Governors newsletter september 2014

Greetings!

September, 2014 I hope you all have had a great summer. Autumn is upon us with the incoming cool weathers. Hopefully it will be a nice, mild winter. With two months into my Lionistic year gone as fast as lightening. This year my goal to District 1A Lions Clubs is Ask1 and at the end of the year +One. Can you imagine if all of us in District 1A Ask1 and promote Lionism our membership will double? It will reach to 3454. It will make us #1 District in Illinois.

As I visitl clubs in the District, I strongly feel that it is possible. The following clubs added members during the past two months: I would like to see which club is going to be #1 in Membership Growth, thus also supporting our International President’s Theme “Strenghten Our Pride My constant goal will always be to bring more female members into leadership roles.,but members in general, means more activities, projects, working hand in hands making our mission of “We Serve” successful.

LIONS CLUB

MEMBERS

SPONSOR'S NAME

ADDED

CHICAGO PUERTO RICO

6

CHICAGO LA GRANGE HIGHLANDS CHICAGO WINDY CITY

2 4

CHICAGO SOUTHEAST BELLWOOD BROOKFIELD LA GRANGE PARK CALUMET CITY CHICAGO AZTECA CHICAGO JEFFERSON PARK CHICAGO MEXICA

1 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 8

CHICAGO PHILIPPINE

SPONSORED #s ADDED

Lion Rafael Alvarado Lion Mary Fitzgibbon Lion James Eckwall Lion Natalie Brain Lion Kristopher Kempski Lion Margaret Carillo Not Available Lion Tom Brunet Lion Lionel Valencia Lion Jackie Rincon Lion Angela Hanson Lion Anna Gamez Lion Marie Nee ZC Lourdes Mon Lion Honofre Bautista Lion Vicente Benig Lion Cora Gumila Not Available

5 members 1 member 2 members 2 members 2 members 1 member 1 member 1 member 1 member 1 member 1 member 3 members 1 members 3 members 2 members 1 member 1 member 1 member

TOTAL MEMBERS ADDED

34

TOTAL Number of Clubs in District 1-A as of August 2014 = 71.

TOTAL number of Members in District 1-Aas of August 2014 = 1732.

With a WOW and total amazement, below is the list of Senior Experienced Lions in District 1A who served our District since 1941. As I Congratulate and appreciate their Service to the Community as Lions, I wish them good health and all the best in life.

