District 1A Governor Newsletter for the Month of February 2024 by Dr. Austin Prabhu

District Governor News District Governor News February 2024 By Tom Elsey Introduction I am writing part of this Governor Newsletter article on January 27, 2024, after attending and presenting at the Mid-Year Forum. There were three informative presentations given. I presented on Mission 1.5, CS Brenda Block presented on the Dues structure, PID Bob block gave a presentation on LCIF Grants and how to apply for them, PCC Gail Anton presented on Impromptu Speeches and PCC Steve Anton gave a presentation on Public Speaking. A big thanks to 1st VDG Brenda Stevens for all of the hard work that was done to plan and execute the Forum. Thanks to all the attendees for participating. By the time you read this newsletter, the registration form will be out on the district website for you to fill out and return to the district to reserve your spot at the 55th Annual District 1-A Convention. Let’s all look forward to “Celebrating the Service” we provide our communities and causes. There is still time if any club or group of clubs would like to reserve a hospitality suite to show off all those impressive service projects being done by the Lions of our great district. January Travel On January 15th, Barb and I attending the 15th Anniversary Charter Dinner for Chicago Windy City Lions Club. What a great time and I was able to present 9 Chevrons for 10- & 15-year Chevrons with five Page 1 Governor Newsletter

being Charter Chevrons. The Club Excellence Award was presented to the Club & Club President for their accomplishments during 2022023, IPDG Tony Zartler’s Year. We had the honor of having our International President, Dr. Patti Hill along with many other executives that were in town attend the meeting. Thanks to the Chicago Windy City Lions club for having a great night celebrating the 15 years of great service you have done around the world. I am sure you will continue to impress us with your great achievements. On January13, I attended the Holiday Party for the Chicago Ridge Lions Club. I had the honor of inducting a new lion into their club. Zone Chairperson Amanda Carding was the sponsor. They also earned the Club Excellence Award and IPDG Tony Zartler had the honor of presenting the award to Club President Bill Lammel and the club. Thanks to Chicago Ridge for having such a fun event. It was a great time for all. It is an honor to celebrate with the great clubs in our district. If you club would like to schedule a governor’s visit, please contact me to see if I have a specific date available on my schedule. If I do not have a date available, we can also offer the 1st or 2nd Vice District Governors as another choice. A form is available on the District website if you would like to I would like to thank the clubs that have paid their membership dues. The 2nd half International dues and District/State dues have been sent to all clubs. The DUES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PAID WITHIN 30 DAYS OF ISSUANCE. The treasurer of your club will be receiving the statements/bills in the mail (or Online if your club chose that option) All International Dues are available for review in MYLCI also. If you need help navigating MYLCI, please contact you zone chairperson for assistance. Since our Convention is fast approaching, make sure you pay all dues owed prior to the due date or your club will not be able to vote in the election at the convention. Our Cabinet Secretary Brenda Block will be sending all clubs all the information you will need to enable all clubs to vote. I hope to see everyone at our convention helping to celebrate our service achievements. Page 2 Governor Newsletter

Thanks for all the great service projects that your clubs are doing in your communities. Please post the service projects into the MYLION application so others see the wonderful work we do. Let’s “ROAR” LIONS. Raffle Tickets are available for purchase. Why not consider purchasing a ticket of two and have a chance at winning the top prize of $10,000. Do you feel lucky? If you need any tickets, please let us know and we will get them to you. Contact Reynel Espiritu 708-3697525 or Mike Weber 708-296-4439 for a ticket. Travels of the Governor/District Events February 2024 2-3 – Council of Governors Meeting, Embassy Suites, East Peoria, IL 5 – Stickney – Forest View Governors Night 8 – Thornton Lions Club Governor’s Night 10 – 3rd District Cabinet Meeting, 8:30am 11 – Chicago Rogers Park Governor’s Night, TBA, 1:00pm – 4:30pm 14 – Valentine’s Day 17 – Westchester Lions Club Winterfest 2024, Joe’s Saloon, W. 47th St, Brookfield, IL 7:30pm 19 – Convention Committee Meeting 28 – Zone Chairperson Zoom Meeting March 2024 5 – Westchester Lions Club Meeting 8-9 – District 1-F Convention Page 3 Governor Newsletter

