LCI History presented by Dalton Green

2010 MD-18 89th Convention

And now a word from DG Berry Broach;

As we move in the last 1/6 of this Lions Year, there is still much to do to make this year
that I had hoped for back in July 2009.
Our membership took a hit in March when the Lakeview/Ft. Oglethorpe Lions Club was
cancelled by LCI for not paying their dues. This was a loss of twelve members that we,
under Lion Kenneth last June, had signed as new members to save the club from being
cancelled at that time. The new members replaced the total membership of that club who
had given up and gave away the money that they had and then dropped themselves from the club, leaving the club with no members and no money. The new members with no old leadership and no knowledge about Lionism, could never get enough of the new members together to even elect officers. Without any leadership there were no dues collected and no bank account opened. We are holding the money collected at the time the new members joined in our District account. 1st VDG Scott, Lion Deneise Sheppard, Guiding Lion for the Ringgold Club, chartered at the same time, and I met several months ago and retraced our canvassing steps to talk face to face with the 12 new members. We could only find a few of them and those we talked with seemed as though they wanted to keep the club going but did not want to take the leadership positions necessary. I have talked with PCC Carl Harrell, GMT Regional Leader, and he advised us to wait another few months and go back in and charter a new club with new charter members using the members we have now as a nucleus for the new club. As things stand now, that is the approach we are planning. It is much easier to recruit members as Charter Members.

Our District membership was –31 at the end of March, so please, between now and the end of June, make every effort to add at least one new member to your club. Remember that every person you meet in your daily activities is a potential new member.

On the brighter side, the John’s Creek Lions Club will be chartered this month. Under the leadership of Guiding Lion Charlie Andrews, that club has over 25 members and has elected officers and is well on the way to a Charter Night in June. This club has good leadership and a great Guiding Lion. John’s Creek is a high energy community with lots going on every day. That club should be a leader in the District very quickly.

We have done much this year, but the year is not over so lets get going and end the year on a high note by completing things we have started and start things that will be finished next year.

DGE Scott has asked me to be Extension Chair next year and to set up teams to work with struggling clubs in the District. I know that it is hard to admit that your club is struggling, but LCI has declared that any club with less that 20 members is struggling. So please get with me and ask for help with your club. Together we can put you back on the right tract and rebuild that interest and desire that your members had before. It can be done and we can do it. You can reach me by phone at 706-273-4109. That is my cell phone and it is with me almost all of the time. My email address is broach@ellijay.com. It is easy to reach me all the time.

Let’s end this year with a big push in membership, but don’t fail to drop any members who need to be dropped. Keeping those members to make numbers look good only creates problems in the future.

THE FUTURE OF LIONISM
IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HAVING GOOD NUMBERS THIS YEAR.

Yours in Lionism,
DG Berry