Governor‘s Comments...

Throughout the months, I hope that the Lions of 18B have given a lot of thought to INNOVATION. Our International President, Dr. Tae-sup Lee, gave us this theme for a purpose—to make us think about Lionism, about our clubs, and about us being Lions.

Over the past nine months, I have tried to tie INNOVATION into ways we need to think about Lionism so that we have a future. Without new ways, our Lions Clubs and we will fade away. The world around us is changing and as it changes, we need to change.

The last letter, N, represents Network. Network means to bring strands, threads, or things brought together. This about that—how can you as a Lion bring something together?

Your club can do it. I know of a club that has a set time once a month to highlight at least two of its members. They are allowed to explain what they do, what type of business they are in, hobbies, etc. More than one club in 18B publishes an annual booklet with each Lion’s biography and job details. Many clubs encourage members to patronize businesses operated by fellow Lions. Melvin Jones started with a businessmen’s club. Do you honestly believe that those men joined and promised never to say anything about their businesses? There is nothing in the Constitution and Bylaws that says we cannot mention what we do or where we conduct our businesses. Encourage your members to network. This could be a draw for new members.

You can network. Ask that new Lion about his or her family and business. Membership Chairperson, partner the new Lion with an experienced Lion as a Mentor. Put LCI’s Mentor program into place. The Mentor program is a three-year plan to orient the new Lion into Lionism and encourage the leadership growth of the new Lion.

Celebrate each Lion’s birthday, anniversary, birth of a new child, a new grandchild, a career change. Don’t make it an occasion to collect tail twister fines, but make it a happy event. People are more apt to stay in an organization that is encouraging. Each Lion should feel welcome and a part of a larger group—the club, the district, and Lionism.

DG Lil

April 19-21          International President’s visit to Georgia, Atlanta

April 25               Cabinet Meeting, Baxley 1^st Baptist Church

May 14-15           Council of Governors, Savannah

May 17                Reidsville Lions Club Anniversary

Alamo Lions Club: MMR received on time

Alma Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities report received. Held White Cane Golf Tournament. Lions served as escorts at Miss Twin Oaks Beauty Pageant.

Baxley Lions Club: Article in newspaper thanked club for involvement in community and donations. Club donated to GA Council on Child Abuse, Appling County Foster Children, Appling County Charity Foundation, Appling County Golf Boosters, and Appling County Touchdown Club.

Bellville Lions Club: Will serve breakfast at Cancer Relay. Lion Rommie Thompson inducted into 18B Hall of Fame

Blackshear Lions Club: Honored Lion Linton Taylor with Century Club membership. Club is 100% LCIF Contributors!

Bloomingdale Lions Club: Reports on time. Participated in White Cane Day

Brantley County Lions Club: Reports on time. Sent 67 pairs of eyeglasses to Lighthouse

Brunswick-Gateway Lions Club: No reports received

Bulloch Lions Club: No reports received

Claxton Lions Club: Had float in Rattlesnake Roundup parade.

Clinch County: Purchased 3 pairs of eyeglasses

Cobbtown Lions Club: Had pancake supper. Getting ready for Senior Citizens fish fry.

Collins Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities Report on time

Darien Lions Club: Reports on time. Had program from DG on Officer Orientation

Douglas Lions Club: One New Member! Planning free eye screening for 6th graders. Won blood drive challenge—Lions donated 39 pints; Thomasville donated 9!

Folkston Lions Club. MMR and DG Activities report received.

Garden City Lions Club: Received DG Activities report. No MMR

Golden Isles Lions Club: 2 New Members!!

Glennville Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities reports received.

Hazlehurst Lions Club: No reports

Hinesville Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities report received on time. One New Member!

Jacksonville Lions Club: .Program from Heart of GA Technical College on how any one regardless of age can attend and receive a degree.

Jekyll Island Lions Club: MMR on time.

Jesup Lions Club:. Raised funds and volunteered for 2004 Wayne County Special Olympics

Kingsland Lions Club: MMR on time. Planning pavilion addition to clubhouse.

Liberty Coastal Lions Club: No reports

Lyons Lions Club: Purchased 2 pairs of glasses. Had program on Lighthouse. Participated in White Cane Day

McRae Lions Club: Received 3,000 pairs of eyeglasses from Lighthouse to be reconditioned and used on Jamaica mission trip by member Lion Dr. David Altman

Metter Lions Club: Purchased eyeglasses.

