Lions club hosts students from near and far

Published 5:04 pm Monday, July 28, 2025

Kilgore Lions Club hosted a group of students from around the United States as they spend this week experiencing all that Kilgore and East Texas have to offer.

The Lions hosted a group of students from the American Exchange Project, serving them lunch and learning about their travels and experiences. The project sends students on free summer trips to different cities in the U.S. to learn more about sides of the American experience they might otherwise miss. Students from Kilgore travel to places including Minnesota, New York, Alaska and California and other students come to the City of Stars to learn about life the East Texas way. The Lions have hosted both groups this summer.

Calling the group of young students “our future leaders”, the club described the fun had by all at the meeting.

“We had the absolute pleasure hosting an incredible group of kids today, from far and wide, right here at the Kilgore Lions Club!!! It was truly heartwarming to provide some good old Kilgore hospitality and see so many bright, engaged young faces.”

“We thoroughly enjoyed meeting each and every one of you and learning about your journeys. Please know that our doors are always open, and we’d love for you to come back and visit us anytime! You are all destined for great things.”

Students pay no fees to participate in the program. To learn more about the American Exchange Project and how students can participate, visit www.americanexchangeproject.org.

The program has been using Kilgore’s unique appeal as a host city for several years. In 2021, David McCullough III, American Exchange Project executive director, spoke to KNH about the mission of the program he created.

“We, at AEP, have two objectives. The first is to preserve our democracy, especially at a time of great division. The second is to help develop our nation’s young people, to help them realize the country that they’re connected to, to learn more about the United States, not just from classroom lessons but from the places and people in it,” he said.

According to the American Exchange Project’s website, McCullough was first inspired to found the exchange program after making a trip of his own to different locations across the country.

“In the summer of 2016, David McCullough III traveled from his family home in a suburb of Boston to study the impact of poverty on education in three communities in Texas, South Dakota, and Ohio. He spent two months on the road, speaking to hundreds of people. When he asked what is the greatest issue facing children in their communities, many said, ‘Our kids are growing up in bubbles, and they don’t have an opportunity to get out, to learn, and to grow.’”