Governors Newsletter May, 2016

May, 2016 Governors Monthly Newsletter.

District 1A, Lions Clubs International

GOVERNOR RALPH ZARADA SPEAKS: Fellow Lions: Because of your dedication to building new clubs, recruiting new members, and retaining our Lions, we are close to reaching the 100 member milestone. This was the goal I set as when I began my leadership year. And we are getting there. But the one thing that can prevent us from finishing the year above 100 lion member milestone is year-end drops.

That's why I am asking you as Lions to join me in a pledge and helping me finish the year above the 100 member mark. More members mean more service and more lives impacted, and each Lion plays a role in strengthening local communities and achieving our Centennial goal of 100 million lives served.

Now is the time to keep our momentum going so we can finish the year strong. Let's continue to focus on strengthening our clubs. Let's reach out to our members and encourage them to add new members while doing everything in their power to help reduce the member drops. And let's utilize our GMT and GLT Area Leaders in any way needed to support our efforts.

With your commitment to membership and club growth, I know we will achieve our goal of ending the year above 100 members. Reaching this milestone is critical to helping achieve our LCI Centennial goal of 1,425,311 members by the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, which would surpass our largest membership total ever and allow us to serve the communities we serve and millions more who need us.

Here is a story from the Lions Touchstone Series that I found on the LCI website that I thought was a nostalgic view of past fundraising. It talks about how successful Lions fundraising efforts have included pancake breakfasts and mop and broom sales.

Touchstone Story #25

Jim Ervin was just a few weeks into his career as a Lion in 1977 when fellow members of the Albany Lions Club in Georgia, USA, tapped him for an important job: selling brooms and mops to raise funds for the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation.

Selling items that people need, such as brooms, mops and light bulbs, not to mention items that people crave, such as mints and candy bars, has been a staple of Lions’ local fundraising efforts for decades.

“We'd go around knocking on doors,” recalled Ervin, who became international president in 1999.

“It was advertised through the radio and TV when the Lions were coming. So many people would wait until that time to buy their brooms and mops.”

“Like they say,” said Ervin, “where there's a need, there's a Lion.”

Community spirit flourishes as neighbors come together at Lions fundraisers from pancake breakfasts and barbecues to fish fries and sausage roasts. Some local Lions projects have developed into full-scale national programs that raise millions of dollars annually. Consider the humble fruitcake, which entrepreneurial Lions in Australia, Canada and South Africa have turned into gold.

Selling Lions fruitcakes during the Christmas season began in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1951.

Initially baked at home and sold to family, friends and neighbors, Canadian Lion fruitcakes are now produced by large commercial bakeries, packaged with holiday colors and the Lions emblem, and marketed over the Internet.

Starting in 1965 with the Lions Save-Sight Christmas Cake, Australia’s program has become a cherished holiday tradition. Under the direction of the National Cake Committee, the product line has expanded to include Christmas puddings, and annual sales have grown to more than 6 million Australian dollars.

From raffles to rubber duck races, Lions have also shown a flair for special events that bring communities together and keep the fun in fundraising. Lions held a benefit elephant soccer tournament in Nepal and dressed up as Smurfs— donning blue face paint and fuzzy blue coveralls— for a canoe race in Epping, New Hampshire, USA.

April shower bring May Flowers. For us as the Lions in Illinois, it time for the MD-1 State convention.

The Lions of Illinois are converging in Springfield for the annual event. First International President Lion Bob Corlew and his wife Diane will be joining us to kick off the upcoming 2017 Centennial Convention in Chicago. Lion Bob is the incoming President of our association. He will be formally elected in Fukuoka Japan. The MD-1 convention is a great event for Lions to network and exchange their experiences as Lions. Please come and join Lion Sue and me at the MD-1 Convention May 20th through May 22nd. Let’s show First Vice President Lion Bob our ROAR as we start the final year towards the Centennial Celebration convention that is being held in our District.

See you there, Lion Ralph Zarada, DG Editorial: NEW DISTRICT LEADERSHIP As always every year around this time changing of guards in lionism takes place around the world.

From International offices to club officers we elect new leaders to lead. New slogans, new ideas and new faces to lead lionism further.

In District 1A, DGE Ernie Lapid will take over the leadership from Governor Ralph Zarada for the next Lionistic Year – 2016-2017. He will be the governor in the Mother District of Lionism during Lions Centennial Celebrations in Chicago. He will be the second Filipino Governor in our District 1A

as Late PDG Reynaldo V. Pascua has decorated this position as Governor of District 1A in 1987-1988.

District 1A will hold it’s “Incoming Officers’ Briefing and Membership Rally” will be held on June 4, 2016 at the Willow Springs School, 8345 South Archer Avenue, Willow Springs. Event will start at 8:30 a.m. with continental breakfast and the session will start at 9:00 a.m. Registration deadline is May 27, 2016 to District GLT Chairperson Lion Janice Wiggins at LionJaniceWiggins@gmail.com .

There will be six sessions – 1 Presidents & Vice Presidents; 2 Secretaries; 3 Treasurers; 4 Directors; 5 Membership Chairs and 6 Tail Twisters. These sessions are very important to all club officers no matter how many times you were decorating that chair for your club as there will be more to learn and more to focus on especially when we celebrate LCI’s Centennial Celebrations right here in Chicago.

If any chance I get, I would also like to speak to the officers regarding our Centennial Celebrations as your District Centennial Coordinator. Many clubs in our district failed to report their service activities while reporting their membership numbers on MyLCI every month. This is extremely important as our supporters look at the numbers – how many people we serve and how many dollars we spend.

These activities and dollars report strengthen us further and make us one of the best service organizations in this beautiful world.

