PART-I

ADMINISTRATIVE OBLIGATIONS

1	a			Monthly Membership Report:
				WMMR is to be sent through Internet, using WMMR facility of Lions Clubs International, by the last day of the current month and a certificate to that effect duly signed by the President and Secretary along with Activity report to be sent to the District Cabinet Secretary so as to reach him on or before 7th of the succeeding month. Points will be awarded for the reports received after the due date if the same was mailed on or before 5th of the succeeding month and necessary evidence is produced to that effect. 200 x 11 = 2200
	b			For sending copies of MMR and Activity Report to the First and Second Vice District Governors, Region Chairperson and Zone Chairperson, within the above mentioned time limit. 25 x 4 x11= 1100
	c			For sending the monthly Activities Report neatly typed or printed to the officers concerned. 100 x 11=1100
2				Installation of Office Bearers 2010-11
	a			For conducting before 15th July 2010 and reporting the same along with the monthly Membership Activities Report of July 2010. 200
	b			Bonus points if the above is done on or before 30th June, 2010. 50
3				For Furnishing the Following
	a			For appointing various Administrative and Activity Committees headed by Vice Presidents and sending a copy of the members of each Committee to the Dist. Cabinet Secretary along with July 2010 Monthly Activities Report. 100
	b			For sending a statement by the President to the effect that the club is following, the International constitution/own constitution. 100
	c			For preparing a Calendar of Events for the year, presented before the general body of the club, duly signed by the President and Secretary and forwarding the same to the District Cabinet Secretary along with the July 2010 Monthly Activities Report. 100
	d			For filling in and sending PU 101 form original to the South Asian Secretariat at Mumbai, copy to the Dist. Cabinet Secretary and Xerox copy to the Dist. Governor Elect on or before 30th April 2011. 100
	e			For furnishing the requisite data for the District Directory 2011-12 to the District Governor Elect and a copy to the Dist Cabinet Secretary before 30th April 2011. 100
4				Meetings/Seminars/Conferences
	A			Meetings:
		a		For holding one General Body meeting each month and reporting the same through Monthly Activities Report. It shall be a meeting involving the participation of Lionesses/Lion Ladies and Cubs. Copy of the notice of the meetings to be sent to the Zone Chairperson, Region Chairperson and District. Cabinet Secretary. 100 x 11 = 1100
		b		For holding 2ndGeneral Body Meeting (Business Meeting).Any joint./ combined meeting, of clubs suchas Zone, Region or District level meeting will not be considered as General Body Meeting. If a club is hosting / sponsoring a joint/ combined meeting of clubs at the Zone, Region or District level, such hosting club will be eligible to claim point for holding the second General Body Meeting for such hosting /sponsoring. 100 x 11 = 1100
		c		Forinviting Region Chairperson, Region Membership Advisor, Zone Chairperson and Zone Membership Advisor separately to at least one General Body Meeting. Certificate from the RC/RMA/ZC/ZMA should be attached. 100 x 4= 400
		d		For holding one meeting of the Board of Directors every month and reporting the same through Monthly Membership Reports. 100 x 11= 1100
		e	i	In the event of any International Dignitary visiting our District, participation in the meeting organized in honour of such dignitary by PST (District will intimate such specific functions). 300
			ii	In the event of any International Dignitary visiting our District, participation in the meeting organized in honour of such dignitary by 10% of the membership excluding PST (District will intimate such specific functions). 300
		f	i	District level meetings/Celebrations/Functions Participation in Meetings/Celebrations/functions arranged by the District and intimated to the clubs in advance - 50 points per Participant subject to a maximum of 500 points. There will be a minimum of five such functions during this year. 500 x 5 = 2,500
	B			Seminars
		a		For physical participation of President, Secretary and Treasurer in the combined Pre- Region and Zone meeting to be held before 31st May 2010. 100 x 3 =300
		b	i	For physical participation by President, Secretary and Treasurer in the Region level PST Seminars for 2010-11 to be held at various centers in the district in May 2010 and report it along with the MMR of July 2010 (Enclose photocopy of registration receipt). 150 x 3 = 450
		c		For participation by the President in the President’s Academy to be held in May 2010. 200
		d	i	For physical participation of new members in the new member of Orientation Seminar to be held at Regional Level. 30 points for each new member subject to a maximum of 300 points. 300
			ii	For attending the above seminar by any two from the President. Ist Vice President, Secretary and Membership Committee Chairperson. 200
		e	i	For physical participation by any three from President/Secretary/Treasurer/Vice President/Membership Committee Chairman in the Membership/ Extension/ Retention /Leadership seminar to be held at theDistrict level. 100 x 3=300
			ii	One Lioness or Lion Lady attending the seminar. 100

