Change Is Inevitable

Lion Magazine - March 2021

     Lions, if you have not already done so, be sure you take a look at the Winter 2021 issue of your Lion magazine. Starting on page 24 is the story entitled “From the ashes the Paradise Host Lions Club rises yet again.” It is well worth reading for several reasons, not the least of which is what the California Lions Foundation and one club accomplished for disaster relief and recovery. There are several lessons to be learned here, starting with disaster education, training, and preparation. For example, do you have a “go bag” ready in case of emergency? Are you ready to support yourself for at least a week without outside help? Has your club participated in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training? Just ask Lion Sharon Thornberry, The Dalles Lions, about the importance to you, your family and neighbors and your community of CERT training when emergencies happen. And by then it is too late to get ready. Does MD36 need this kind of capability for disaster response? The issue is being discussed now within the Council of Governors.

     The Lions calendar continues to turn. It is now time to be looking for and recruiting the Lions who will lead us into the coming year. Whether at the club, district or state level, new faces, new perceptions, new ways of doing things are desperately needed if Lions are to remain viable.  To be blunt, if nothing changes – including leadership, then your club is in trouble. Change is inevitable. We have several long-term clubs in our district which are literally dying because unfortunately they didn’t or couldn’t embrace and adopt to change. Imagine your community without your Lions club. Is that what you really want? Screw up your courage and step forward. Tell people you want an opportunity to learn leadership skills and make your club and community a better place to live. If asked to serve in a position, don’t automatically say “no.” Try “yes” instead, you’ll be glad you did and so will all Lions. With this in mind, nominations for District positions are being sought by the Nominations Committee, PDGs Gary Mose, Judith Poage, and Phyllis Carlin. We need 1st and 2nd Vice District Governor nominees and Zone Chairs. Contact the Nominations Committee and volunteer!

     Get your COVID vaccinations as soon as you can! Wear your facemasks to show your respect for others as well as protecting yourself! Even with vaccinations, COVID and its mutations aren’t going away. Ever. This isn’t political, it’s health and safety.  Around this District I unfortunately encounter people who don’t wear masks. I (masked) recently went into a café in a small town where no one was masked. “We don’t worry about that here,” the waitress said. Me? Yes, I have “underlying health conditions” and no, I’m not going back - ever - to a place that doesn’t respect my health and safety. Talk about a sure way to continue the incidence of this deadly disease and slow the reopening of our schools and economy. Real Lions wear masks and wash their hands frequently. [End rant.]

The Future of Lions Is in Your Hands

Lion Magazine - February 2021

     Lions, have you reached terminal empathy? So far 2021 doesn’t feel any different from 2020, but with vaccines (COVID and flu) coming out there is hope for a new normal.  In the meantime, I encourage everyone to wear their masks, wash their hands, socially distance, etc.

     I want to recognize some of the accomplishments of a few clubs that have been active despite COVID.

·         Baker City Lions: Re-rocked and de-brushed a city parkway, lighted the Lions shelter in the city park for Christmas, rang the bell for the Salvation Army, and successfully applied for a $5K grant.

·         The Dalles Lions: Obtained over $32K in grants for Sirosis Park, S&H, and diabetes, conduct club meeting via Zoom with 25-30 regular attendance, food drive for ELFF (Everyone Loves a Fire Fighter,) rang the Salvation Army bell, helped at the Reverse Starlight Parade, and worked to help start a new Lions club in Nigeria

·         Pendleton Lions: Held successful can and bottle drive, See’s Candy sale to benefit Blue Mtn. Community College, held regular Zoom club meetings with 15-20 attendees, rang bell for Salvation Army, donated trees to city park, and much more

·         Elgin Lions: Christmas Light Parade with community tree lighting and caroling, highway cleanup, and vision screening of Imbler School students

·         Halfway Lions: Held a highly successful community pie bake and sale event; the pie was so good one person reported getting up in the middle of the night to have another piece

·         Sisters: Lions have been invited to participate in developing the Sisters 20-year Comprehensive Plan, maintaining the school’s greenhouse, Sight & Hearing of course, and scholarships

·         Hermiston: Sold Mo’s Clam Chowder, poinsettias, provided vision assistance

·         La Pine: Can and bottle drive, delivered 5 trailers of relief materials to wildfire survivors, helped with COVID compliance at three grocery stores, and supported many community Christmas programs.

