Oh What A Night!

What a night we had this evening!  This was our annual joint meeting with the Fuquay Varina Lions Club (who we sponsored many years ago) and that is always a special night.  But on top of that this year we also had District Governor Sandy Scarlett as our speaker AND we installed 6 new members into the Apex Lions Club and had one more memberhip application submitted at the meeting!  Now that’s what I call a meeting to remember!

District Governor Sandy Scarlett is a 20 year member and past president of the Durham Lions Club.  She has held many positions at the district level and received numerous awards as well.  In her professional life, she serves as the Development Director at UNC Chapel Hills Kittner Eye Center.  

Lion Sandy spoke to us about the importance of focusing on membership and about some learning opportunities that we have as Lions.  Although Lions are still the worlds largest service organization our numbers in the US are declining somewhat overall.  It’s important for us all to remember why we became Lions and communicate that to people we meet.  Lion Sandy’s husband is now a Lion also.  But it took volunteering at the V.I.P Fishing Tournament and seeing first hand what Lions do for him to want to join.  There are probably a lot of people just like that who would be happy to join our cause if they only knew how important it really is.  The human impact is by far the most important thing we do.  We touch lives and make a difference!  

When new members first get involved wth Lionism chances are good that they have only seen the tip of the iceberg.  There are so many things to know about Lionism that even Lions of several years are still learning about what Lions do around the world.  This evening we were all encouraged to learn more about Lionism at all levels so we can appreciate the importance of Lionism that much more and then share that excitement with those around us.  That is one way we can build excitement, energy, momentum and enable us to touch even more lives in the future.

And then witnessed a visible demonstration of what that process can look like by installing six new members into our club!  Pictured above (L to R) are: Lion John Lynde, Lion Tony Gravanda(*), Lion Debbie Gravanda(*), Lion Jolene Umbenhauer(*), Lion Leann Moffitt(*), Lion Sandy Scarlett, Lion Dale Umbenhauer(*), Lion Jen Ferrell(*) and Lion Joe’l Lynde.  The newly installed lions are indicated by the symbol (*).  

We are so excited to have these new Lions join our club and look forward to serving beside you for many years to come!