The ham story

Hello Lions,
 
The other day, a friend reminded me of the “Ham Story”. There are various versions of this story; essentially it goes like this. Paulette was preparing to cook a ham for the holidays with her daughter Susie. Susie watched her mom cut off the ends of the ham and asked why. Paulette said “I don’t really know why. Grandma always did this.” Later in the day, Paulette called her mother and asked why she cut the ends off the ham only to be told, “I don’t know way, my mother always did that.” A few days later Paulette saw her grandmother and asked her why she cut the ends off the ham. Her grandmother replied, “I did it because the roasting pan was too small and I needed it to fit.”
 
Traditions are customs or beliefs passed on from generation to generation. Traditions provide comfort, even when we have forgotten the reason for establishing the tradition in the first place. In the Ham Story, the tradition evolved from a practical necessity that is no longer necessary.
 
We tend to do this from time to time; continue with traditions even when we do not understand why we are doing so. In Paulette’s case, it was a family tradition passed down by the women in her family. Are we doing the same thing in our clubs and at the District?
 
This year District leadership has turned the pyramid upside down. Clubs and members are at the top and District leadership is at the bottom. We now have an online directory, we are taking the website to the next level, we are communicating directly to Lions in the District, we kick-started our efforts to identify emerging Lion leaders, and we are taking to heart, “Joining Hands in Service”. In taking these actions, we are eliminating long held traditions and beliefs, not because they are not valuable, but because they have run their course and times have changed.
 
As we move into the second quarter of our Lions year, take the time to think about the traditions your club has. How many times have you cut the ends off a ham? Ask yourself, “Is it time to start new traditions?”
 
Leading our legacy into the future,
 
Mark Piva
1st VDG
[email protected]