Introduction
The USA Canada Forum was held in Reno, NV on September 21-23, 2023. Barb and I attended the forum. There were many sessions on leadership development and much great information was gleaned by those attending the sessions.
District 1-A was represented well with 11 attending, including Barb and I, PID Bob Block, CS Brenda Block, 1st VDG Brenda Stevens and Mike,2ndVDGRichardMoy&Edith, PDG Austin D’Souza, PDG Terri D’Souza, and Senior ZC Karl Schulz . MD-1 was well represented also withfiveGovernorsfromthecurrent Council, with an approximate grand total of 32 attendees from Illinois.
The District 1-A Candy Day
Jamboree was held September 14, 2023, at 115 Bourbon Street in MarionettePark. TheEventwaswell attendedbyclubsinourdistrictand was a great success. A big thank you to our 2nd VDG Richard Moy for challenging the clubs and individuals present to meet or exceed his personal donation of $,000toLionsofIllinoisFoundation. A total over $2,000 was reached. If you club has not participated recently in Candy Day, I would love to see some new clubs consider participating this year. Even if you are no longer able to work the corners or raise funds in front of local businesses, perhaps consider raising funds virtually or raising money with another type of fund raiser.
I would like to give a friendly reminder to all clubs to remember
to pay their dues to Lions International, the District and State Dues and to report all the great service projects that your clubs are doing in your communities. If you have already done this, I thank you. Please reach out if you have not received a dues statement or if you do not know how to report service projects.
Travels of the Governor
September 2023
5 – Misericordia Pre-Fest
Volunteered in Bakery for 3 hours (Barb & I)
6 - River Grove 74th Anniversary
9 - Chicago Philippine Governors
Visit
12 - Lions of Illinois Orientation
16 – Council of Governors Meeting & GAT Summit
17–WillowSpringsLionessPancake
Breakfast
21–23 – USA-Canada Forum
30 – CFALC Governors night, Induction of New Members, and Installation of Officers
October 2023
13-14 – Candy Day
15 – Thornton Pancake Breakfast
20 – Chicago Nurses for Diabetes
Governor Night
21 – Chicago Global Governors
Night
22 – Chicago Lighthouse 2nd Annual
Rise to Shine Run & Walk
27-28 – District CN Convention
28 - Chicago Arirang - 50th Charter
Anniversary October
29 – Chicago Logan Square
Mystery Murder Dinner
District Goals
It is always good to be able to review goals and programs for the comingyear,soIamincludingsome of theinformationI sharedwith you in prior articles this year! As always, ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasedo 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 manysmallchoicesandactsof 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.
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 offlinemarketinggiveyounewways 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.
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.
BE THE CHANGE…….Believe in Yourself
To change the world, we first must believechangeis possible.
Here are some key steps that can help you face the challenges ahead.
Bebrave.
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 otherLions are here tosupport you. So, take that bold first step.
Invest in thefuture.
Weall havea reasontoinvestinthe future, and young people may be uniquely positioned to help us createchange.Wearebetterableto
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. Leadthe way.
LionsandLeosleadbyexample.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
AspartoftheBuildAVisionSession in February, 1 important request of the participants was the need to consider implementing a recognition program within our district. As of now, I am appointing acommitteetobegintheprocessof how that can happen. 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 isinadditionofthe Club Excellence Award (19 awarded in2021-2022,GailAnton’syear)and hopefully more in (2022-2023, Tony Zartler year). It is a great program, and we need to continue encouraging program involvement byour clubs. If your clubwouldlike to consider trying to get the Club Excellence Award, please reach out to your Zone Chairperson.
Membership
As I am writing this newsletter article, our District is +77 through September 30. For the month of September 2023, District 1-A added 45 new members and dropped 13 members for a net increase in our membership of 32.
We had three clubs added a net increase of new members in September 2023. Chicago Filipino American added 15 members, Chicago Healthcare Alliance added 14 new members Chicago Nurses for Diabetes added 10 new members, Chicago Healthcare Alliance added 11 new members,
River Grove added 4 new members, Calumet City and Chicago Mabuhay Centennial added 1 new member each.
Congratulation to those clubs!!!
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 yearandlostanaverageofoneclub 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? Thenstartplanningforyoursuccess with the Global Membership Approach.Thisprocesscanhelpyou 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 numberofclubsreportingservicein MyLion or the new software once available to 75% of our clubs. Two reasonsthisissoimportanttoLions.
Reporting it on MyLion allows our International organization to create more accurate reports to share with our global partners that generously donatetoLCIFfundingandallowus 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.
Thesecondpartofreportingservice 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%.
Stay safe, I am looking forward to seeing everyone this year.
Yours in Service,
Tom Elsey 1-A District GovernorGlobal Membership Approach
September marked 27 consecutive months of positive membership for our District.InSeptemberweadded50memberswhileonlydropping13.Wehad 15 Clubs add members, with 21 dropping members this year. The results are 13 clubs showing growth with 16 clubs showing losses.
You might think the 80 dropped is excessive. But you need to see why and where they went. 35 of the drops went over to serve in different clubs for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter, they’re still serving. 9 were dropped too soon,andtheclubsreinstatedthem.Youneedto makesureamemberwants to drop before you just drop them. It should be a board action. Communication is the key. Six served those in need well and are now serving with those who left this life before them. So now you’re at 30, a much more manageable number.
Thisendsthefirstquarterwitha strongpush inmembershipinSeptemberas many Lions Clubs get back to work after their summer breaks. The number shows two things important factors. One. keep striving to add.
members to strengthen your clubs, enabling more hands to help serve those in need in your community. The second is you can still lose members and continue to grow. If the members leaving aren’t leaving because your club didn’t fulfill their expectations to serve. Then you’re good.
