The Monticello Lions Club hit a milestone on May 2: The club’s 80th birthday.
On May 2, 1941, Carl Ganote, a representative of Lions International, organized 31 professional and business men in Monticello into the Monticello Lions Club.
Charter club officers were: Dr. Earl DeShaw, president; Cecil Goettsch, vice president; Frank Shimanek, secretary; Paul Schuetz, treasurer; Rev. Arnold Thalacker, Lion Tamer; Glenn Jones, Tail Twister; and Directors James Read, Glenn Jones, Ray Echternacht, and M.B. Leonard.