Bill Womack joined the Archdale-Trinity Lions Club in 1999 and he hit the ground roaring. In June, Bill was officially installed as District Governor at the international convention held in Australia.

But then Bill has lived the motto, “We serve,” for much of his life.

Bill and his wife Connetha, who live in Trinity, have been married for 36 years. They have two children and two grandchildren. Bill heads the receiving department at Pearson Company in High Point.

He has served as president of the combined PTAs, as band booster president and as youth director at Hope Baptist Church in Sophia.

When he stepped down from the youth director position in 1999, a little nudging from Lion Roland Albertson led him to the Archdale-Trinity Lions Club.

He works during the club’s barbecue fundraisers and has served on the Sight and Conservation and Eye Wills and Hearing committees. He has served as chairman of the White Cane and Camp Dogwood events.

He is a past president of the Archdale-Trinity Lions, and was selected as the chapter’s Lion of the Year in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. He received the Outstanding Lion award in 2005.

Now, as District Governor, Bill has visited 30 of the 38 clubs in the district, plus a branch club and a new club. And, he’s not done, not by any means.

Even with his busy schedule with Lions International, Bill adamantly supports his hometown club.

The club’s annual Christmas party, held Dec. 13 at Springfield Baptist Church, was evidence of that.

Bill’s Lion work ethic was on display. As the party began, he greeted guests. Before his speech, Bill and others served plates of chicken pie, green beans, mashed potatoes and coleslaw.

Visually impaired, or VIP, guests also were treated to fellowship and entertainment. Apparently the “We serve” gene runs in the Womack family. Entertainment was provided by The Trinity Quartet gospel singers, which includes his son Billy.

“Lion Bill is definitely energetic,” said club secretary Mike Johnson, who maintains the club’s website. “In every club project Lion Bill is front and center doing whatever needs to be done. He’s like the Energizer Lion — he keeps going and going.”

That Lion roared its way into the Archdale Christmas Parade. Don’t worry, it was caged.

“Lion Bill organizes the club’s entry in the Archdale Christmas parade,” said Mike.

Bill regards part of his mission to add new Lions to the “pride.”

David Campbell, the current Archdale-Trinity Lions Club president, said that Bill was the one who recruited him and his wife Linda.

The Christmas party was an opportunity for the installation of the Lions Club’s newest member, Chad Hinshaw.

Before his induction, Chad donned a black mask and spent a few minutes in total darkness.

“I waited until tonight to make it official because Bill is my club sponsor,” said Chad.

Chad has a lot to live up to. Bill recently served as tail-twister.

The tail-twister keeps the meetings light-hearted and moving along. He may charge 25 cents to someone who forgets their vest or someone who talks too long. The largest fine, to date, has been $1.

Not bad for some of the lively antics of this club.

Bill’s unexpected antics have drawn a lot of laughs.

Dressed in a tuxedo with microphone in hand, Bill emceed a game show called, “So You Think You Remember Now.”

On Halloween, Bill dressed up as “Dr. Quack.” While it isn’t unusual to find cupcakes with plastic spiders on them, Bill took it up a notch and put fake flies on the table next to the silverware and dessert plates.

People were knocking off the flies and even stomping them on the floor.

Bill, himself, has been fined by perhaps the master tail-twister, Don Hancock.

“During my first year as club president, [Don] charged me fines if I didn’t start the meeting on time,” Bill recalled. “He had a way of making you pay that fine and laugh while you did it. I just sort of followed in his footsteps.”

Don passed away in 2006.

All these experiences led Bill to his current position as District 31-J Governor, one also held by Don. Nominations for governor are taken from all 38 clubs in the district. District chairmen and zone chairmen vote on the nominations.

“Most Lions work on the club level and never venture into the district level,” Mike said.

“Lion Bill almost immediately had the initiative to not only see what he could do for the club, but what he could do for the district. He has served for years as District Leaderdog Chairman. Now that he is serving as District Governor, he is stepping up into the state and international levels of Lionism.”

A Lion’s lapel tells the story of commitment. The pins are mementos of visits to other clubs or souvenirs of specific events. At the Christmas party, Bill wore a “G’Day, mate” pin.

He acquired this pin in Sydney, Australia, where he served as an ambassador to the Lions Club International convention June 28 through July 2, 2010. Bill, at the Christmas party, issued the “We Serve” challenge to the Archdale-Trinity Lions as he has to other Lion clubs. The motto follows the LION acronym — Loving Individuals Offering Needed Service.

The club serves by helping visually impaired people in the community on a year-round basis. They take referrals from social services for individuals who need help with the cost of eyeglasses, pay all or part of the cost for vision-related medical appointments and provide transportation to appointments when necessary. They sell blind-made products such as brooms and collect used eyeglasses.

Bill challenged his fellow Lions to keep going with their mission.

“You are part of the largest-growing service organization in the world,” he told the Lions. “We are an organization which has a mission. Lions are there for a purpose.”

Want more info?

The Archdale-Trinity Lions Club meets at 6:45 p.m. the second and fourth Monday at First Baptist Church of Archdale, 10607 N. Main St. For more information, call Jim Beverley at 307-1195 or David Campbell at 431-6576.

http://e-clubhouse.org/sites/archdaletrinitync/