This past week on October 25, the San Pedro Lions Club celebrated its 40th anniversary. Among the many celebrated achievements was its first large project- the Lions Clinic.
The idea was the brainchild of the club membership under the chairmanship of its first three presidents, Lion Pete Salazar, Lion Wilfrido Alamilla, and Lion Betito Marin. The first clinic built by the government of Belize at the time had just been destroyed in a large fire and San Pedro was without, thus the idea and important need of a clinic. This project took about two years to be completed and it is because the lions Club not only had to raise and identify the money but also because the members did the actual building.
Lion Beto Marin, Lion Pete Salazar and (Middle Back) Lion Will Alamilla
Every day after work Lions assembled at the site to chip rocks and literally make gravel, mixed cement, and did all the masonry, carpentry, cabinet work, painting, and electricity with the expertise of the Lions and friends of the community.
In the year 1977 on the occasion of the annual convention, the San Pedro Community Clinic was inaugurated. Dr. Otto Rodriguez was hired as the first resident doctor for San Pedro assisted by registered Nurse Norma Burns. It was a proud moment for the community of San Pedro and more so for the Lions Club for completing its very first very large project of service. Lions International made mention of it in its monthly publication, The Lions Magazine. Worthy of mentioning is that the regular services of the clinic have been enhanced throughout the years with the visit of foreign dentists, eye specialists, pediatricians, heart specialists and therapists.
Dr. Otto Rodriguez
Lion members constructing the Lion’s Clinic
