THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290287
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA KREISLER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Lions Club International members are known in communities worldwide to be in the collection business, of sorts, and the people who belong to the Portsmouth Host Lions Club of District 24D are no different.
By the time they celebrate their club's 63rd anniversary next month, they will have collected funds for a host of local, regional and national projects, all of which provide needy sight-impaired persons with improved vision.
Locally, the club has collected funds for projects such as the Lions Medical Eye Bank and Research Center of Eastern Virginia at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Triple R Ranch in Deep Creek, a camp for children with diabetes. It also funds the transplant and research of corneas and has a tradition of defraying the cost of eye exams and setting up collection points for unwanted eye glasses, which are given away to indigent residents.
But talk to a Lion like Portsmouth Host Club member Bernard Levitin and you'll hear an unusual spin on collecting.
Levitin collects pins from other Lions Clubs.
``I must have hundreds and hundreds,'' said Levitin, the club's secretary and a partner in the H.E. Robertson Realty Co.
It is a tradition among Lions Club members to swap or buy pins from one another and with his vast accumulation, Levitin qualifies as an avid collector.
While the map that hangs on his office wall is tacked with pins from clubs across the United States, it is the desk drawers, packed with more pins, which define Levitin as an ardent collector.
But the pride of his collection is the newest among Lions' insignia pins, one released this year by his own Portsmouth Host Lions.
It was designed by sometime artist and historian Timothy Manning, chaplain and director of human resources, and his cousin Robert Manning, administrator of Manning Convalescent Home.
The cloisonne insignia pin is the second in a series of five to be released.
The Portsmouth Host Club insignia pins depict Virginia history and capture regional pride.
The newest Portsmouth club pin, like its predecessor, captures a bit of Virginia history. On a backdrop of the 13-star flag are the official seals of the City of Portsmouth and Lions International. The pins feature a cardinal, the state's official bird, and dogwood, Virginia's official flower.
The next pin in the series, which will go on sale in March, depicts the Confederate battle flag. Production of this series is limited to 300 for each edition.
For a bit of trivia for history buffs, Tim Manning said, if the flag flew over the state with the will of the people, the state portion of the design is in gray; if not, it is in blue to indicate British rule.
``Portsmouth, and the state of Virginia, are steeped in history and we wanted to create a pin that would reflect what has taken place here,'' said Manning, a former college instructor of ancient history.
The Churchland Club last month released the last in a series of five pins featuring Coleman's Nursery, which is widely known in the region as a popular tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to see its Winter Wonderland animation exhibit during the holiday season.
According to Timothy Manning, club pins that are sold at meetings must be offered for sale at their original price, which is usually a nominal cost to cover production. But what takes place outside the confines of meetings presents a different scenario.
Manning said pins have sold for $300 apiece and ``back room deals'' are not out of the ordinary.
``Trading pins is supposed to be fun and games, but you know what happens then,'' he said. Literally thousands of club members swarm the tables at international conventions to add to their pin collections, Manning said.
He said he is optimistic that when his series is complete, it may eventually fetch $500 in the open marketplace, a far cry from the original cost that so far totals $7 for both pins.
He recalled the time he admired a pin worn by a Lion from France at a Chicago convention. One spoke French, the other English, but trading transcended the language barrier and Levitin walked away with the Frenchman's pin depicting the supersonic jet Concorde.
``People go wild for these pins,'' Levitin said.
Portsmouth Host Lion Club President Trey Resolute, an attorney, says he's confident there'll be interest in his club's pins among Lions throughout the state, as well as worldwide. Resolute is particularly boastful about Portsmouth and the need to promote it as a wonderful place to live and work.
``We have a lot of strength in our history. Portsmouth is an old city that has gone through several wars and we are working hard to improve its image because of the success of Portsmouth is very important to us,'' said Resolute. ``I believe we can help our city's future by instilling a sense of pride and belonging and the pins we are designing are an important part of our efforts.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Bernard Levitin, secretary of the Portsmouth Host Lions Club, tacks
his collection of Lions pins to the U.S. map. It is a tradition
among Lions Club members to swap or buy pins from one another.
by CNB