Hello Lions,
How time flies, having just completed three months of my term as your District Governor. It has been an extremely busy time, but it is pleasing to note that we are coming out of Covid-19. Despite all the difficulties we have encountered, we have been able to increase our District’s membership by a net 24, since 1 July, taking our membership to 1,147 members. Still a long way to go to 1,250, but an extremely good start. Keep up the good work.
I have borrowed the words below from David Peart, Council Chair of New Zealand in their latest Lions magazine as I believe they express our current situation extremely well. He uses the words KNOW, SHOW and GROW.
“KNOW your community. This is not just the role of your club officers. Every member has different community networks but, as a general observation, club membership covers a narrow band of society so we need to work harder to meet and understand a more diverse range of our communities needs. SHOW, Lions are naturally self-effacing. We are not good at telling people what we are doing. My challenge to you is to serve individually with humility, but collectively with pride. Publicise what you are doing, find partners, use social media and celebrate your successes. People have learnt during the last few months how much we rely on each other and many are looking for an opportunity to help others, and seeing and knowing what we are doing may encourage them to want to join us. GROW. Individuals can occasionally achieve success, but a committed group of people working together can achieve extraordinary results. I am always excited when I meet new members. They come from different backgrounds and with different experiences and new ideas. They need to be welcomed, encouraged and mentored. Change is often scary, but one thing this pandemic has shown is that we have the technology to “meet” without always having to leave home, but it has also taught us how much we value the touch of fellow human beings.”
Together we are United, Hear us Roar! I am looking forward to catching up with many of you at our Annual General Meeting in Port Pirie on 17th October 2020.
Tony Pederick OAM
District Governor