GANDER, N.L. — Perry Kieley had hurt in his eyes.
After five years with the Gander Lions Club – three of those as president – he resigned March 31. But it wasn’t because he’d lost his passion for volunteering.
Choosing his words carefully, Kieley said earlier this year he took issue with the club’s procedures and constitutional bylaws surrounding financial practices. He couldn’t go into further detail, since it’s a matter that’s been passed off to the RCMP.
As a result of these concerns, he alleges there have been months of infighting and bullying among club members.
It had gotten to a point where, Kieley said, a gavel was grabbed from his hand while he was trying to restore order to a meeting.
Leaving was a hard decision, he said, but after witnessing the verbal berating of a member, Kieley could no longer wear the purple and gold with pride.
“As a human being I could not stand to watch what was happening to this individual,” he said. “I stood up for the person being bullied and I became a target myself.”
Paul Dillion, now acting president of the Gander Lions Club, confirmed he had stepped into the role but declined comment on the concerns being raised.
Lions Club International’s legal division confirmed for The Central Voice it has received concerns about financial practices involving the Gander Lions Club. However, individual Lions Clubs are independent legal entities.
“We don’t control them per se, we don’t make them report their finances,” said attorney David Kingsbury. “Because we are in 200 countries, we just don’t have that capacity to support that level of detail.”
Kingsbury said local clubs are compelled to follow local laws and regulations.
“When it comes to financial irregularities, we encourage clubs to audit books. A club’s constitution of bylaws permits the membership to request an audit of the books at any time,” he said.
There are also internal dispute resolution mechanisms in place, which would have a neutral independent party come in, in an effort to resolve an issue. This, Kingsbury said, tends to cover both bullying and financial issues.
“If I get a notification on bullying, it comes up… we give a club tools to help resolve that,” he said.
Gander RCMP Staff-Sgt. Roger Flynn said they have an open file involving the Gander Lions Club based on an accusation of theft.
“Right now, an allegation has been made and that’s as far as it has gone,” he said.
“Just because the allegation is made, it doesn’t mean an offence has taken place,” Flynn added.