Lake Station’s Lions Club gives children an action-packed morning with Touch a Truck event

Lake Station families gathered on the morning of Saturday, May 30, for the city’s annual Touch a Truck event.

The Lions Club, a service club in Lake Station, brought fire trucks, police cars, old vehicles, and even a Lake County helicopter to Riverview Park for attendees to explore. Food vendors set up their tents, selling cinnamon rolls and snow cones to families in between vehicle visits.

Children watched in awe as the Lake County helicopter touched down midway through the morning. The helicopter danced above Riverview Park as it landed, with families excitedly examining the chopper. Kids were allowed to touch the helicopter and even have a seat in the pilot’s chair.

Susie Matejczyk, the Lions Club member responsible for organizing the Touch a Truck every year, believes it’s important to have events that cater towards the children and young families of Lake Station.

“When I moved into Lake Station, there were no events for the kids, and as a parent of two little kids, I wanted to start an event for them. I want them to be able to come out and climb in, talk to the firemen, talk to the tow truck workers, and get to experience and rub elbows with the community and their cars,” Matejczyk said.

Touch a Truck has grown every year since it started up, continuously adding new vehicles and more residents to the fold. This is largely thanks to the hard work of Matejczyk and the rest of Lake Station’s Lions Club, who work hard to involve more and more community members and organizations.

“I love just seeing the community come out as each event grows. My goal is to make it bigger and bigger every year, and this year, I was able to organize a Lake County helicopter.”

The Lake Station Cadet Squadron, an organization recruiting city teens to volunteer around Lake Station, is among the community groups attending the event. Major Victor Arocho, the Education and Training Officer for Cadet Squadron IN 211, was grateful to the Lions Club for allowing them to advertise at Touch a Truck.

Lake Station’s Touch a Truck event is one of many local gatherings that the Lions Club is responsible for.

“We do a bunch of different community events,” Matejczyk said. “We do the parade, the senior citizens’ holiday dinner, and a quarter auction; we do a bunch of different things around the city.”

The Lions Club’s Touch a Truck event, along with its other gatherings throughout the year, brings the Lake Station community together. Children, especially, are given an opportunity to explore interesting vehicles and meet the local firefighters and police officers who keep Lake Station running.

“I started this event two years ago,” Matejczyk said. “I just love giving back to the kids.”

For more information on the Lake Station Lions Club, visit: Lake Station Lions Club