Milan Lions Club: 3 New Members!!!

Odum Lions Club: Sold dogwood trees and participated in Dogwood Festival in Jesup

Patterson Lions Club: Turned in 98 pairs of eyeglasses

Pembroke Lions Club: Two New Members!!

Port Wentworth Lions Club: No reports.

Reidsville Lions Club: MMR received. No activities report.

Richmond Hill: MMR and DG Activities Report on time.

Rincon Lions Club: Reports on time. PDG Joe Halter hospitalized with complications for cancer treatment.

Rincon Noon Lions Club: No reports.

Rincon – Savannah River Lions Club MMR received. No activities reported

Savannah Lions Club: .New Member!

Savannah-Chatham South Lions Club: Reports on time. Two New Members!

Savannah-Hostess City Lions Club: . Honored Jackie Ricks with Melvin Jones Fellow.

Savannah-Port City Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities report received. Hosted 33 children from the St. Mary’s Home at Outback.

Springfield Lions Club: MMR on time. Another new Member! Great for a club less than 1 year old!

Statesboro Noon Lions Club: MMR and DG Activities report received. Planning joint project with Girl Scout troop to work on Silver Award, the Girl Scout equivalent of the Boy Scout Eagle.

Vidalia Lions Club: No reports

Waycross Lions Club: No reports.

Waycross-Okefenokee Lions Club: Had program on Satilla Advocacy Group. 5 publicity items in newspaper.

Wilmington Island Lions Club: Reports on time. New Member!

Woodbine Lions Club Reports on time. Had a steak dinner

There’s only three months left to take advantage of the waiver of entrance fees for new lady Lions. Clubs should use this as a selling point when recruiting new Lions. Have some of you thought about asking your wives to be Lions? This is a good time to do so.

Attention Lions! All Lions are invited to attend the cabinet meeting on Sunday, April 25, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Baxley, GA. This will be our last cabinet meeting until the District Breakfasts at the MD 18 Convention in Savannah.

Leadership training will also be held at the same place. All new club officers, zone chairs, and returning officers are to attend. The District Leadership team will be bringing a new training to the Lions of 18B!

Mark your calendar now for April 25!

ANNUAL REPORT DUE

The Annual Report or A-1 Report is due June 1. This is a summary to the DG and Lions Clubs International of the activities of each and every Lions Club.

The club secretary prepares the report. This made easier by summarizing the activities that the club has reported on the DG Monthly Activities report. There are no details asked, just a check list with a summary of hours, activities, and contributions.

Last month, a newsletter article gave a summary of what the Lions of 18B accomplished in 2002-2003. Let’s make 2003-04 a greater year! Let every club—all 50—complete and submit the A-1 Report by June 1!

Pamela Bauer Mueller of the Golden Isles Lions Club received the honor of having her book, Hello, Goodbye, I Love You selected as one of the Children’s Choices for 2004!

Children choose the 100 books each year out of 6,000-7,000 entered. This book has attracted national attention in children’s literature about a puppy being raised by a young boy to be a guide dog for the blind. Diego raises Aloha to give the gift of sight to a Kimberly Louise after she looses her sight in an auto accident. It is a marvelous book to read for children and adults.

Congratulations, Pam!

Have you sent your nominations in for the Outstanding Blind Award, the Outstanding Deaf Award, and the Anne Sullivan Award?

These awards are due to the district and the state chairmen not later than April 23. If you desire more information, contact your district chairmen.

Outstanding Blind Award—Lion Janet Ward

Outstanding Deaf Award—Lion Welby Stayton

Anne Sullivan Award—Lion Frank Jones

With the convention in Savannah, it would be great if District 18B was represented in the awards department.

All clubs should have an elections committee in place with a slate of officers to vote upon not later than the end of March. The officers for the 2004-2005 Lions year must be reported on the PU 101 form to the District Governor not later than APRIL 15.

Clubs should remember that this is not the date on the PU 101 form. The date on the form is the deadline for mailing the form to Lions Clubs International. April 15 is the District Deadline! As DG, I must record the information and then forward the forms to DGE Rick Mizell as he has another deadline for club information.

If your club does not submit a PU 101 by April 15, please understand that you will be phoned and emailed repeatedly at a time that is convenient to the DG until the information is correctly reported.

