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What does it mean to be a Lion?

Lions are men and women dedicated to serving those in need, whether in their own community or halfway around the world.  Membership in a Lions club provides people with the opportunity to meet and work with other individuals in a spirit of fellowship, striving toward the common goal of helping those in need.  Through their mutual concern of others, members have the opportunity to improve both their local and world communities and develop valuable personal and professional skills.

Learn more about...

bulletClub Facts
bulletDistrict Facts
bulletDistrict History
bullet Multiple District History
bulletInternational Facts
bulletInternational History

Want to join Lions Club?

Membership is by invitation only by a local Lions club. Discover how YOU can become a member today!!

Why Join Lions? answers the "20 questions" typically asked.

Learn about Women in Lions.

Benefits of Membership:

bulletThe unparalleled satisfaction of helping those in need.
bulletMaking a difference in your community.
bulletHaving an impact on those in need worldwide.
bulletDeveloping leadership skills.
bulletEnhancing communication skills.
bulletUtilizing planning and organization skills.
bulletWorking hands-on to meet community needs.
bulletMeeting new people - from your community and abroad.
bulletOpportunities to network.
bulletOpportunities to travel.

New Member Orientation Slideshow

Lion Becki Stange of the Paradise Business & Professional Lions Club has developed a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow on New Member Orientation.  You can download the file (13.7M PPT), customize it to your club, and use this to quickly bring your new (and old) members "up to speed" on what it means to be a Proud Lion!  If you do not have Microsoft PowerPoint, you can download the PowerPoint 2003 Viewer.  Thanks to Lion Becki for sharing a truly remarkable resource with her fellow Lions, Lionesses, and Leos.

The Name

The proper name of the association is "The International Association of Lions Clubs." Many Lions, however, prefer the use of the shorter form of "Lions Clubs International."

The Emblem

Lions International logo 
(click to enlarge)

Throughout the world, Lions are recognized by the emblem they wear on their lapels. It consists of a gold letter "L" on a circular purple field. Bordering this is a circular gold area with two lion profiles at either side facing away from the center. The word "Lions" appears at the top, and "International" at the bottom. Symbolically, the lions face both past and future -- proud of the past and confident of the future. Lions wear their emblem with pride.

The Motto

The motto of every Lion is simply "We Serve". What better way to express the true mission of Lionism?

Lions International We Serve logo
(click to enlarge)

The Slogan

The slogan of the association is "Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation's Safety" (LIONS).

Official Colors

The royal colors of purple and gold were selected as the official colors when the association was organized in 1917. Purple stands for loyalty to friends and to one's self, and for integrity of mind and heart. Gold symbolizes sincerity of purpose, liberality in judgment, purity in life and generosity in mind, heart and purpose toward humanity.  View the Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors.

District Newsletter

View the Mane Lion page.

Maps

View the map of District 4-C1 and the other districts of California.

Other Resources

LCI's website offers a detailed Membership Orientation.  Also check out The Lions Learning Center "All About Lions" for additional information.

View Lions Club International's most recent :30 PSA, "We're There" (requires Window Media Player). This PSA is also available to television stations for broadcast use only in MPEG-2 format.

What can YOU do to increase membership?

The easy answer is to bring in new members. However it is, as we all know, not nearly as simple as that. We must also keep those who have already become members. We have to build on what already exists and that doesn’t work if we have a revolving door that has members leave as often as members are gained.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done about those who die. Those who move cannot be forced to transfer. But if they’ve enjoyed their experience in Lions thus far, chances are they will look forward to finding a new Lions Club in the area to which they have moved . So… the key is to understand how to make membership in Lions an important part of a Lions life.

What can we do to make Lions as important to a member as the family, the job, or any other interests?

First and foremost, members have to feel like they are important to us, that we don’t take them for granted. Second, we must remember that, for most of us, the reason we’re Lions today is most likely not the reason we joined. Somewhere along the line there was an epiphany that said to us, “this is what Lions are!!!” So, in brief, to retain a member for the long term, we must make membership in the club as enjoyable as possible for that member. The bonus in doing so is that membership remains enjoyable for us.

A key to enjoying Lions is communication… concise communication. When it can be done, who, what, when, where and why in one minute or less is best. But be prepared to answer questions. Another important key is orientation… make that ORIENTATION. The new member has some preconceived notions based on observation about us. They are most likely a fairly narrow view. Even some long time members can do with a continued orientation… a couple of minutes at each meeting presented by different members each time can go a long way toward keeping everyone on the same page.

In the end, though, we have to realize that Lions become members because there is some expectation that membership will fill a need in their lives. It may not be readily apparent to them …or to us …what that need is and I would venture to say that whatever it is, it changes as we experience Lionism. If we make it fun and remember to enjoy what we are doing, we can hope to see our numbers grow.

Some will ask why there are no specific recommendations. The answer is that we look to you for those. Just remember one thing — The most important member of your Lions Club is the person sitting next to you. Without that member, you are alone and cannot accomplish nearly as much as you can as part of a team.

 
Contact us via e-mail with questions or comments.
Copyright © 2008 Lions Club District 4-C1
Last modified: February 02, 2008