Club Name

Name

Last Name

No of Years as a Lion

Join Date

CALUMET CITY

ALFRED

PARKHILL

73

2/1/1941 0:00

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

DAN

BERGIN

66

1/1/1948 0:00

CHICAGO LAKE VIEW

ROBERT

EICH

66

3/1/1948 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

NORMAN

GEEVE

65

1/1/1949 0:00

RIVER GROVE

ROBERT

GRAFF

64

12/1/1950 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

HUGO

MARTENS

63

6/1/1951 0:00

CHICAGO BEVERLY RIDGE

DANIEL

SNYDER

62

1/1/1952 0:00

RIVER GROVE

FRANK

STEIN

Passed Away: 8/2014

1/1/1952 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

JOSEPH

OWENS

62

8/1/1952 0:00

SOUTH HOLLAND

EGBERT

BOLHUIS

62

10/1/1952 0:00

OAK PARK-RIVER FOREST

JOHN

MC PARLAND

61

10/1/1953 0:00

WILLOW SPRINGS

ALFRED

PANKOW

60

4/1/1954 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

HERBERT

KRAUSE

59

7/1/1955 0:00

CHICAGO CENTRAL

FRANCIS

FERRONE

59

9/1/1955 0:00

TINLEY PARK

KENNETH

FULTON

58

2/1/1956 0:00

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

DAVID

BAUER

58

8/1/1956 0:00

ARGO SUMMIT

ROBERT

GOLDSTINE

58

12/1/1956 0:00

LANSING

JERRY

NEWELL

57

9/1/1957 0:00

CALUMET CITY

RAYMOND

MIKA

57

10/1/1957 0:00

CHICAGO UPTOWN

MARVIN

GREENBERG

56

3/1/1958 0:00

CHICAGO CENTRAL

PHILIP

TOM

56

4/1/1958 0:00

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

MORT

SHINE

56

4/1/1958 0:00

ARGO SUMMIT

JOSEPH

BALICH

56

10/1/1958 0:00

CHICAGO BEVERLY RIDGE

MICHAEL

SCHNEIDER

56

12/1/1958 0:00

SOUTH HOLLAND

HARRY

WITVOET

55

1/1/1959 0:00

STICKNEY FOREST VIEW

LOUIS

KAMMERER

55

2/1/1959 0:00

LANSING

RICHARD

RUCOBA

55

3/1/1959 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

HAGARD

JOHNSON

55

4/1/1959 0:00

LANSING

Kenneth

Straka

55

6/1/1959 0:00

PALOS

WILLIAM

PEACOCK

54

10/1/1960 0:00

CALUMET CITY

ROBERT

STEFANIAK

53

2/1/1961 0:00

CHICAGO UPTOWN

SELWYN

WEISS

53

6/1/1961 0:00

STICKNEY FOREST VIEW

JERRY

NOVAK

53

10/1/1961 0:00

MONTCLARE ELMWOOD PK.

ALBERT

BIANCALANA

52

3/1/1962 0:00

LYONS

WILL

PRICE

52

3/1/1962 0:00

EVERGREEN PARK

WILLIAM

BRUINIUS

52

4/1/1962 0:00

STICKNEY FOREST VIEW

JEFFREY

WILL

52

4/1/1962 0:00

CHICAGO HEGEWISCH

EDWARD

PETLAK

52

10/1/1962 0:00

CHICAGO BEVERLY RIDGE

DAVID GENE

SWANSON

52

11/1/1962 0:00

WORTH

RICHARD

SCHMAEDEKE

52

11/1/1962 0:00

RIVERSIDE TOWNSHIP

RICHARD

DOLEJS

51

2/1/1963 0:00

PALOS

FRANK

GRABEN

51

10/1/1963 0:00

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

ROLAND

TUCKER

50

1/1/1964 0:00

BROOKFIELD LA GRANGE

ED

ZIGANTO

50

4/1/1964 0:00

MOUNT GREENWOOD

RICHARD

HUELS

50

6/1/1964 0:00

CHICAGO HEIGHTS

HERMAN

TIERI

50

8/1/1964 0:00

CHICAGO LOGAN SQUARE

ROBERT

SCHECK

50

11/1/1964 0:00

We just came home attending USA-Canada Lions Leadership Forum which was one of the best events

in Lionism to learn and gain knowledge and wisdom and to build Lions International friendship.

Next year’s forum will be in our neighborhood – Grand Rapids, Michigan. Make an attempt to attend and see the difference. If you register prior to September 13, you will pay only $260 per person. Visit http://members.lionsforum.org/event1722618. The amount of knowledge you learn by attending this forum is tremendous! Give a try and reserve early.

Editorial: We had a wonderful time in Puerto Rico attending USA-Canada Lions Leadership Forum.

We met old friends and also made new friends.

Learned more about lionism for its growth and expansion. All in all it was a great fun to attend this forum. I clicked more than thousand pictures of this forum and placed on facebook. These pictures were seen by thousands of lions all over the world and sent their comments.

International President Joe Preston asked us repeatedly to grow in membership. His year’s buzz word – “Ask1” was echoing everywhere. In his speech he asked North American Lions to grow in membership as we are shrinking compare to world of lionism. Governor Terry is also repeating this “Ask1” in District 1A. Currently we are 1,700 members in District 1A and so far we are plus 3.

This is not enough being the Mother District of Lionism. Lionism started here in Chicago and it is our responsibility to strengthen its roots and grow. I am pretty sure that all 71 clubs in our district will hear this message and build our membership further.

