Message from DG Ed Gibbons

Fellow Lions,

Happy New Year!! I hope everyone has made New Year’s resolutions and you’ve started the year off right by striving to keep them. It would be exciting to hear you have included on your list of resolutions to better your Lions Club – by – recruiting a new member for your Club, starting the CEP program for your Club, and developing a new club service project. If I have visited your Club, you know these are my three goals for your club.

LCI President Joe Preston’s theme to Strengthen the Pride through Service is to embrace the “ASK 1” to ask at least one person to join the Lions Clubs. He has also launched the “Keep 1” concept. It drives home the importance of keeping members involved so they don’t leave your club. We certainly need to do more in keeping our members. So, I encourage you again, “ASK 1” and “Keep 1”. International President Preston has also called for the Lions Worldwide Week of Service Challenge for January 10-16. This allows your Club to showcase itself to attract new members, and celebrate the birthday of our founder, Melvin Jones. Your service can be a benefit for youth, vision, hunger or the environment. Be sure to report your service on the MyLCI Service Activity report. You will earn a Patch for your club.

Have you read the new Lions magazine for January? One of our District 12N clubs had a picture and an article in it. I am so proud of the ETSU Lions club and all the service projects they are undertaking. We all need their energy and enthusiasm.

Convention, Convention, Convention!!! It is coming up next month and will be held at the prestigious Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City February 20th and 21st. I have the hotel convention rates ($89) lowered until the 20th of January. If you are staying Friday night you need to make reservations ASAP. Call 423-631-0507 or 423-979- 6400 and tell them you are with the Lions Clubs convention. The registration form is enclosed and the Friday night meal is complimentary (Thanks ETLEB) provided you register for the convention. PIP Jim Ervin is our keynote speaker. There will be a lot of business on the convention agenda; you need to be in attendance to be informed. Please return the convention registration to Diane Wilkerson, Convention Chair, at 3049 Staffordshire Blvd., Powell, TN 37849 by February 1st – at the latest. If you are interested in the 2nd Vice District Governor’s position, give me an email or call (423-914-9991) so I can add your name to the list. Lion Adam Bowling (423-239- 8135) is to be contacted for the 12N Charities Board positions and PDG Neal Vaughan (865-457-4664) for a position on the E TN Eye Bank Board.

Peace poster contest kits can be ordered now through Lions Club International. The contest theme this year is “Share Peace”. The application is in the January Lions magazine.

Thank you for being on the list of the world’s largest service organization of 1,388,251 members and Thank You for the work you do in your communities.

Theresa and I look forward to seeing you at the convention.

In Lionism,

District Governor Ed Gibbons