PDG Ralph Koller Brookfield-LaGrange Park Lions Club
It is with deep sadness and profound sense of loss to inform you of the passing of PDG Ralph Koller early this morning, Friday, March 26th. Lion Ralph is now united with Lion Millie who presided him in death, passing on February 27th after 63 years of marriage Please include the Koller family in your prayers, so they may find strength and comfort to carry on during these difficult times. PDG Ralph was a member of Brookfield-LaGrange Park Lions Club for over 37 years. 1 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
Serving on the District 1-A cabinet for 27 of those years. Including Zone Chairman 19931999, Region Chairman 1999-2001, Governor 2002-2003, LIF Trustee 2005-2009, CST 2008-2009
Eternal rest grant unto Lion Ralph's soul, O Lord and let the perpetual light shine upon him. May he Rest in Peace
A visitation and Lions Service was for PDG Ralph, along with a memorial service for Lion Millie was held on March 31st, 2021. at Hitzeman Funeral Home Memorial donations may be made to the Lions of Illinois Foundation in PDG Ralph Koller's name.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Greetings Lions and Leos of District 1-A I hope you are all doing well. I am glad to hear that some of our Lion members and their families have already received their Covid-19 vaccines. Brian and I cannot wait to get that one dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. I cannot beIieve Spring is finally here! March 21st was the first weekend of spring, and people were out jogging and walking just to get some fresh air. I cannot wait to start working on my flower garden and enjoy the outdoor activities with my grandchildren. District 1-A Updates: Even though we did not see each other in person due to ongoing concerns about the Covid-19 Pandemic, I hope that you enjoyed our first time ever Virtual District Convention held on March 20-21, 2021. 2 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
Our two days event was very well received. Everyone is still talking about it. To all our participants and Lions guests from around the globe who attended our District convention, thank you once again. A big shout out to our District Convention Chairperson PCC Steve Anton, Co-Chairs PCST and Dawn Grogan for providing the leadership necessary in preparation for this annual event. And to the Convention Committee and CST Andy Liamaga for their unending support. Special thanks to GST Lion Richard Castillo and GLT Lion Tom Elsey for helping on all the Technical issues along with the election runner and presentation of awards. I am so grateful to all of you for making our convention run smoothly. It truly was a fun event that we all can be proud of. It was an honor and pleasure to have the International guest speaker 3VP Dr. Patti Hill from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at our Virtual District Convention event. Thank you again for your inspirational message for all the Lions and including an inspiring message for Lions women in leadership roles. District 1-A Election 2021 My congratulations and best wishes for a great year to all the Elected Officers: District Governor Elect, Lion Gail Anton, Orland Park Lions Club First Vice District Governor Elect, Lion Tony Zartler, Worth Lions Club 3 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
Second Vice District Governor, Tom Elsey, Westchester Lions Club LIF Trustee, PDG Ralph Zarada, Rivers Grove Lions Club Voices Lions of 1-A Board of Directors : Lion Hina Trivedi, Chicago Indo-US Lions Club Lion Delly Villalon, Chicago Philippine Lions Club Lion Sharon Howerton, Chicago Uptown Lions Club Presidential Certificate Award LY 2020-2021 Here are the Lions who were recognized at the District Convention for the hard work and dedication this past year. The Int’l President’s Certificate of Appreciation is the 4th highest award given from Lions Club International President Dr. Jung-Yul Choi. 3VP Dr. Patti Hill and ID Bob Block has joined me in presenting the awards to our deserving Lions. 1. CST Lion Andy Liamaga, Chicago Fil-USA Lions Club 2. GST Lion Richard Castillo, Chicago Windy City Lions Club 3. PCC Lion Steve Anton, Orland Park Lions Club4. Lion Marilou Dangalan, Chicago Bayanihan-Sampaguita Lions Club Lions Clubs are striving to SERVE safely in their community in 2021. “Volunteerism is the answer to a calling. It is an inner drive to be part of something greater than yourself and thus bring something good to the world through gestures both great and small.” Even during the Covid crisis, Lions are finding ways to serve and 4 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
engage more members in their communities. A big shout out to all the Lions that have volunteered their time and have made an impact. A Saturday Service day for the Chicago Windy City Lions Club was held on March 13, 2021. Also, a total of over 2,300 healthcare products were collected from Lions Period Party held on March 8, 2021. The products will be distributed to one of their community partners - the Howard Brown Center - Broadway Youth Center. Congratulations to club President Lion Richard Castillo and to all the lion members for their successful event this year. A fun and fulfilling day from our awesome Lion Nurse volunteers on March 21, 2021. A special shout out to Lion Ann Teano, Club President of the Chicago Nurses for Diabetes LC, and Lion Marilou Dangalan, member of the Chicago Bayanihan Sampaguita LC. They were joined by their nurse colleagues from Philippine Nurses Association, administering Covid vaccines to the residents at the Kendall County Covid Vaccination Clinic last March 21, 2021. Volunteer Nurses are still needed to staff Covid vaccine clinics. If interested in volunteering please contact Diana Cafi at (630) 9261305 / (630) 613-7454 Email: dcafi@healthproinnovation.com A rewarding and fun Saturday for Chicago Bayanihan-Sampaguita, Ecuadorean and Chicago Filipino American Lions Clubs on March 27, 2021 from 9:00 am - 11:00 am. Thank you for volunteering at Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg, il. The meals you helped pack will feed numerous families around the world. Thus, helping to also feed their spirits and empower communities. The total number of meals packed by all the volunteers is as follows : Boxes packed: 86 Meals: 18,576. Cost: $4,458.24. 5 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