14 – Governor’s Night – Multiple Clubs 22–24 - District 1-A Convention, Westin Chicago Northwest, Itasca, IL 27 – Zone Chairperson Zoom Meeting

District Goals It is always good to be able to review goals and programs for the coming year, so I am including some of the information I shared with you in prior articles this year! As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Mission 1.5 Mission 1.5 is the drive to reach 1.5 million members world-wide, so we can better meet the growing needs of our communities and serve more people than ever before. We have committed the next four years to reaching this historic Lions Clubs membership goal. Patti Hill’s Theme/Program President Hill’s programs and initiatives will focus on four key priorities for Lions International that are critical to our mission of service. 1. Creating a greener, cleaner environment 2. Sharing our stories with the world 3. Reaching our full potential as Lions and leaders 4. Supporting our global foundation, LCIF Changing the World Changing the world is a journey. There is no middle and no end. There is only a beginning—and it starts with us. It happens through the many small choices and acts of kindness we make every day. Together, the sum of our efforts makes the world a better place, one life, one relationship and one community at a time. Page 4 Governor Newsletter

President Hill’s programs and initiatives will focus on four key priorities for Lions International that are critical to our mission of service. 1 - Create a greener, cleaner environment Protecting and improving our environment is a fantastic way to engage with our communities. By helping to protect and restore our natural resources, we can change the world. Let’s act boldly and let us act now. 2 - Share your story with the world Developing great marketing skills can help you tell the world who you are and what you do. Social media and local media, and online and offline marketing give you new ways to tell your stories. Shine a light on your club and invite your community to be a part of the change as Lions and Leos. 3 - Reach your service potential People want to be a part of something that matters. So set service goals that push your capacity and create opportunities for even more impact with new members. Find ways to ensure your club is inclusive and welcoming to all. 4 - Empower even greater good Our foundation empowers us to do so much more than we can do alone. LCIF enables us to think big and undertake projects that can truly change the world. So, support LCIF, and let LCIF support you. BE THE CHANGE…….Believe in Yourself To change the world, we first must believe change is possible. Here are some key steps that can help you face the challenges ahead. Be brave.

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In the causes you tackle and in the work that you do, don’t shy away from something that may seem too difficult. You’re up to the task and other Lions are here to support you. So, take that bold first step. Invest in the future. We all have a reason to invest in the future, and young people may be uniquely positioned to help us create change. We are better able to deal with the issues facing our communities when they are at the table with us. Let’s invite the next generation of global leaders to serve with us as Lions. Collaborate. We do our best work as a team. Work with community leaders, other service organizations, and each other to address the biggest problems facing your communities. Collaboration makes change happen faster. Lead the way. Lions and Leos lead by example. We show the world what is possible when people care about their communities and when kindness is the goal. Lead the way, and others will join you. District Goals Recognition Program As part of the Build A Vision Session in February 2022, an important request of the participants was the need to consider implementing a recognition program within our district. It will include what types of achievements to consider for these awards, This will include such areas as individual and club, membership, service and leadership, and monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. This is in addition of the Club Excellence Award (19 awarded in 2021-2022, Gail Anton’s year) and in (2022-2023, Tony Zartler year had twelve clubs earning the Club Excellence Award ). It is a great program, and we need to continue encouraging program involvement by our clubs. If your club would like to consider trying to get the Club Excellence Award, please reach out to your Zone Chairperson. To qualify for the Club Excellence Award, clubs must meet specific requirements in four categories: Membership, Service, Leadership & Organizational Excellence, and Marketing. Page 6 Governor Newsletter

