President’s MessageProud to be a LionHello, Lions!I’m proud to be from Bird Island. I’m proud to be a son and a father. But I’m most proud of my role as a Lion. Here in Bird Island everyone knows us. It’s a small community and our club has made our presence known in many ways, most prominently by building a large baseball stadium. But in lots of other small ways as well.You don’t have to do big things to make an impact in your community.Lions make a difference whenever they serve their community—whether it’s a food drive, participating in the peace poster contest, starting a community garden, or serving fun foods at the local fair. When it comes to showing your pride in the community, all you really have to do is—show up!Be there for your community in whatever way makes sense for your club and the community’s needs. Wear your Lions gear while you do it. Take pictures and post them on social media. And spread the word—we’re Lions, were here to help, and we are proud to serve.Yours in service, Brian E. SheehanInternational President, Lions Clubs International The Many Ways We ServeHello, Lions! Just like we are all a little unique (or maybe even a lot unique) so is the way we serve. We are so diverse as Lions, and the people we serve are equally diverse. How I approach my service is based on what i saw my father do as a Lion and what my town needs from me today. How you approach service will be based on your background and what is needed in your community. And this is one of the many things I love about Lions. Having many ways in which we approach the world is…more...Together We Are Team LionsHello, Lions! Boy, am I excited to be addressing you for the first time as your new International President. If you know me, you know I like making everything just a little bit fun. And if you don’t know me, well, I hope you will come to know and love my approach to service—which is to do everything with a whole lot of energy and a smile. People say I have a lot of energy, and they’re right. And you know what, I intend on using every bit of it to lift you up and cheer you on this year.…more...Your Most Precious ResourceDear Lions, What do you do with your free time? I believe that how you spend your free time can change you. Most of us are so busy racing through the day that it becomes easy to let those free moments slip through your fingers—whether it’s aimlessly scrolling the internet or spending too much time worrying about something that is out of your control. But I believe it’s crucial to be intentional about how we use our most precious resource—time. One thing Lions all have in common is the fact that we’ve committed to using our free time to help…more...Sow the Seeds of PeaceDear Lions, I have never had much of a green thumb, but I know the importance of gardening. I know we will reap what we sow. And if we don’t plant the seeds of kindness and love, we will not see the glow of peace. Every year we ask students to show us what peace means to them through our Peace Poster and Essay contests, and the results never fail to astound me. They paint beautiful, vividly colored portraits of love and harmony; sharing and understanding. I am encouraged by their vision of the potential of our world. And while…more...Tending To Our Common HomeDear Lions, I have always believed that you take care of the things you care about. That’s why I keep my home tidy and my plants watered. When something is damaged, I fix it. I know that if I don’t do these things, my house won’t be the place I want to call home. The rooms would be a mess if I didn’t keep them clean, the house would fall into disrepair if I didn’t take care of it, and my plants would die if I didn’t bring them water. My house is in Brooklyn. Yours may be in Kentucky,…more...Tell the World Your StoryDear Lions, Once upon a time…remember those magic words? They have the power to instantly transport you to another place and time. That’s what stories do. They stop time and enable you to imagine other worlds. When I was young, I loved to read stories about baseball players and listen to my grandmother tell stories about our family. Today, I love the stories I hear about you. Lion stories are the greatest stories on Earth. They are stories about kindness and effort and grace. They are stories about bringing people together and giving of ourselves because we know in our…more...Change Hearts, Change Minds, Change ActionsDear Lions, It’s no secret that the world is in need. One of the reasons I became a Lion was because I saw the way Lions were working in their communities to make changes. They were working to make things better for people. And that spoke to me. I wanted to be a part of that. Today, I couldn’t be more proud to be a Lion, working with all of you, every day, to meet the needs of others. However, sometimes the problems seem so big it’s hard to know where to start. How do we make the big changes…more...May the New Year Bring Renewed Dedication to ServiceDear Lions, I love the month of January because it brings such a sense of hope. A new year, a new start. While we are in the midst of a busy season of service as Lions, I like to pause and reflect on the calendar year—the one that is coming to a close and the one that is just beginning. It’s wonderful to look back at all I did over the past year and yet, just as important to note the things I want to improve upon in the new year. Where might I have done better? Then, I rededicate…more...Serving with LoveDear Lions, As a Lion, one of my favorite projects during this time of year is serving food to those who don’t have enough to eat. And one of the things I think about a lot when I do this is how important it is to serve from the heart. Now, I can go to a soup kitchen, and I can just stand behind a table with all of this beautiful food, or I can stand there with a smile. I can do it simply because I volunteered to do it, or I can do it with love and kindness.…more...We are FamilyDear Lions, As anyone who is close to me knows, there is nothing more important to me than family. Family first. That’s my motto. When someone tells me they can’t make an event because they have a family obligation, I tell them, “Yes, of course! Go be with your family.” Quality time with our loved ones gives us the strength we need to go out and give of ourselves. We cannot fill another’s bucket if our own is empty. However, Lions are a kind of family as well – a really big family with all kinds of aunties and uncles…more...