The Reno Arch Lions Club was chartered November 1, 1952. The first club in Reno, Reno Host Club sponsored the Arch. A lot has changed since 1952. Downtown Reno has closed some of the prominent hotels of that time to make way for additions to today’s center for entertainment. The most prominent hotel in downtown Reno in the Fifties and Sixties was the Mapes. Today, the hotel has been imploded and the lot stands bare ready for the next phase of downtown development.

The Truckee Meadows has grown from a small town of 50,000 to a larger metropolis of about 293,000. During these changes the Reno Arch Lions Club has been there to support the community. Although the faces in the club have changed slightly in the past 53 years the dedication to the program and work started by our charter members remains unchanged. In 1960 the arch worked in conjunction with the City of Reno to form Idle wild Kiddie Park. Although the park has seen several renovations over the years it still remains to provide the next generation of children the fun and excitement it provided the earlier generations. Upon the completion of the park our club lions were surprised by the amount of use the park received. It was then they decided they would continue forward with this type of community service and soon found other sites to install playground equipment. The next endeavor was Whittaker Park. The park is nestled on a hillside over looking Downtown Reno and is a local hot spot for children and parents alike. It was built to accommodate physically disabled children. With its wheelchair ramp and adaptive swings it allows play for all children. Soon after that completion came Teglia’s Paradise Park located on Oddie Blvd it too as seen a face lift in the last three years.

The Reno Arch quickly became a club known for Kiddie parks. It spread from the City of Reno to other entities needing help. We have installed parks at the University of Nevada Reno for the education department. Local Schools who had older playground equipment have been updated with play structures, slides, and ball walls. It is our mission to make sure that the adults of tomorrow have the same innocent fun as the adults of today.

It is easy for our club to maintain the focus that was started that night on November 1 1952. We have four members still in our club today that were there in the beginning. Lions Frank Savage, Nick Stosic and Chet Winkel joined the Reno Arch the very next year in 1953. Lion Clyde Smart became a member in 1955 and all are still active today.

Like I stated above the faces have only changes slightly.

The Arch has also sponsored two local clubs, The Reno Plumb Lane  and the Reno Mt. Rose club. Today the Arch has a membership of approximately 40. With our active membership we are able to contribute 10’s of thousands of dollars towards are endorsed projects and community needed charities. The Arch will continue to grow, as will the community and the donations given.