History

Financial Contributions

Woodmen Community Center and Lions Water Adventure took approximately 15 months and $13 million to complete. The sources of funds for the Woodmen Community Center and Lions Water Adventure were contributed by:
  • City of Kinston
  • Golden LEAF Foundation
  • Investment by the Woodmen Foundation
  • Lenoir County
  • Lions Industries for the Blind of Kinston
  • Private contributions
  • State of North Carolina

Construction

The center and water park were built by Darland Construction Co. of Omaha, Nebraska, with work by 25 local subcontractors. Woodmen of the World, the lender for the project, is a not-for-profit life insurance company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The company has been providing life insurance, retirement products and community activities for its customers since its founding in 1890.

Name

Lions Water Adventure is named for Lions Industries for the Blind of Kinston, a donor that ensured the park includes a number of features to assist blind and visually-impaired patrons.

Lions Industries for the Blind was established in the late 1960s by the Kinston Host Lions Club to provide employment for the blind and visually impaired in a setting that affords both income and dignity to the individual, with no compromise on the quality of production.