ASK!

Dick Woods, formerly of the Wenatchee Lions and now with the Willapa Harbor Lions, is a 50 year Lion.

During his years he has brought 102 people into the Lions. That sounds like an amazing accomplishment but Dick, a modest straight talker, downplays it a bit saying, “That’s about two a year.”

There is no magic potion or trick to it. Lion Dick says, “The key word is ASK. You have to ASK. ASK Have you ever heard of the Lions? ASK Do you know what Lions do? ASK Has anyone ever invited you to a Lions club meeting?”

He says, “There are prospective Lions everywhere.However you meet a person just bring up the subject. ASK!”

Dick Woods continues, “In September and October on Friday and Saturday our club sells tickets to the Rain Derby. If they get the next year’s rain amount right they win $5,000. It’s an eleven year old project.  While selling tickets outside the grocery, I talked to a 40 year old gentleman and invited him to our club meeting. He’s “retired” after 12 years in the military. He wants to get involved. He wants to volunteer. He came to last week’s meeting. He’s bringing his application to the next meeting.

Dick said, “We did an open house last March. Everyone ASKed someone to attend. Our Past District Governor spoke.  The meeting was only a half hour long. 10 people joined that night.”

I pressed Dick a little harder on what worked best for him besides just ASKing. He said, “First thing I ASK, Do you know anything about the Lions? Then I tell a quick Helen Keller story because everyone knows about her. I tell them about the 1925 convention where she ASKed us to be Knights of the Blind? We’ve been that ever since. That usually gets people interested.

Every Lion has contact with somebody. In your work place, at church, at the store, anywhere. If you talk to people, most often there will be a time to bring up Lions.

You have to ASK.

I’ve been ASKing for 50 years.”

What an inspiration! 

 

At the 2017 MD19 Convention in Surrey, British Columbia out going Secretary Treasurer Patty Allen  had some fun on her Lion safari crowning Dick Woods  "King of the Lion Hunters!"

1,2,3

Great farmers and great businessmen have at least 3 things in common.

1) They evaluate their enterprise continually and every year,

2) They pay attention to the climate whether it be weather or economic conditions, and

3) They see to it that enough workers are on hand to get the job done.

1, 2 and 3 - year in and year out - season after season - decade after decade.

Great Lions Clubs should and do have their own 1,2,3 systems to get their job done year after year, season after season and decade after decade,

1) Lions leaders and Boards of Directors set up a budget and assign committees to care for traditional service projects.

2) Lion leaders assess new community and regional needs they might address.

3) Great clubs conduct annual membership drives to see that enough members are on hand to get the job of service done.

Lions Club International is in the business of providing tools to help clubs accomplish the 1,2,3s of their business. Think of them like the MacGregor Company or a really tuned in local banker.

My job as 19Fs Global Membership Chair and now as MD19s Global Membership Chair (two hats, one head! The M-guy!!) is to be that guy that that gets those LCI tool into your hands.

At this website link 123MD19.org is your 1,2,3 tool box. During commercials while the game is on today or tonight please take some time to check it out.

Sometimes between now and January's end use a Step 1 tool to evaluate your club.

Then figure out which Step 2 Membership drive you want to conduct from February through April.

If you want a Step 3 Video show to go along with your membership drive let us know. Email liondavidwalk@gmail.com

If you end up using any of these 1,2,3 tools please drop me an email and let me know how it went. I have to keep the tools sharp and the tool box up to date.

Thanks!!!

Dave Walk

The District M-guy

(509) 200-1114

Paprika Butter

At the USA Canada Forum last weekend Naresh, our Lions International President, was speaking to about 1400 Lions over a meal. I was gnawing on a hunk of bread slathered with orange paprika butter when he said something like, "If every Lion would bring in a new Lion..." and just then a paprika flake sent my taste buds soaring and my mind off somewhere else and I lost most of the rest of what he was saying.

3 days later while chauffeuring the DG back from a visit to Asotin, Naresh's words popped back into my brain and I tried to start a conversation with DG Crystal about how amazing what he said really was... What if every Lion would bring in a new lion this year? We tossed it around for a few miles while my tired eyes scanned the road shoulders for deer and badgers.


Just how would bring in a Lion work?  Think this through with me, please.       

I could commit to personally finding a new Lion! Actually, it happened the next day when a 20-something named Zach said he'd like to join my club. Yikes! Twilight Zone music out of nowhere and As a man thinketh slogans slowly roll across my mind.

Maybe you could get your son to join? Tell him it's time to do what a man should do in the world. Maybe someone else would invite their niece or nephew to a service project and tell them truthfully that their help is needed to change their community and the world.

Another Lion could look over his barbed wire fence and strike up a Lions conversation with the guy in the next field. Stranger things have happened.




Naresh has nailed it! "If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." we wouldn't be listening to tired people griping about how the same 5 Lions do all the work on their club's projects.

"If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." it would be so much more fun watching an ancient Tail Twister trying to remember everyone's names.

"If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." there would be more support for Little League teams, soccer teams, band trips, FFA and 4H and Scout Troops.

"If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." our contributions to LCIF and Leader Dogs and Care and The Northwest Lions Foundation would double.

"If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." there would be more new officers and van loads of people visiting clubs and going to conferences.

"If every Lion would bring in a new Lion.." the old guys could quit worrying about their club existing after they pass on.

Sometimes a leader will say something so profound that when you turn it over in your head the best thing that comes out of your enlisted soldier brain is something like, "Oh, Wow!" or "Wow, Sir!"

At that point, if you are a good Sergeant, you translate it for your troops, get on with the mission and take the objective.

Naresh

Navita & Naresh Aggarwal with Crystal & David Walk

Our International Lions President Naresh and his wife Navita Aggarwal hail from India which so far away from District 19F that when I shook his hand in Chicago I couldn’t imagine that anything he would have to say could even remotely apply to our district full of wheat farmers and good old boys and girls.

Sometimes an old redneck like me can enjoy being wrong.  Dr. Aggarwal has a great head on his shoulders. When he writes he doesn’t waste words and when he talks he gets right down to business. In the current Lions Magazine he says, “Service to others defines who we are. It is our very reason to exist as a global organization. Our motto puts it in terms others can easily understand - We Serve -… Our motto is timeless. It is as relevant today as it was in 1917, and it will inspire us into our next century of service
.

Dr. Aggarwal and Lions Club International have developed the exciting and new Global Action Team which is actually a streamlining of ourorganization at all levels. He says, “It unifies the three key areas of Lions—leadership, membership and service into one team to strengthen our clubs, districts and association. It's a bottom-up approach to supporting and encouraging the one thing that unites all Lions: service.”

Dr. Aggarwal concludes, “Your clubs are counting on you. And so am I. Let's do everything in our power to make the Global Action Team a success!”

Check out the Global Action Team at this link or Google LCI Global Action Team.  This approach could very well be what your club and our District needs!!