Off to Alaska

I was privileged to attend this year's USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum in Anchorage, Alaska this past weekend.  As a "first-timer" I didn't really know what to expect but I was definitely excited about the adventure.

Joining nearly 2000 Lions from all across the United States and Canada, I listened to fabulous speakers and attended seven sessions on topics from leadership to legal issues. At each meal, I sat with different Lions and learned about their clubs and projects and shared ideas.

Those speakers I mentioned?  Leading the way, of course, International President Tam addressed the assembly and spoke about how if Lions could plant over a million trees, they could do anything.  Martin Buser, 4 time winner of the Iditarod, related his experiences.  MK Mueller asked us to express gratitude everyday and motivated us to succeed.  Dan Bigley inspired us with his story of being attacked by a grizzly and losing his sight, yet going on to achieve great things.

Throughout the weekend, my beliefs about Lions were reinforced:  Lions are passionate about service, together we can achieve great things, and, most of all, Lions are like family.  We share so much in common.

Like these videos?

Yesterday I started out to tell you about the great new videos from Lions International.  They've really been doing an awesome job with the Lions Quarterly video.  Four times a year they put together several stories about what Lions are doing in all parts of the world.  You can show them at your club meetings with the DVD, watch them direct from the LCI website, or download them free yourself from itunes.  They're usually 12-14 minutes, just the right length for your meeting. 

This month International President Tam's theme, I Believe, is available as a video as is his biography.  Great stuff.  You'll also want to see the new Peace Poster video.  Amazing art work and amazing insight about peace from children.  You can watch any of these online, download them as a podcast or from itunes, or order a DVD. 

In fact there's a whole list of videos available from LCI.  I really think you will enjoy them and be inspired.

Cabinets and councils

The first round of meetings for the new Lions year is 2/3 complete.  Saturday was the 39W Cabinet meeting and the MD 39 Council meeting.  Meetings began at 10:00 and didn't finish until nearly 4:00.  (Next Saturday is the Sight and Hearing Foundation board meeting, to complete the trifecta.)

Anyway, what goes on at these meetings?  These first meetings were primarily devoted to budgets.  The dues collected from Lions clubs must be spent wisely and lots of thought and often debate goes into this process.  Part of the meeting is committee chair reports or what the committee is planning to do throughout the year.  (Cabinet chairs are listed on our website under "Cabinet" right next to the peanut butter.)  And sometimes we talk about the constitution and by-laws and the appropriate way to do things. 

The Lions that take up their whole Saturday to keep the organization in order and running smoothly should be thanked profusely.  But that's just the tip of the iceberg for the Lions who volunteer for these positions.  Lots of hours are spent in preparation and implementation. 

Now, I probably shouldn't have said that as DG Doug is still looking for a few volunteers to fill some cabinet and zone chair positions.  (Right, the Cabinet is a little bare...)   But in spite of the time commitment, the feeling of  accomplishment and internal satisfaction you get from putting your heart and soul into this great organization makes it well worthwhile.  Seriously, give anyone a call who has volunteered in this capacity and ask them why they do it.  Then call Doug and join the team.

I've rambled on....Originally I was planning to tell you something else entirely.  So I'll do that tomorrow-check back!

I like interesting photos

Today a little departure from Lions....

I found this blog a while back, Project 365, and it's already day 210, so if I'm going to share I should do it before it gets to 365.  Check it out-you'll see some great photography, photography ideas, and bits of interesting things that may inspire you.  

Photography is actually one thing we Lions can stand to improve.  Good photos help us spread the message of what we do.  If you have a great photo of a Lions activity, please share!  We could use more photos here, on facebook or on our website.

(See how I worked Lions into this?)

Reports, reports...

It's almost the end of the month which means report time for Lion secretaries!

The first report is the Web Monthly Membership Report or the WMMR.  The second is the LCI Activity Report and the 3rd is the District 39W Monthly Report.  All should be completed by the last day of the month, but if you miss that date, you can still do them, they are just...late. 

