2-S4 District Governor 2008-2009
PDG Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 1, 1944 and his home club is the Texas City Noon Lions Club. He’s been a Lion since 1986, and has been elected President of his club 3 times and served in all other offices within his home club at least once.
PDG Howard was elected District Governor in 2008, having served as Vice District Governor, Region Chair, Zone Chair (2 terms) and Top 5% Campaign Sight First Coordinator. He was installed as President of Lions Eye Bank of Texas (2013-2014), serves as an Executive Board Member of Lions Foundation for Sight, an Advisory Board Member of Central Texas Lions KidSight Vision Foundation, and also serves as long-term Secretary/Treasurer for his home club. For his year as District Governor, PDG Howard was honored with the International President’s Leadership Award (3rd highest award in Lionism), the International President’s District Family Growth Award and the International President’s District Governor Extension Award. He had previously been given a Melvin Jones Fellowship award. State and District awards and honors include the Texas Lions Camp Progressive Jack Wiech, as well as long-term membership in the TLC Century Club. PDG Howard has a Texas Lions Camp Endowment Brick and a Gold Leaf. He joined the 5-year TLC Endowment Fund program, and serves on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee for the Camp. He is a Texas Lions Foundation Fellow, was awarded the Texas Lions Foundation Ed Flood award, and is a multiple-hole Harry Wickersham Golf sponsor. His life memberships include Texas Lions Camp, Lions Eye Bank of Texas and Leader Dogs for the Blind. He has also been awarded an Eye Bank Angel award from the Lions Eye Bank of Texas. He was trained as a Certified Guiding Lion, and served on the Lions Leadership training committee for three years. He was awarded the Hurricane Ike Hero Medal (one of 17 awarded worldwide) for service above and beyond during Hurricane Ike in 2008.
PDG Howard enlisted and served on active duty in the US Navy from June 1963 through November 1971 and was awarded two honorable discharges after multiple tours in the combat zone in Vietnam waters aboard 4 separate ships. Prior to deployments, he graduated from the USN Great Lakes Training Center as Machinist’s Mate Fireman Apprentice and then was assigned to the Navy Nuclear Power School at Mare Island, Vallejo, California where he graduated from the Augmented engineering course. He was then assigned to the US National Reactor Testing Station in Scoville, Idaho for surface ship nuclear prototype training, and graduated there with a license from the AEC (now known as NRC) as a nuclear power plant operator. Between overseas deployments he was trained at the USN Air Conditioning and Refrigeration school where he graduated as honor man of his class. He attained the rank of 1st Class Petty Officer (E-6) during his second enlistment. He married while on active military duty, and returned to civilian life to work his way through college with the assistance of GI Bill benefits, obtaining an AS degree from Seminole (Oklahoma) Junior College and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He then worked for Amoco Corporation at the Texas City Refinery until retirement as a Senior Process Hazards Management Engineer.
PDG Howard is widowed from his wife of 36 years, Lion Bonnie Clayton, and has 3 children, 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. In retirement, he has been very active in his local church (Aldersgate United Methodist) where he served 5 years as Parish Council Chair. He currently teaches Sunday School to the senior age parishioners and serves in various other capacities as needed by the church.