     A new year also brings into focus the Lions election cycle for officers.  We have a major problem in our Districts: there is little change in our officer positions, some individuals have held the same position for years. Not that current leaders aren’t doing a good job, but by staying in position year after year they are denying other Lions the opportunity to learn and experience leadership. This also means that clubs also don’t have the opportunity to change and grow as well. The overall effect is stagnation – and a decline in the vibrant activism and service for which Lions have traditionally been known. We urgently need club presidents to find and recruit their replacements, and to move up to become Zone Chairs and other district level positions, even 1st and 2nd Vice District Governors.  This year many district positions were not filled because Lions with the necessary prior experience were not stepping up. Club and leadership stagnation lead to a lack of interest in Lions and no new members joining, or members leaving and a resultant decline in Lions. Imagine your community without a Lions club. Is that what you want? So put your Nominations Committee to work to identify Lions who are potential leaders this year and in the future; work to help them prepare, and support and encourage them in their office. The future of Lions is in your hands.

Getting Excited About This New Format

     According to the news, the election is finally over and a COVID vaccine is on the way. Hip, hip, hooray! When available, although this may be several months yet, I encourage all Lions to get vaccinated to do their part in slowing the pandemic and protecting themselves. I do not expect that we will go back to the old normal – ever. But the new normal will allow for more personal interaction than we currently enjoy. Who knows, I may even be able to get out and start visiting clubs once winter starts to let up. By the way, even the forecast for winter is for more bad weather than usual. 2020 just keeps on giving, now doesn’t it?

     Planning is well underway for a virtual District 36G Convention. It will be entirely online, including registration (including raffle tickets), the convention itself, voting, exhibits, and more. I am getting excited about this new format and I firmly believe we will present to you an interesting, engaging, and even fun convention. We have a first-rate roster of presenters and programs including International Director Larry Edwards, from Pennsylvania, and local and regional figures of interest. Some of the topics will include disaster relief and recovery, health issues like diabetes and Parkinson’s, grant writing and 501(c)(3) foundations, the OLSHF and much more.

     For some Lions, an online convention may not be the best news, but consider this. You will not have to drive for miles and hours, get a hotel room and sleep in a strange bed, and eat expensive restaurant food. Instead for a mere $25.00 (including raffle tickets) you can enjoy interesting, engaging and even fun presentations from the comfort of your own home. Now is that not that worth giving online meetings a try? It is easy to do and you will not regret missing the convention. There will be more convention news in this January issue and in the February issue of the Oregon Lion.

     For the convention we are working to build awareness of each club in the district. Each club president has been asked to personally or with a team from their club to develop a short 3-5 minute presentation about themselves, their club, what their club has accomplished this past year, and conclude with a pledge to the OLSHF in lieu of the traditional Parade of Checks. This must ultimately be a visual presentation, but it can be video, PowerPoint, a slideshow, or some other means, but does need to have sound such as someone explaining what is being shown on the screen and making the actual OLSHF pledge. Of course, the club should really follow up their pledge with a check to the Foundation! Doug Thompson will thank you for doing so. Doug Thompson and the Foundation are offering a presentation on how to do this. I’ll let you know when it is available to watch.

     I hope that Lions everywhere enjoyed their Holidays and the people we serve. May all your wishes come true and the New Year bring you peace, health, and happiness to you and yours.

A Virtual Convention It Will Be

     COVID strikes again! A District Convention is an exercise in long-range planning and preparation and I am determined that 36-G will have a convention in 2021! Our convention is scheduled for March 6, 2021. The Convention Committee had planned on holding the get-together at Wildhorse Casino. But as Umatilla County remains one of the COVID hotspots in Oregon, Wildhorse cannot commit to large meetings where social distancing would be difficult. An informal poll of Lions in the district revealed a near 100% reluctance if not refusal to attend an in-person convention. So, a virtual convention it will be. Our International Director guest, Larry Edwards, who hails from Altoona, PA, is fully on board with a virtual convention.

