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The Illinois Lion, Lioness, Leo

Elmhurst Lions Club Donated $4,000 to Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare Learning Center for Diabetes

District 1A Lions Kick-off Centennial Celebration at their Annual Convention

MD1 e-Magazine (Lite) Vol. 3 - Issue 14, May 2016

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From Council Chair:

Welcome the month of May. Why you say? May is

the signal that the District Conventions are over,

the Districts have elected their new officers for the

2016-2017 Lions year and our year as the Council

of Governors will soon be coming to a close, but we

still have work to do. We have had a great year for

membership in Illinois. Across the State we are at a

+ 72.

When was the last time our multiple has had a plus

in membership? A ‘Thank You’ to the Governors,

the members of the GMT and GLT and to all the

Lions that used the “ASK ONE” approach.

The last Convention, our State Convention, is just

around the corner, May 20-22, 2016. It is being

held at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield

and the registration form is in this newsletter and

also available on the State Website.

Your Convention Chairperson, Lion Sharon Peska,

has been hard at work putting together a circus

themed convention. Lion Sharon is relying on all of

us to come to Springfield and enjoy the weekend,

attend as many of the seminars and activities as

you can and finally get to meet our Lions Clubs

International incoming President Bob Corlew and

our First Lady, Lion Dianne Corlew from Milton,

Tennessee. Lions Bob and Dianne are no strangers

to Illinois, having been the visiting Director to

several of our past District Conventions.

Your attendance and input at the convention will

help the committee to plan even bigger and better

things in the future. After all, we are about to enter

into our Centennial Celebration and enter the next

100 years of Service. To follow with the theme of

Lions Bob and Dianne, “More Mountains to Climb”,

I think we all can start that climb right here in

Illinois.

Thank you for your service,

Lion Steve Anton

Council Chairman

santonlions@comcast.net

Editorial:

SEEDS OF NEW LEADERSHIP

Just the nature’s way in the month

of May seeds start growing in our

yards and gardens to produce

vegetables and flowers to beautify our

neighborhoods and to savor fresh vegetables from

our gardens in the future months.

Our clubs, zones, districts and International will be

sowing these seeds in the garden of Lionism. New

seeds of leadership will grow and bring new

enthusiasm, projects, fundraisers with lots of fun

and frolic with new ideas, new goals and bring new

charisma to celebrate our Centennial Celebrations

in the Birth Place of Lionism – Chicago, yes

Chicago!

Entire world of lionism will be looking at us how we

celebrate our 100 years of pride and what we plan

for the next 100 years of our magnetic future.

Lions are leaders in community service, helping the

needy and quick responders to any natural disaster

in this world.

As I write this editorial, we are 1,410,052 members

worldwide – only humanitarian association in this

world to reach this number. We are very proud of

our membership growth. Now we need more

members in North America to keep our strength in

Lionism as world leaders. Shrinkage in

membership in North America doesn’t make us

look good as Lions World Leaders. Let us build our

clubs and let us bring new lions clubs where there

are none. These communities are missing Lions

activities; especially the less fortunate.

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Lions are recognized by UN as the #1 humanitarian

association of the world. Our clubs in our

communities take any challenge they have to fulfill

the need. Lions who started Leader Dogs, White

Cane and played a major role in establishing state

and federal laws on visually impaired people.

Lions are just volunteers who spend their money

and personal time to serve unselfishly. They are

the leaders in their communities and also they lead

where they work. Lionism grooms leadership skills

in them to be a team leader, organizer, care taker

and fun raiser.

May is the bad month for many Lions clubs in the

world as many clubs decide to drop their members

due to non-payment of dues or not attending

regular meetings. This should be changed – we are

care takers of the needy and how we cannot take

care of our own members to remain in our clubs?

Now LCI is not demanding members to attend

meetings regularly. Members do not have to

attend regular meetings without fail. We need

members support for our programs, events and

fund raisers. If members can do this without

attending meetings regularly where is the loss? Let

us support these members to remain as Lions in

our clubs.

Time to give more importance to cyber activities, e-

mails and social media. Only through this Lions will

grow further and come together when personal

presences mandate them to have projects, events,

fundraisers accomplished with flying colors.

-PDG Austin D’Souza, Ph.D.

ILStateEditor@gmail.com

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CORNER: Jama Wahl

This is the last in a series of

articles based on Blueprint for

Club Success (DA-STPBG EN

5/15). This document is

available to download from the

LCI website.

LCI provides great tools to assist clubs in reaching

their highest potential. This ten-page document is

filled with ways for clubs to plan for success.

This guide suggests four areas for clubs to consider.

1. Assessing your club’s status 2. Establishing your goals 3. Developing your blueprint 4. Putting your blueprint into action

In this final article we are going to consider putting

your club’s blueprint into action, which is found on

page 4 of the document.

Following the assessing of your club’s status,

establishing and prioritizing club goals, and

developing the club’s blueprint, the final step is

putting the blueprint into action. A document such

as this is only valuable if it is used to provide

direction for your club. Implementation is key to

success.

