And a Happy New Year!
Hello my fellow Lions. Now that we have 2021 and the holidays in the rear view mirror I trust that everyone had a joyous holiday season and is reinvigorated to move forward with growing and strengthening our Lions family. If you will remember from the last two month’s articles that I have written about the three areas that we constantly talk about in Lionism; Leadership, Membership and Service. These areas of focus are ingrained in everything that we do just take a look at our Global Action Team. What are the three positions that we appoint? Global Leadership Team, Global Membership Team and Global Service Team. We appoint someone to each of these positions on a multiple district and a district level so I thought that with so much emphasis being placed on these areas maybe it would be interesting to explore each area as an acronym. This of course is my interpretation of each.
In November I discussed Leadership and in December we talked about Membership - so this time I have decided to take on Service.
S – Selflessness. This is defined as concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own. An example of this is a mother's devotion to her child causing her to always put the child's needs first, before her own. Devoted to others' welfare or interests and not one's own; unselfish; altruistic. Having, exhibiting or motivated by no concern for oneself but for others.
E – Empathy. This can be defined as the ability to sense other people's emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. This is very important. As Lions in our service projects we interact with the less fortunate on a regular basis and we need to be aware of and able to understand their situation and the emotions that come with it.
R – Respect. For success in any endeavor anywhere you must have respect. Respect for what you are doing and the respect of others for doing it. We use the term Respect for others a bit flippantly but it rings true. Lions Clubs over the years have earned the respect of their respective communities through the actions of their members and they continue to garner that respect.
V – Veracious. This can be defined as speaking or representing the truth. We must always in everything we do as Lions, be honest and truthful. Sometimes this truthfulness may not be what someone wants or expects to hear but as the old adage goes honesty is always the best policy.
I – Imaginative. Be imaginative. Use your imagination to create and reinvent things to fit the changing world about us. Think outside the proverbial box and remember just because we have done it a certain way for a hundred years doesn’t mean we have to do it that same way for the next 100.
C – Commitment. This is paramount to the success of any service. This is a promise or agreement to do something. If you say you are going to be there, be there. This also walks hand in hand with responsibility and integrity. If you don’t honor the commitments that you have made then your credibility is no longer valid and as Lions we must always strive to keep the highest credibility possible.
E – Enthusiasm. Strong excitement about something. A strong feeling of active interest in something that you like or enjoy. Basically have fun and enjoy whatever you are doing. Don’t make it look like a painstaking task to provide the service. Show those receiving the benefit of our selflessness, empathy, respect, veracious, imagination, commitment and enthusiasm that we are proud of and enjoy providing service to others.
Finally, I want to take a moment to remind Lions that we are renewing our Northwest Lions Leadership Institute this April 8-10, 2022, in Myrtle Creek so if you have ever wanted or even thought about attending this incredible learning opportunity the time is now. I have to tell on myself a little. For years my club tried to convince me to attend but I always told them that I didn’t need to because I already had all that knowledge and expertise. Finally, they convinced me to go and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. So much so that I am now an instructor at this conference and eager to provide leadership skills to others. So if you are interested let your club President or Secretary or your District Governor know.
Until next time and remember to continue to strive to Restore the Pride Through Service.
CC Bob Chaney