In Memoriam It is with great sadness to inform you of the passing of one of another great lions in DIstrict 1-A, PDG Ralph Koller, last Friday, March 26th. He is now joined with late Lion Millie. Please include the family in your prayers, so they may find the comfort and strength during these difficult times. Lion Ralph joined the Brookfield La Grange Lions in 1984. He served as District Governor in 2002-2003, LIF Trustee in 2005-2009 and CST in 2008-2009. He will be greatly missed. Many of you have commented that my year as Governor has gone extremely fast, and yes it has, it has been a lot of fun and has been extremely rewarding. Thank you for this opportunity to serve our District 1-A. Let us finish strong with lots of new members and more charter clubs before the end of the fiscal year. I am asking all the clubs to take advantage of the extended entrance fees waived from January 1 until June 30, 2021. Easter symbolizes a sense of joy, renewal, and new beginnings. As Lions, let us continue our dedication and commitment to our Lions motto: “We Serve” And by giving back to make a big impact. Wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Easter. Always stay safe and be well. Hope to see you all soon in person. Please note: The Governor has 3 more months to make a club visit (Zoom / person). Thanks for reading! Lion Marilyn Mclean District 1-A Governor GovMarilyn1a@gmail.com 6 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
Lions of District 1-A, I want to sincerely thank the Lions of District 1-A for electing me your Governor for the 2021-2022 year. It is indeed an honor to hold the position of Governor in the District where Lionism started. I take this position very seriously and will do whatever it takes to complete the job with your help. After all this is your District, I am only the caretaker. I am looking forward to continued success in the District with your help. Our current Governor is in the last quarter of her term and we as Lions need to help her by working with our clubs to save our members from possibly leaving our organization. I know my club has written letters and emails to all our members to inquire how they are doing, and how they are missed. Perhaps this is something
you might consider helping reduce the number of potentials dropped members. People are getting bored staying in and are starting to venture out. Maybe you have a neighbor or friend who is interested in joining your club. It is time to dig out your elevator cards. Every new member count, because it brings new life to our organization so that we do not become stagnant. You know the old saying, if you rest, you rust. I leave you with following quote from an Unknown author. “Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” See you in July! GG
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PS In last month’s Newsletter I disappointing). The winner of the asked that if you read the Amazon gift card was ZC Sandy newsletter, send me an email and Nedza. you would be placed in a raffle. I received 9 emails (very -Gail Anton -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DG Marilyn McLean Farewell Speech Well, this is it! 3 more months to go as your current Governor . As most of you are aware, due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, all the District Events that I had planned for the whole year had to be cancelled. As a result, I did not get the opportunity to meet and greet most of you in person. Thank God for our current technology - especially Zoom. I did get the opportunity to do New Officer Installations and Induction of New Members and did get to attended some of the Lions clubs meeting via Zoom. Considering the current environment, I was still able to keep myself remarkably busy almost every day. There were many times I was on two or more virtual calls on the same day and at the same time. The joy of having a computer, an iPad, and a cell phone. But, I had a great time representing our District as your Governor. I have no regrets. Being graced with the
responsibility of being your Governor, has provided me the experience of my life. I am so proud to have served MDI and to have represented the hardworking and engaged Lions and Leos from District 1-A. Again, thank you all for giving me this opportunity to serve you. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Lions family, and friends whose unending support has helped me reached some of my goals during this past 9 months. As you all know, I still have 3 more months to go, and I am reaching out to all of you to help our District end up with a positive membership growth before the end of this Lion year. I hope you will support me as I am crossing my fingers to also charter 2 New Clubs before the end of my term in office. A big shout out to all the clubs and