FROM I VICE DISTRICT GOVERNOR: The second council meeting of the Governors of the Illinois Lions was held the weekend of the 15th of August. As your First VDG, I thought I would bring you up to speed on some of the highlights of that Second council meeting that I felt should be shared with you.

This year's MD-1 Forum is being held in Bloomington, IL November 8th at the Parke Regency. Notices are being sent out to all the districts. The event is one of the training events that

are offered by the State GLT. The event is open to all the Lions of Illinois. The programs offered can help you develop ideas and strategies that can improve your club. It will also offer selfimprovement seminars that will sharpen your skills as a Lion. And offer insight into new initiatives being developed in the state. I want to encourage all the Lions in the District to attend. The forum needs Lions from all over the state to attend to make it a success. Lion Jama Wahl State GLT Coordinator has worked very hard to put the event together.

Speakers and Moderators are also needed. If you are interested in doing either please contact Lion Jama Wahl at Jamawahl@yahoo.com.

The sale of the state office is moving forward. A counter offer has been made to the buyer and hopefully a deal will be sealed soon. The State office is being replaced by a virtual office. The virtual office has certain benefits for financial savings in building expenses. These savings can be passed on to the districts, for funding State Committees, leadership training, membership drives and may eliminate a need for dues increase in the future. And with the office being "virtual" if it becomes necessary to hire a new State Secretarytreasurer, the pool of potential hires will expand to the entire state and not be confined to the area where the building office is located.

The location of the 2015 State Convention has been moved to the Marriott in Bloomington, IL. The dates are May 15 through May 17 of 2015. The change was made because of some unfavorable language in the contract from the Crown Plaza Springfield. Please update your calendar and district directory regarding the location change. The 2016 and 2017 conventions are in the negotiation stage.

The Council of Governors has voted to endorse the candidacy of Lion PID Naresh Aggarwal as Second International VP for 2015-2016 International Leadership years. Lion PID Naresh is from Delhi, India and has been a member of the Batala Smile Lions Club since 1974. The Council also announced its endorsement for the candidacy of the Lion PID Bud Wahl for Second International VP for 20162017 International Leadership years. Lion PID Bud is a Past International Director from Illinois. He has been a member of the Streator Hardscrabble Lions Club since 1984. His club is in District BK.

My main thought for this month's article is about an article I received it through an email. It was published by a member in our district. I am not sure when it was published. Regardless of when it was written it still is relevant to what is happening in our district. The topic of this article was regarding membership. I can hear you saying "OMG" not another gloom and doom article about membership". No, not quite that. I am not going to bore you with stats or projections. That's something for another time and place. But here is a smidge.

Not a lot.

As you know membership is a source of concern to the district, State, National and International Lions.

The membership numbers have been declining for the past decade. And the projections are that it will continue to decline unless we do something about it.

This issue has been talked about for a long time. It also has been the "Hot Button" subject and topic of discussion at every level of the district, state and International. Past district Governors have stated goals for membership which are used to gauge their year. Some of those years have been very lean where membership increases have been offset by the passing of our older members.

The question that always comes up is "How do we turn it around" and get it going in a positive direction. There are a few initiatives in place this leadership year to get the clubs to start looking at ways to increase membership in the association.

The "ASK 1" is a slogan endorsed by our International President Joe Preston. It is one piece of his goal to "Strengthen the Pride". There is another slogan put out by the Club Membership group at International. It is "JUST ASK". It uses the same premise for soliciting members which is to ASK ONE PERSON TO CONSIDER JOINING THE LIONS. These marketing slogans are not new.

As I mentioned before I do not know when that article was published. But the concept is still relevant today and sounds pretty straight forward and simple to me.

My final thought for this month's article. I look at all the marketing and PR tools available to Lions Clubs; I firmly believe that our best marketing and PR tool are our members. We wear our vests, Polo's, T-Shirts, etc., do fundraising and service in the community. We have fun doing it. And you know what "it's contagious". If people see that

commitment by the members, they will want to join in. All you have to do is "JUST ASK".