April is, by tradition, the time for each and every club to participate in White Cane Day. White Cane Day is the solicitation of funds from the community to support the charity arm of our Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation.

If your club participates, please send the all the funds collected to the Georgia Lions Lighthouse as soon as possible (by April 30 if you want to declare it on the DG Monthly Activities Report) and mark your check “White Cane Day” so that the Lighthouse can properly deposit it in the correct account.

Lions Clubs should not forget that any funds collected from the general public must be used as advertised. These are charity funds and should be forwarded quickly to the Lions project.

WELCOME NEW LIONS!

Thomas Bland                           Hinesville Lions Club

Sheila Johnson                          Pembroke Lions Club

Greg Johnson                            Pembroke Lions Club

Eleanor DeLoach                      Wilmington Island Lions Club

Benton Williams                       Milan Lions Club

Jane Williams                           Milan Lions Club

John C. Wahl                            Milan Lions Club

Edwina R. McDonald               Savannah Lions Club

Andy Weber                              Springfield Lions Club

Frankie M. Daniels                   Savannah Chatham South Lions Club

Nancy C. Tutor                         Savannah Chatham South Lions Club

Debbie Gray                             Douglas Lions Club

Terry Hughes                            Golden Isles Lions Club

Ron Gowan                               Golden Isles Lions Club

WORLDWIDE INDUCTION DAY

Saturday, April 17, 2004, is Lions Worldwide Induction Day!

This day is a tribute to the strength and importance of lions clubs all over the world. Thousands of new member are simulanteously inducted into clubs to strengthen Lions programs around the world. Press releases and media coverage advertise the event, increasing public knowledge of Lions clubs and demonstrating the importance these clubs have in helping and serving their communities and the less fortunate of the world.

Lions Worldwide Induction Day is centered on recruiting members. This is an opportunity to launch a membership drive. New members will have this opportunity to see the importance of their role as a Lion and the importance of our service to others. The ceremony can reinforce the importance of existing members by underscoring the significance of their service and asking them to recommit themselves to service. Participants receive special commemorative certificates.

A planning guide that includes program suggestions, recruiting ideas and planning tips is available at www.lionsclubs.org, Lions Worldwide Induction Day Planning Guide MD-61 or contact LCI, New Clubs and Marketing Department at 630-571-5466, ext. 522 or email [email protected].

Zone Meetings

Region 2, Zone 1 Tuesday April 20 7:30 PM, RJ’s Restaurant Statesboro. Bulloch Lions Club Sponsoring

Region 1, Zone 2 Thursday April 22 7:00 PM, Ryan’s Steakhouse, Stephenson Ave, Savannah. Savannah Port City Lions Club Sponsoring. Speaker DGE Rick Mizell, Topic, Orientation.

The 83rd Georgia Lions State Convention will be held in Savannah on June 18-20. Our special guests will be the Incoming Lions International President (now 1st VP) Clement F. Kusiak of Linthicum, MD, and his wife, Jeanne.

District B will be at the Marriott on the river. Phone 912-233-7722 and mention that you are coming in with the Lions of Georgia for your special room rate. Rooms will be $125 until May 18, after that there will be an increase in rate.

Convention books will be only $65 for early reservations by APRIL 30. The price will increase to $70 for late comers. The book contains two breakfasts and a banquet meal. There will be a Melvin Jones Fellowship luncheon with the purchase of a separate ticket. There will be no presentations of MJFs at the luncheon, but time will be allowed following for a photo opportunity with our guests.

The opening ceremonies are a must to attend with a performance by our own Georgia Lions All-State Band and a special welcome to Savannah, along with great entertainment.

For more information, contact the General Chairperson PDG Jerry Kaiser at 912-964-4518, 110 Rommel Avenue, Garden City, GA 31408.

IN MEMORIAM

Lion William W. Sessions                 Jekyll Island Lions Club

PDG Joseph Molony                         State Newspaper Editor

Lion James K. McDonald                  Wilmington Island (Charter Member)

60th Anniversary Celebrated

The Reidsville Lions Club will celebrate its 60th Anniversary on Monday, May 17 at the Reidsville United Methodist Church at 7:00 p.m. Guest Speaker is PID Jay Patel of North Charleston, South Carolina.

A catered meal will be served, cost will be $9.00 per person. All Lions are invited to help celebrate 60 years of serve in Reidsville. Please RSVP to Lion Brad Anderson at (912) 557-6783 or Lion President Bobby Kennedy at (912) 557-6934, email [email protected]

Directions to the Reidsville United Methodist Church: Located on US 280 one block east of the red light at US 280 and 23.

