Lion Carl E Galantino Jr.
May 24, 1942 – October 16, 2017
Lion Carl Galantino gave exceptional service to his community as a member of the Media Lions Club for over 41 years. He was brought into the Club in May of 1976 by his friend Lion Armand (Sonny) Cardoso, who joined the Club in 1973. Lion Sonny was sponsored by Lion Fred Manno, a member since 1947. Lion Fred was brought in by Lion Frank Snear, a Charter Member in 1946. That connection between four friends helping others in need covers the entire 71 year history of the Media Lions Club.
Over the years, Lion Carl sponsored an astounding 8 new Members himself, including his son Anthony. Three of those are still members of the Club. The members Lion Carl sponsored, between them, brought in 6 more members to the Media Lions Club over the years. Lion Carl’s legacy of service will continue a very long time with us.
Lion Carl served as our President twice - in 1981/82 and 2004/05. He served on the Board of Directors just about every one of his 41 years in the Club. He attended many District 14-A and State Lions Conventions, representing the Club as a delegate.
In 1996, Lion Carl was awarded the highest award in Lionism, the Melvin Jones Fellowship, named after the founder of Lions Clubs International. He was awarded a Life Membership in Lions International. And, on more than one occasion, Lion Carl was named the Media Lions Club “Lion of the Year”, an honor which is only presented when a Lion has distinguished himself with outstanding service to the Club.
Lion Carl has chaired many projects for the Club over the years. One of his pet projects is Lions Coloring Book sales, which he spearheaded for over 31 years. It is the longest lasting fundraising project in the history of the Media Lions Club. Lion Carl worked full bore on every project he was associated with. Often, we would receive the profits of a project from him, but not the cost invoices involved with it. His generosity and his service went hand in hand.
Despite his challenges in the last few years, Lion Carl seldom missed a meeting or a service project. What courage and dedication he showed. He would sit quietly at meetings, but when we were getting off track, he would interject, sometimes with some colorful language, and put us back on course. And we sound terrible singing the Anthem without his wonderful baritone leading us, one of the many, many reasons Lion Carl will be missed. Our newer Lions have learned so much from him. His experience guided us, his knowledge of the Lions Mission kept us focused, and his passion for the success of the Media Lions Club inspired us. Lion Carl Galantino will be with us forever.
Winthrop F Beardsley
President