The establishment of a new Lions Club today would typically come through sponsorship with another Lions Club within the same district. The sponsoring club would be the “Host” and it is not uncommon to see that term as a part of the official name of the club.
Going back into the early history of Lionism, one should concentrate on the state of Texas to understand the rapid development of new Lions Clubs. There was no shortage of field organizers in the Lone Star State, but Marlowe Fisher stands out as one of the best.
Marlowe first became prominent when he organized the Houston Founder Lions Club in April 2, 1917, and he wasted no time in getting over 200 more clubs in the Lions fold. Going from town to town one would imagine he wore out a lot of shoes. Apparently that would not be much of a problem, as Marlowe was a shoe salesman by trade.
When R. Roy Keaton was summoned to Chicago to be the Assistant Secretary General under Melvin Jones, he had to break someone in to replace him as the State Secretary of Texas Lions, and Marlow came highly recommended. From 1945 to 1958 from his office in Austin, Marlowe dispatched his duties admirably. It took a stroke to call an end to his illustrious Lions career. With his health lingering, Marlowe passed away a couple of years later.