01/28/2026
This January 22 meeting report is by our Secutary, Jim Stewart:
Lion Meredyth Mason was our guest speaker at our January 22 meeting. Meredyth was a member of our club from 2017 to 2020. She is currently living in Jacksonville Beach Florida and is the proud mother of two adult kids.
Meredyth is affected with low vision as a result of an inherited retinal disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and has 5% or 8° of her sight remaining.
She became a guide dog handler in August 2022 and her “teammate” as she calls her, is Leader Dog Luna, a four-year-old golden Labrador. There are approximately 17,000 Leader Dogs in the United States. Leader Dogs For the Blind was founded in 1939 by a Lions Club in Detroit Michigan.
Luna showed of a few of her skills as she obeyed such commands as "find the door”, “find a chair”, and“touch” - where Luna quickly touches her teammates hand to let her know that she is there.
Meredyth is a member of the Jacksonville Beach Lions Club and is the District 35L Leader Dog Chair. She holds two masters degrees from the University of Maryland and spent her career in professional consulting working with federal government agencies, including military, law-enforcement and the intelligence community. Although medically retiring in 2015, she still consults part time with government contractor companies. In addition to her career, Meredyth is very involved with the local Jacksonville disabled community volunteering her time with the Eye Spy Foundation, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Vision is Priceless, Council, Brooks Rehabilitation Adaptive Sports & Recreation, and numerous other community activities.
Our club was honored to get acquainted with Luna and to re-connect with Lion Meredyth who is personally helping so many people achieve and maintain independence ……… and beyond!
