Boynton Lions Club President Tom Rector (right) hands the gavel over to new President Lion Dr. Deborah Levin
photo by Randall Franks
The Boynton Lions Club of Ringgold installed its first female president, Lion Dr. Deborah Levin. Former president Tom Rector handed over the gavel to her.
Lion Rector, who works at Ringgold’s Walter Jackson Chevrolet, is stepping away from Lionism at the end of the year after two decades of service shared between clubs in Boynton and Altamont, Il. During his 20 years, the Melvin Jones Fellow has served as Boynton president and Altamont treasurer and tale twister. In his service, he has chaired fundraising efforts through golf tournaments, Tootsie Pop Day sale, and helped with youth soccer, basketball, a fishing rodeo, cemetery, as well as vision and hearing screenings.
“Being a part of the story of Lionism has been a great blessing for me and my time in Ringgold serves as an appropriate last chapter in that story for me,” Lion Rector said.
Dr. Levin takes the reins in the club’s 70th year of serving Catoosa County. She has lived in the Chattanooga/Ringgold area for almost 30 years and currently works as a continuous improvement consultant for an insurance company. She holds a B.S. in textile technology and design, an MBA with a concentration in E-business and a doctor of management in organizational leadership. Her doctoral thesis was “The Relationship between Leveraging Communication Tools and Leadership Trust in Virtual Teams.”
Dr. Levin said she is passionate about research and learning, often studying many topics at the same time.
“Recently, I began researching and updating historical information for over 500 graves located in the Dailey Hill Cemetery owned by the Boynton Lions,” she said. “An effort which prompted our plans to add stones on unmarked graves.”
Her career journey has taken many paths, including work as a design manager in the carpet industry, project management as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and employment as a college instructor teaching business statistics and research courses. She received multiple awards and recognition for her contributions in each role. She leverages best practices learned from her different careers into all of her current endeavors.
“I am a fervent believer in community service,” she said. “Through Lions vision programs, youth programs and community projects, I look forward to continuing to make a difference in Catoosa.”
She was a band booster officer at her children’s high school, creating many opportunities for families to fundraise through community outreach. She attends Boynton United Methodist Church, where she was appointed head trustee. She has also served as a volunteer team captain at the Chattanooga Iron Man half and full marathons for seven years, leading her teams to earn grant money for a multitude of nonprofit causes.
She was a member of the project team for the Hamilton County, TN Frequent User Systems Engagement (FUSE) program in 2017 and helped lead development of a program to serve homeless adults with severe and persistent mental illness and who are high utilizers of the Hamilton County Jail, local hospitals, emergency rooms, crisis centers and psychiatric facilities.
Dr. Levin said she enjoys multiple hobbies while staying connected with her four adult children, and her multiple grandchildren. She is a member of the American Society of Quality (ASQ.org) and the Locked and Loaded Ladies gun club in Chattanooga.
"We have a great group of men and women who are serving in Lions, but we are seeking to grow our club to meet the increasing requests for service within the community,” she said. “If you are interested in supporting or becoming part of the Boynton Lion’s Club, please contact us.”
Find the club through its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/boyntonlions/, or join the club at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Boynton United Methodist Church fellowship hall, 4246 Boynton Dr. in Ringgold.