Message from DG Ed Gibbons

Lions of 12-N,

Wow! What a great 12-N District Convention we had in Johnson City! With apologies to the other District Governors, it was the best one yet! The Carnegie Hotel accommodations were great and the food was excellent. Thanks again to the East Tennessee Lions Eye Bank for the Friday night meal. Special thanks to our speaker, Past International President Jim Ervin. It was an honor having PIP Ervin at our convention and we appreciate the excellent job he did with his enlightening presentation. It was also great to have Past International President Austin Jennings in attendance. We appreciate his encouraging response to our speaker’s remarks. Everyone enjoyed our entertainment Friday evening with our own ETSU Lion Ashley Griggs as well as the barbershop quartet Mellow Fellows.

Even though the snow we had Saturday morning made it impossible for a few Lions to return for the Saturday meeting, our attendance was still good. During the Saturday meeting the District 12N Charities elected new officers and approved their budget as well as collecting checks for the District Charities projects. District 12N elected 1VDG Fletcher Stephens as DGE (Yea) and 2VDG Paulette Bailey as 1VDGE and Lion Adam Bowling from the Kingsport Lions Club as 2VDGE. I am so proud of these Lions for stepping up to lead the District. We are so fortunate to have this excellent leadership for the next three years. The East Tennessee Lions Eye Bank elected their officers after the Friday evening meal. Considering all the inclement weather, District 12N had a successful convention.

As you know, one of the three goals I have for your club is a plus one (or more) in growth. As I look on the LCI membership page, I see congratulations go to the following Lions clubs that have shown a positive growth. They are: Bulls Gap, Clinton, Dandridge, ETSU, Fountain City, Inskip, Karns, Knox Tri-County, Loudon, Morristown and Norris. Of these clubs LCI shows Dandridge leading with 5 plus members and ETSU and Norris with 4 plus members. If you have new members, please have your secretaries report these to LCI so we can get your club in the plus category.

International President Joe Preston’s Centennial Service Challenge goal was to help 100 million people worldwide in a service project. Within the first six months this Lions challenge helped 20 million people worldwide. It looks like we are on our way to making his goal. If your club is interested in helping and reporting your service activities, you can find more information at Lions100.org. Start planning your centennial service project today.

Mark your calendar for the Lions Multi-District State convention May 8-10, 2015 in Clarksville, Tennessee. Our International President, Joe Preston will be our guest. We certainly need a lot of Tennessee Lions in attendance to show our support for him. In addition, Tennessee’s own 2nd Intl. VP, Bob Corlew, will be attending and we certainly want to support him. There is a registration form at the end of this newsletter — so get signed up. I sure would like to see a lot of 12N Lions there.

Thank you for your service as a member of the largest service organization in the world, with over 1.35 million members and 46,000 clubs in 210 countries. Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion. Remember to Start One, Ask One, and Keep One!

In Lionism,

District Governor Ed Gibbons