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Recently 1st VDG Randy and I attended the USA/Canada Forum in Portland and attended a variety of seminars. Several I attended had to do with membership and the need to make changes in our clubs to accommodate millennials. Millennials are the generation born in 1980 and stretches to the late 1990s early 2000s, putting these folks around the age of 20 – 25. They are preceded by Generation X born in the early to mid 1960s and ending in the late 1970s to early 1980s. The one thing these seminars had in common is unless we change as Lions we will not survive in the 21st century.
Missing from these discussions are any practical steps to accomplish change without alienating current Lions and club traditions. The message is - you need to change to accommodate millennials. I would like to offer an alternative to this approach, one in which we respect the work and legacy of Lions over the past 100 years and we still welcome new members into the pride. First, recognize that millennials are just one group from which to draw new members; there is also Generation X, a group in the age range of 35 – 55. Second, rather than change the cultural traditions of your club, consider bringing in new, younger members as a branch club. Give them the opportunity to decide how and when they want to have meetings. Be sure to provide them with 1 or 2 mentors to guide them in understanding what it means to be a Lion. Avoid telling them they need to sing, tail twist, pledge allegiance, and support the same organizations you do. Third, support their projects and always invite them to be part of the parent club projects. Fourth, hold meetings with both clubs from time to time to build fellowship and understanding. Now I can hear some people saying, hey wait a minute, you are telling us to separate the groups and this isn’t good. True, it isn’t optimum. It is realistic, when you consider the alternative is losing long-time Lions who have given many years in building their clubs and serving their communities. And as many people are living longer, long-term Lions still have many years of service ahead of them. We need to recognize everyone has value, young and old. Recognize that it is not us or them, it is we. And together “we” can find a way to continue our legacy of community service, by finding ways to attract new members. And together we must respect what each of us brings to the table. And together “We Serve”.
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The first 2017-18 Lions year Leadership Training was held on September 30th at the Garden Grove Clubhouse. Forty-Five Lions from the District and from District 4L2 attended this training. Steve Thomas, Performance Consultant, Dale Carnegie of Orange County, kicked off a highly interactive discussion on key leadership topics – goal setting, planning, and communication. Steve spoke about:
Lions had the opportunity to understand different personality styles so they can better work with their fellow Lions on projects. By understanding how other personality styles engage and react, Lions can create an environment which makes full use of everyone’s talents and skills. Steve also had each participant create their own Vision statement using powerful, present tense, active language. Attendees had the chance to share their statements and were provided feedback from other attendees. The leadership discussion was followed by a practical application of what was learned. Attendees were broken into their Regions and tasked with creating a Region-wide event. Each group was asked to identify a project, select several dates for performing the project, name a project chair, and report back to the attendees. Here are the planned projects: Foothill Region – Diabetes Awareness and Health Fair on February 24, 2018. Orange Region –Health and Wellness Fair in Stanton. Tentative date is April 14, 2018 Diabetes Awareness, vision and hearing screening, food collection for food bank Saddleback Region – Diabetes Screening along with the Tustin Host Lions Vision Screening on April 24, 2018 Here is what some participants had to say about the training seminar:
 Orange Zone B Chair, Brian Clausen shares his personality style with attendees. |
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My name is Mark Piva and I am the GAT Area Leader Archives
January 2019
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