Sam Creigh: Musician and Lions Club member

Sam Creigh is a Springfield resident who has been in-and-out of the local music scene for 20 years, and recently released his second album of original music.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/sam-creigh-musician-and-lion-club-member

Sam Creigh: Musician and Lion Club Member Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 01/06/2015 - 12:11pm By LAUREN DRASLER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -Once a month, the Adult Day Center on River Street in Springfield comes alive with the musical offerings of Sam Creigh. Creigh is a Springfield resident who has been in-and-out of the local music scene for 20 years, and recently released his second album of original music in 2014. “My first album came out in 2002, and my second album came out in 2014,” he said. “I’ve played in a lot of different places in the area. I play at Mount Ascutney, Ludlow, Bellows Falls, Saxtons River and I’ve been to several festivals to play my music.” Though Creigh has performed at numerous different venues, perhaps one of his most regular locales is the Adult Day Center, where he performs once a month for people that utilize the facility. “Playing here [the Adult Day Center] is all for fun,” he said. “I usually come in during the first part of the month and perform for an hour after lunch. It’s a good distraction for people to listen to music.” Creigh said that he has been performing at the Adult Day Center for many years, and considers the staff friends of his. He also said that he enjoys the performance aspect of playing music. “I really like to entertain,” Creigh said. “I like getting up there and being a hambone and telling stories through music. When I’m at the Adult Day Center, I play older music and try to play material that the people will know. Sometimes lots of people are listening and dancing, and other times people are distracted.” Although Creigh often performs songs from more well-known artists when he is playing at local venues, he said that he recently became a member of the Malletts Bay Music Group to promote his own music. The Malletts Bay Music Group was founded by Glory Reinstein and is an organization that helps to promote and license music in the Burlington area. “Instead of just concentrating on performing music, joining the Malletts Bay Music Group will help me to license my music and could even help to get my original music in movies, advertisements or performed by notable artists,” he said. “It helps to have someone else pitch your music and Glory [Reinstein] already promotes other good musicians, and I’m happy that she’s interested in me.” Creigh said that this opportunity will help him to expand where he performs his music, but that it would also be great to hear his music performed by another artist or in a commercial. “I’m really excited about this opportunity,” he said. Though music may keep Creigh busy, he is also an active member of Springfield branch of the Lions Club. “I’ve been with the Lions Club in Springfield for almost 20 years,” he said. “I’ve been president, or King Lion twice and have also had other positions in the club. We have between 50-60 members in our club, and we meet at the VFW the first and third Tuesday of the month.” The Lions Club has been a community club in Springfield for around 80 years, Creigh said, and the club’s main focus is on vision awareness. “The focus of the Lions is on vision, hearing and youth, but our main focus is on vision,” he said. “All Lions clubs are interested in promoting vision awareness. Internationally, Lions Clubs have put together funding for medical vehicles to cure River Blindness, which comes from bathing in dirty water. We’ve cured many people with the disease.” Vision is an important aspect of Lions clubs throughout the world because of a mission from Helen Keller. According to a handout on the history of the Lions Club, in 1915, at an international convention in Cedar Point, Ohio, Helen Keller charged Lions with becoming “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.” It’s because of this mission that Lions clubs everywhere work to help those with vision impairments. One of the most recent efforts by the Lions club in Springfield to raise vision awareness is the sight camera, Creigh said. “The sight camera takes pictures of people’s eyes and can give a person a vision diagnosis,” he said. “We’ve [the Lions Club] been taking the camera into local schools and it’s helped to diagnose students that may have not otherwise been aware of a vision impairment.” Creigh said that the sight camera has already made its way through all the Springfield schools, but that the Lions club will promote the camera in Weathersfield and other surrounding areas as well. “Word got out about it, and it’s a very cool thing, especially because it’s helping the kids,” he said. “It’s a cool little gizmo.” The Springfield Lions Club has also started a new program for high school students called Speak Out. A high school student will come to a Lions Club meeting and speak for five to seven minutes about a topic that was picked for them. Creigh said that this is a new program that focuses on youth. “The Lions Club is involved in a lot of things,” he said. “Any money we raise, we put back into the community. Whether it’s to help support Meals on Wheels or the local boxing club, we like to serve the community. It’s easier to raise money and do more if you’re in a club because you can get efforts together.” Creigh said that anyone can join the Springfield Lions Club, and that both men and women are involved in the club. The first meeting of the month was held January 6 and the second meeting will be held Tuesday, January 20 at the Springfield VFW. - See more at: http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/sam-creigh-musician-and-lion-club-member#sthash.txy9d9Kj.dpuf