Issue #7
19/11/95
After last week’s bumper issue, a smaller one this week. I have been really busy on the Internet this week on two things. The first is quite exciting, as Poland (District 121) are deciding to go for District Status, meaning they need to form another 2 clubs, to get to the required 6. From what I have heard their District Governor is right behind them, and is helping them achieve this goal. It also looks like Poland could be the first district outside MD105 to launch Leo Club Growth.
They are also planning to hold an international camp this coming summer and are looking for volunteers to help. I have been told that they will have a clearer idea of what is involved after this weekend when they have a meeting - but if you are interested, please let me know and I’ll pass your names and email addresses across next time I email Poland.
The other exciting news is that a few of us are having extremely lengthy discussions on how Leos can do more on the Internet. We are currently looking at something we could run along side The Leo, giving Leos more presence on the Net. If you have any ideas, please let me know. It may be a few weeks before anything else is announced as we have a lot of legal and constitutional issues we must deal with first.
Last Saturday (18/11/95) I had the pleasure of going to a Lions Multiple District PR meeting. It was very interesting and I had a chance to see ‘behind-the-scenes’ of how MD105 is planning for a major blitz on our televisions this spring. The Leos were more than welcomed to participate, and I will be taking this information to my MD President, Nigel Devereux, when I see him this afternoon. We also have some free-lance journalists at our disposal, and we are looking at trying to get into a lot of the Youth magazines. Seeing as a lot of these are international, if you have an idea of some of the magazines we should target, let us know, and we can ensure that our article is geared toward the world of Leos rather than just MD105.
This weekend, has also been a busy one, where I spent the whole of yesterday trying to get things done for: My club, A District, My MD, and for my new work. I went to a Leo’s Birthday Party last night, and felt absolutely knackered !!! However, what was different was that it was in my own district, which due to my various commitments, I don’t visit very often. It was really good to see old friends I hadn’t seen for months, and we all had a really good time.
This afternoon, I’m going to Reading to see the MD Vice-President Jemma Prior, MD president Nigel Devereux, MD Competitions Officer Matthew Rowbotham and a host of others. Is this a meeting? No we’re all meeting up to go to see a show tonight in the West End of London. Cats? Phantom of the Opera? No, we’re Leos, we are going to see our favourite comedian, Eddie Izzard. If you’ve ever been to one of our MD Council Meetings, you’ll hear his influence as we tend to quote him like gospel. Nigel started it, and as Nigel is a really funny guy anyway (I always feel I suffer from funny-deprivation whenever I meet him), everyone says “this Eddie Izzard MUST be funny, if Nigel’s quoting him”. So Nigel has single handedly managed to convert half of the Multiple District to liking Eddie Izzard. So much so, Nigel’s wonder whether he should be asking Mr Izzard for commission !!!
Anyway, hope you enjoy this issue, and I would like to thank everyone who responded to last issue - it was the best response I’ve had yet, and means that I don’t have to type much this issue !!!
Leo Mark Rogers has sent me further comments on the proposed FAQ:
> I agree with your proposed direction of the FAQ. To this end, I would
> suggest that each club tries to create a list of questions that they are
> generally asked by the public.
>
> The two most obvious ones are "Who/What are Leos?" and "What do they
> do?". In fact that's probably all that most people need to know until
> they decide to get involved and come along to a business meeting.
>
> Then there are the questions that a long-standing Leo may ask. Like
"how
> does my club differ from one in another district/country?" Such a FAQ
> could afford to be a bit longer, because those reading it are doing so
> already having an interest in the subject matter. Presented as a list
of
> questions and answers, it is easy to skip parts you are not interested
in
> anyway.
Mark as always comes up with some very good points, although I believe a FAQ on the Internet aimed at the general public should have more questions than Mark suggests. He has already sent me a list of questions he uses. So please, just send in questions to me - don’t necessarily worry about answers, those can be written afterwards by someone else.
Mark Rogers, again had some points to raise on this:
> I have a few misgivings about this idea. The most important thing to
> stress is that no-one should contribute to any of these groups without
> first getting a good idea about what the groups is about, but reading
any
> FAQ for the group and by reading the group itself ("lurking") for a
> considerable period of time. Ill-informed attempts to help can do more
> harm than good.
>
> However well-intentioned, just wanting to help someone doesn't always
(or
> even often?) put you in a position where you can help. Most people
with
> emotional problems, for example, don't just need someone to talk to,
but
> need to talk to someone who knows what to say in return - and when.
I agree with Mark, and hope I stressed that you should only get involved with things you have experience with, or if not, just watch and learn. I know that most Leos have a LOT of experience of helping people with various problems, and therefore WOULD be able to contribute, once assessing the Newsgroup.
For example, I have had a lot of experience of dealing with people who have been sexually abused, and to a lesser extent, with people coping with Mental Illness. Before suggesting this project, I subscribed to one of the Newsgroups dealing with abuse recovery. I found that I was experienced enough that I could contribute positively to that group. However, with something like Aids, I have no experience of, as I don’t know anyone who is suffering from this (although a good Leo friend of mine has had plenty of experience through working with people with Aids). If I subscribed to an Aids Newsgroup, I would spend all of my time just reading and learning, and not contributing. However, I hope that by the time I stop subscribing, I was a little more aware of the problems of suffers and the best way to approach those problems.
