (since changed to
Interact Clubs)," Ernst is quoted as saying in an October 7, 1976
newspaper article in "The Evening Bulletin."
So they asked their fellow Lions for support. Without hesitation,
the Glenside Lions agreed that a Lions youth group was a good idea.
Graver and Ernst set to work.
"We needed a nucleus, a group of kids to start with," stated
Ernst. "So we got Jim's son to come to the first meeting with his
whole baseball team." Nine sophomore, junior and senior boys joined
the group of 26 baseball players.
Together, the 35 teens formed a club. On December 5, 1957, the
Glenside Lions presented a charter to the Abington High School Leo
Club.
As the world's first Leo club, the group created the Leo acronym
- Leadership, Equality, Opportunity (Equality was later changed to
Experience.) And, the group chose maroon and gold - their school
colors - to serve as the Leo club colors.
An Idea Whose Time Had Come
The Abington Leos were a singular entity until 1963. In that
year, a Leo club was formed at the Tamaqua Area High School in
Pennsylvania. Shortly thereafter, a former Philadelphia Lion formed
a Leo club in New York. By 1964, there were 27 Leo clubs in
Pennsylvania and one in New York.
The circle of junior service clubs was expanding. In October
1967, the board of directors of Lions Clubs International adopted
the Leo Club Program as an official program of the association. Open
to males and females, the objective of the Leo Club Program was (and
still is):
"...to provide the youth of the world (with) an opportunity for
development and contribution, individually and collectively, as
responsible members of the local, national and international
community."
In 1968, newly formed Leo clubs began sending their requests for
club certification to International Headquarters. On October 17,
1969, forms requesting certification for the Abington High School
Leo Club reached headquarters. On this date, the world's original
Leo club was formally recognized as a part of the international Leo
program. Leo John Hebert of Baederwood, Pennsylvania, served as
president of the Abington High School Leo Club.
Today, the Leo Club Program is stronger than ever. Community
service remains the cornerstone of the program. Like their Lion
counterparts, Leo club members enjoy serving their neighbors and
watching positive results unfold.
