District Governors Musings

District Governors Musings

Again – we must grow or we will die.  I have had several Lions and clubs ask about membership.  PID Jerome has some good comments – please read.  There are several links to resources like brochures, pamphlets and the such to help with soliciting new members, starting new clubs and retention.  Please look the resources over.  This next year between NoAMI and membership chair, we will get more information out.

DG Billy

PID Jerome Thompson,
GAT Leader, CA 1

Lion Gray,

My Grandmother, the queen of odd sayings, reminded me often not to water the dead plants. Not knowing what she meant, I would water all the flowers. As I have gotten older, I have found that some situations just are not producing the fruit that I desire. Hence, it is time to turn my attention to more fruitful pursuits. If we are going to finish this Lion year strong, it is time for us to stop, evaluate our progress, regroup, and possibly look for a new path to success.

Last spring, most District held a Build a Vision meeting, drafted a plan of action, and set out to find success. When my district served as a pilot district, we were so excited to have the opportunity to define our success, we become a little over ambitious. Our enthusiasm resulted in more progress than in years past. However, it also produced goals which were not SMART Goals. At the end of the first year, we learned we had set SMAT Goals. The Realistic portion of the process was not given enough consideration. Hence, we adjusted, regrouped.

Collectively, all the District in CA 1 set a goal of chartering 390 clubs. As of today, we have chartered 105, with 20 charters pending. This is a 49% increase over last year. Yet with about 40 days left to charter a club, it does not appear that we will reach our goal. Can we adjust that to 175? And if your district has not chartered a new club, let’s begin now to form a new club in a new community. Finish strong, start stronger.

Collectively, all the districts in CA 1 set a goal of adding 19,682 members into existing clubs. As of today, we have added 14,891 new members. With a little effort we can reach and exceed this goal. Lions Clubs International has waived the entrance fee until June 30. If every club, every District Governor, every District Governor-elect, International Director, Past President and Past Director would sponsor one new member by June 30, we could reach this goal and make up for the members not add due to reducing our new club goal.

Collectively, all the districts in CA 1 set a goal of dropping no more than 16,018 members. The pandemic lasted longer than we had anticipated. Clubs were not as engaging as we have been in the past. As of today, we have dropped 28,801 members from our rolls.  It is time to evaluate our goals in this area as well. To even suggest that there would be no more members dropped this year, would be insane. However, if we encourage clubs to begin now to collect dues for next year, check on MIA members and begin to develop hands on service projects to engage all members, we can limit our losses.

Where will we water in the next 50 days? May I suggest that we use our human resources to retain the members we have, add members to our existing clubs, and as time permits, extend our footprint of service to new communities. 

 Working with our District Governors-elect and allowing them to assist us in finishing strong we can reduce our membership loss, increase our service impact and prepare for an even better post-pandemic year. Your Global Action Team is here to help

Sincerely,

Jerome Thompson, PID
CA 1 GAT Leader
PO Box 593
Moulton Alabama 35650
256-340-4762