When The Rubber Hits The Road
“July/August News Article”
Starting a new job or role is always exciting and sometimes a little scary, because you never are sure what to expect or what is going to happen. It is the same in Lions. As a new club President, Secretary, District Governor or even the Council Chair, the beginning of a new year is always exciting.
Luckily for you, me, and the Lions of Multiple District 36, we have four new District Governors who are thoroughly trained (with the actual nuts & bolts of being the district leader, not just the theory) and excited about what the new Lions year will bring. District Governors Sharon, Greg, Bill and Bruce have all set goals and developed action plans for their year as District Governor. While each has a set of goals unique to their district, they broadly flow together, partly because of their training and partly because the needs of Lions are generally the same.
Each year as District Governors change, so do the district goals change, but there remains the need to concentrate on membership and training. This year, in addition, the emphasis will be on additional training for Zone Chairs (sometimes the almost forgotten, but important link in the leadership chain), and rebuilding those struggling clubs that want to be rebuilt.
Finding a way to strengthen the extension portion of membership is also a goal, maybe by recognizing an extension team in each district. To some extent, we lost the E in MERL (Membership, Extension, Retention and Leadership) when we changed to the GMT (Global Membership Team) and GLT (Global Leadership Team) reorganization. We need to bring that emphasis back so that new club development can continue.
Finally, past Council Chairs Rod Bach and David Rich have submitted a request for a $20,000 grant to Lions Clubs International to develop a state-wide projects-oriented program. The program is aimed at creating interest (with the help of social media) in Lions through community service projects that clubs could lead and support. Community volunteers would have an opportunity to help their community and learn about Lions at the same time. This is what we already do, but on a larger scale and with more diverse community projects.
Goals are great, but action happens when the rubber hits the road. Let’s lay a little rubber!