Jones 5k to be part of ‘Lions Day’ October 3

Clarendon will observe Lions Day this Saturday, October 3, with a gathering of district Lions Clubs and the eighth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K.

Clarendon Mayor Sandy Skelton has proclaimed October 3 to be Lions International Centennial Celebration Day in the city, in observance of the more than 100 years that the organization has provided service to communities around the globe and of the local club’s service since 1922.

The day will start with the Lions District 2-T1 fall cabinet meeting at the Mulkey Theatre with donuts and coffee at 8:30, a business meeting, and lunch at noon.

Afterwards, runners and walkers will gather at the Clarendon Aquatic Center to raise awareness about child abuse during the Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K.

This year’s 5K has 65 registered participants, although many of those have chosen the “sleep in” or “sit it out” options as opposed to traversing the 3.1 miles of the route.

Sign-ins start at 1 p.m. at the new aquatic center at Fourth and Kearney. The race will start from that point at 1:30 p.m. and commence south on Kearney Street to Prospect Park – the site of the Chance Mark Jones Memorial Playground – then west on Seventh Street with runners making their way by the college, the First Baptist Church, the public school, several historic homes, the First United Methodist Church, and the Donley County Courthouse before ending just past the aquatic center at the bridge at Fifth and Kearney.

Race packets will be available for pick-up all day this Friday, October 2, at the Clarendon Visitor Center.

Proceeds from the race will benefit the charitable community activities of the Clarendon Lions Club. The race honors the life of four-year-old Chance Mark Jones, who died from abuse in 2011. For more information about this weekend’s Chance Mark Jones Memorial 5K, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at 806-662-4687 or Lion Roger Estlack at 874-2259.

To close out Lions Day, the Clarendon Lions Club will hold its 98th annual Charter Banquet at 6 p.m. in the Lions Hall, recognizing service milestones for individual Lions and presenting the Lion of the Year Award.