Ex-President Carter is the mane event

 

A couple of decades before he become the most powerful person on the planet, Jimmy Carter already had a king-of-the-jungle attribute about him.

The former U.S. president and longtime Lions Club member was the guest of honor at Tuesday's unveiling of a regal bronze statue commemorating the club's efforts in eradicating river blindness, or onchocerciasis, from developing countries.

Carter's trademark humility came through in comments he made to the crowd that filled the lobby of the club's international headquarters in Oak Brook, punctuated with gently self-deprecating anecdotes and his famously toothy grin.

He related that after his release from the Navy in 1953, he and his wife, Rosalynn, moved into government-subsidized housing in the same town where they had grown up as next-door neighbors. Life was good.

"I reached the highest pinnacle of social status in Plains, Ga., and that was to become a Lion," said Carter, 84.

From there, the path would take him from "tail twister" -- a low-ranking post, sort of the Lions' version of the court jester -- to the highest office in the land.

The former chief executive's visit to the area was part of a two-day symposium that drew leading sight and health organizations for discussion of youth development and prevention of blindness.

According to Lions International president Al Brandel, the organization has pledged $347 million toward wiping out preventable blindness worldwide by 2020. In conjunction with The Carter Center and pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc., the Lions have made considerable progress in their SightFirst initiative, distributing several hundred million doses of the preventive drug Mectizan to remote villages in Latin America and Africa where biting black flies have triggered widespread river blindness.

The Naperville Noon Lions, who marked the 60th anniversary of their charter last year, advocate for those with vision and hearing challenges in the community. Club secretary Jane Bowers said most cases come through referrals from the nursing staff in school Districts 203 and 204, although information about the assistance also is circulated by social service agencies such as Loaves & Fishes Community Food Pantry and Naperville CARES. Bowers said the local group has covered 139 cases since the start of its fiscal year last July, spending a little more than $41,000, and another 75 cases are pending.

"We expect by the end of our fiscal year, we will probably have provided $75,000 in sight and hearing assistance to those in the community that can't afford it," said Bowers, who finds that people are "always, always" surprised to learn that the need for such basic services is so strong in Naperville.

She was among those who attended Tuesday's event at the Oak Brook campus. She has always been a fan of the former president and his dedication to social causes.

"I admire that very much," Bowers said.

Brandel echoed the sentiment as the gathered group gave Carter a hearty standing ovation after he concluded his comments.

"I have to tell you that you are our everyday hero, President Carter," he said.

Carter was on hand to take part in the ribbon-cutting for the statue. The piece was a gift to the Lions from the Carter Center, the former first couple's nonprofit that works to advance human rights and improve the quality of life among disadvantaged people. Christened "The Gift of Sight," the sculpture is a rendering of a young boy, clad in ragged shorts, using a stick to guide the steps of an elderly man following him who has been stricken by river blindness.

He had high praise for the club he joined more than 55 years ago.

"I would never have been ambitious enough to seek the governorship of Georgia if it hadn't been for the Lions," he said.

The mission of helping people gain greater self-reliance is a big part of what keeps him coming back.

"I think the sense of equality, of sharing opportunities for a better life, is the most gratifying part of Lionism," he said.