We all have unique experiences, and as Leos our aim is to help people. If we can do that, even on a Newsgroup, isn’t it worth doing?
I would like to thank all those who emailed me with comments - these have been passed onto Lion John May, who is probably now busy reading them !
I can now announce, that 2 SPECIAL editions of The Leo will be coming your way in December - The first will be on the 5th December, to celebrate International Leo Day. I want the issue to be full of FUN stuff, and desperately want things to be sent in to be included.
The second special issue with be on December 25th, to celebrate Christmas. I realise that many of you aren’t Christians, or like myself don’t have a religion at all, but Christmas I believe is now no longer a just a religious festival, but a time of goodwill. For that reason, please send your goodwill greetings for that issue to myself, so that we can make a very special delivery on 25th December. For example you might want that issue to contain a greeting such as:
> To John in France,
> Wishing you all the best
> Jodie, USA
I also want further fun articles and ideas, to make this a bumper goodwill edition. Time to put fingers to keyboards !
Leo Clubs have come a long way since 1957, when the first club was organised at a Pennsylvania, USA, high school. Established solely as an activity of the Glenside Lions Club, the total membership of the abington High School Leo Club was the school baseball team .
Since then, Leo Clubs have flourished. They are now present in 106 different nations and have an estimated membership of 105,000.
Leo Club co-founders James Graver and William Ernst believed Lions Clubs should introduce young people to the value of service to the community. Leo Clubs were intended to serve the school and develop in students qualities of Leadership, school loyalty, scholastic achievement, individual responsibility, equality, honesty, and respect for others.
Leo Clubs were also expected to serve the community by responding to the needs and welfare of others. While Leo Clubs no longer require a school base, the same service-minded commitment exists today.
The original Leo motto read: Leadership, Equality, Opportunity. However, equality was extended only to male students. Young women did not have the Opportunity to develop their LEADERSHIP skills, Today, young people of every race, gender, age and creed can enjoy the benefits of Leo Club Membership..
Leo Clubs did not achieve immediate success. The second Leo Club, the Tamaqua Leo Club, also in Pennsylvania was not organised until 1963. In 1964, Leo Clubs became an official district project, and thereafter, the growth of new clubs spread quickly in Pennsylvania.
In 1967 the International Association of Lions Clubs’ Board of Directors adopted Leo Clubs as an official world-wide program, “to provide the youth of the world an opportunity for development and contribution, individually and collectively, as responsible members of the local, national and international community.”
Within the first year, 200 Leo clubs were organised in 18 countries. By 1974, there were 2000 clubs. Today, more than 4000 Leo Clubs are in existence and nearly 30 new clubs form every month.
"Remember me?........."
..... I'm the person who asked to join your Club because you were doing a great job for my community and I wanted to be part of you.
I'm the person who paid my money to join, stood up in front of all of you and promised to be a loyal, active and faithful Leo.
I'm the person who came to every meeting since that time, but no one paid any attention to me. I tired several times to be friendly to fellow Leos and in the Club, but they all had their own mates that they had to talk to and sit next to. I sat down along with some unfamiliar faces several times, but they didn't pay much attention to me.
I hoped very much that someone would have asked me to take charge of the last fund-raising project, but no one saw my hand when I volunteered.
I missed my first meeting since joining because my boyfriend/girlfriend was ill, and I couldn't make it, but no one asked me at the next meeting where I was. I guess it didn't matter very much to the others whether I was there or not.
The next meeting I decided to stay at home and watch a good programme on the television. The following meeting I attended, but no one asked me where I was the week before.
You might say that I am a quiet person, that I hold a responsible job and love my community the sort of person that every Leo Club is looking for.
You know who else I am? I'm the person who never came back. Isn't it stupid, when I think back on how the President and several members were discussing why the Club was losing members. TO THINK THAT THEY SPEND SO MUCH TIME LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS - WHEN I WAS THERE ALL THE TIME. ALL THEY NEEDED TO DO WAS TO MAKE ME FEEL NEEDED, WANTED AND WELCOME !
Again thanks to all those who have sent me further diary dates. I hope to publish the revised list in a couple of weeks time, so if you have a club event, charter, district meeting, whatever, get it into the diary dates.
"Surprises In The Princess Diana Interview"
As presented on the 11/21/95 broadcast of LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN
10. Wants to be called "The Artist Formerly Known As Princess"
9. Once screamed at Elizabeth, "Who died and made you Queen?"
8. Prince Charles' ears have carried on a longtime correspondence
with Ross Perot's ears
7. Turns out she's Mexican
6. Works nights at "Euro-Hooters"
5. That lame new Beatles song? Her idea
4. Larry King once tried to trick her into marriage by claiming to be "King Larry"
3. Prince Charles kept urging her to get ear implants
2. She's the one who keeps breaking into Letterman's house
1. Loves the fish, can't stand the chips
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