More information is located on the LCI Website: https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/resources-for-members/resourcecenter/club-excellence-awards Membership As I am writing this newsletter article, our District is +81 members in the current year. For the month of January 2024, District 1-A added 25 new members and dropped 56 members (2 were deaths) for a net decrease in our membership of 31. Let’s see what District 1-A can accomplish for the coming year. New Clubs Over the last five years, our district has averaged two new clubs per year and lost an average of one club A goal of three clubs is possible. GMA for Clubs Ready to move your club in a dynamic new direction using the Global Membership Approach? Then start planning for your success with the Global Membership Approach. This process can help you attract new members, overcome challenges, and develop new goals and strategies. The process is built on four steps designed to not only to grow your club, but also to inspire new ideas, engage your members — and improve retention — and empower current and potential club leaders. You can start by taking the Global Membership Approach Course as well as the SWOT Analysis Course available in Lions Learning Center. More information is available from the GAT Team and your Zone Chairpersons! Service This year’s goal is to increase the number of clubs reporting service in MyLion or the new software once available to 75% of our clubs. We are currently reporting service by 34% of our clubs. Two reasons this is so important to Lions. Reporting it on MyLion allows our International organization to create more accurate reports to share Page 7 Governor Newsletter

with our global partners that generously donate to LCIF funding and allow us to serve more people in need. When those partners don’t see everything, we do, it might limit the amount of money we can get. The second part of reporting service is to make sure we share it on social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, web pages and sharing our service projects with others in our communities hopefully will inspire others to join in our service endeavors. LCIF Our District has been generous to LCIF, and I am sure we will continue to do so. Now more than ever, the need for funding is necessary and will likely continue to increase. This year’s goal is to increase individual donations to LCIF by 25% and Club donations by 20%. Please consider attending the District 1-A Convention being held March 22, 2024 – MRCH 24, 2024. The Convention Committee is working hard to give you a great convention experience. Make sure that you thank them for all the hard work done to put on a great convention. We Serve! Stay safe, I am looking forward to seeing everyone during 2024.

Yours in Service, Tom Elsey 1-A District Governor

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GMA /GMT Coordinator: PID Dan O’Reilly February 1, 2024

Global Membership Approach February marked 31 consecutive months of positive membership for our District. We did lose another club this Month. Our District membership remains strong at a plus 80 as of December 30th. We are top in MD-1 in terms of growth and second in CA-1. We have 30 of our clubs’ adding members, This is up 50% from this time last year. 18 of those clubs have a plus in membership. We ask that you continue strengthen your clubs, enabling more hands to help serve those in need in your community. Replace your loss members with fresh energetic members who want to help your communities and continue to grow. Let’s all except the Mission 1.5

Challenge.

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New Club Development & Club Rebuilding Two clubs are in the rebuilding process and Guiding Lions are working hard to save those clubs. We are working with two separate areas to add clubs to our district currently and the GET has a third community in mind to bring a club back. As always, please contact out team if you have a group or area that you believe would continue to move our District forward in positive membership growth and more service to area underserved.

Join me and except the challenge of Mission 1.5

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MISSION 1.5 • A growing membership is vital to our clubs, our service, and our communities. Because the more we grow, the more we can give. • That’s why we’re launching MISSION 1.5. • MISSION 1.5 is our drive to reach 1.5 million members by 2027, so we can better meet the growing needs of our communities and serve more people than ever before. • It will require the commitment of every Lion to reach our MISSION 1.5 goal. • We need to grow our clubs. And start new ones. • So, I ask you to invite a new member. And ask the Lions in your club to invite a new member. • Help your club and district leaders implement their plans to grow. • Our communities are depending on us, so we need to make a real commitment to growing our membership. MISSION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------GST Coordinator: Lion Maryanne O’Reilly February 2024 Service opportunities surround caring Lions every day and the month of February offers service opportunities that meet the criteria of LCI Global Causes. Let’s focus our attention on some of the Awareness observance during the month of February. Awareness in February include American Heart Month, Black History Month, Low Vision Awareness Month, Cancer Prevention Awareness Month, Random Acts of Kindness Day/Week, Presidents Day as well as Groundhog Day, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, and Leap Year to name a few. Though Random Acts of Kindness should be enacted each day of the year, what Act of Kindness will you be caught doing the week of Page 11 Governor Newsletter

