Ruritan leader Lyles ready to ‘Make a Difference’

Published 12:00 am Thursday, October 26, 2000

Anyone looking for Helen Lyles Saturday will find that she is a woman on the move.Lyles is a zone governor for the Miss-Lou Ruritan clubs and will be at several Ruritan charity events Saturday, which is Make a Difference Day.

She will attend a barbecue in Duncan Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to benefit Miss-Lou Crime Stoppers and children in need of school uniforms.

And she will be at a program from 2 to 3 p.m. in Memorial Park to donate canned goods and clothing to the Store Front mission in Ferriday.

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&uot;Everything I do is worth it,&uot; Lyles said.

Lyles first became involved in Ruritan in 1993, when Vidalia, La., formed a chapter of the club.

She became a zone governor this year and during that time she has started two more Ruritan clubs in Vidalia.

As zone governor, she offers assistance to all 10 Ruritan clubs in the Miss-Lou.

This is the first Make a Difference Day that all 10 clubs decided to work together on the event, something which Lyles finds exciting.

&uot;It means a lot to get out and help somebody and that is part of the (Ruritan) mission,&uot; Lyles said.

Lyles, who also enjoys her job as a cafeteria worker at Vidalia High School, is a self-professed &uot;people person.&uot;

That is a trait she finds useful in her work with Ruritan.

&uot;All of my life, I have dealt with people and the public,&uot; she said.

Through talking to people, she gets ideas for what projects are needed.

Once you see the things that need to be done the work &uot;is not hard. It’s enjoyable,&uot; Lyles said.

One example of a Ruritan project is regular visits to local nursing homes.

Lyles said she enjoys &uot;just to see the smiles on people’s face, when you do something for them and how grateful they are … just to know they appreciate it, means a lot.&uot;

In the future, Lyles said she wants to form a Ruritan Club in Ferriday and would like club members to become more involved with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and 4-H Club projects.