By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
Oxford TWP. — It’s always a roaring good time at the Lake Orion Lions Club Lion Races and on Saturday at Boulder Pointe Country Club the lions once again prowled the lanes, helping raise funds to support the club’s community programs.

The Lion Races are one of the club’s biggest fundraisers of the year and feature an evening dinner, racing, betting and fun, said Lion Roger Brodeur, emcee for the event.
Twenty-four lions race in heats of six lions per race until one is crowned the lion king. Attendees place bets on which lion will win each race, similar to horse racing. The Lake Orion Review lion was crowned king this year and took home the championship medal.
Brodeur said he was pleased to see new businesses participate in this year’s races. Usually, around 150 people attend the races, but for the first time in nine years there were more than 215 people at the races this year, he said.
“That’s fantastic to have new businesses involved helping out the community, like we always try to do,” Brodeur said. “We’re really killing it. That should really help us raise more money to help out and we’re really excited about that.”
In addition to betting on the races, guests could also participate in a variety of raffles. All of that adds up to more money for the Lions Club programs.
“We’re always trying to raise money to help out people in our community. We help out other charities like Love INC and Leader Dogs for the Blind and the Lions Club Bear Lake Camp in the Lapeer area,” Brodeur said. “So, in general, we’re trying to increase our charities budget so we can help more people.”
The Lions Club also provides free eye tests for kids, and supports Lake Orion High School scholarships and high school and middle school robotics teams.
For more information or to support the Lake Orion Lions Club, visit www.lakeorionlions.org or facebook.com/LakeOrionLions.