By Irene Maslowski
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey will recognize Paula Tarantino, PDG, as Visionary of the Year on April 25, 2012, when the organization hosts its annual Visionary of the Year Award Dinner. This celebration, which takes place at Mayfair Farms in West Orange, aims to honor the special relationship between the Eye Bank and New Jersey Lions Clubs.
Tarantino was selected as Visionary of the Year because of her dedication to serving those with blinding eye conditions. She began volunteering with St. Joseph’s School for the Blind and Camp Marcella exactly 30 years ago this year, and continues to this day. She first became acquainted with the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey while serving as the Eye Bank’s enucleation coordinator during the late 1980s.
She has also been a longtime presence among New Jersey Lions and Lioness Clubs, beginning in 1984, when she joined the North Bergen Lioness Club. Throughout the years, she also became a member of Lions Clubs in North Bergen, Secaucus and Ridgefield Park, where she is currently the Club president. Additionally, she has served on numerous state committees.
“Those recognized as Visionaries by the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey are people who have done what others could not,” says Chaplin. “They have stepped up to make miracles happen, dedicated their lives to improving the lives of others, and supported our mission – the preservation and restoration of sight – because they understood the difference they could make. The Eye Bank is proud to honor PDG Paula Tarantino for her decades of leadership in service to the blind and vision-impaired.”
Tickets to attend the Visionary of the Year Award Dinner are $75 per person. The evening’s festivities will begin at 6:30 p.m. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Cathy Wasner at 732-382-3060, ext.7278, or [email protected].
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey is a charitable, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of sight. It recovers, evaluates and distributes human eye tissue for transplantation. It also supports research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions, promotes donation awareness through public and professional education, and provides humanitarian aid to people in need of corneal transplantation throughout the world. Visit www.lionseyebanknj.org or call 800-653-9379 for more information.
