History
The seeds of the Gainesville Lions Club were sown by Cecil Newland after he relocated to Gainesville from Denison following World War II. Cecil was a Lion in Denison, and he thought that Gainesville was too nice a town to be left to the service clubs that were already here. Gainesville needed a Lions Club

So he convinced the Denison club to sponsor a new club in Gainesville. Then, with the help of a few good Lions from Denison, and a few good (future) Lions from Gainesville, he set about the task of signing up members and setting up an organization.