The arrival of Dr. William Perry Woods in Dallas was the culmination of his long-time goal of creating a service organization to benefit mankind on an international level. The purpose of this convention was to officially consolidate his far flung Lions Clubs, mostly scattered in the southwest U.S., and to be recognized as to what they were…the nucleus of the ‘International Association of Lions Clubs’, officially recorded and filed Articles of Incorporation on October 25, 1916 with the Secretary of State of Indiana. But his arduous journey to Dallas was not without conflict with various delegates, some of whom challenged the name of “Lions.” But it all ended well, with Dr. Woods elected the first President of the Organization, a title that he already held since the founding the year before. The eventual largest service organization in the world was set to make an impact.
This copy of a clipping from the “Dallas Morning News” dated August 11, 1917, proves that Dr. W.P. Woods, the founder of Lions Clubs International, mailed out invitations to his Lions Clubs to attend the first national convention at Dallas. This information is declared in the first paragraph, which is not easy to read:
A letter announcing that Dallas had been selected for the first national convention of Lions Clubs to be held Oct. 8, 9 and 10, was read at the weekly luncheon of the local club yesterday at the Adolphus Hotel. The letter was from W. P. Wood of the international committee.
The alleged founding date of June 7, 1917 was asserted by Melvin Jones who claimed that the convention reservation was made by a long distance telephone call that same date. But newspaper articles from the time of the first convention tell a very different story. They universally present Dr. Woods as the key person in Lions and the force behind the movement. They portray Lions as a growing organization, full of enthusiasm and growing. All of this is not to say that Melvin Jones is not mentioned. As one of two delegates from Chicago, his name appears in some of the articles, such as the one below.
This article, from the 09 Oct 1917 edition of The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana references both Dr. Woods and Melvin Jones. Dr. Woods was mentioned as being the national president and chair of the convention. Issues addressed in the first convention included the adoption of a new constitution and bylaws, a name change for the association, and a proposal for constitutional membership for women. Melvin Jones attracted attention after a patriotic address by the mayor of Dallas by saying that he wished “Chicago might change mayors with Dallas.”