District Governor’s Message - November, 2012 Well, what a month it has been, starting with Council Meeting in Sydney at the end of August followed by a number of Club visits. On all occasions the hospitality and fellowship afforded by all Clubs to myself and Carol will remain a lifelong experience.
The Convention program has been finalized by the hardworking Committee of our Host Club, the Lions Club of Altona. They have put together a very interesting weekend for all to enjoy, so please come along and enjoy.
Lou Scholten
Thrown in the mix has been a Cabinet Meeting at Altona, followed by Carol and I attending three District Conventions, one in V1-4, one in V5 and one in N2 in Goulburn, NSW. I also attended a meeting in Colac with the Global Leadership and Global Membership Teams to discuss the Region Forums. As a result of this we have commenced this month with two Region Forums, one in Hamilton and the other at Leopold. Other Regions will follow soon. From all accounts they were well received, and “Thank you” to our presenters at those meetings. A job well done! As we progress through the Lions year, or in the words of our International President, “Continue towards the winner’s circle”, we face ever increasing pressures on our membership, but I’m pleased to say we appear to be moving forward. Currently we have had a net gain for the year of 35 as of the end of August. We have also lost a number of hard working Lions. Is it apathy by Clubs, failing to look after the needs of their Members, lack of communication or another reason of which there could be so many? Have you ever asked your Members or your Community exactly what they want from Lions? After all, why did you join Lions? Are those reasons still valid today? You now have that opportunity as part of the Club Excellence Process. This process contains two surveys, one for the Members and an even shorter one for the Community. I urge Clubs to at least carry out these surveys, as you may find the result very surprising! Please contact your Global Membership Team Member for further details.
District Governor
We
Serve
Membership Figures July 1st, 2012 - 1632 31st August, 2012 New Members
1666 3 1669 Dropped 6 Total as at 30th September 1663 Net gain for Year to Date - 31
Are you planning to attend the International Convention in Hamburg in 2013? If so, please contact either Cabinet Secretary Bob Gilchrist or Lion Adrian Miles (5250 2559), as soon as possible, as “J.J.”, our past Operation Friendship visitor from Germany would like to know of any Lions and Partners from V2 who will be attending this event.