Hicks’s Mistake Prompts A Founding
It’s a matter of record that Dr. William Perry Woods was the founder of two totally different organizations, and both were operating simultaneously for a number of years with the doctor at the helm of both. Without any doubt, his ‘Royal Order of Lions’, a secretive fraternal order that he chartered in 1911, was his pride and joy. His “dens” were organized with lightning speed in the Midwest and later spread to the southwest, and the future growth seemed well assured.
E.A. Hicks was Dr. Woods’ main field organizer, and asking to be allowed to return to Texas, his home state, Hicks did agree to organize dens for the Royal Order. His method was unique, arriving in a town and seeking out a major hotel to do his recruiting. He asked the manager for a list of the names of boarders to contact to form a club, and assured the manager that his hotel would be the site for their meetings.
Mr. Hicks apparently failed to explain the nature of the clubs these men were joining, and many soon became aware that they were fraternal and not the “luncheon” type that they had expected. Complaints soon multiplied back to Dr. Woods that they had been misled, and he felt it was necessary to give them what they wanted : In 1916 the founding of the ‘International Association of Lions Clubs became reality.
Had E.A. Hicks been more forthright in explaining what the Royal Order was all about, no misunderstandings would have ensued and the need to form what has become today the largest service organization in the world would not have been necessary. Your slip-up, Mr. Hicks, was a god-send.