     Spoiler Alert! The change to a virtual format means that other things will also change. Registration, voting and payments will all be handled online. So too will be the display of raffle baskets and Photo and Peace Poster contest entries. We plan a mix of live and recorded highly interesting presentations for you to pick and choose amongst. But the really good news is that we anticipate we will need to only charge a very modest fee to cover our reduced expenses and you won’t incur expenses for travel, hotel, and eating.

     I want to recognize the following brave pioneers of the virtual convention format (in no particular order): Lions Janet Stafford, Elgin; Timothy McGlothlin, The Dalles; 1VDG Kathy Oliver, Elgin; Charles Clupny, Hermiston; Sherri Sievert and Risa Riggen, Pendleton; PDG Phyllis Carlin, Crooked River Ranch; Sue Mose, La Pine; Ruth De LaRosa, The Dalles; Joan Oliver, Elgin; and Cheri Jackson, Weston-McEwen. We will be adding others to the team over the next month or two. If you would like to get involved, please contact me.

     LCI has just released the Charter Monarch and Monarch Chevron Awards for our district. Monarch Awards recognize every 5 years of service in Lions. I want to take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate the following Lions for their service. All told, there are 94 Lions on this “Honors List.” Those with 40+ years include the following Monarch Lions:

PCC Rodney Schossow, Bend/Sunrise 40 years

Cindy Winfield, Hood River – 45 years

James Zatica*, Jordan Valley – 50 years

Marvin Haylett*, Jordan Valley – 50 years

Bryan G Branstetter, Pendleton – 50 years

James Wilcox, The Dalles – 40 years

Richard Lafever, The Dalles – 40 years

Ronald McHale, The Dalles - 40 years

Russel Paddock*, Hood River Eye Openers – 45 years

Trudy Tallman,  Hood River Eye Openers – 45 years

PDG Thomas Bessonette*, Crooked River Ranch – 70 years

*Indicates Charter Members

     There were 94 District 36-G Lions on this year’s list, representing 1,875 years of service to their communities.  To all those I didn’t name, just stick around a few more years! LCI has provided chevron pins to add to your LCI pin. Because clubs are not meeting in person, if at all because of COVID, I will mail the award letters and chevrons to club presidents to present in my absence.

Dare To Do The Right Thing

36-G Lions are responding to the challenges and changes brought about by floods, fires, and COVID-19 by finding new and innovative ways to support the needs of their communities.

·         Lions Charlene Larsen and I continue to participate in the Blue Mountain Long Term Recovery Group and Unmet Needs Table assisting the survivors of the February 2020 flooding that hit Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Columbia Counties. This expected to be ongoing for 7 years!

·         FEMA estimates the duration of relief and recovery work as follows:

·         ~10 X the number of days an event lasted, start to end, = the amount of relief time

·         Number of relief days X 10 = days needed for recovery

·         For example, Beachie Creek fire starting with the wind event is now 30+ days X 10 = 300+ days for relief

·         10 X 300 = 3000 days or 8.2 years for recovery

·         There will be many opportunities for Lions to become involved in Long Term Recovery Groups in their area. I encourage you to do so, it can be very rewarding and informative.

·         Pendleton Lions have applied for grants and received $3,500 from the Walla Walla Community Foundation, and $8,000 from Round-Up Cares. The club is also finishing a can and bottle drive expected to raise close to $10,000!

·         I want to remind readers that our district received a $10,000 grant from LCIF for COVID relief, and to encourage clubs and Lions to make donations to LCIF for disaster relief.

·         The Dalles Lions have been hard at work restoring features in Sirosis Park, where they have been meeting this summer outdoors. Nice work, Lions! Lion Timothy McGlothlin is also starting an International Forum of Lions to discuss issues of mutual interest. This looks to be highly interesting!