About LCIF

Dear Fellow Lion:

I hope you are well. I know you are busy! That is the Lion way. Service takes lots of time and effort. But we know the rewards are great, both for our community and the sense of self-satisfaction we receive.

I want to tell you a bit about how LCIF has been busy helping Lions. And I want to tell you how you can help LCIF.

LCIF takes pride in partnering with Lions to better their communities and to alleviate global problems such as river blindness. LCIF provides standard (matching) grants for Lions to take on projects that are too big for them to do on their own.

Our most recent round of grants included 40 standard grants for $1.7 million. LCIF has enabled Lions in India to expand a school, Lions in Mexico to purchase equipment for an eye center and Lions in Illinois (USA) to equip a vocational training center for the blind. LCIF teams up with Lions to bring health, hope and healing to people in their community.

LCIF also funds projects that involve Lions from at least two nations. Our International Assistance Grant allows Lions from a developed nation to partner with Lions from a developing nation on a vital community need. For example, Lions from North Carolina (USA) and Kenyan Lions collaborated on an LCIF project to provide cataract surgeries and improve eye care in a remote area of Kenya. As another example, Dutch Lions received an LCIF grant to provide corrective orthopedic surgery for children in Ghana crippled by polio.

You will be pleased to know that LCIF has been forming new partnerships with corporations and foundations. This allows us to help more people while limiting our own costs. For example, LCIF has partnered with Johnson & Johnson on the Sight for Kids program. More than 600,000 children in the Far East and Southeast Asia have been screened so far for eye disease.

LCIF works with Lions to better people's lives. But we need the continued support of Lions like you. The amount of our grants has exceeded our donations the past few years. We need the continued generosity of Lions.

There are many ways to help, some of which you may not have even realized. Many clubs have funds in their account that could be used for a Melvin Jones Fellowship. To check the status of your account, contact Pat Augustine of LCIF.

Contributing Memberships are a wonderful way for Lions to make a difference beyond their local community. Members who contribute $20 or more are recognized with distinctive lapel pins. More importantly, you receive the satisfaction of knowing you've helped someone who desperately needs it.

Donating to LCIF has never been easier now that it can be done online. This is a safe, and quick way to support your foundation.

Consider a gift annuity--a great way to help yourself financially while also supporting the humanitarian mission of LCIF. Our gift annuity will give you a higher rate of return than you would receive from many other investments.

In closing, thank you for all you do as Lions and for LCIF. Your service is truly inspiring. I am confident of your continued support.

Yours in Service,

Kay K. Fukushima, LCIF Chairperson

International President's Diamond Challenge

The President's Diamond Challenge is an innovative new program to recognize club presidents for their leadership in membership recruiting. Diamond pins are awarded based on net membership gain achieved by a club during the 2003-2004 Lions year. Boost your club's recruiting efforts with this exciting challenge! Look for the article highlighting the President's Diamond Challenge in the March edition of THE LION Magazine. For more information, contact the Membership Operations Department at (630) 571-5466 or e-mail [email protected].

International President's Retention Campaign

The President's Retention Campaign Clinic Series features four individual publications, which address the top retention threats. "Focus on Working Together,' the fourth clinic of the series, was introduced this year and contains helpful advice to bring clubs together to form a productive, cooperative team. To order, contact the Membership Operations Department at (630) 571-5466, ext. 356 or e-mail [email protected]. You can also download the Clinic Series from LCI's Web site.

Plan Meaningful Inductions

Planning and conducting appropriate new member induction ceremonies is now easier than ever with "Meaningful New Member Inductions" (ME-22). The guide walks through the steps necessary to ensure a thoughtful and meaningful ceremony. To order, contact the Membership Operations Department at (630) 571-5466, ext. 340 or e-mail [email protected].

This June marks the 60th anniversary of the allied forces landing at Normandy, France. The Lions of Normandy have generously offered to host Lions World War II veterans who plan to attend the commemoration ceremonies. Veterans who plan to attend this event, and would like to be hosted by a local Lion should contact:

Lion Pierre Poupel, 13 route de la Foret, 27220 La Boissiere, France

Tel: (33) 2 32 36 19 19, Fax: (33) 2 32 26 92 00, E-mail: [email protected]

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