Los Gatos Lions Club hosts NorCal SCI co-founders to learn about SCI

NorCal SCI co-founders, Nick and Franklin, had the great honor of attending the Los Gatos Lions Club meeting on Wed., Oct. 31st and were treated to a delicious lunch before delivering a presentation on spinal cord injury and the mission of NorCal SCI. Also joining us was our good friend, Anthony Berry, Jr. whom we met nearly two years ago when he was a newly-injured patient at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Anthony attended high school in Los Gatos.

From left to right: (standing) Tim, Nick, John, Kevin; (seated) Franklin and Anthony

We were invited by John Lochner who is in a unique position to know a thing or two about SCI. His son, Jeff, suffered his SCI some 40 years ago and so, our presence there was an opportunity for the Lions to learn more about SCI.

What we discovered during the luncheon was a group of dedicated individuals who work to support organizations and causes that can make a difference in the community. It was a fun and festive time watching how some 50 attendees interact and tease each other. We learned that the proper protocol is to refer to each other as Lion followed by the person’s name. Forget to do that and you’d have to pay a fine which goes into their funds to support the various programs. In addition, they conduct a number of large fundraising events every year.

Our presentation covered the SCI landscape in Northern California and what we aim to accomplish. We look forward to working with the Lions Club on ways they can help support the SCI community. Thanks to Lion Tim DuClos for taking care of us during the luncheon and a major thanks to our banker, Ervie Smith of Heritage Bank for introducing us to John earlier this year.