34 Years Later, Lions Still Answer the School Bell
ALACHUA – As students returned to classrooms across Alachua County on Monday, Aug. 10, members of the Alachua Lions Club were back at W.W. Irby Elementary School continuing a first-day tradition that has lasted more than three decades.
For the 34th consecutive year, Lions Club members helped direct traffic during the opening days of school, guiding parents and vehicles through the busy arrival and dismissal periods.
Since 1993, club members have put on their familiar gold and purple vests each August and taken up positions around the school to help manage the surge of traffic that accompanies the beginning of a new academic year.
The assistance is particularly important at Irby, which serves students in kindergarten through second grade. For many children and their parents, the opening days are their first experience navigating the school-day drop-off and pickup routine.
Club members were stationed along the sidewalks Monday and Tuesday, helping direct motorists and keep traffic moving while students made their way to and from the school.
What began more than three decades ago has become a familiar part of the back-to-school routine in Alachua, with generations of the city’s youngest students beginning their school years as Lions Club volunteers helped manage traffic outside.
The tradition also reflects the service organization’s longstanding involvement in the community. While the faces of students, parents and even volunteers have changed over the years, the gold and purple vests have remained a familiar sight outside Irby each August.
For the Lions Club, the 34th year brought another round of early mornings — and another opportunity to help Alachua’s youngest students get their school year off to a safe start.
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