A Message from International Director David Stoufer

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM ID DAVE
Iowa's International Director Dave "Santa" Stoufer

Greetings Iowa Lions, Lionesses and Leos.


A Challenge to Change can sometimes be a challenge

International President Mahendra Amasuria has as his theme Challenge to Change. He has been asking Lions worldwide to look at themselves, their clubs and their association, the way they perceive themselves and the way they do their life changing work.

So, we have been.

In Ohio a recent new member, Josh Proper, stopped coming to meetings shortly after his induction. The District Governor, also a member of that club and also a young person, asked why. The answer was simple: "Because I have a young family I want to be home during the evenings when the family can all be together." "Lunch meetings would be better for me; I guess I'll look for a service club that meets for lunch." The Governor suggested that the club could maybe change their meeting time and the young Lion was blown away. By the way, the other members of the club fought the change for a while then gave in. The result of changing the meeting time was retaining the one young member who then signed up fifteen other young people from his office and professional acquaintance. The club now meets three times a month: two lunch meetings and one at the old time in the evening. By the way, Lion Josh was co-chair of this year's District Convention. It was a great change, but it was a challenge.

Even though women have been welcome to join Lions since 1987 there are still quite a few all-men clubs out there. I personally find that to be silly. And so do many women apparently. I have run into several instances where women in certain towns including spouses of the all-male club members have gotten tired of waiting for the "good old boys" to change their clubs into co-ed clubs and have chartered new clubs with all female members. By the way, the female member clubs are not as narrow minded as the all-male clubs, as they are inviting men to join their clubs as fast as they can. I guess it boils down to the old axiom "if you can't join them beat them." In one District this story was told to me by the District Governor, a member of one of those new clubs. It was a tremendous change, but it was a challenge.

Then there's fund raising. Because of our strong philanthropic service ethic we need to raise money, sometimes lots of money. As I conduct seminars on fund raising I discover many of the attendees are there because they are confused and upset. Because they have refused to re-assess the needs of their community they are still holding the same fund raising projects they have held for years and years. It's what they do, it's what they are good at, they have the same committees in place with the same procedures and they are losing money, not making it. They are afraid to change what has worked so well in the past. They often feel that a change would be good, maybe even necessary but man, oh, man that first step to trust the new guy's idea, to go out on a limb, to not have the 46th year of the same project can be very challenging.

Times change, needs change, people change: Do you?

This is not the International Association of Lions clubs that was founded 91 years ago. It cannot be. If this great association had not changed with the times, needs and people we would be merely a paragraph in a history book by now. And yet our membership continues to decline, even with our outstanding efforts to establish new clubs and members. Is that because changing is such a challenge?

I ask you to examine yourself as a Lion, Lioness or Leo. Are you willing to do things differently in order that our great association can continue to serve the people of the world? It is and will continue to be a challenge to change. Are you up to the challenge?

View a photo of ID Dave and Lion Josh Proper, in the story above, in the “Photo Gallery” on the District 9SE web site at www.iowalions9se.org.

-- ID Dave & PDG Rachel

David Stoufer's Personal Biography.