By Don Audette
Once a year the Rappahannock County Lions Club in visited by a representative of District 24-A of the Lions Clubs of Virginia. District 24-A? Is there a District 24-B? Yes, actually, there are six Districts in Virginia, 24-A through 24-F, each consisting of a geographically co-located cluster of counties, independent cities and certain towns.
Thus District 24-A consists of counties in the northern section of Virginia, these being the counties of Arlington, Culpeper, Fairfax, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland, plus certain independent cities, as well as some towns. Each District has a Governor, 1st Vice-District Governor, and 2nd Vice-District Governor.
And for those who may have forgotten about the founding of the Lions Club it might be noted the organization is 100 years old this year. Melvin Jones founded the organization on June 7, 1917. He was a Chicago insurance man who believed local business clubs should become involved in the betterment of their communities. And thus the Lions club came into being. In celebration of 100 years, there is even a Lions Clubs Silver Dollar Proof coin by the U.S. Mint. This was the coin in the Love Fest amongst then-President Larry Grove, Treasurer Frank Raiter, and Secretary Jim Manwaring at the Lions Club’s July 14th picnic, recognizing their lengthy service to the Rappahannock Lions Club.
With that as background, we come to the visit to the Rappahannock Lions Club on the evening of September 14, 2017, of Glen T. Logan, 2nd Vice District Governor of Virginia District 24-A. First off, of course, was the “rousing song” with Kit Johnson and Bill Gadino, shown below, providing the lead to the membership and guests, including Glen T. Logan, also shown below, who made their way through a handout of the lyrics, with strong voices united in the chorus of “That’s Amore!!”
After a few more preliminaries, we all made our ways to the evening meal, quite delicious with a salad, dressing, roast beef, gravy, potatoes, green beans, bread & butter, and excellent desserts, especially the pineapple upside-down cake. Guests went first, of course, with Glen T. Logan on the left, Jim Calhoun in the middle, and another guest on the right, with Bill Nenniger, behind Tom Tepper, eyeballing the situation.
After the supper, Glen T. Logan made a presentation that reminded all of us of the wider view of Lions Club motto of “For the Good of the Cause.” Below is Mr. Logan’s talk with areas of his emphasis noted.
Thank you for inviting me to visit with you today to share District Governor Sally Kenavan’s message. It is an exciting year to be a LION!!! I am very honored to serve with DG Sally and 1st VDG Wilma Murphy.
I want to begin with a story DG Sally relates about an inspirational speaker at the District Governor-elect training in Chicago — before the International Centennial Convention. I personally had the opportunity to hear this man speak at a business conference several years ago. His talk began by saying that at age 10 he tried to commit suicide when he could not see any future in his present state and was at a loss about his future. At age 11, a janitor in his school told him that he should be a speaker. So today, in his mid-30s, Nick Vujicic (pronounced VOO-yee-cheeh) from Australia, has spoken to over 6 million people in 57 countries. Suffering from tetra-amelia syndrome, Nick was born without arms and legs, but he has a career as a speaker, he is a husband, father, and has started 8 businesses.
Later this year his wife will add twins to his family of four. He shared his message using Thomas Edison as an example. Edison famously said “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways it will not work.” Nick’s Book “Life without limits: Inspiration For a Ridiculously Good Life” was published in 2007 and in 2014 he wrote a book entitled “Stand Strong: You Can Overcome Bullying.” At one of his motivational web sites, “Attitude is Altitude,” Nick states “When you cannot get a miracle, be a miracle for somebody else.
Now on the DG Sally’s message:
Tonight, I will cover planning for this Lions Year, the 5 Lions Service Areas, Legacy Projects, and LCI Forward: Entering the Second Century of Service.
In these first months of the new Lions year, you are formulating your plans with respect to Club goals, District goals, and the Lions Clubs International goals. Planning is very important as Winston Churchill once said, “Plan to succeed, or plan to fail.”
In the District this year, we have 3 main aspects of planning: Membership, Leadership, and Service.
Membership – We need to grow our membership—each member of your club should know how many Lions you want to add this year. Reach out to family, friends, relatives, and everyone you meet. You can still earn the Centennial membership patches, certificates and pins for recruiting and conducting service projects for the rest of the year. What is your PLAN? How many new members can you add to your Club?
Leadership—Train your officers and emerging Lions leaders. Encourage your lions to attend the various Lions Leadership Institutes – Emerging, Regional or Advanced. Provide an enabling environment for your club members to be better Lions and know more about resources available to them as active Lions. Check out the training available at MyLCI, the USA-Canada Lions Leadership Forum and at Lions University.
Service—Look for new, creative and innovative ways to SERVE. Lions Year 2017-2018 brings with it 5 Service areas:
1. VISION— This one is no surprise, we are the “Knights of the Blind.” I know you are involved in vision screening, eyeglass recycling, and providing new glasses for the needy.