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members for their great community service in District 1-A. There so many people out there that need our help during this Covid crisis. Kudos to all the clubs who did a wonderful job and continued to serve their community safely. I would like to share some of the accomplishments from this past year. Please note, I could not have done all of this , without the unstinted support of our lions’ members, District GAT/NAMI Team and District Leadership Team. Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!!!! 1 Last year, we chartered 2 New Clubs. The first one was the Chicago Nurses for Diabetes. chartered on October 20, 2020. With the 25 new members. and the second was The Willow Spring Lioness Club, chartered on December 5, 2020. With the 22 new members. I am also Proud to acknowledge my daughter, Ellen McLean Haight, who is a registered nurse and a new charter member of the Chicago Nurses for diabetes and is the
Treasurer for the club. 2 District Service Projects Hunger Campaign is slated this year to help alleviate Hunger in the greater Chicago area. We have partnered with the GCFD to purchase 2 Chillers. The Pilot Grant application was already submitted to the LCIF for the $100K. So far our District has reached the goal of 90% of 75K to help with meals. Thank you to all that have donated online to the campaign. As you are aware, there is still time to contribute. 3 On October 27, we added 7 new Certified Guiding Lions. 4 Our new membership total to date is 133 members, our District goal was set at 144. Not bad considering the challenging times we face again, there is still more time to help with the addition of new members. 5 Our women membership has increase from 38% to 39% a 1% increase but we weren’t done yet. 6 This Fiscal year, District Service Metrics: 18,789 People Served, 4,338 Volunteer Hours, 30%
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Clubs Reporting - 5% increase. 7 LCIF Campaign 100 - total donations to the foundation is $21,988.34. Again, I’m asking our district to continue to support our LCIF Campaign 100 and join in the fun of the “Let’s make a difference” fundraising event, which is run by IPDG Joni McMillan. To our elected officers, my congratulations to LIF Trustee Elect PDG Ralph Zarada, and District 1-A Voices Director Elect Hina Trivedi, Dely Villalon, and Sharon Howerton. To our District 1-A Officers, I would like to extend my congratulations and best wishes to DGE Gail Anton, from Orland Park LC. I am proud of your accomplishments and look forward to your leadership moving forward. I could see that you are now ready to lead our District and I am confident you will do a great job . My congratulations also to FVDGE Tony Zartler, from Worth LC, and SVDGE Tom Elsey, from Westchester LC. I am confident that moving forward you will provide the needed leadership for the District and at the same time incorporating a positive
atmosphere of FUN as you conduct Lion business. I just want to let you know that I will always be here to give my full support. I also want to thank my partner in service, Lion Brian and my family for their love and support during this busy time. Thank you once again to our International guest speaker 3VP Dr. Patti Hill for being with us this weekend and for gracing our convention. I hope you had a great time with us. This past week, Lion Brian and I had the opportunity to participate in a promotional video taping for the upcoming Lions Club International Convention 2021. Keep your eyes peeled for the Videos. I promise that they will be both entertaining and informative in the comfort of your home. Keep in mind, this will also be the beginning of a new and promising acting career for both Brian and me. Well, at least one of us has potential….we will not say which one. It is hard to imagine that it has been over a year since the beginning of the Covid lockdown. Even though
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we were all sheltered in place, it did not stop us from being more innovative, creative, and forced us to thinking outside the box. Think about it, this is the first time in the history of our District that we had a virtual convention. It will also be a first for the MD1 and International Convention as well - following in our footsteps. So, Lions of District 1-A, I ask you, have you registered yet?
Montreal, Canada. Hope to see all of you there! Thank you once again for sharing your time this weekend and I hope you had a great time. See you all next, year, hopefully in person. I would like to conclude and ask to please continue to share your love and spread kindness through diversity to make our world a better place. Thank you. “It’s great to be a Lion.”
Lion Marilyn McLean Keep an eye out for the upcoming District 1- Governor Virtual International Convention in 2020-2021 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I am Tony Zartler, I VDG Elect of District 1A. I would like to congratulate all the lions those were elected to office today. I would like to thank Governor Marilyn for her past year of leadershi. She has had a year like no other.
I have been a member of theh Worth Lions for 20 years. I take pleasure in helping my community and assisting people those who are in need. I look forward to working with Governor Elect Gail Anton. Lion Gail has been working hard this past year to plan for upcoming year. Under her leadership the newly
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elected board will continue to work and dedication to make this virtual convention a grand success.
meet in person soon and be able to continue our service projects in their communities.