	C			Conferences
		a		Cabinet Installation
			i	For physical participation of President , Secretary and Treasurer in the District Cabinet Installation to be held on 18th July 2010. 100 x3=300
			ii	For participation of 25 % of the members excluding PST based on the membership as on 1st July 2010. 300
			iii	For participation in the above by half as many Lionesses/Lion Ladies as per above clause. 150
				For additional participation of members /spouses. 100 x 5 = 500
			iv	Bonus points for advance registration by demand draft on or before 20th July 2010. (Produce receipt copy) 100
		b		Zone Conferences:
				Three Zone Advisory meetings to be held during the year as follows:
			a	First Zone Advisory along with Inter club meeting before 30th September 2010.
			b	Second Zone Advisory before 31st December 2010. (Inter Club optional)
			c	Third Zone Advisory along with Inter club meeting before 31st March 2011.
			i	For physical participation by the President, Secretary, Treasurer and First Vice President at the Zone Advisory Committee meeting. Certificate of Zone Chairperson to be attached. 50 x 4x 3 =600
			ii	For physical participation of 50 % of the members, including the PST, as on the 1st day of the month in which the conference is held. Certificate of ZC to be attached. 200 x 3 =600
			iii	For participation by half as many Lionesses/Lion Ladies as the number of Lions required as per above clause. 100 x 3 =300
				Note
			i	Zone Chairperson shall preside over the Zone meeting.
			ii	ZMA shall address the members regarding membership programmes.
			i	Zone Coordinators shall also be given opportunity to address the meeting on their respective service projects
			iv	To allow points in connection with Zone Conference, Zone Chairperson’s Certificate to that effect shall be along with the monthly Membership Reports.
		c		Region Conference:
			i	For participation by President, Secretary and Treasurer in the Region Conference to be held before 28th February 2011. 100x 3 = 300
			ii	For participation by 20% of the members excluding the PST. 300
			iii	For participation by half as many Lionesses/ Lion Ladies as the number of Lions required as per above clause. 150
				Note: To allow points in connection with the above Conference, Region Chairperson’s Certificate to that effect shall be sent along with the monthly Membership Report.
		d		Lions Sangamam
			i	For participation of 10% members from the club for the District function to honour Past District Governors. 500
			ii	For participation of additional members. 100 x 3=300
			iii	For participation of half as many Lionesses/ Lion Ladies as the number of lions as per (i) above. 250
		e		District Convention:
			i	For physical participation by the President, Secretary, Treasurer, President Elect, Secretary Elect and Treasurer Elect in the District Convention. 100 x 6 = 600
			ii	For participation of 30 % of club members including the above. 600
			iii	For participation by half as many as Lioness /Lion Ladies/Leos as the number of Lions required as per the above clause. 300
			iv	For registration by demand draft at least 10 days in advances. 100
		f		Multiple District Convention:
			i	For participation in the Multiple District Convention 2011. (100 points per participant subject to a maximum of 1500 points) 1500
			ii	For participation by Lionesses /Lion Ladies /Leos. (100 Points per participant subject to a maximum of 500 points) 500
			iii	For registration by demand draft at least 10 days in advance . 100
5				Nomination & Election of Office Bearers
		a		Nomination of office bearers for Lionisitc year 2011-12 on or before 31st January 2011 and reporting the same along with the Monthly Membership Report of January, 2011 100
		b		Election of office bearers for the Lionistic year 2011-12 on or before 28th February 2011 and reporting the same along with the Monthly Membership Report of February 2011 . 100
6				Visits
		a		District Governor’s Visit : (Official visit of DG is mandatory)
			i	For fixing the date for the official visit of the District Governor in advance before 31st August 2010 and enclosing copy of confirmation letter along with monthly report of August, 2010 200
			ii	75 % of the Board members attending the Board meeting with District Governor. 100
			iii	Bonus point for 100% Board members attending the above. 200
			iv	70% of the club members present at the General Body Meeting. 200
			v	For commencing & closing the General Body meeting on time as specified in the invitation card. 100
				Note: Points for (ii), (iii), ( iv), & (v) will be given together after the Dist.Governor’s visit.
		b	i	Vice District Governor’s Visit : For arranging the visit of First Vice District Governor and Second Vice District Governor to the club in two separate functions. 100 x 2 = 200
			ii	Points for conducting the visit of First VDG and Second VDG as a combined Meeting. 250
		c		Past District Governor’s Visit: For inviting a Past District Governor to the Club during meeting such as Installation, Induction, Charter anniversary, Project inauguration , interclub meeting etc. 200
7				Maintenance of Club Records
