Dear District Governor,

 

Happy New Year! May 2009 be your best ever as a Lion and may you continue to make our Miracles of Service happen.

For Lions, the first half of fiscal year 2008-09 was quite productive in terms of membership. The worldwide membership of Lions Clubs International is 2,399 ahead.  This is no guarantee that the year-end totals will be ahead of last year’s but it is a strong indication that the momentum of growing membership has carried us into 2009.  As always, much of this success is due to the hard work and dedication of our district governors.  Congratulations!

Of course a new year is also a time to look ahead and reevaluate our goals in light of past performance.  I hope that all of you take a close look at the goals we set in Bangkok for establishing new clubs in your district.  At the end of this Lions’ year I would like to be able to report that the good news about membership growth applies uniformly to all constitutional areas and all districts.  The key to making this happen is establishing new clubs, but not necessarily traditional Lions Clubs.

Family-friendly clubs, Cyber Lions Clubs, Branch and Campus Clubs will all attract the kind of members who will enrich our association with new ideas and new energy.

The association provides you with many resources to help you reach your membership goals.  The most important of these are the GMT and MERL team.  Please take full advantage of the expertise of these Lions leaders who have made membership growth their special mission.

District governors in North America should also take advantage of the scheduled extension workshops and the membership grants which are available.  Please e-mail Membership Programs and New Clubs Marketing Department for the workshop schedules and grant applications.  District governors in other parts of the world should contact the Membership Programs & New Clubs Marketing Department at international headquarters for more information about these programs. newclubs@lionsclubs.org.

While working with other Lion leaders is obviously important, please remember that all real change takes place within our clubs.  Staying relevant and addressing the pressing needs of our communities is the best recruitment and retention strategy a club can have.  The global economic turmoil of 2008 has produced many new challenges in our communities but also provides Lions with many new opportunities.  Difficult times often inspire community-minded individuals to do even more for their neighbors in need.  Tight budgets also have many families looking for activities in which all can participate but which do not require a large financial investment.  All of these factors make membership in a Lions Club an increasingly attractive opportunity.

Please urge your clubs to take advantage of these opportunities by seeking out the most urgent needs of today and devising innovative ways to meet them.

You have my best wishes for a happy and successful new year of service.

Sincerely,

Al Brandel

International President

 

LCI Web site Links

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_newclub.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_family.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_newcentury.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_cyber.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_branch.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/pdfs/gmtfaq.pdf

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/programs_mem_MERL.shtml

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/pdfs/tk10.pdf