I look forward to the new lions’ year. Hopefully, the clubs will be able to
Thank you for your confidence in me.
Chairman PCC Steve, Governor Marilyn, International Guest Dr. Hill, Distinguished Lions and Guests, Good afternoon.
appreciate the opportunity to work with her as the Region 4 FrChairperson and the GLT Coordinator for District 1-A in attempting to reach her goals during the trying time of the pandemic.
Thank you for your support and vote of confidence in electing me to the office of 2nd Vice District Governor for the year 2021-2022. I am looking forward to learning and working with 1st Vice District Governor Tony Zartler and District Governor Gail Anton this coming year. I hope to be able to contribute to DG Gail’s goals for the coming year. Thanks also goes out to District Governor Marilyn McLean for her support and leadership this year, I
A big thanks also goes out to PID Daniel O’Reilly, GMT Coordinator and Lion Richard Castillo, GST Coordinator, it was a pleasure to work with them on the GAT Team this year. Last but not least, I would like to thank my club, the Westchester lions club for supporting me as I move up the District 1-A Leadership ladder.
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Thanks again to all the Lions in District 1-A for your support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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From your Global Action Team
Global Membership Team Coordinator News By GMT Coordinator Daniel O’Reilly
Membership With are membership continuing to be vaccinated and in-person meetings starting again. Whether it’s bringing in new members or reaching out to the dropped members. Take advantage of the LCI Board extended waiver of the entrance and charter fee from January 1 through June 30, 2021. We can finish our year strong and be ready for the new Lion Year. North American Membership Initiative In CA 1, our constitutional area is showing our 1st positive month this Lion year. Our District reflects CA 1 losses for the year. We are down about 3%, CA 1 shows 2.97% for the year. Governor’s Goals
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New Club Development We will continue our efforts in the “West Loop Lions Club” which has generated some genuine interest from the residents and local businesses alike. As the city begins to open back up, we will continue are extension plans there. As of yesterday, they put any more easing of restrictions on hold. Membership Satisfaction – Leadership Support The pandemic has taken its toll on 2 more clubs, plans of turning their charters in this year. Our GMT will work in those two areas to save the Charters, by restarting a club within a year from the Charters being turned in. Working with the numerous clubs are attempt is saving three hundred fifty years of service to their communities and our District. We are working in the Jefferson Park area at this time, if might know of any friends in this area who might want to be part of this rebuild, please forward me their information. If your club is heading in this direction, do not hesitate to ask for help, we have Lions willing to help! Global Leadership Team Coordinator News By GLT Coordinator Thomas Elsey
New Member Orientation Training The April New Member Orientation Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 6:30pm Sign Up Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpdeuspj0uHNf52Si9JQm 4XWYal66jQbpd While the training is designed for new lions and their sponsor/mentors, all interested Lions are invited to attend a session. The anticipated time 15 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
needed for the training is 1 ½ hours. A Q&A session at the end of the training will be held. Our May New Member Orientation will be held on Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 6:30pm. Please think about attending this valuable orientation to Lions. Sign Up Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYocOqpj4jHNHj3C6xh05g_r4o5U_Cmtpp
Guiding Lion Program If you are interested in becoming a Guiding Lion and were not able to attend the last training, please contact me at thomas.elsey@gmail.com. Public Speaking Skills Development • Third Session – Presenting/Delivering your Speech (Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021) ▪ Further Development of Speech Content ▪ Delivering the Speech • Fourth and On-Going Meetings, Training and Feedback for Improving Public Speaking Skills o Practicing Different Types of Speeches • Potential Groupings for Public Speaking Competitions Global Service Team Coordinator News By GST Coordinator Richard Castillo
Update on the Greater Chicago Food Depository Virtual Campaign/Service Project Thank you to those who attended the Virtual District 1A convention this past weekend and donated right after Greater Chicago Food Depository. We went from 90% to 92% a 2% increase! But we still need your help to raise the remaining $1,812.10 for the $25,000 goal amount for our grant match. 16 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
For the 51 other clubs in District 1A, you still have time to help support by either making donation to our District 1A Lions Club-Campaign: https://www.myfooddrive.org/drive.php?4afd015224 page on the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) website. If your club does not have a club debit card, you can still participate; our partners from Greater Chicago Food Depository are accepting checks that can go towards our virtual campaign. I have provided a point of contact below where checks can be mailed, along with indicating District 1A's virtual campaign and their specific team (The Name of your Club). They will add your donations to the system, so they appear on our district campaign page on the Greater Chicago Food Depository website. If your club is planning on sending in a check, please reach out to me, your GST Coordinator Richard Castillo at LionRichardc@gmail.com so that I can ensure your donation gets counted to our overall total. Mail to: Nicole Ramos Greater Chicago Food Depository 4100 West Ann Lurie Place, Chicago, IL 60632 17 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