Best Regards, In Lionism Ralph Zarada 1st VDG

Getting in Touch, Keeping Abreast‌ I am proud to serve as your 2nd Vice District Governor effective July 1, 2014. It is incumbent upon us to get in touch with our constituency in various levels and to keep abreast with events and concerns even in wider body of Lions.

The 2014 International Convention was held in Ontario, Toronto Canada last July 4-8, 2014. It was an exciting event to represent our District and an enriching opportunity to gain new experiences and insights, particularly as we join the Convention Parade and took part in Plenary Sessions.

It was reiterated in the Convention, that among others, the Club Secretaries should submit report of their activities and number of hours spent because LCI draws from and use these reports.

Some statistics reported at the International Convention include: The Sharing the Vision Campaign Served 1,019,803 People Lions Totaled 394,523 Service Hours The Hungry Campaign Served 2,008,423 People Lions Totaled 511,230 Service Hours Total Number of Lions Members as of date is 1,360,121 Another important event was the 2nd Council of Governors Meeting held at Double Tree by Hilton, Bloomington, which was attended by the DG Terry D’Souza and the two Vice District Governors.

The PDG Harry Barber Memorial Golf Outing held August 13, 2014 at the Carriage Greens County Club, Darien, was a big success. It was participated by more than 100 golfers from our district and some from neighboring districts.

Congratulations Committee!

• Work with a deaf education teacher to organize a book reading group for children or adults who

Another strategic activity that took place in our district was the RC/ZC last August 23, 2014 at the Scottish Home conducted and facilitated by GLT Chair Lion Herb Zimmerman and co-chair Lion Janice Wiggins. GMT Chair, PDG Harold Burkett, also talked about how to increase membership.

• Donate computers or other technology for learning to a local school, community center or library

Shall we heed and embrace the call of our Lions Clubs International President, Joe Preston, “Strengthen the Pride of our Service as Lions -Lion Ernie Lapid 2nd VDG, District 1-A

Are you and your club members looking for a project involving literacy that all the members can be involved with? These ideas are presented by LCI as part of their commitment to Literacy.

are deaf • Volunteer at an after school program to tutor a child in reading

• Work with your local school or library to increase access to information in braille • Supply new parents with books for young children and include facts about the importance of early reading • Collect new books for a children’s hospital • Sponsor a community spelling contest • Purchase a children’s magazine subscription for a local school or library • Distribute large print and audio books to local senior centers • Provide free books for children at a vision or hearing screening or other service activity for children

LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL

• Help people who are blind or visually impaired enroll in free, distance learning courses from

Reading Action Program

The Hadley School for The Blind

Project Ideas:

• Provide assistive devices to children or adults who have low vision

• Organize a virtual book drive to support a reading program in your community • Read to children at a local library or after school program

• Sponsor a creative writing workshop and encourage the children to write a story about their favorite toy, food or an action hero and then have them read it

• Host a book fair and invite an author or illustrator

• Read a book aloud to a small group of children and encourage each child to paint a picture of the story

• Hold a monthly reading challenge for children at your library (encouraging them to read a

• Serve as a volunteer reader at a senior center

designated number of minutes every month to win a prize)

• Host a board game evening for adults • Organize a book exchange

• Teach an internet class at a local library – show others how to use the internet for greater access

Open Area that persons in these areas are helped to obtain glasses and hearing aids.

to information

Note the Open Area does not serve an area where a club exists, that is the responsibility of the resident Lions Club.

• Organize a community event in connection with the International Literacy Day, held during the month of September, to raise awareness about the importance of reading • Work with a local school to provide backpacks filled with books and school supplies to children in need • Host a computer literacy course for adults -Lion Judy Toft District 1-A RAP CHAIR

DISTRICT 1-A OPEN AREA WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT WORK

HOW DOES IT WORK Our Vision First program covers children all over the District in conjunction with the Chicago Public Schools and Len-scrafters but the adults are left behind. This is where the Open Area program comes in, referrals from various sources are sent to the Open Area coordinator, the coordinator attempts to help the individual to obtain what is needed whether the need be for glasses or for a hearing aid.

