Hays Lions continues to celebrate 100 years of service in community
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays Lion Club has withdrawn a request to add its name to Daniel G. Rupp Park, 33rd and Skyline, after members say a misunderstanding sparked public outcry.
Priscilla Hunt, a longtime Lions member and former president, proposed adding the Lions' name to the park at a June Hays City Commission meeting.
Hunt said the Lions never intended to remove Rupp's name from the park.
Hunt said the Lions wanted to honor their dedication to the park by changing its name to Hays Lions Club Park in Remembrance of Daniel G. Rupp.
The park's sign now reads Daniel G. Rupp Park sponsored by the Hays Lions Club.
Rupp was a Hays city commissioner for 24 years and former mayor. He was also a member of the Fort Hays State University faculty as well as multiple area nonprofits. The Hays City Commission named the park for Rupp in 1998.
The Hays Lions are celebrating 100 years this year. They have contributed to the upkeep and improvement of the park since 1979 when it was Northridge Park.
The Lions helped add a physical fitness trail at the park, a shelter house, playground equipment, footbridge, basketball court, volleyball court and have planted many trees in the park since the 1970s, all on a cost-share basis with the city of Hays.
When the shelter house was added to the park, which was then called Northridge Park, the Optimists were also doing work at Seven Hills Park. However, the city did not have the funds to upgrade the two parks.
Then city manager Joe Pence said, "Those groups work their hearts out, and developing a park is expensive."
Hunt said other nonprofit organizations who contribute to parks in the community, including the Optimists and Kiwanis have those parks named after them.
"We would say, 'Have you been up to our park?' They would say, 'What park is that?' The one up behind Whiskey Creek," Hunt said. "That's the Hays Lions Club Park. 'We didn't know the Hays Lions Club had a park.'
Editor's note: Whiskey Creek is now The Breaks.
"That was the main thing about wanting to change the name. They see Kiwanis. They see Optimists. They see everybody else in the community that does for the community, but nobody saw that we do for the community."
Hunt said the community is unaware of the Lion's contribution because of the name and the way the sign reads.
Jim Huenergarde, Hays Lions Club president and 27-year member of the Lions, said the headline in a Hays Daily news story was misleading and caused a backlash against the Lions.
"The newspaper really shattered our chance," Huenergarde said. "They had it that it came across that we wanted to remove [Rupp's] name."
He added, "No matter what we do now, the damage has been done."
Hunt, who has been a member of Lions for 18 years, said the organization contributes $11,000 to $12,000 per year in grants to local organizations. The organization now has 52 members in Hays and has several fundraisers through the year including an annual pancake feed, a golf tournament and a fundraiser during Oktoberfest.
A list of past and present organizations who have benefited from the grants cross a broad spectrum of Hays nonprofits. Some of those organizations include Big Brother Big Sisters, Community Assistance Center, Ellis County Cancer Council, First Call For Help, 4-H, Hays Area Children's Center, USD 489 Foundation, Arc, DSNWK, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, United Way, and Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services.
"We are here to help," Hunt said. ... "We are here to be of service, not to be bashed."
In addition, the local Lions organization participates in the club's international efforts to improve access to eye exams and glasses, Huenergarde said. They collect used eyeglasses for distribution in third-world countries and provide eye exams and glasses for those in need locally.
Hunt and Huenergarde said they were saddened by the negative publicity.
"We are just going to pull the plug and go on as we have been for the last 100 years," he said of the park naming.
Hunt added, "I'm sorry that people misunderstood."
Huenergarde said, "We don't want to cause any ill will. We didn't mean anything negative against the family [of Dan Rupp].
If you are interested in becoming a Lions Club member, you can contact any Lions member or Huenergarde at 785-639-3430 or [email protected]. Membership is $7 per month.
You can follow the Hays Lions Club on its website. You can also follow them on Facebook.
They meet at noon on Tuesdays at the Hadley Center, 230 E. Eighth St., Hays.
