Below is an article extracted from the Campbell Express by our Lion Art Low:

Do you know the way to San Luis Potosi? By Arthur Low, O.D.

Art Low is a local optometrist, member of the Campbell Lions Club, past president of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce, and an active volunteer. He has two sons, Evan, a member of the Campbell City Council and Ryan,a police officer. Dr. Low has an office in downtown Campbell.

I have gone to Mexico for the Lions In Sight Clinics every year for seven years now and just returned from the latest one in November. Most of the clinics scheduled were in cities that were not familiar to me, such as Hermocillo, Autlan, Celaya, Los Mochis to name of few. This year, the site was supposed to be Guadalajara, the second most populous city in Mexico but as it turned out, there were some hitches.

When I saw the schedule for the November clinic for the first time in early spring, I set about getting the docs and techs lined up but waited until summer to get the airfare. After confirming the location with the Lions In Sight organization, the five doc and eight tech team members purchased tickets on Mexicana Airlines, which had a great round trip fare for under $300 to Guadalajara from the Bay Area.

A few weeks later, Mexicana filed for bankruptcy and cancelled all flights. Fortunately, all of us bought tickets using credit cards and the credit card companies refunded the money. The new tickets on various airlines now cost almost $500.

About a month before leaving, I got an email for Lions In Sight telling us that the site had to be changed from Guadalajara. I told them that we had bought tickets already and the new site had to be close by. The site was changed to San Luis Potosi (SLP) about 200 miles away. So instead of sightseeing a bit of Guadalajara, we spent five hours each way in a bus going to and coming back from San Luis Potosi.

We had two Lions Clubs in SLP who hosted us. They were very gracious and housed us in a comfortable motel and fed us tasty meals. The clinic was held at a community center adjacent to city hall. We were welcomed by the mayor, Ricardo Juarez, who was interviewed by the local TV station about the clinic.

In all, we saw almost one thousand patients during the two day clinic and 800 people were dispensed at least one pair of eyeglasses. Some of them would not have been able to see the big E on the chart and others could not see well enough to read or sew until we got them eyeglasses.

I want you to know that your used eyeglasses are most valuable for less fortunate people in the world. Drop off your used eyeglasses at the Campbell Library, Saint Lucy’s Church or my office at 621 E. Campbell Av. #11-B in Campbell

On each trip, we try to bring some new people with us so this year Robert Deselle, husband of one of the docs, Sandra Deselle, O.D., and Marilyn Van Dam, who spoke excellent Spanish, came along with us. Another new team member was Cynthia Dodd, the principal at Campbell Middle School and also a fluent Spanish speaker. She was so impressed with the trip despite the missteps that she wants to go again in 2011.

It was her birthday on the last day of the clinic so our hosts had a birthday cake for her at dinner time. Also on the last night, we were entertained by Mexican folk dancers and given some token gifts and certificates for our efforts. Fortunately, I brought a SF Giants rally towel and presented it to Mayor Juarez, who promptly started waving it. He was obviously a Giants fan too.