The most important report is probably the Monthly Membership Report.  This is where you report your new members to LCI.  (Oh, and the dropped members, too, but let's not have any of those!)  It's important to get your members on and off the roll in a timely manner.  It affects billing, District numbers, and your members themselves.  And, even if you don't have any changes in membership for the month, you still make the report!  That's probably the easiest thing to forget!

Here are the steps to do the WMMR:

1. Go to the "Submit Reports" page on the LCI website.
2. Click the big Lions logo.
3. On the left hand side of the page, you'll see the WMMR Instruction Guide.  Follow the steps in this guide (it's got pictures!)
4. To log in, used your member number.  If you were an officer last year, the same password will work.  If you're new, follow the steps for registration (There's a link just below the login). 

If you forget to do it by the last day of the month, you can still select the previous month from the drop down list.  It would be a good time right now to put this on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone or whatever works for you so you don't forget to log in to LCI sometime around the end of the month.  I think I'll put it on my Google calendar right now!

Need some help or have a comment?  Use the "comments" link below!

Just a minute-I'm the secretary?

OK, club secretaries!  As promised, here's the first informational and enlightening blog post just for you!  (Anyone can read it, though!)

I'm already finding more things I should be doing as a club secretary.  At the first board meeting, I totally forgot that I was supposed to take minutes!  Fortunately, I was able to remember everything long enough to get it down on paper!

But what is supposed to be in the minutes anyway?

Minutes are just a record of the action taken at a meeting.  According to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Robert's Rules" they are "minutes, not hours-make them short and accurate." Most minutes for Lions Clubs will include:

• the name of the organization and type of meeting
• the date, time and place
• the person presiding at the meeting and the name of the person who took the minutes 
• how many members were present (optional, but useful to establish a quorum)
• the motions made, who made them and the result
• committee reports attached or included in brief

Minutes don't include discussion, the person who seconded a motion, withdrawn motions, or opinions.


After the minutes are approved, the secretary should mark them "approved", sign them,  and keep a copy along with any written reports.

Pretty easy, huh?  Just don't forget to take notes and you'll be fine!

Have an "addition to the minutes"?  Use the comments link below.

Who's on YouTube?

I was watching some video highlights of the Lions International Convention in Seattle when I happened to see some Lions I know...  See how many you can spot.  (Hint:  Look for white pants and bright blue shirts.)  Way to go, MD 39W Lions!

I haven't blogged in so long....

I've been very, very bad!  It's been FOREVER since I've written in this blog!  It's actually one of the more enjoyable things that I do for District 39W, but probably not the most important one, so when other things got busy, this took a back seat.

No more excuses!

We are fast approaching the end of the Lions Year-just a week to go.  It seems amazing to me the year went so fast and soon we will welcome our new District Governor, Doug Beehler, to our club meetings, and Pat will become a PDG (Past District Governor).  Doug will continue with many of the ideas and changes begun by DG Pat, but will have a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.  I'm looking forward to working with Doug as the District Secretary-Treasurer.

Yikes!  I hope I'm up to that challenge! 

One of the new things I will be doing will be using this space about once a month to blog about all things secretarial.  Club secretaries are very busy people and don't always receive the training they need and deserve.  I'll try to fill in that gap just a little by offering short bits of training and tips and how-to's and what do I do's and laments about being a club secretary. 

Let me know what you think and send me your questions!

Special Olympics Idaho "Breakfast With Champions"

Please join me at the Special Olympics Idaho "Breakfast With Champions" event on Tuesday, June 7th from 7:30am-9am at the Boise Center on the Grove. This event is for a breakfast to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Idaho athletes (free-will donation). There will also be presentations from athletes, families and volunteers. I have 10 seats available. The Key Note Speaker this year is Coach Greg Patton, Head Coach for the BSU Men’s Tennis Team, an awesome speaker! Contact Lion DG Pat to reserve your seat at imjustlivinit@yahoo.com or call 870-2271.

Winner of District 39W Membership Contest

I am pleased to announce that the Star Lions Club is this year's club winner of our Ready! Set! Grow! membership contest. Star Lions added 15 new members (25 to 40) which is a 60% net gain in membership in two months. WOW!!  Lion Mini Victory (a Star Lion) is the individual winner bringing in 7 new members. Congratulations to all who participated in this worthwhile event. DG Pat