District 1A’s favorite Lion, Chancellor Bob Corlew will be our International President during forthcoming Lionistic Year. His theme for his term is – New Mountains to Climb. As we step up to the next 100 years, we have new mountains to climb, new targets to reach and new celebrations to celebrate.

I would like to have the names of all Club Centennial Celebration Coordinators – you can easily remember to nominate this position in your club by remembering CCCC. When you elect your club officers, do not forget CCCC. If you have already held your elections, appoint this position immediately and report to me ASAP. Let us make our District 1A proud with leadership, participation and celebration.

-Austin D’Souza, PDG, Your Editor MARCHING BANDS NEEDED:

Greetings 1A Readers, We have a very special celebration coming up; Lions will be celebrating 100 years of service to the world.

Part of this celebration will be our Convention in Chicago in the summer of 2017. Part of the convention will be a parade featuring Lions, Lioness and Leos from all over the world. What makes a parade? Marching bands, not one or two but many.

My task is to acquire marching bands.

Our committee is concentrating on Chicago area but not limiting it to any border. We have sent out numerous emails and are starting to make phone calls. We have some response but not where we would like to be at this point. I am reaching out to you to see if you have any contacts or know of someone who has to help get the word out. My info is below and thank you for any help you can provide.

-Lion Jim Kiser Marching Band Acquisition Chair Lions International Parade 2017 533 73rd St Darien, IL 60561 630-660-7944 lionjimkiser@sisna.com

PDG King Pye from District 1A passed away on April 8, 2016 at the age of 86. He was the governor of 1A in 1991-1992 lionistic year.

He had a wonderful life. He was born on October 19, 1929 in Greenville, Mississippi. He was the fifth of nine children born to Truman and Lillie Ann Goffman Pye, both of whom preceded him in death as well as his sister Rachel. LaCree, Little Mae and Merlene, and his brother Albert affectionately known as A.C. As a child, King was full of life and energy. He loved helping his father, who was a painter and Pastor. He attended elementary school and his freshman year of high school in Greenville and was known as a very intelligent child. His intelligence made him acutely aware of the discrimination that the ‘colored’ children faced in Greenville. Instead of encouraging the bright students to pursue courses of their choosing, he and many of his classmates were encouraged to pursue strictly vocational training. He told his parents that Greenville would not allow him to pursue his dreams, so he was permitted to travel to Chicago when he was fifteen years old.

When King arrived in Chicago he stayed with his sister Rachel. He attended Wendell Phillips High School. It was also during this period that he converted to Catholicism and was re-baptized at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church. His uncle, Johnson Pye, was a practicing Catholic who King attended Church with on Sunday. His parents didn’t care where he went to church as long as he ’went’ to church.

After graduating from Wendell Phillips High School, King attended the University of Illinois at Navy Pier. He majored in political science. He later worked for the grocery store National Tea, where he encountered prejudice from its leadership. Like so many qualified African Americans, National Tea was not interested in promoting him regardless of his qualifications.

This all changed when he met and forged a wonderful business relationship with Ernest ‘Stu’ Collins. King became the general manager of the Food Basket on 49th and St. Lawrence and later the general manager and owner of Collins Certified on 79th and Calumet in Chicago.

While working at Certified, he was selected by the Food Marketing Institute to attend Executive Leadership courses at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

It was at the Food Basket where King met his wife of 57 years, Magnolia. Their love was a beautiful love, full of laughter, travel and children. Their union produced four children – Kevin Joel, Eric Maurice, Keith Sherwin, and Ingrid LaCree Pye. King read extensively, had an amazing jazz collection, loved opera,Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If” and he could tell jokes with the best of them.

King’s civic activities were numerous. He was one of the principal organizers of Seaway National Bank. He actively participated in politics, community development and business activities. He held various leadership roles with the Chatham Business Association.

The Chatham Lions. The International Lions – becoming District 1A Governor. He has traveled the world with his wife and family, including Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. Every summer he would load up his car and take his family on wonderful family vacations. He has received many awards and achieved much in life, but his greatest achievement was watching his children become upstanding adults. He always told his children, “You all have never disappointed me.”

Besides his civic and business interest, King loved his church family. He was an active member of the St. Ailbe Men Club, The Horizon Ministry, The Eucharistic Ministry; and before his health began to fall, The St. Ailbe Food Pantry. It is only fitting that his last activity reflected his life long career of feeding people.

Helping others is how he lived his life. Family could count on him. Family loved when he came to visit, because he loved sharing whatever he had with them.

He did not have a selfish bone in his body when it came to his family or someone who needed his help. He was quick to smile, but quicker to defend himself and others when he had to. You could count on him to stand by your side. His was a wonderful life.

King’s journey was slowed by cancer. Throughout his treatments he never gave up. He faced his challenge with courage, dignity, grace and an abiding faith that God had never forsaken him. His mind was sharp to the end. The day before he died, he was quietly singing, “The Lord is Blessing Me.” While in hospice his wife asked him, “Do you know who I am?” He loudly proclaimed, “The Love of my Life.” His journey ended quietly on April 8, 2016, he is free.

King leaves his beloved wife, Magnolia; his children, his older brother, sister and his grand children, host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

VISIT TODAY: http://lions100.lionsclubs.org/EN/toolbox/club-centennial-resources.php for more information Select your club chairperson and send his name to your District Coordinator – PDG Austin D’Souza – e-Mail address: govaustin@gmail.com immediately. Invite me to your club meeting for a powerful centennial presentation.

Click below link to Read:- https://issuu.com/austinprabhu/docs/full_state_magazine_-may__2016_721da5e73e449b

District 1A Governor’s Monthly e-Magazine Edited & Published by PDG Austin D’Souza for Lions, Lionesses and Leos of District 1A. e-Mail Address: govaustin@gmail.com Mail your articles, pictures and news items to above e-mail address.