Kodak honors Kendall resident for service through Lions Club

Provided photo – Terry Bliss has been active in the Kendall Lions Club for the past 25 years and also served as district governor in 2007-08.

KENDALL – Last week Kodak announced four $2,500 awards would go to causes led by employees world-wide. Kodak approved funds for humanitarian work in Shanghai, Brazil, Israel and Kendall.

Terry Bliss has worked for Kodak for 31 years, currently as a systems analyst in production support. He also has been a member of the Kendall Lions Club for 25 years.

He served as district governor in 2007-08, leading about 1,360 Lions Club members from Lyndonville to Walworth, and from Lake Ontario to Bolivar.

Kodak announced its second annual “Kodak Cares: Leaders in the Community Program” awards last week. The company approved $2,500 for the Kendall Lions, the only organization in the United States to receive funding.

Kodak notes that Bliss has served in leadership roles for the Lions Club, and has supported “countless community activities.”

Kodak cited one example of him loading his truck with 10,000 pairs of glasses and sending them to recycling center to be cleaned, sorted and distributed to people in developing countries.

Bliss said the Lions Clubs in six counties near Rochester collect about 85,000 pairs of glasses each year. Those glasses are taken to Ridgeway, Pa., where they are sorted by prescription and then sent to third-world countries.

Bliss remains an active leader in the Lions Club, at the local level and in the district. He is influential in training and mentoring new leaders for the Lions.

He is pleased the Kendall Lions have a successful Leo Club in the Kendall High School. The Leos will celebrate their 10th anniversary next year, and Bliss said some of the $2,500 from Kodak could be used to support the Leos.

“We want to recognize them for all the work they’ve done in the past 10 years,” Bliss said.

The Kendall Lions Club just learned about the $2,500 from Kodak last Thursday. Bliss said the club leaders are discussing how to best use the funds.

“The $2,500 is great for any organization,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing because there were four recipients and we were the only one in the U.S.”

The Kendall Lions have 64 members and expect to add two more next month. It’s the second largest club in the entire district.