From Pioneer Donor to Legacy Partner

Lions Clubs International continues to support STARS 40 years after funding the first mission.

Launching an air ambulance service isn’t easy — it requires funding, trust, and an organization willing to take a leap of faith. Lions Clubs International (LCI) made it possible for STARS to take flight.

In 1985, STARS founder Dr. Greg Powell had a vision to bring critical care to patients who needed it most. To help make that vision a reality, he approached local LCI members Art Hironaka, David Dalgetty, and John Panton for support and funding. From that point on, the Lions became a critical component to getting life-saving care airborne. During this formative time, LCI provided STARS with $100,000 — enough to provide early stability.

LCI serves and strengthens communities across the globe and has done so for decades. “Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion,” said Kevin Gibbons, immediate past district governor of
LCI’s District C-2, Alberta, and nephew of Hironaka.

“It’s a red helicopter now, not the white one that started out in the beginning, but it’s still our legacy,” said Gibbons. In 1985, STARS was initially known as Lions Air Ambulance Service and flew a white helicopter with the Lions logo on it.

Today, the helicopters are red, the fleet has grown, and STARS has become a lifeline for communities across Western Canada — but the Lions’ unwavering support remains the same. To honour its first donor and the steadfast support that has followed for 40 years, STARS named one of its new helicopters C-FLCI after LCI. (The Canadian aircraft naming convention starts with C-G, C-F, or C-I, followed by three letters.)

“It hits you right in the heart, thinking, ‘There’s our helicopter,’” said Gibbons. “But the bigger picture is that we were a part of this; we helped create this.”

A LEGACY THAT LIVES ON

Gibbons recalled his uncle’s immense pride in seeing STARS grow into something so monumental. Gibbons carries on this pride. “We’ll always continue to support STARS because
we were the beginning of STARS,” he affirmed.

Nearly every Lions Club in the geographic regions that STARS serves donates to the organization. Gibbons explained that individual clubs determine how much they’d like to donate, and many host additional fundraisers to help. For instance, the Beiseker Club hosts the Beiseker Lions Annual Golf Classic, where all proceeds go to STARS. That tournament has raised close to $200,000 to date.

Similarly, the partnership continued with the Lions/STARS Stampede breakfast, where the Bowness Lions Club cooked a breakfast for the family of STARS employees.

“We serve by continuing to support STARS and seeing STARS continue helping the citizens of Western Canada,” said Gibbons. “It’s kind of like breathing. You don’t think about breathing; you just do it. It’s the same with Lions: we continue to support STARS because we want to, and we have to. It’s like a natural part of what we do every day. Every time we see [the helicopters] flying around, we can all look up and say, ‘That’s us.’”