				For maintaining the club records such as history of the club, membership records, minutes book, daybook, Ledger, Asset Register, Scrapbook etc. and producing the same during the Dist. Governor’s visit. 250
8				Lioness Club:
		a		Maintaining an existing Lioness club for the whole year or formation of a new Lioness club (Copy of receipt for payment of Lioness clubs dues to the Lioness Board should be attached for claiming the points). 300
		b		For participation by any Lion in the annual Lioness get together to be held during the year. (Certificate from D.C Lioness Clubs to be obtained). 100
9				Leo Club:
		a		Sponsor a new Leo Club OR Maintain an existing Leo Club for the whole year. (Proof of payment of Leo Club dues to the International should be attached). 300
		b		For participation by any Lion in (1) Annual Leo Meet or (2) Leo Fest to be organized during the year. (Certificate from D.C –Leo Clubs to be obtained). 100
10				Major Fund Raising
				For conducting a major Fund Raising Programme from the Public(and collecting an amount equal to the number of members as on 1stJuly 2010 multiplied by Rs.1000/-) this should be reported through the monthly Membership Report upon completion of the programme. This should be certified by Region Chairperson/Zone Chairperson on completion and the certificate should be forwarded to the District Cabinet Secretary along with the MMR. OR Joining the Major Fund Raising programme arranged at District level and collecting funds equal to the above mentioned amount from Public. 750 If the amount collected is less than the amount stipulated, pro-rata point will be given
		a		Bonus points for completing the Major fund Raising Programme before 31stOctober 2010. 200
11				Club Bulletin/Souvenir
		a		For publishing three quarterly Bulletins (newsletters) during the year or one Souvenir.
				Note: Copies of the News Letters/Souvenir should be forwarded to the VDGs, DCS, RC,RMA, ZC,ZMA along with the MMR. 200 x 3 =600
12				Peace poster Contest
		a		For sponsoring a club–level Peace poster contest with a minimum participation of 50 children on or before 30^th September, 2010 OR For sponsoring 10 children to the District level competition organized at different centers. 350
		b		For purchasing Peace poster Contest kit from international. Please provide Receipt from International. 100
13				Sports, Cultural & Community programme
		a		For physical participation of Lions/Lionesses/Cubs in the Sports/cultural programme for lions/Lionesses clubs to be held at District level (25 points per Participant subject to a maximum of 12 persons). 300 x 2=600
14				Sports/Cultural programme for the Differently Abled (Special Sports/Arts)
				For physical presence of at least 20% of Lions and 10% of lioness from the club at the venue. (400+200 =600) x 2=1200
15				Extension
		a		For forming a new Lions Club before 31st March, 2011 1000
		b		For forming a Branch club before 31^st March, 2011. 500
16				Information Technology
		a		For registration to subscribe e-news letter and reporting the e-mail id along with July 2010 MMR. 100
		b		For opening a web page to highlight service activities of the Club on the Website of the District/linking the Web page of the Club with the District Website. 500
17				Membership Growth:
		a		Retaining or maintaining existing number of membership of 1 st July 2010 up to 31 st May 2011. 400
		b		For increasing membership – at the rate 50 points for each new member up to 31^st December 2010 and thereafter at the rate of 30 points per member. 1000
				Note: Whenever new members are reported, new member’s dues to the International and to District should be sent through Demand Draft along with MMR to qualify for this point. Points will be allotted as soon as the International notifies the induction on Lions Clubs Website.
		c		For inducting Lionesses/Lion lady/any other lady or a Lion family member as a Lion (100 points for each person subject to a maximum of 1000 points). 1000
18				Public Relations Activities
		a		For sending a recent photograph of Highway signs Hoarding with Lions emblem, club name etc.
			i	Properly maintaining the existing one. 300
			ii	Putting up new sign board before 31^st December 2010. More than one club can join together. 500
		b		For appointing a member as Public Relations Club Chairperson. 50
		c		For inviting Guest Speakers or Public Dignitaries at least for two General Body Meeting or Club activities. (attach photograph) 200 x 2 = 400
19				Observance/ Celebrations of events
		a		For observing/celebrating the following events.
			1	Charter anniversary
			2	Independence day (15th August)
			3	Onam ( to be celebrated during the Onam season)
			4	Gandhi Jayanthi(2nd October)
			5	World Service day (8th October)
			6	World Sight day (14th October)
			7	UN Day (24 th October)
			8	Children’s day (14th November)
			9	Human Rights day (10 th December)
			10	Founder’s day and Re-dedication month (January)
			11	Observation of Traffic Awareness week (January)
			12	LCIF Week (7 th to 13 th January)
			13	Republic Day (26 th January)
			14	Past District Governor’s Month (February)
			15	District Governor's Month(March)
			16	Ladies Night (before 30 thMay) 100x16=1600
				(Total points that can be claimed in Part I : 34,000)