·         Elgin Lions piloted new COVID-safe vision testing in the local schools, and found it faster, easier, and fun. The club also planted trees for the school for community beautification and conducted a highway cleanup. President and 1VDG Kathy Oliver stated the activity went “real well” and “There was a lot of trash!” Kathy said Lions need to be out in the community showing people that we Lions are still active.

·         Crooked River Ranch Lions held their annual “Limb Dump” which allows locals to clean up potential fire hazards for fire mitigation. In winter the Lions and local fire department host a Burn to Learn session during which fire fighters get to practice on a large fire. President Kristie Peterson said the fire is always too big and hot to cook wieners and marshmallows on a stick. What a wasted opportunity we say.

Lions, dare to do the right thing! Keep your cool, wear a mask, wash your hands, and socially distance but reach out to your club members. Membership retention being what it is we cannot afford to lose a single Lion to COVID, especially you or me!

How can a club meet the challenge of change?

     I move that we reboot 2020 and start over again at 01/01/2020. Do I have a second? How about an Amen?

     Who would not like a do-over for this year? But there have been some very positive things happening because of COVID. For starters, the availability of PPE, masks, and cleaning supplies is getting better all the time. There are some neat and innovative masks available; I have three with Lions faces on them. Lions are learning how to continue to serve our communities albeit under trying circumstances, discovering new projects and new skills; meeting in new ways, and confronting and dealing with (gasp!) change!

     For many of us, we and our clubs have run for years on inertia and tradition. Ask yourself when your club last started a new project or fundraiser or when did you last elect a new slate of club officers? If you cannot remember the “whens,” then it is time to do something to refresh your club. The old traditional activities are fine, but honestly, do they seem more like work or fun? How about dull and routine or exciting and engaging? Are they helping to recruit new members or scaring them away? Do they attract the same level of public engagement they used to or is interest and attendance dropping off? Is your club dynamic or static? Is the public taking your club for granted?

     How can a club meet the challenge of change? Check the resources on MyLCI: https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/resources-for-members/resource-center

     NAMI (North American Membership Initiative) PDG Gary Mose and I are putting together training to be presented at Cabinet, Zone, and club meetings. NAMI is the LCI campaign to reverse years of declining Lions membership. The latest Lion Magazine has a great article about NAMI. Be sure you read it.

     Reporting via MyLion. I look at LCI reports of 36G club activities and, believe it or not, it appears that some clubs are doing little, even before COVID. The problem is not inactivity; it is not following the old adage “the job’s not done until the paperwork is done.” Lions do the paperwork online on MyLion. LCI depends on these numbers to apply for grants from big foundations, organizations that want proof that the money they give to Lions is being well managed and spent. Please do your part and report all activities, projects, fundraisers, Lion, and volunteer hours worked and the number of people served. It is critical information and it is often missing. Report your club’s foundation work too if you have a 501(c)(3).

     Stay healthy, wear a mask, wash your hands, and respect others.

John Taylor, 36-G District Governor

Reach Out To The Members Of Your Club

As I write this, the topic on everyone’s mind is the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and all the trouble and disruption it has caused. Umatilla County has reverted to Baseline after a failed reopening. Despite this, Lions can and must carry on with our charitable work.

To this end we must learn to meet safely and as the Brits say, carry on. (Vultures simply say carrion and leave it at that.) How can we carry on? There are several encouraging things I am seeing in District 36-G.

1. An increasing use of Zoom to meet, plan and implement club activities. I am reaching out to club presidents to see where, when and how their clubs are now meeting so I can arrange visitations in person or by Zoom.

2. A few clubs like Arlington are experimenting with meeting in person where there is sufficient space to socially distance from each other, wearing appropriate PPE. The Dalles is experimenting with hybrid meetings, with some members online and others in person, socially distanced and masked, in a shelter at Sorosis Park. I thank Lion Tim McGlothlin for inviting me to attend via Zoom.