Please indicate which Virtual Food Drive: 1A Lions Clubs 2020 Campaign Team Name: (Your Club Name) Example: Chicago Windy City Lions Club We are asking you to please share our virtual campaign with your family and friends as well as your networks on Facebook. If you need assistance or would like to learn more about volunteer opportunities feel reach out to me directly. Service, Engagement, and Retention Webinar This past month I had asked Lion Andy to share an invitation to a webinar hosted by the North American Global Action Team - Re-motivate Members with New Fellowships and Exciting Service. They had Lions from different parts of North America who shared how they have Safely Served in their communities and districts. The webinar also shared more about engaging and communicating with Lions and provided a connection to tools to help Lions engage with their community, District, and Multiple districts. If you didn’t get a chance to see if please do check it out, here is the recording: https://vimeo.com/525197602 Handout they had shared: https://lionsclubs.box.com/s/f30y86nk8eqk8yg1u0mlzvpqh8qfe1z5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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WOW! WHAT A CONVENTION. I cannot help the superlatives. The MOST EXCITING, MOST PROFESSIONALLY RUN, MOST FUN Virtual Convention ever. CONGRATULATIONS GOVERNOR MARILYN and CONVENTION CHAIRMAN STEVE! It is impossible to believe this really was a first-time ever Virtual Convention. Chairman Steve deserves the credit for the smooth running of the event. Experience has taught him when in doubt … practice. When it was time to go live on the Convention Zoom, the VOICES of Lions 1-A Power Point ran perfectly due to the practice run through we did a few days earlier. Thank you, Chairman Steve, and the Convention Committee, & Lion Dawn Grogan. When VOICES of Lions 1-A was created, it’s founding Lions were determined that VOICES are not another burden on the backs of District Lions. When the District Cabinet voted to Transfer the administration of the local Open Areas from the Lions of Illinois Foundation to our District VOICES
of Lions 1-A foundation we accepted the challenge and did the District 1-A Lions, with their continuing support for Open Areas. The VOICES Saving Kids Sight screening program operates at no cost to District Lions. In today’s world there is so much competition for donor dollars. We all must make choices about where our dollars go. Even within our Lions community, we must make choices. What Lion would not be proud of our Lions Clubs International Foundation. LCIF has awarded over a Billion dollars in grants. Every Lion appreciates the work done by LCIF and we choose which programs Diabetes, Environment, Hunger, Pediatric Cancer, Hearing or Vision we support. In addition, we have our own Lions of Illinois Foundation, with all the wonderful programs Director Trish oversees, both my Club and I personally have supported some of these important programs. With limited resources we all must make choices. Today many organizations are building
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Small Donor Bases. When donating is made simple, easy, and safe making a small donation of $5, $10 or $25 becomes an impulse decision. In our annual VOICES report, I introduced our new PayPal Quick Response (QR) code. Use your smart phone to take a picture of our QR code and a link opens to the VOICES PayPal account portal. There you may choose to make an EASY, SAFE and SECURE donation to VOICES. This portal is perfect for a donners wanting to make a donation of $5, $10 or $25 dollars QR codes, are quickly becoming ubiquitous. They are seen everywhere these days from the sides of buses to our television screens. With your help in sharing our VOICES story and the PayPal
portal QR code we can build a Small dollar donor base to help us further our mission. Attached is our first effort to help promote our message it is called our Coffee Ad. Please share on your personal Facebook page and other Social Media and give our new PayPal portal a try yourself.
The VOICES Team, Robert Hoffmann, President -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feed my Starving Children Volunteers March 27, 2021 20 District 1A Governor’s Newsletter
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Chicago Nurses for Diabetes and BayanihanSampaguita LC Nurse Volunteers March 21, 2021
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Chicago Windy City LC- 2,300 Health Care products collected from Lions Period Party on March 8, 2021
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Lions Nurses volunteersadministering Covid-19 Vaccines-
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More than 100 participants took part in the virtual convention
ID Bob B lock introduced Iternational Guest Dr. Patti Hill.
District 1A held their Annual Convention on Zoom on March 20th and 21st. Above are II VDG Elect Tom Elsey, I VDG Elect Tony Zartler, Goveror Elect Gail Anton and current Governor Marilyn McLean.
Past International President Ashok Mehta passed away on March 18, 2021at his residence in Mumbai. May his soul rest in peace. Editor: Lion Dr. Austin Dsouza, PDG
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