This month we had three Membership Champions that I would like to recognize Lion Janet Reyes-Macaranas from the Chicago Filipino American Lions, Lion Lea Agaton from Chicago Healthcare Alliance Lions Club, and LionAnnTeanofromtheChicagoNursesforDiabetesLionsClub,thesethree Lions are working hard to help grow their clubs and our District.
JoinmeandexceptthechallengeofMission1.5
MISSION1.5
• 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.
•SoIaskyoutoinviteanewmember.AndasktheLionsinyourclubtoinvite 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
Membership Development &Club Rebuilding:
Joinusaswe celebratetheCharteringof ournewestclubtoDistrict 1-A;“The Chicago HealthcareAlliance LionsClub.,November19th! (SpecialGuest3rd International Vice President MarkLyon)
Have a representative from your club come to our membership Growth Event. October 19, 2023. Just Ask, RSVP Today, so we can have enough food. See the flyer below….
GST Coordinator: Lion Maryanne
O’Reilly
September2023
I would like to thank all the clubs that are reporting on your service
monthly on LCI/MYLION. Our District1AgoalforthisLion’syearis 75% of our clubs reporting. I am happy to assist your club with service reporting; by teaching you how to enter the information or creating your entries.
Why is reporting your club’s service activities important? Reporting service helps to measure our global impact. Reporting plays a critical role in funding and obtaining LCIF grants. LCIF partners like seeing datathatsupportsourservice.Lions closetohomeandaroundtheworld
are informed and inspired by the impact of your service. The reporting service is also a good record keeping tool, allowing your club to see what service or fundraisers successful or what changes could be made.
I’m looking forward to seeing your club celebrate your service and see our District reporting numbers increase. Has your club planned a service activity for Make a Difference Day, planning a winter coat drive or preparing to help a family in need for the holidays?
Celebrate your service. We take pride in the unique expressions of kindness found in each of our
local clubs across the world. When we share our stories and report our impact, we unify our organization, inspire our communities, and capture the attention of a global audience. Celebration elevates the experience and impact of service.
We invite your club to participate in our District1A Celebrate Service Challenge. Your club will receive one raffle ticket for each current Celebration of Service activity reported on MYLion. At the conclusion of our Lion Year 20232024, we will draw two clubs to each receive $50.
“Celebrate Service”
Lion Maryanne GAT - Service
Please report your service regularly and help surpass the District Goal of 75% of the clubs reporting…
District1-A
PIDDan O’Reilly
One of our Goals for our District is to increase participation of Individual giving by Lions. The club excellence award for clubs this year requires that a club donates at least $5.00 per member to the foundation. Not a great feat for most clubs. 20 members at $5.00 = $100.00. We have clubs giving far more than that each year. But you must start somewhere. Any individual donation by a Lion also counts as a club donation. Also new this year, Presidential LCIF Supporter Recognition.
The club served at the Community POW WOW - American Indian Festival. On Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Caldwell Preserves
Empower even Greater Good… Magnifying Your Impact…
Our foundation empowers us to do so much more than we can do alone… LCIF enables us to think Big and undertake projects that Change the World…
So, support LCIF and let LCIF support you…
Use the QR code and donate today…
Know that LCIF allocates 100% of your donation to grants and program expenses, no administrative expenses…
At LCIF, to honor your commitment and support, we are thrilled to introduce the Presidential LCIF Supporter program. This initiative aims to recognize and celebrate individuals who have contributed with heart and soul, making a significant impact on our mission. By participating in the annual program, you become an integral part of our honored supporters. Melvin Jones Fellowship (MJF) credits will be earned based on the one-time donation amount you provide. Your generosity not only earns you well-deserved recognition but also helps us make a lasting difference in the lives of those in need.
There are multiple levels of recognition to honor donors based on their one-time donation amount that meets the eligibility criteria as noted in the levels of recognition. The levels are as follows:
Bronze Pin - US$50 to US$99.99
Silver Pin - US$100 to US$199.99
Gold Pin - US$200 and above The club served at the Community POW WOW - American Indian Festival. On Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Caldwell Preserves
Leo-Presidential LCIF Supporter - Minimum donation of US$20
District 1-A Club News
Chicago Mabuhay Centennial Lions Club The Chicago Mabuhay Centennial LionsClub"diditagainmakingand distributing approximately 3,600 sandwiches for different Migrant Shelters, Senior Homes, Homeless
Shelters, Christian Ministries and Single Mother Housings in Chicago Area.
Great work for those in need!The club served at the Community POW WOW-AmericanIndianFestival.On Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Caldwell Preserves
They served the band members and participants to the Pow Wow. .
Good morning .......... Aloha!! CC Lora has asked me to put together an appeal to help the Lions of Hawaii.
I have been in contact with ID Bob Lee to see how things are and to find out what ways we here in Illinois can help. First of all, ID Bob and Pam and PID Maurice and Lani are doing well. LCIF has been in contact with the Lions on the island and emergency funds have already been sent to them. With LCIF Grants there are conditions on the way those funds can be spent and there are times that there are other things needed that are supported by the local clubs through the Hawaiian Lions Foundation.
I am asking each district if they would send out the Appeal Letter that is attached. This appeal gives the Lions, clubs, and the district ways that they can help our fellow Lions in Hawaii. We have had a close relationship with Lions that are from Maui and now they can use our help.
So, I thank you for your help and kind consideration as well as showing our generosity and friendship to our friends in Hawaii. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Mahalo nui loa!! (thank you very much)
PID Bob Block Director (2019-22)