2. RELIEVING HUNGER— Did you know that 1 in 6 people in America face hunger? That means that 49 million Americans struggle to put food on the table. We request that you bring canned goods or non-perishable food items to the Fall Conference. The food will be distributed by S.E.R.V.E. – Stafford Emergency Relief through Volunteer Efforts. I’ve seen on their website that they distribute 2-1/2 tons of food every week.
3. DIABETES— We now have a global epidemic with diabetes. Can your club help with screening, education and awareness? Can you contribute to national and local organizations that are conducting the much-needed research to combat this disease?
4. ENVIRONMENT—From clean water—to growing gardens—to planting trees, we can help.
5. Pediatric Cancer— This is a new service area for 2017-2018. How can we help children with this horrible disease? Come to the Fall Conference on October 6-7, where we will have a pediatric oncologist discuss the disease and give us ideas about how to serve. I’m familiar with your work with kids with cancer through Camp Fantastic and I applaud you for that service.
Going back to the LCI Centennial, you still have time to finish your Legacy Service Project. You can leave something behind for the next generation. The District 24A Legacy Project, a new pavilion, was dedicated in memory of PID Wayne Davis and his wife, Lion Marge, in April at the Northern Virginia Lions Youth Camp. The new pavilion will be a gathering place that can be enjoyed for many years to come. To date 9,641 legacy projects have been reported to LCI.
Now a few words about LCI Forward: A five-year strategic plan to meet the emerging needs of our changing world.
This year is the first year in a new Century of Service. Lions have the responsibility to build on our past accomplishment and take LCI FORWARD into a new century of Humanitarian service. The world is depending on us. “Where there is a need…there is a LION” is not just a slogan, it is a call to action.
Here is the PLAN for the 4 focus areas for LCI FORWARD:
1. Enhance service impact and focus—this is a new goal to improve the lives of more than 200 million people by 2021.
2. Reshape public opinion and improve visibility with social media and promoting the Lions Logo—to be recognized world-wide. Let’s dispel the notion that Lions is the best kept secret in the world.
3. Pursue Club, District, and organizational excellence—through the Quality Improvement Program, using technology to increase global access to leadership and training opportunities. Let’s work together to achieve the District Team Excellence and Club Excellence Awards.
4. Improve membership values and reach new markets – We will need new members to join us to achieve our service goal of 200 million—focus on the value of being a Lion, and the experiences of a lifetime. We can engage a new generation of volunteers. Recognize the way people volunteer is changing. Create new models to attract volunteers, complimentary products, and partnerships with businesses seeking to expand corporate social responsibility programs.
Our new International President, Dr. Naresh Aggarwal talks about the Power of WE. Our Motto continues to be WE SERVE so this year we will be CELEBRATING the POWER of SERVICE. We can all experience the Power of Pride we feel when we help those in need.
My closing message to you is this: Take a lesson from Thomas Edison. ”Don’t be afraid to fail—make a plan to Serve”. Together, we will succeed. Finally, like that janitor who helped turned Nick Vujicic’s life around, who will you will inspire with your works and deeds as a Lion?
I have one last item – presentation of District Governor Sally’s pin to your President and Secretary.
Again, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to visit you tonight. Best of luck to you for this Lion Year!
The presentation was well attended to as shown below by an overall photo of the audience.
Later, when the activities and achievements of the Rappahannock Lions Club for the year were inventoried, Jim Blubaugh emphasized areas where our Club had partnered with others for the betterment of the community, which is a key Lion objective this year. Included was Camp Fantastic, and the various Eagle Scout projects funded by the Lions, including a picnic area at the Senior Center and a shed for the Food Pantry. Glen Logan is seen taking notes in the photo below.
Lastly, we had some good words from our new Zone chair from Culpeper, Jim Calhoun, shown below. In particular, he helped in our eyeglasses for the needy program by working out a deal with America’s Best in Culpeper to provided an exam and two pairs of glasses (including bifocals) for $69, versus the $129 for one pair that we had been paying.
Jim Calhoun was also impressed by the Rappahannock Lions Club, sending the following email after the meeting”
Last night my visit to you folks completed the round of visits I must make as Zone Chairman. The way I judge clubs and folks is quite simple. If I had to chose a group of folks to run around with, socialize with and work with, who would that be. Your club wins hands down. Hospitality was outstanding, food great, the energy in the room was overwhelming. Your club is well led, enjoy not only what they do but enjoy each others company and more important the variety of the projects your club is involved in is mindboggling. If someone made me the god of Lionism today, I would mandate that each lion visit your club for the purpose of observing just what a Lions club should be. I am looking forward to our Zone Meeting on the 25th and I hope the other clubs in attendance pick up on the enthusiasm your club possesses. Thanks again. Jim Calhoun