By Chuck Gatten

FRANKLIN

The Franklin Lions club is growing and doing a lot of good things for our local community here in Franklin and surrounding areas. We don’t do things to raise money for a club, we do things and sponsor events that physically help our citizens. We involve our young people and opportunities to show off their talents.

On March 21, Dr. Gabrielle Gatten from Gatten Eye Care spoke at our meeting explaining the newest highly sophisticated equipment they now offer, in order to get an early detection of eye and other diseases that might show up in the eye. Often people don’t realize the importance of regular eye exams, but early detection is paramount in order to offer effective treatment.

We also had two very special guests at last night’s meeting, we were honored by the presence of Kimberly and Rachel Blythe. These two stay incredibly busy and spend an enormous amount of time helping our community. Kimberly’s daughter, Rachel, has cerebral palsy. Instead of dwelling on her handicap, she volunteered to construct eyeglass collection boxes and placed them at several locations in the Franklin-Southampton Area. This will help us collect and recycle eyeglasses for the needy and poor. What an amazing young lady! We are so honored she chose the Franklin Lions Club as part of her Girl Scout project.

We are having a membership drive on Sunday, May 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. We invite you to join us by contacting one of our Lions Club Members or you can instant message us through our Facebook Page if you would like to attend. (Contact us soon, seats are limited.) We are also providing dinner and entertainment. Ed Canada and his band “Common Ground” will be playing their great homegrown music at this event as we cook dinner on the grills.