As noted on page 4, be sure to share your blueprint

with all club members so that they are aware of

what the club wants to achieve. They also need to

know their role in achieving club goals. By

remaining committed to your plan and taking

consistent action, the club will move closer to your

goals.

If club members feel connected to the club’s

humanitarian service projects, it is likely the club

will be a healthy, vibrant part of your community.

It is also critical to evaluate your plan on a regular

basis. As circumstances change, your plan may

require revision. The creation of the initial

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Blueprint is just the beginning. Keep it alive and

relevant by measuring progress and gathering

feedback from club members on a routine basis.

This is how you will realize your desired results. Set

aside designated time at your club and/or board

meeting to review progress. Make the blueprint a

working document making changes and

adaptations as needed.

In addition, to achieve success, it is vital that

subsequent club officer teams assess needs,

measure progress, and update the blueprint at

least annually. The questions originally considered

related to the four key dimensions of club

operations, service, leadership development and

membership, will serve as a guide in the evaluation

process.

Your Blueprint for a Stronger Club provides a road

map to achieving greater levels of value in terms of

the community and in terms of member

satisfaction. These simple steps provide a practical

approach to enhance what is working, phase out

what no longer works, and implement new

initiatives. By creating a well-rounded Blueprint for

a Stronger Club, committing club members to its

implementation, regularly revisiting the plan, and

assessing needs and refining action steps, your club

can achieve both its short and long term goals.

The tools to support strong club growth,

leadership, and service are available. Let’s use

them to make our clubs the best they can be!

-Jama Wahl, MD1 GLT Coordinator

GLOBAL MEMBERSHIP CORNER:

We’re in the Home Stretch! The “Home Stretch” is usually a term that is applied to various sports events. It normally means that we are getting close to the end

of the game. That expression can also be applied to Lions. We are in the Home Stretch. The month

of May is upon us with June being just around the corner. That means there are only two months left in the current Lion Year. How will your club finish this year? You have two months left in which to generate any funds that may be needed to complete this year’s charitable giving. Maybe those funds will be applied to something at the beginning of next year. That could include sponsoring one or more campers to Camp Lions. Giving a kid who is vision impaired or blind, or hearing impaired or deaf, a week filled with all of those summer camp activities is a great thing to do. If your club does that, please try to participate in their Open House to actually see the kids and all of the fun they are having. If not Camp Lions, perhaps you are looking to provide eyeglasses or hearing aids to someone who needs them who can’t afford them. Maybe it’s some other worthwhile activity. You should have already elected your officers for next year. Do you want to do those officers a favor? Holding orderly business meeting is something that might come to mind. Something else could be raising more money next year than you did this year, is another. There is something else you could do to make raising more money a little easier for them. That would be finishing this year with more members than you had at the beginning of the year. Doing that would place your club in the position of having more hands, not only at fundraisers, but also at service projects. If you finish the year with a net gain in members and meet the other criteria, your club could qualify for the Club Excellence Award for this year. Check with your district’s GMT Coordinator or your District Governor. They have copies of the application. Compare the criteria with your club’s record for this year. Is you are one or two items short of qualifying, you have two months in which to check off those last few items. Go for it! Even though the current year may be winding down, there is still time in which to accomplish a lot. Complete that last fundraiser. Get some new members. Finish this year with a BANG! The

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members of your club will feel great and next year’s officers should appreciate your efforts. Lion Paul Gergolla, PDG MD-1 GMT Coordinator Phone: 630-858-8073 Email: lionpg1@aol.com

State Alert Corner: Greetings May Readers of 2016,

Now that the warm weather is finally here, sort of, we need to prepare for our outside activities. The children will soon be out of school and everyone will be ready

for summer. Along with this time of year is the possibility of nasty storms. Spring has been good to us so far but one never knows what Mother Nature will bring our way. We have mentioned many times now about developing that plan in case those nasty storms do hit us. How is your club coming along with a plan? Do you have a plan for your household? MD-1 is doing a good job with clubs getting some type of plan together. However, with all the clubs we have in MD-1, more need to step up. When you get in your car for some week end escapes, don’t forget to do some simple checks on your vehicle. Does your spare tire have air in it? Some new cars don’t even have a spare tire. Do you know what you will do if you get a flat? If you carry some traveling supplies in case you break down, check them out so they are fresh. If you don’t, consider putting some things you may need in your vehicle for such an emergency. If you created a to-go bag for your home, it may be a good time to check it for quality items also. Sure don’t want something to happen, grab your bag and the stuff inside is no good anymore. Never hurts to prepare. I hope to see you at the MD-1 Convention in Springfield and hear about the good things you are doing.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or just ask questions. A question never asked remains one unanswered. Lion Jim Kiser State Alert Chair LionJImKiser@gmail.com 630-660-7944

2016 MD1 FALL RALLY

To kick off the 2017

International Convention in

Chicago the Lions of Illinois will

be hosting a MD1 Fall Rally on

October 22, 2016 at the

Embassy Suites in East Peoria, Illinois. This

international centennial convention promises to be

the best and biggest celebration of service the

world has ever seen. And, the Lions of Illinois will

be the hosts!