Continues. . . . . . .

News & Events

Awards

OUR DISTRICT GOVERNOR Dr.C.RAMAKRISHNAN NAIR BAGS FIRST BELIEVER SUPERIOR LEVEL AWARD
Our District Governor Lion Dr C.Ramakrishnan Nair is one among the 42 District Governors all over the world who formed minimum five clubs and ensured positive growth as on 31st October 2011. Out of these 42, 28 District Governors are from India. Only the rest goes to the rest of the world. Our District Governor, already a First Believer Excellence Award Winner earlier this year is singularly singular in our Multiple 324Eto have won this Superior Level Award. We in this year formed five new clubs and registered a positive membership growth with 160 members as on 30th November 2011. Lion Dr Nair was presented this prestigious First Believer Superior Level Award by our International President Dr.Wing-Kun Tam during the ISAAME meet at Beirut, Lebanon on 9th December 2011. Lion R.Chandrika Nair, First Lady of the District, Lion G.Hariharan, Multiple Council Chairperson and Lion A.K.Abbas, Second Vice District Governor were present to witness the proud moments. Lion Dr.Nair was very happy on this award and he readily and gladly attributed his success and the award to the untiring efforts of Lion Adv. K.B.Sunil Kumar (GMT Member), Prof A.Krishna Kumar, President, Lions Club of Trivandrum Ginkgo, Lion K.S.Nair, District GLT Coordinator and Lion N.Ramachandran, Chief District Programmes and Projects Coordinator. He said that he was only like a Captain in a football team coordinating all these leaders in their efforts, and he was only reaping the harvest reared by their sweat and toil. But unlike a feudalist, he would share the credit with all of them and the charter members of these clubs who took a wise decision to join our organization, he added.

