The Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club celebrated its anniversary on June 3 with a Charter Party at Tavistock Country Club.
The group installed new officers and inducted new members, recognized the recipients of the Melvin Jones Recognition and Progressive Melvin Jones Recognition awards and celebrated 2025-’26 service accomplishments.
Pictured left to right are Dr. Mimi Hadi, president of the Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club; club first vice president Sapana Raval; Mayor Michael Mignogna; Mayor Ed Campbell of Gibbsboro; Kim Gill, immediate past president of the club; and Sue Gilbert, its community service chair.
Since the Lions Club runs on a fiscal-year calendar, the celebration honored community activities from July 1, 2025 to those planned for June 30 of this year.
Throughout 2026, the Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club completed 454 volunteer hours and served more than 33,000 people with its various projects, including the September 2025 domestic violence walk; a December 2025 pancake breakfast with Santa; the January 2026 food drive; community lectures; and ongoing environmental awareness with its recycled eyeglass collection.
Special recognition was given to Mimi Hadi, who received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Recognition, and lifetime member Joe Scioli, who got the Progressive Melvin Jones Fellowship Recognition. The Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) gives both awards for exemplary service.
As the organization heads into another year of communal support, several new members have joined, including Gwen Devera, Aartee Thakkar, Meenu Grewal, Joyce Guy-Patton, Shilpika Doijode and Nivedita Shukla.
The club installed Mimi Hadi as its 2026-’27 president; Sapana Raval as first vice president; Dr. Jamie Selingo as second vice president; Lisa Hibner as secretary; Rachel Tavani as treasurer; Sue Gilbert as community service chair; Sandy Clark as membership chair; Rup Chakravarty as marketing chair; Kim Gill as LCIF coordinator; and Art Olson as Tail Twister.
A local optometrist who previously held the role of club secretary, Hadi is excited for what’s to come. She hopes to expand the club’s current initiatives, such as its lecture series, dine and donate events, food drive and contact lens recycling program. As a Lion, she enjoys bringing health and wellness lectures to the community, especially since it connects to her professional background.
A member since 2012, Hadi originally joined the Gibbsboro Voorhees Lions Club, which closed during COVID. A group of local community members decided to charter the Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club in 2024 to bring back the community work that exemplifies a Lions Club organization.
The Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club chapter is accepting new members. For inquiries, reach out to voorheesgibbsborolionsclub@gmail.com.
Voorhees Gibbsboro Lions Club president Mimi Hadi is shown with lifetime member Joe Scioli. Both earned awards from the club for exemplary service.
