Info box:

Anyone interested in joining the Scarborough Lions Club can contact Kathryn Rolston by phone at 329-5191 or e-mail at [email protected]. The next meeting will be on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den on Route 114 in Scarborough.

Two-and-a-half years after joining the Scarborough Lions Club, Kathryn Rolston, of Cape Elizabeth, has been named president for the upcoming year. Rolston, one of only a handful of women in the club, took over another female president, Kay Hansen. Rolston, 46, who works in public relations, was inaugurated on June 21 at a dinner celebrating 60 years of service for the Scarborough Lions.

On Friday, she sat down with The Current to talk about how she got started in the Lions Club, what she is planning for her presidency and who she would like to play her in the movie of her life.

Q: What, exactly, does the Lions Club do?

A: The Lions Club is the oldest community service group in Scarborough. It’s 60 years old next year. It’s a group of civic-minded people who get together twice a month. They help raise funds and disseminate those funds throughout the community. We have about 45 members.

Q: What activities have you been involved in?

A: Every week we work at South Portland bingo. We volunteer there and oversee the games, check the numbers, help people if the machines aren’t working. That’s how the Lions make their money.

Q: How did you chose to join the Lions Club over other local service organizations, like the Rotary or Kiwanis?

A: I think they chose me. I was asked through another friend of mine if I wanted to join. I wanted to join a service organization in Scarborough because I worked in Scarborough at the time. There was genuinely such a nice, civic-minded group of people, I thought, Wow, I could join this club. It was the night before Christmas, and I was invited to the Lions Christmas celebration. They started having the Yankee swap, and I felt bad because I didn’t have a gift, but they said, ‘Don’t worry, we have a gift for you.’ They were so welcoming. The first thing I did for the Lions Club is, I was an elf at Christmas. The club holds the tree lighting in front of town hall. I said, ‘That sounds like a lot of fun.’ So, someone rented me an elf costume. I was a great way to be initiated into the group.

Q: Historically, service organizations like the Lions tend to be dominated by men. Is that changing?

A: In the Lions we have about five women out of about 45, but I am taking over for another woman president. I think maybe women are starting to make some inroads. Women are certainly welcome to join. We need more women.

Q: Is there anything in particular you would like to accomplish during your presidency?

A: Next year is Scarborough’s 350th anniversary. I’d like to join with Rotary and Kiwanis in the celebration next July – make it a group effort to do whatever needs to be done to make the celebration a success. Also, Lions Club International is doing Campaign SightFirst II and their goal is to raise $150 million by next year, and I would like our club to be a model club – a group to raise $5,000 to its cause. It’s a worldwide campaign to prevent and treat blindness.

Q: If you could rename the Lions Club after any other wild animal, what animal would it be?

A: Well, Lions are certainly ferocious. They’re loyal, they belong to a pride. Lions have a great roar. It’s a group thing that we do. It’s kind of a funny thing to do. It’s a group of people getting up and going, ‘Go, Lions! Bite, bite, bite!’ Another animal that’s loyal and community-minded? Elephants are very smart, they work well in a group, they nurture each other, they watch over each other and they move as a group.

Q: Who would you want to play you in a movie?

A: One of my favorite actresses is Meryl Streep. She’s so good at accents, and she can play so many different people, she could probably be me.

Q: What would you call the movie of your life?

A: ‘Moving Forward Without Stopping for Directions.’

The Current: Would you like to elaborate at all?

Kathryn Rolston: No.

The Current: If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you want on you?

Kathryn Rolston: You wouldn’t want something drippy, but you wouldn’t want something creamy. How about just a little lemon? Just a squirt of lemon.

Kathryn Rolston, of Cape Elizabeth, is the new president of the Scarborough Lions Club.

Info box:

Anyone interested in joining the Scarborough Lions Club can contact Kathryn Rolston by phone at 329-5191 or e-mail at [email protected]. The next meeting will be on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den on Route 114 in Scarborough.

Two-and-a-half years after joining the Scarborough Lions Club, Kathryn Rolston, of Cape Elizabeth, has been named president for the upcoming year. Rolston, one of only a handful of women in the club, took over another female president, Kay Hansen. Rolston, 46, who works in public relations, was inaugurated on June 21 at a dinner celebrating 60 years of service for the Scarborough Lions.

On Friday, she sat down with The Current to talk about how she got started in the Lions Club, what she is planning for her presidency and who she would like to play her in the movie of her life.

Q: What, exactly, does the Lions Club do?

A: The Lions Club is the oldest community service group in Scarborough. It’s 60 years old next year. It’s a group of civic-minded people who get together twice a month. They help raise funds and disseminate those funds throughout the community. We have about 45 members.

Q: What activities have you been involved in?

A: Every week we work at South Portland bingo. We volunteer there and oversee the games, check the numbers, help people if the machines aren’t working. That’s how the Lions make their money.

Q: How did you chose to join the Lions Club over other local service organizations, like the Rotary or Kiwanis?

A: I think they chose me. I was asked through another friend of mine if I wanted to join. I wanted to join a service organization in Scarborough because I worked in Scarborough at the time. There was genuinely such a nice, civic-minded group of people, I thought, Wow, I could join this club. It was the night before Christmas, and I was invited to the Lions Christmas celebration. They started having the Yankee swap, and I felt bad because I didn’t have a gift, but they said, ‘Don’t worry, we have a gift for you.’ They were so welcoming. The first thing I did for the Lions Club is, I was an elf at Christmas. The club holds the tree lighting in front of town hall. I said, ‘That sounds like a lot of fun.’ So, someone rented me an elf costume. I was a great way to be initiated into the group.

Q: Historically, service organizations like the Lions tend to be dominated by men. Is that changing?

A: In the Lions we have about five women out of about 45, but I am taking over for another woman president. I think maybe women are starting to make some inroads. Women are certainly welcome to join. We need more women.

Q: Is there anything in particular you would like to accomplish during your presidency?

A: Next year is Scarborough’s 350th anniversary. I’d like to join with Rotary and Kiwanis in the celebration next July – make it a group effort to do whatever needs to be done to make the celebration a success. Also, Lions Club International is doing Campaign SightFirst II and their goal is to raise $150 million by next year, and I would like our club to be a model club – a group to raise $5,000 to its cause. It’s a worldwide campaign to prevent and treat blindness.

Q: If you could rename the Lions Club after any other wild animal, what animal would it be?

A: Well, Lions are certainly ferocious. They’re loyal, they belong to a pride. Lions have a great roar. It’s a group thing that we do. It’s kind of a funny thing to do. It’s a group of people getting up and going, ‘Go, Lions! Bite, bite, bite!’ Another animal that’s loyal and community-minded? Elephants are very smart, they work well in a group, they nurture each other, they watch over each other and they move as a group.

Q: Who would you want to play you in a movie?

A: One of my favorite actresses is Meryl Streep. She’s so good at accents, and she can play so many different people, she could probably be me.

Q: What would you call the movie of your life?

A: ‘Moving Forward Without Stopping for Directions.’

The Current: Would you like to elaborate at all?

Kathryn Rolston: No.

The Current: If you were a salad, what kind of dressing would you want on you?

Kathryn Rolston: You wouldn’t want something drippy, but you wouldn’t want something creamy. How about just a little lemon? Just a squirt of lemon.

Kathryn Rolston, of Cape Elizabeth, is the new president of the Scarborough Lions Club.