Latest News

1.Lions Day With the United Nations

Lions will celebrate their 67-year humanitarian partnership with the United Nations at Lions Day With the United Nations at U.N. headquarters in New York on March 16, 2012. Past Lions Days with the United Nations have focused on shared goals and opportunities for collaboration with U.N. agencies such as UNICEF and UNESCO. As in past years, the grand prize winner of this year's Lions International Peace Poster Contest will be announced.The event is open to any Lion or Leo who wishes to attend but registration is required. Space is limited so please make your reservation early by contacting the Program Development department.

2. SCHOOL TO HOME, HOME TO PEOPLE --ROLLING TROPHIES

One of the approved projects for winning contest points is to institute Rolling Trpohies to the best performer as adjudged by the jury during Sub District, District & State level school youth festivals(Kalolsavam). This is part of our venture to popularize lionism among public through school children under the activity ‘School To Home, Home To People”. This will be an encouragement to school children as well as schools. Now is the apt time for the clubs to watch the dates of youth festivals in their sub-district or District, or at least in the local schools and to sponsor one or two trophies in the club’s name and thus popularize lionism among people through school children. Individual members may also sponsor a trophy in the name of their dear loved ones through their lion clubs.

3. TALENT HUNT AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN

This is yet another District Level Programme to popularize lionism among people through school children under the activity ‘ School To Home, Home To people’. This is proposed to be implemented through an essay writing competition in Malayalam in schools and winners will be suitably honoured with three cash prizes ( First prize being Rs 15001/- ) The competition will be held at five centres of the District, viz; Trivandrum, Varkala, Punalur, Kottarakara, Kayamkulam. Competition centres are decentralized to facilitate maximum participation from all parts of the District and to avoid long travel to the centre. All the Region Chairpersons and Zone Chairpersons are requested to motivate the clubs under their jurisdiction to sponsor two best students from a school from their area for the competition. The Club President or the President failing, the Region Chairperson or Zone Chairperson or any lion who sponsors the prize winning students will be specially honoured during the Golden Jubilee Celebrations to be held at January 26th 2012. There is no financial commitment for the clubs except spending a little time to meet the head of the school and get the names and send it to Lion P.Shivakumar Region Chairperson
(Tel 0471-2331690, 9847065690) who will coordinate the programme in all the centres with the support of the Co-Region Chairpersons and Zone Chairpersons, and Club officials of the respective areas. Other details regarding the competitions will be sent separately to the Region Chairpersons, Zone Chairpersons and Club Presidents. Please remember that an early bird catches the prey and so, start finding out the best students to be sponsored and get yourself also honoured.

4. Our District Number 324 E1

It was informed during the Joint Multiple Council Meeting at Hyderabad that there will be re-numbering of Multiple Districts in the southern multiples very soon for administrative reasons and our Multiple District will be numbered as 318 and the five Districts in the Multiple will get the letters A,B,C,D,E followed by the numerical.

5. BANNER PATCHES FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH

Immediate Past International Lion Sid L. Scruggs III has forwarded to the District Governor Lion Dr.C.Ramakrishnan Nair banner patches to be presented to the Presidents of the clubs which have met the membership recruiting goals for the Lions year 2010- 11 during the Governorship of our Multiple Council Chairperson Lion G.Hariharan. This is in appreciation of the team work demonstrated by the club members to achieve an important goal. District Governor will be presenting these patches to the following Clubs during his visit there. Those clubs where his visit is already over may get them personally from the District Governor . Th clus are Anchal Town, Balaramapuram, Edava, Haripad Temple Town, Kallambalam, Killam Melvin Jones School, Kottarakara, Kottiyam, Kunnikode, Manambur, Mayanadu, Navaikulam, Pattazhy, Perumkuzhy,Pooyapally, Punalur Greater, Puthupally, Quilon Central, Quilon East, Thamarakulam, TrivandrumAirport City, Trivandrum City West, Trivandrum Cotton Hill, Trivandrum Diamonds, Trivandrum Gems, Trivandrum Ginkgo, Trivandrum Host, Trivandrum Impact, Trivandrum Kowdiar, Trivandrum Metropolis, Trivandrum Mid Town, Trivandrum Rajadhani, Trivandrum Royal, Vakkom Kadakkavoor, Vallikunnam and Varkala. Congratualtions to the sponsors of new members! May you continue your service to others. Let us work hard to bring in more members to our organization and get banner patches for this year and all coming years.

