Lovelady Lions Club Becomes Independent
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
LOVELADY — Lovelady now has a Lions Club of its own.
The organization officially became an independent Lions Club on Aug. 27 after operating as a branch of the Crockett Lions Club since February 2025. The Lovelady group needed at least 20 members to establish its own club, a goal members reached through their interest in supporting the community.
Chas Brantner, who helped organize the Lovelady club, has deep roots in the community. He moved to Lovelady in 1986 to become the agricultural science teacher at Lovelady High School.
“I spent 17 years as the ag teacher at Lovelady, and then I was principal and superintendent before I retired,” Brantner said.
The Lions Club had been active in Lovelady during his earlier years in the community, including sponsoring the school’s calf show. After retiring and returning to the area, Brantner joined the Crockett Lions Club because the Lovelady club was no longer active.
“Just wanting to be part of the community there, I joined the Lions Club in Crockett,” he said.
That eventually led to conversations about restarting a Lions Club in Lovelady. Although the group began as a branch of the Crockett club, interest continued to grow.
“We had to have 20 members to be our own club, so we worked on that, and we got our 20 members,” Brantner said. “Now we’re kind of standing on our own.”
The new club has already begun supporting Lovelady activities. Members participated in Lovelady Love Fest, raised funds, provided add-on support for animals shown at the Lovelady FFA show and county fair, and awarded two scholarships.
Brantner said the organization’s purpose is straightforward: to give back to the community.
“I think it will be a good thing,” he said. “Since we’ve been there, we’ve participated in Lovelady Love Fest, raised some funds, added on to animals at the Lovelady FFA show and county fair, and we gave away two scholarships. We’re just trying to give back to the community.”
The Lovelady Lions Club meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Lovelady Masonic Lodge building next to the bank. The lodge has allowed the club to use its facilities for meetings.
Brantner said the club is open to anyone interested in serving Lovelady.
“Anyone who wants to give back to the community in a smaller town,” he said. “It’s hard to get people out because there are lots of things going on at the school, boards, clubs, FFA booster clubs and all that kind of stuff. But just anybody that has an interest in helping the community.”
The Lovelady club also continues to assist the Crockett Lions Club with some of its activities, including the Crockett Lions Club rodeo. Brantner said the clubs generally conduct their own projects, but there are opportunities to work together.
“Each club kind of does their own things, but we do help out the Crockett Lions Club quite a bit,” he said. “We’d like to get involved with other Lions clubs. It’s just that there’s a small number of us, and, of course, the more members we have, the more that we can do.”
For more information about attending a meeting or joining the Lovelady Lions Club, interested residents can attend one of the club’s regular meetings.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
