Left to right: Somerville Lions Club Past President Don Kelly, Mary Lynch, immediate Past President Bill Tauro, Past President John Sullivan, and Past President Ed Ciampa. - Photo by Donald Norton

By John Stevens

The Somerville Lions Club held its installation of officers on Friday evening in Somerville.

Paul Carroll was sworn in as the club’s new president for the 2011 year replacing outgoing President Bill Tauro.

Immediate Past President Bill Tauro was bestowed the honor of being the recipient of the first annual Somerville Lions Club “Sullivan-Lynch-Ciampa Excellence in Lionism Award”
as President for 2009-2011.

The award is named after the Somerville Lions Club Past President Ed Ciampa, the late Past President Ed Lynch, and Past President John Sullivan who are the club’s senior members and are also considered pillars who held the club together within the club’s 78years of existence in Somerville.

Newly sworn in Somerville Lions President Paul Carroll, Paula Carroll, Marisa Tauro and immediate Past President Bill Tauro. - Photo by Donald Norton

Bill Tauro was chosen for the award because of his commitment to holding the office as president for the past two years, for the increasing number in the club’s membership, and for his continuous tireless effort in hosting a variety of charitable fund-raising events to raise money to find the cure to fight blindness and diabetes. He is also credited with interacting with other Lions Clubs statewide such as Boston Chinatown Lions and especially for his historic role in the formation of the new Cambridge Lions Club.

Former Somerville Mayor/ Middlesex Registrar of Deeds Eugene Brune was the presenter of the award at the event that was held before a large crowd at the Somerville Lions Club’s function facility.

Mayor Brune said that this will be an annual award and will continue as a tradition in the Somerville Lions Club for many years to come. He also said that President Bill Tauro is very deserving of the credit and that he was a perfect fit for the award with all that he has done for the club in the past two years.