Joining the Woodville Lions Club 40 years ago was a life-changer, Clive Boyden says, and being presented with his 40-year badge was a thrill, but he has no idea where those 40 years have gone.
"For me, joining the Lions Club was a chance to meet like-minded people and work on projects which ultimately helped those less fortunate," he told the Dannevirke News.
There have been huge highlights in those 40 years, including being awarded a Queen's Service Medal in the 2015 New Year's honours, recognising the work he had put into the club's Coast to Coast motorcycle ride - run now for 26 years - and the now defunct Gorge Track and Tunnel Walk. These were ventures which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities and the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter and Arohanui Hospice.
"Knowing what I do now, if someone had asked me to organise these events now I'd run a mile," Boyden said.