Let’s Tell Our Story!

For several years now -- Lions International has encouraged clubs to tell our story by encouraging us to no longer be the “best kept secret” in our communities. Lions across MD36 have headed the call. Striving to tell our story in many mediums, Lions have established Facebook and Instagram pages, updated websites and utilized local publications as a way of sharing our story.

By sharing service stories with our communities we increase our clubs’ visibility, inspire new members to join and bring new awareness of the people and causes we serve. When thinking about sharing a service story, please consider the following:

· Why does your story matter to your community? Did your club feed the hungry, care for the environment or help prevent diabetes? Are these causes important to your community?

· Which details best show your impact? Did your club serve 100 families, plant 100 trees or volunteer 100 hours?

· What headlines will get the most attention? Can you ask a question, make a promise or spark curiosity so the reader is drawn in to learn more?

Finnian, the tiger rockfish, is made entirely of plastic marine debris. A product of Washed Ashore, Art to Save the Sea, Finnian is designed by a lead artist and supported by dedicated staff and hundreds of volunteers who collect trash from the Oregon Coast. Finnian graces the back entrance to Old Town Bandon.

· Can a photo or photos enhance your story? – The quote, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is often true. Use photos to help tell your story. For example, if I tell you in Bandon, Oregon there’s a giant rockfish named Finnian made entirely of plastic marine debris or if I show you a picture of Finnian, which has the greater impact?

Let’s Celebrate!

Let’s Celebrate!

State conventions are always special but this one will be even more so as it’s our 100th annual convention! We will have many traditional activities along with some new, exciting additions. The convention will be held in Bandon on May 17th and 18th. Registration forms can be found on the MD36 website at www.md36lionsclubs.org. I hope to see you there!

Our convention committee is working very hard to make this a special event for all. I would like to share some of the convention highlights with you:

We welcome International Director Robert Lee (Bob) and his wife Pamela to convention. ID Bob is a civil engineer and licensed land surveyor. He has held many offices within our association. In addition, he has served as the host committee chairperson of the 2015 International Convention in Honolulu, past chairperson of the Lions Eye Bank of Hawaii and past president and trustee of the Hawaii Lions Foundation. It is special for me to have ID Bob as our guest as he and I were in the same District Governor training class with our our own PID Sunny Pulley as instructor!

New to convention is the Walk-a-Thon to help “kick” pediatric cancer. The walk can be done in segments or all at once. Proceeds from the walk will go to two pediatric cancer camps, Camp UKANDU and Camp Millennium, for scholarships for children whose families can’t afford to send them to camp. Registration for the walk can be found on the convention registration form.

Reminiscent of speakeasies of 100 years ago, the “Lions Speakeasy” will open at 8:00 pm on Thursday evening at the Bandon Community Center. For those of you arriving on Thursday, this gives you the opportunity to meet our international guests in an informal setting. Gather with Lions from around the state to renew friendships and make new friends at the ”Lions Speak Easy”. Feel free to dress in the attire of the era if you so desire.

At convention, we would like to celebrate our Multiple District through a slideshow featuring all clubs in MD-36, but we need your help to make this happen. Springfield Lion Henry Miller has volunteered to compile this slideshow for us. Please e-mail Lion Henry two to four pictures of your club participating in service or fundraising projects and one group photo of your club. Henry will need these photos by April 15th. His email is: papa1henry@aol.com.

And speaking of photos, don’t forget the MD36 Nature Photo Contest. Send your favorite nature photos to md36photos@gmail.com. You may send up to four photos. The top five photos will be selected by an independent panel of photographers. Then, at convention, attendees will select the contest winner from the top five photos. Send your entries by April 15th.

Let’s share new ideas with each other both through convention presentations and through informal discussion! Let’s make new friends and renew old friendships! Let’s walk to “kick” pediatric cancer! Let’s showcase the amazing work our clubs do and the beauty of our state! Let’s Celebrate Us!

If you have questions about convention, please do not hesitate to contact any of the following:

Convention Chairperson Bob Chaney - dcmail@dcmail.info or 541-817-2018 Council Chairperson Phyllis Carlin - pascarlin@gmail.com or 541-604-4816

I look forward to seeing you in Bandon in May!