February 11 -17? Or will you plan a special Act of Kindness for Saturday, February 17? It’s not too late for your club to have a service project or two for Low Vision or Cancer prevention. Whatever your club decides please remember to report your service activities on MYLion. On behalf of Governor Tom and First Lady Lion Barb I would like to invite you to our District 1A Service Project on Saturday morning at the convention. Lions and guests will create hand sewn heart shaped pillows. Plan to join us as we create a little bit of Hope for those in need. Please see the convention registration form for participation sign-up. Thank you for reporting your club’s service activities in MyLion. Our Service reporting numbers are steadily increasing each month. Please remember to report the many wonderful acts of kindness and service that your club performs. “Celebrate Service” GST Lion Maryanne

Please report your service regularly and help surpass the District Goal of 75% of the clubs reporting… Page 12 Governor Newsletter

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PID Dan O’Reilly - LCIF Coordinator With our District 1-A Convention fast approaching, remember to get your Melvin Jones Fellow request in to LCIF. The turnaround time is running 4 – 6 weeks. The Melvin Jones recognitions will be presented at the Governor’s Banquet as usual. Please drop me a note that you have someone receiving one this year. New this year as shown below, the Presidential LCIF supporter pins. These will be repeated with the change of our International President each year. I have these available just let me know if you would like to get one.

✓ New and exciting replacement program of the Lions Share Pin Program ✓ New design of the Leo Share Supporter Pin ✓ Design of each program pin will change annually, with incoming IP.

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✓ Qualifying donation amounts are the same as the Lions Share Pin Program and Leo Share Supporter Program, outlined above. ✓ All-at-once qualifying donations must equal each pin level. To receive the entire set, minimum donation of $350 is needed. ✓ These beautiful pins must be requested at time of donation or thereafter. They will not be automatically fulfilled. ✓ Applicable forms (MJF Application, Single Donor Form, Multiple Donor Form) are currently being updated to reflect the new Program name and levels. I’m available if you would like me to come talk at one of your club or zone meetings about Lions Club International Foundation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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New Members in ARGO SUMMIT Lions Club: 4 TERRENCE JOHN LAUCIS JR ROZ MEMISHI SERGIO RODRIGUEZ WILLIAM TOULIOS New Members in BERWYN CENTENNIAL Lions Club: 3 MARTHA CITLALY GONZALEZ KARIN NANGREAVE CHELSEA M SMITH New Members in CHICAGO HEALTHCARE ALLIANCE Lions Club: 2 JASMIN ANDERSON KIRK ANDERSON New Members in CHICAGO HEIGHTS Lions Club: 3 NICHOLE CAGE CHANTILL FISHER GREER ALEXANDRA GUTIERREZ New Members in CHICAGO JOSE RIZAL Lions Club: 2 FRANCO FAIT FLORITA MONDOL New Members in CHICAGO NURSES FOR DIABETES Lions Club: 1 SHERI L BIANCHIN New Members in CHICAGO WEINDY CITY Lions Club: 7 ANNE MARIE GILMORE CARMELA ALONSO HAYDON ERIK STEFAN GILMORE CLIFF HUGH HEGAN Page 30 Governor Newsletter

RIDDHI JANI KUNAL KANWAR LISA ANNE MILLER New Members in WORTH Lions Club: 1 DENIS CHAPAN New Members in PALOS Lions Club: 2 ADAM T PACK LEIGH VERDINO Total New Members in the Month of EBRUARY: 25 --------------------------------------------------------------------------MD1 District Conventions (as of 9/30/23) 1-A March 22-24, 2024 Westin Chicago Northwest, Itasca IL 1-BK April 12-14 Holiday Inn, Bolingbrook, IL 1-CN October 27 – 28, 2023 St. Jacob Community/Activity Center, St. Jacob, Il. 1-CS April 13 Sparta Lions Club, Sparta IL 1-D March 22-23 Radison Hotel Rockford IL 1-F March 8-9, 2024 Embassy Suites, Deerfield, IL 1-G April 19-20, 2024 Best Western Premier, Alton, IL Page 31 Governor Newsletter

