It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to serve with my fellow Lions
"Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else."
By the time you read this article it will be June and I will be in the last month of my term as District Governor. It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to serve with my fellow Lions, and I have enjoyed every minute of visiting clubs and learning about the amazing things they are doing in the community. We are truly living the motto “We Serve.”
One of the highlights for me this year was our 36-O convention held in March. It was an action-packed convention, and I am pleased that we had 123 in attendance, including some cub Lions, Boy Scout representatives and Lions visiting from other districts. We had a fun LCIF fundraiser where we raised $1000 to go towards a Melvin Jones aware that we raffled. We had three VIP guests: ID Bert Nelson from Minnesota and Lion Daniel Marney Elkins from Delaware, as well as Lars Hedbor, local author and historian. All three were great speakers, and ID Berts and Daniel’s presentations were recorded and can be viewed by anyone at these links:
ID Bert Nelson: https://youtu.be/41seGmsGNYk
Daniel Marney Elkins (AI & ChatGPT): https://youtu.be/RJchx_I_INg
I have met most of my goals this year, including visiting all of the clubs in our district. I still have a few that will remain ongoing, including pushing for clubs to use public relations tools to promote their clubs; helping clubs learn about AI and ChatGPT to help grow new service and support increasing membership; and helping clubs use the Lions Portal to reports service and membership. I hope to continue helping future DGs also when it comes to promoting leadership and succession planning.
One of the most exciting things that is happening is that I will be ending my year by chartering a new club, the first in the district in many years! This club will be founded by a group of nursing students at Warner-Pacific University. They approached our district wanting to form a club and are motivated to make it happen. Things are falling into place, and I hope to have them official before the end of my Lion year. My club, the Milwaukie Lions, will be their sponsor so not only do I get to witness a new club being formed, I get to be a part of their growth for years to come. I’m hoping that as my duties shift, I can help clubs grow and possibly revitalize those that have recently folded.
I look forward to building on what I have learned and the relationships I have built this year. This will be the first year in many years where I am not wearing so many Lions hats, so I am excited to help more in smaller, more meaningful ways. I believe our Lions Clubs have a bright future, and I thank you all for your support this year.