OPEN AREA NEEDS Currently our Open Area program is healthy but the program can just barely provide for the needs of the recipients that have requested help. We have a few eye glass vouchers and some funds for other items. Recently we have seen an influx of requests for hearing aids and do to their cost; our funds will soon become strained.

This leaves us in need for each of our clubs to step up to bat and hit a home run for the program by donating to the fund thereby allowing the coordinator to get help to those in need. If any of our clubs can see it in their hearts to make a donation in any amount it would be very helpful.

OPEN AREA DONATIONS Any donations or checks that individuals or Clubs would care to make should be made out to District 1-A and sent to LION MILLIE KOLLER - COORDINATOR P.O. Box 156 Brookfield, IL 60513. Please write in the remarks area “Open Area Fund”. This will insure the donations are put into the intended fund.

WHAT IS IT The District 1-A Open Area is the District’s committee to try and help those persons that reside in locations within the boundaries of our District that have no Lions club to serve them.

A map of District 1-A will show that we have vast areas within our boundaries that are not directly served by our clubs. It is through the District 1-A

Your OPEN AREA coordinator Lion Millie Koller thanks you for anything you can do and any donations your clubs can make.

-Lion Millie Koller, Chairperson, 1A Open Area

Join your fellow Lions all across District 1-A As we Recycle for Sight on One Spectacular Sunday OCTOBER 26th

The vision of 25 percent of the world population can be improved by receiving a pair of recycled glasses.

Lions Clubs all over the world work together to bring old glasses to needy eyes.

Further Information Contact: DG Terry D’Souza, teamterry@gmail.com 708-771-3177

Dear Lion, As a leader in your Lions club, we want to remind you about the current new member pilot program in the United States that waives the charter or entrance fee for U.S. Veterans of all ages.

Get Permission to place a Collection Box Promote the idea in your community Tell your neighbors to bring their old used eyeglasses to Church on 1-A Spectacle Sunday

The Involve a U.S. Veteran program waives the charter or entrance fee for any qualifying veteran who joins a new or existing Lions club.

Eligible veterans include retired U.S. military personnel or honorably-discharged members of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard Services, Marines, National Guard, Navy or Reserves.

Those currently serving in the National Guard or Reserves are also eligible. Lions Clubs International will provide an entrance fee waiver of $25 ($30 for charter members) to the first 5,000 qualified U.S. veterans that join a local Lions club. The program is only being offered in the United States.

Visit the Involve a U.S. Veteran Web page to learn more about this special program. You can download a fact sheet, promotional flyer, certification form and a sample press release to help promote this program in your community.

Everyone Benefits!

FACT:

Veterans have made so many great contributions and sacrificed so much to serve our country. As service members leave the

military and come home, let's provide them an opportunity to get involved in their communities and serve as Lions.

historical photos, timelines and all things #Lions100

Make plans now to reach out to veterans in your community and offer them the opportunity to make a difference and change lives as Lions. Take advantage of this special program to grow your club today!

Sincerely, Scott Drumheller Executive Administrator & Secretary Lions Clubs International -------------------------------------------------------------------FOR YOUR INFORMATION……..

Lions100.org is Now Live – Visit the new Centennial website for logos,

Governor’s Newsletter published monthly to communicate with District 1A Lions. Our sincere apologies for this September months delayed publication. We will make every attempt to publish this magazine in the future on time.

. (Currently available in English only.

Language sites to be added later this year.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------GOVERNOR’S VISITS: Governor Terry asks all clubs in District 1A to schedule their Governor’s Visit ASAP as she want to meet and greet all club members and to give her message. Call 708-771-3177 and schedule your day now. Governor’s calendar is filling fast.

UPCOMING Events: Nite at the Races: 9-25-2014 Candy Days: October 9, 10 and 11, 2014