1-H April 12-13, 2024 Holiday Inn Rock Island IL 1-J April 5-6, 2024 Holiday Inn Carol Stream IL 1-M November 3-4, 2023 Holiday Inn, Champaign IL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is a link to our Spring Events Mailer that recently went out. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SPRING EVENTS MAILER Here is some quick information included in the link above: •

The Mobile Unit: Registration is Open! The Mobile Unit runs from

March 1st to October 31st. Please read the information enclosed to set up a successful screening event. •

•

Camp Lions: Registration opens February soon! Treat Night Registration is open NOW. Register to bring treats online. Sight and Sound Sweepstakes: First Early Bird Drawing is March 6th. Please help us reach our goal of 8,500 books sold. Bingo Bonanza event to Support Camp Lions. This event will be hosted by the St. Jacob Lions Club on Friday, March 15th. Doors open at 5pm. Please consider sponsoring this event. Page 32 Governor Newsletter

•

Diabetes Awareness begins in March. Please see the enclosed order form. Diabetic retinopathy, the most common form of diabetic eye disease, is the leading cause of blindness in adults age 20–74. Tootsie Pop Day: We have Tootsie Pops in house. Contact us to bring your Candy to your District Trustee at our upcoming Board Meeting, February 17th. Thank you, and please share this information with your fellow lions! Lions of Illinois Foundation 700 N Peace RD Ste B DeKalb, IL 60115 LIFoffice@lifnd.org (815) 756-5633 Fax: (815) 748-9087

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Foundation Sight and Sound Sweepstakes! Get ready for an adventure that combines the power of giving with the thrill of winning. This sweepstakes is not just an opportunity to win fantastic prizes; it's a chance to contribute to the Lions of Illinois Foundation's impactful work. Greetings Lions of District 1A:

We're thrilled to announce the annual Lions of Illinois

Before we dive into the details of the sweepstakes, let's take a moment to reflect on the Lions of Illinois Foundation's noble mission. As proud Lions, our

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Dear Volunteers, Page 36 Governor Newsletter

Thank you for your time and support at the Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Openings Eyes Medfest event on December 6th at the United Center. It was a great vision screening. In a short amount of time, we screened 101 athletes. We prescribed and provided 29 full-time prescription glasses and 6 sports goggles. We also referred 46 athletes for further optometric care. We had a wonderful 51 volunteer team Page 37 Governor Newsletter

that consisted of 28 optometry students and 12 optometrists from the Illinois College of Optometry and the Chicago College of Optometry, 6 Lions club members, 2 opticians and 2 general volunteers. We also want to recognize the continued volunteerism and financial support from Lions Clubs International Foundation, Safilo for donating the eyeglass frames, Essilor for donating the ophthalmic lenses, and Premier

Ophthalmic Services for providing optometric instruments used during the screening. I look forward to seeing you at the Medfest 2024 screening. Attached is a photo of our amazing volunteers. I hope to be able to get details out much sooner for the event so that you can invite other students, Lions, friends, and family to join us. Also, please note that my email has changed to Msigler@siglereyecare.com Respectfully, Melissa Sigler, OD Clinical Director of Chicago Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Opening Eyes Program

Lion Life Member Tim McCarthy on the left receives his Lions International Life Membership Credentials from Orland Park President Eric Vates at the Orland Park Lions Club Christmas Party this evening. Congratulations Lion Tim. -----------------------------------

Some of the members of the Orland Park Lions at their Christmas Party. -----------------------------------

Some of the Page 38 Governor Newsletter

speakers

with

Governor Tom Elsey at the District 1A Mid-Year Leadership Forum at the Oak Brook Recreation Center held on January 27, 2024, organized by First Vice District Governor Lion Brenda Stevens. Also, they honored Late PDG John Coleman for his guidance to grow their club as Chicago Ridge Lions Guiding Lion along with Lion Frank Kirar, 1A LIF Trustee. ----------------------------------Members who attended District 1A Mid-Year Leadership Forum 2024. ----------------------------------Chicago Ridge Lions inducted new members to be part of 1.5 challenge worldwide.