Lions attending the Fall Rally will have the chance

to meet then President Chancellor Bob Corlew and

Lion Dianne. Informational sessions will be held to

highlight volunteering opportunities for Lions at

the International Convention. Educational sessions

will be held on Lions history, Retention, and much

more.

A new opportunity for clubs is the Lions Expo:

Lions Gone Wild for Service. Clubs will be able to

share information with other Lions about their

favorite service projects as well as their most

successful fundraising projects that support that

service. Clubs and agencies providing service will

receive their tables free of charge. Vendors will be

asked for a $20.00 fee to participate in the Expo.

These are exciting times for the Lions of Illinois and

the Lions of the world. Don’t miss the opportunity

to participate and show the world what your club

does TO SERVE!

Questions: contact Jama Wahl,

MD1 GLT Coordinator, 815-822-3014 or

jamawahl@yahoo.com

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The Illinois Lion, Lioness, Leo

MD1 Convention e-Magazine Vol. 3 - Issue 13, May 2016

MD1 Convention Guests:

LCI First Vice President Chancellor Bob Corlew and Lion Dianne Corlew

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COME, MEET MD1 STATE CONVENTION GUESTS:

LCI FIRST VICE PRESIDENT CHANCELLOR BOB

CORLEW AND LION DIANNE CORLEW

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SUPPORT YOUR FOUNDATION:

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Hello MD-1,

Please join us at the MD-1 State Convention to learn more about the Kid Sight vision

program. V.O.I.C.E.S., “Volunteer Organization Involved in Charitable Expressions of

Service” is the Charitable Arm of District 1-A and will be hosting this session along with

providing free vision screenings to children ages 6 months to 6 years. In addition, 1st

Vice President, Lion Bob Corlew and Lion Dianne will also be participating in this

screening.

We are very excited to have Tammy Johnson a representative from the plusoptix

Company that has partnered with the Kid Sight program to do an informal seminar about

the program and equipment. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to learn more about

this program.

In addition, we have invited all the Districts in the state to bring their cameras that are

being used in their District, to help with the screenings. MD-1 currently has 12 cameras

in operation around the state with more on order. We hope to have a group picture to

showcase all of our cameras in the state.

PDG Jerry Curry and PDG Steve Frankenstein and the Springfield Noon Lions Club from

District 1-M have joined forces to get the word out to the local community about this

program and invite them to attend. Please join us if you live in the Springfield area and

would like to have your child screened (ages 6 months to 6 years of age).

Date: Saturday May 21

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00 pm

Location: President Abraham Lincoln Hotel --- Freeport room (2nd Floor)

If you have any questions please contact, Lion Gail Anton ZC at anton173@comast.net or

708 514-4825

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“One of the best hotels ever!” We just returned from our stay in Springfield. We thoroughly enjoyed staying at this hotel. The staff was very friendly, the beds were extremely comfortable, and the location was perfect for visiting all of the historic Lincoln sites. We ate in the hotel restaurant three times during our stay. My husband said it was the best burger he ever had! I had the prime rib and it was excellent. Our server was Sean - very friendly and very prompt to attend to our every need!

“Possibly the best hotel in town” I am in Springfield often and this is my favorite hotel. Clean, well-appointed, comfortable rooms. One deficit is the walls are thin and you can hear every word, sneeze and flush. Great breakfast buffet includes made to order omelette.

Room service menu is quite limited and not the best, but it's good enough if you're exhausted or don't feel like venturing out of your room. There's always a conference or other activity so rooms book up, you'll need a reservation. Front desk staff could be friendlier, but otherwise good “One of the best hotels ever!” We just returned from our stay in Springfield. We thoroughly enjoyed staying at this hotel. The staff was very friendly, the beds were extremely comfortable, and the location was perfect for visiting all of the historic Lincoln sites. We ate in the hotel restaurant three times during our stay. My husband said it was the best burger he ever had! I had the prime rib and it was excellent. Our server was Sean - very friendly and very prompt to attend to our every need!

RECENT REVIEWS for the ABE LINCOLN:

SOME OF THE TOP THINGS TO DO in

SPRINGFIELD:

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library &

Museum

Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Dana-Thomas House, a Frank Lloyd

Wright ‘Hidden Treasure’

Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials

Lincoln Memorial Gardens

Lions of IL State Convention

The Abe Lincoln Hotel in Springfield, IL, site of the:

2016 State Convention

May 20th through

May 22nd, 2016

SAVE THE DATE and plan on joining us for some: FUN,

FELLOWSHIP & FULFILLMENT!

More to come next month!

Rates for Convention = $99 + tax per night!

COME EARLY OR STAY AFTER THE

CONVENTION AND ENJOY ALL

SPRINGFIELD HAS TO OFFER!

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MD1 State Convention e-Magazine Edited & Published by PDG Austin D’Souza for

Lions, Lionesses and Leos of Illinois. e-Mail Address: ILStateEditor@gmail.com

Mail your articles, pictures and news items to above e-mail address.