6. DISTRICT GOVERNOR, VICE DISTRICT GOVERNORS, REGION CHAIRPERSONS, ZONE CHAIRPERSONS & CLUB PRESIDENTS EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2010-11

Lion G.Hariharan , Lion Dr.C.Ramakrishnan Nair and Lion P.Surendran have been awarded District Governor, First Vice District Governor and Second Vice District Governor Excellence Awards respectively for the year 2010-2011 by the International President 2010-11 Sid. L Scruggs III in appreciation of their accomplishments in their respective offices.
Region Chairpersons Lions K.S.Jayan(Host) S. Narayana PIllai(Attingal), P.Chandra Mohan(Haripad), Alfred Samuel(Quilon) have been awarded Region Chairperson Excellence Awards. Lions R.Sujithkumar, S.Nousharudeen, K.Mohanan Pillai, S.Williams, MA Vahab, Francis Albert, K.Gopakumara Menon,
K.L. Pradeep, D.Salgunan, V.M.Pradeep have been awarded Zone ChairPerson excellence Awards 2010-11. Club Presidents excellence Awards have been conferred on Lions A.Salim(Kayamkulam) , G.Sanalkumar (Manambur), S.Raju (Mayyanad), M.J.Yacoob (Punalur Greater), Lion Er.N.G.Gopalkrishnan (Trivandrum Ginkgo).
The editorial team and the whole lion fraternity join to congratulate all the award winners for their accomplishments in the respective offices during 2010-11. Let these awards and award winners be a motivation to the Region and Zone Chairpersons and Club Presidents to work harder and greater dedication. Who knew one among you will not be an award winner for the year 2011-12?
District Governor Lion Dr C.Ramakrishnan Nair has informed that the awards will be presented to these dedicated ions at an occasion which will give due recognition to them and their many efforts made on behalf of the association during their term of office.

7.VALLIKUNNAM FAMILY MEET -- WITH NAGAR TO NAGAR JAY HIND TV

Lions Club of Vallikunnan organized a family meet in association with Family Talk Show – Jai Hind TV on 20th October 2011 – a dynamic programme that attracted the attention of TV Viewers globally. The programme was telecast nine times in November 2011 . An entertainment event in which all lions and lionesses of the club participated was inaugurated by Lion AK Abbas MJF, Second Vice District Governor in the presence of Dr.P.R.G.Pillai MJF, Advisor to DG Team and Lion Sureshkumar Potty MJF. Dr Manoj Varghese, anchor, Asianet was the Chief Guest. ‘ Uses and Abuses of Mobile Phones and Internet by Children’ ‘ Kalikkalam’ – a game show, “’ Aadaam Paadaam’ – an entertainment programme with songs and dances were the main contents of the event. Lion Shaji, Coordinator, Lion Prasannan who prepared the participants for the show deserve special congratulations. Special thanks are due to Mr Riyas, Director, Nagar To Nagar Jay Hind TV, anchor Mr Vijay Ashok and the crew members of Jay Hind TV who joined hands with Lions Club of Vallikunnam for bringing out a beautiful programme for the global viewership.

CONGRATULATIONS!