3. Don’t feel helpless. Use this opportunity to learn and innovate. Grow your club! Be open to new ideas, projects, and fundraisers. For how-to ideas watch programs at LCI’s Virtual Classroom site, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcUG6EBSsGpAw1xAc2FhDaw. This is a great place to go to for fundraising and project ideas and Lions training.

4. Reach out to the members of your club, especially those you haven’t had any contact with for some time. Invite them to a Zoom meeting if you are having them; offer to help them make the connection if they are unsure how to join by phone or computer. Keeping a member is easier than recruiting a new member.

5. As one positive example of coping with COVID, the Hermiston Lions have instituted a $10,000 grant program, awarding grants of $500 to $2,000 to help businesses and others survive COVID.

Leadership

• If you: have not already heard, Kathy Oliver has volunteered (Hot dang!) to become the 36G First Vice District Governor. My personal thanks and those of the district for stepping up. The wife of the infamous PDG Steve Oliver, Kathy is a Zone Chair and as President of the Elgin Lions Club she brings a depth of experience in Lions to the position that few can equal.

• PDG Gary Mose has graciously accepted the position of NAMI Champion, (North American Membership Initiative,) a title and responsibility in keeping with his role as the District’s GMT (Global Membership Team) leader.

• There are important positions on the 36-G leadership team yet to be filled. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about how you could get involved.  We need someone for: 2nd Vice DG, Region 2 Zone 2 Chair, Constitution & Bylaws, GLT (Global Leadership Team,) GST (Global Service Team,) and Policy Manual.

• District 36-G Officer training, via Zoom, is being planned and will be announced shortly.

Stay Safe, Stay Well

July/August 2020

Any PDG will affirm that when they sit down to write their first column for the Oregon Lion it is with a certain feeling of amazement that it is they and not someone else doing the writing, as in “What the heck am I doing?” This year and my term as governor of 36-G (at 48,277 square miles the largest of Oregon’s four districts) is shaping up to be anything but traditional what with ongoing local flood relief efforts and the COVID-19 pandemic. I wish there was a different cliché besides “a new normal” but even with my divergent thinking I can’t come up with one. Expect us to do things differently so we (me AND you) do not contract or spread this deadly virus while we work to serve our communities yet trying to conserve our financial resources.

In coming issues of the Oregon Lion, I want to share my thoughts (although some less charitable acquaintances would say I should keep them to myself) regarding:

• Teleconferencing (i.e. Zoom, GoToMeeting) - How they can help Lions meet and conduct business safely and efficiently, without hours and miles of expensive and inconvenient travel.  Expect to see a lot of meetings (Cabinet, Zone, Committee, and some club visitations) handled this way.

• District Leadership including District, Zone, and Clubs - We urgently need a First and Second Vice District Governors, a GLT for Leadership Development, a GST for Service Programs as well as a couple of other positions if you want to step up and help.

• NAMI (North American Membership Initiative) - We need to retain our members, and adding new members and clubs.

• Diabetes Awareness -This is personal to me and one reason I’m in the COVID high-risk group.

• Oregon Lion Prepared / Alert (Disaster Planning and Relief) - Lions are woefully unprepared statewide, not just District 36-G. I am now serving on the Blue Mountain Region Long Term Recovery Group and Unmet Needs Roundtable, trying to help the survivors of the February floods while dealing with FEMA and other agencies.

• 36-G and MD36 Conventions – Hopefully, we will get to have them this year.

• Training – Utilizing LCI and District resources and Zoom, we will wherever possible bring pertinent, interesting, and informative training to YOU!

• Squirrels and nuts – There will be a lot of scurrying around.

Want to listen to some remarkably interesting LCI webinars on a variety of topics? Go to the LCI Virtual Events Center where you can register to participate in an upcoming event or watch a previously recorded event. You will be glad you did! https://lionsclubs.org/en/virtual-events-center  Speaking of squirrels – be sure you take a look at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg

Stay safe, stay well, and wash your hands frequently!

Together in Lionism, John Taylor 36-G District Governor