Courtesy Photo From left to right, Alpena Lions Club First Vice President Bernie Lamp III, Lions Treasurer Mike Hamilton, Austin Brothers owner Dana Austin, Lions President Tom Woizeschke, Alpena Deputy Fire Chief Rob Edmonds, Brad Somers, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, and Lions Tail Twister Randy Boboltz hold gallon jugs on Tuesday from the first batch of hand sanitizer the Lions Club and Austin Brothers teamed up to produce from a $10,000 grant the Lions received from Lions Club International.

Earlier this month, the Alpena Lions Club, on behalf of District 11E2, applied for and received a $10,000 grant from Lions Club International to allow the club to work with Austin Brothers Beer Co. to produce hand sanitizer. Austin Brothers is working with Grand Traverse Distillery to create the hand sanitizer.

The Alpena Lions Club is working with the other clubs on the eastern half of District 11E2 to distribute the hand sanitizer, which is being bottled into one-gallon plastic containers. The gallon jugs will be given to care homes, health care facilities, area emergerncy medical services units and other entities that fall within the guidelines of the LCI grant.

Club members and Austin Brothers ownership presented Deputy Fire Chief Rob Edmonds of the Alpena Fire Department, and Brad Somers, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena, with the first gallons of hand sanitizer on Tuesday at the Austin Brothers brewery.

The eastern half of Lions District 11E2 is comprised of clubs east of I-75 from Mackinaw City in the north to Beaverton in the south. Lions members will begin distributing the gallons in the coming days and weeks.

The grant was written by Alpena Lions Club members District Governor Dave Zeller and club Treasurer Mike Hamilton.