Mississippi (MD-30) Southern Ladies

PDG Jerry Townsend

The Southern Ladies began with the idea of Edna Patterson, the late wife of Past International President Howard L. "Pat" Patterson, Jr. She wanted a pin to represent the South and the State of Mississippi. Therefore, she designed the first Lady with a white dress and blue parasol for the 1972 LCI Convention in Mexico City. It was such a "hit" that the MD-30 District Governors changed the color to pink for the 1974 LCI Convention in San Francisco. In 1977, the color of the dress was again changed to blue. This is the year of the first miniature.

pins, which were issued at our State Convention by the Hattiesburg Lions Club, the home Club of PIP "Pat". The miniature pins were so well-received that the Hattiesburg Club issued 1,000 small pins in 1979 when the State issued the Yellow Lady for the 1979 LCI Convention in Montreal.

In 1982, the final of the first five Ladies were issued for the LCI Convention in Atlanta. She had a green dress. Again, the Hattiesburg Club issued 1,000 miniature pins, but when they were received them, she was facing the wrong way. They, in turn, reordered to get the pin facing the correct way. That is why we have two (2) miniature green pins.

As you can see, there were only five (5) regular size and six (6) miniature pins issued by MD-30. However, there have been several other colors that have shown up. T.C. Arts and Crafts made a dark blue, a dark red, and a lighter green, and tried to sell them to MD-30. Since they were not ordered by MD-30, and they didn't want them, they were sold to a Lion in another State. Although some will have you believe that they are authorized pins, the fact is that they are not. Also, there are two counterfeit pins issued by a PDG and another Lion to help pay their way to the 1979 LCI Convention in Montreal. They are pink and blue and can easily be identified since they are thicker than the authorized pins and they are aluminum.

A new set of pins was started in 1984 when a light blue Lady was issued. In 1985, the Lady was dressed in beige. In 1986, the dress was maroon and in 1987, it was red. The 1988 dress was purple. These sets were issued by the MD-30 Council of Governors in quantities of 3,000 for the regular issue and 1,000 for the miniature pin. After a couple of years away from the Ladies, the Mississippi Pin Traders Club became responsible for the State pins.

In 1991, another set was started and pins were issued for each year in 1991, 1992, and 1993. These sets of pins were issued as regular and prestige pins.
The Lady was in a pink dress in 1991; a blue dress in 1992; and a yellow dress in 1993.

In 1994, the format for the Lady was changed to include the Gentleman. The new pins were issued as a three pin set each year through 1997. In 1994, the Lady’s dress was white; in 1995 it was pink; in 1996 it was blue; and in 1988, it was green. The first several hundred green pins were issued with the wrong date of 1997, as shown below.

In 2001, we issued the Lady on a green base, in both a regular and miniature size. We followed this in 2002 with the Lady in a gold dress and in 2003 in a blue dress. Since a prestige pin was not issued the MPTC Board of Directors voted to go back and issue a prestige pin to go with the 2001, 2002, and the 2003 sets. In 2004, three pins (regular, miniature, and prestige) were issued with a green dress and green base. In 2005, the three pins had the Lady in a green dress and in 2005, she was in a purple dress on a green base.

In 2001, we issued the Lady on a green base, in both a regular and miniature size. We followed this in 2002 with the Lady in a gold dress and in 2003 in a blue dress. Since a prestige pin was not issued the MPTC Board of Directors voted to go back and issue a prestige pin to go with the 2001, 2002, and the 2003 sets. In 2004, three pins (regular, miniature, and prestige) were issued with a green dress and green base.In 2005, the three pins had the Lady in a green dress and in 2005, she was in a purple dress on a green base. The Lady is dressed in green; in 2005 in purple; in 2006 in white; in 2007 in pink; and in 2008 in blue.

2004			2005
2006			2007
2008			1978 Hattiesburg Club Pin
2009			2010

We are showing the 3" pins issued in 1978 by the Hattiesburg Lions Club, once again, the home Club of PIP "Pat" Patterson.

The Lady is featured on numerous District pins within Mississippi and We plan to show those at a later date as a companion article to this one.

The Lady is alive and well and we fully anticipate the series will continue for the foreseeable future.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact PDG Jerry Townsendby e-mail at jctown@comcast.net, or by phone on
601-737-5170.  You can also reach me by mail at P.O. Box 189,  Collinsville MS 39325.