District 33A & Y
2026 Midwinter Summary
What an Amazing weekend we all had in Southbridge at the Wellsworth Hotel & Conference Center! It may have been snowing outside but it was warm and friendly inside as we launched our Bon Voyage District 33A & 33Y Midwinter Conference. District Governors Andrew Keane and Mary Swift selected the perfect Guest International Director (ID) to join us for the weekend. ID Melissa Washburn and her lifelong friend, Lions Sponsor, and Partner in Service Gemma Ferguson warmed our hearts and became part of our Lions family. We were so sad to see them go but knew we had to get them off to Logan and on their flight back to sunny and warm New Mexico before the 20-40" of snow arrived. That's right Fall River, Massachusetts received 41" of snow!
You will find our Midwinter Conference Photo Album online here - Simply click on the link and you can peruse the photos, download ones you may find of your club or members and PLEASE UPLOAD your own photos from the weekend. Let's build a beautiful photo album to remember the fun, friendships, and learning from this weekend!
You will find our Midwinter Conference Photo Album online here - Simply click on the link and you can peruse the photos, download ones you may find of your club or members and PLEASE UPLOAD your own photos from the weekend. Let's build a beautiful photo album to remember the fun, friendships, and learning from this weekend!
Here are the numbers for the weekend for those interested.
We had 225 Lions and Guests join us for some portion of the weekend, (209 pre-registered and 26 walk-ins- thank you for coming!). Approximately 125 stayed overnight with us at the hotel totaling 160 nights at the hotel - that's 10 nights beyond our room block - well done everyone!
On Saturday, our Leos from District 33A held a 1/2 day conference at the Wellsworth Hotel with their own agenda. In attendance were15 Leos and 5 Advisors from our Leos Clubs across D33A. Our International Director Melissa visited them and encouraged all of them to become Lions at age 18. Those of us present this weekend can attest to how convincing she can be : ) Our Guest Speaker, Samantha Johnson, CEO and Founder of Tatum Robotics also visited the Leo Midwinter gathering to share her company and the Tatum 1 Robot. Finally, Lion Liz Myska of WalkFit Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) spent time with Leos doing activities blindfolded to provide them an appreciation of how VIPs complete daily challenges.
Our District 33 A Club Donations:
Our clubs in District 33A donate throughout the year, both to Lions associated causes and funds and to their local communities.
Before we arrived at the Midwinter Conference, District 33A clubs had donated over $83,000 to Lions and other causes.
During the Midwinter Conference, over $60,000 in donations were collected as follows:
Over $11,000 was donated to LCIF
Over $24,000 was donated to MLERF
Over $24,000 in other donations to the District, Multiple District and community and other areas were made.
Additionally, a number of our District 33A clubs pledged additional donations of $38,000 before the end of this Lions year (6/30/2026)
Together, the total donations above total over $182,000!!!!
But, we were not done - NOT YET! At the Saturday night International Director's Banquet, the Midwinter Conference Committee announced a donation in Melissa Washburn's name to LCIF. However, he did not stop there, he said let's see what we can do in the next 10 minutes. Forgo those drinks at the bar, and dig deep to see what you can give and bring it up! In those 10 minutes, the Lions of Districts 33A & 33Y raised an additional $2409 bringing the total donation to LCIF in honor of ID Melissa Washburn to $2909 - AMAZING, it was moving to see everyone give so freely.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thank you for joining us, sharing yourself and your club with all, extending our wonderful D33A hospitality to our visiting guests from New Mexico, our Guest speaker Samantha and her deaf/blind guest Elaine and her interpreter Megan. Thank you for donating to support LCIF, MLERF, our District 33A funds, our MA Multiple District (MD-33) funds/committees, and our associated charities.
We hope you left inspired, with new information, and new friends. We hope to see you all at Advisory this Thursday, 2/26 and at the State Convention in N. Falmouth, MA the weekend of March 27 - March 29, 2026. You will be hearing from me very soon at the State Convention - delegate forms, unpaid dues (all dues must be paid no later than 3/12/26 to vote at the State Convention). If you need assistance with anything, your District 33A leadership team is here to assist - just call or email us!
CST Kristen
We had 225 Lions and Guests join us for some portion of the weekend, (209 pre-registered and 26 walk-ins- thank you for coming!). Approximately 125 stayed overnight with us at the hotel totaling 160 nights at the hotel - that's 10 nights beyond our room block - well done everyone!
On Saturday, our Leos from District 33A held a 1/2 day conference at the Wellsworth Hotel with their own agenda. In attendance were15 Leos and 5 Advisors from our Leos Clubs across D33A. Our International Director Melissa visited them and encouraged all of them to become Lions at age 18. Those of us present this weekend can attest to how convincing she can be : ) Our Guest Speaker, Samantha Johnson, CEO and Founder of Tatum Robotics also visited the Leo Midwinter gathering to share her company and the Tatum 1 Robot. Finally, Lion Liz Myska of WalkFit Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) spent time with Leos doing activities blindfolded to provide them an appreciation of how VIPs complete daily challenges.
Our District 33 A Club Donations:
Our clubs in District 33A donate throughout the year, both to Lions associated causes and funds and to their local communities.
Before we arrived at the Midwinter Conference, District 33A clubs had donated over $83,000 to Lions and other causes.
During the Midwinter Conference, over $60,000 in donations were collected as follows:
Over $11,000 was donated to LCIF
Over $24,000 was donated to MLERF
Over $24,000 in other donations to the District, Multiple District and community and other areas were made.
Additionally, a number of our District 33A clubs pledged additional donations of $38,000 before the end of this Lions year (6/30/2026)
Together, the total donations above total over $182,000!!!!
But, we were not done - NOT YET! At the Saturday night International Director's Banquet, the Midwinter Conference Committee announced a donation in Melissa Washburn's name to LCIF. However, he did not stop there, he said let's see what we can do in the next 10 minutes. Forgo those drinks at the bar, and dig deep to see what you can give and bring it up! In those 10 minutes, the Lions of Districts 33A & 33Y raised an additional $2409 bringing the total donation to LCIF in honor of ID Melissa Washburn to $2909 - AMAZING, it was moving to see everyone give so freely.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thank you for joining us, sharing yourself and your club with all, extending our wonderful D33A hospitality to our visiting guests from New Mexico, our Guest speaker Samantha and her deaf/blind guest Elaine and her interpreter Megan. Thank you for donating to support LCIF, MLERF, our District 33A funds, our MA Multiple District (MD-33) funds/committees, and our associated charities.
We hope you left inspired, with new information, and new friends. We hope to see you all at Advisory this Thursday, 2/26 and at the State Convention in N. Falmouth, MA the weekend of March 27 - March 29, 2026. You will be hearing from me very soon at the State Convention - delegate forms, unpaid dues (all dues must be paid no later than 3/12/26 to vote at the State Convention). If you need assistance with anything, your District 33A leadership team is here to assist - just call or email us!
CST Kristen