SHIKHA IS MULTIPLE FIRST IN PEACE POSTER CONTEST

Kum Shikha Sivaraman , Quarter No 18, Medical College Staff Quarters, Medical College P. 0, Trivandrum , sponsored by Lions Club Trivandrum Impact has been adjudged as the Multiple District First in the peace poster contest held for the children of the age group between 11-13. Poster painted by her was a unique representation of her artistic talents and indicative of a promise of the future in the painting field. Hearty Congratulations to Shikha and the District Governor and the District Administration wish her all the best

HIGHER LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME – SRI LANKA & BANGKOK

A higher leadership programme has been arranged at Sri Lanka and Bangkok from 21st February to 25th February 2012. Those who are interested may contact Lion N.Ramachandran, Chief Programme & Projects Co-ordinator (9745566366) for further details with regard to travel, visa arrangements etc.

CERTIFIED GUIDING LIONS PROGRAMME

Consequent on the decision of the Lions Clubs International that a guiding lion can serve only two clubs as such and such guiding lions should be guiding lions certified by the International, an immediate dearth of Guiding Lions was felt by the District.

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DG Speaks

Dear Fellow Lions,

Merry X'mas & Happy New year

We are on the fag end of the first half of the lionistic year and a retrospect gives me immense satisfaction of having done something to the needy community with all your support and cooperation. All our major projects like ‘Care the Garbage Cleaners’, ‘Operation Black Board’ ‘Tree Plantation’ ‘Sight For Kids’, ‘Sight First’ ‘Medical Camps for Occupational Diseases’ ‘Diabetes Awareness’, ‘Promoting Eye Donation & Cornea Transplantation’ ‘Blood Donation Forums’ ‘Palliative Care’ ‘Service For Children’ etc were enthusiastically accepted and executed by many clubs. Some of the clubs fared fantastically well in executing many service projects taking care of local needs. My hearty congrats to them. But to some clubs, vast remains undone. For them there is still time serve and grow.

Friends, last month in this column I talked you about the fallacy of certain people taking refuge in ‘ no time’ excuses and about wasting time. “ If money is lost, something is lost, but time is lost, life is lost’ – this was the message that I wanted to impress upon you. I would like to continue on the same theme ,but on another aspect. Many among our lion fraternity seem to preach and maintain the philosophy while attending the lion functions, “ It is better to be late than never”. Punctuality in our life as a whole and more particularly in invited functions is one of the habits we can cultivate if we choose to be so. Punctuality is said to be the art of knowing how late other person is going to be. For that one should be punctual.

When a Secretary of George Washington, excusing himself being late, said that his watch was too slow, the reply of Washington was , “ You must get a new watch, or I must get a new secretary” . This very same statement is attributed to the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte also.

I have heard that Japanese are very punctual, whether be at work, meetings, functions, appointments. When meeting someone, it is s regarded as good manners to arrive five minutes before the scheduled time. You will often hear people there comment that they went to a meeting place just on time, only to discover they were the last person to arrive! If you are for a business meeting there, you may lose credibility if you arrive late. Many Japanese get annoyed even if you are re only five minutes late for an appointment, I am told. If you have promised to submit a report on Monday to a Japanese officer or a company, to them it is 9 am on Monday morning. But to us in India, Monday is up to 12pm in the night. Lord Chesterfield , the famous British Statesman of the seventeenth century advised, “Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no delay, no procrastination; never put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. We are not saints to be infallible, but we can be human beings with a little time sense. Better three hours too soon than a minute too late - a well stated Shakespearean quote. Let us change the philosophy ‘Better late than never’ to ‘Better never… than late’.

Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving and a time of good cheer. Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. New Year brings new hopes and aspirations. Friends, ever since Christmas and New Year touched our hearts with pious inebriety, we have kept an appointment with both of them. We have to keep our appointment. We should never be Mr.Late and Mrs Late while we all are poised to accord a grand welcome to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Of all sound of all bells... most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year. Let us ring out the old and ring in the new. Let us all be punctual to hear it at the birth of the New year. Wish you a Merry Christmas and Let the New Year Be What You Desire It To Be!

Sincerely,
Lion Dr.C.R.K.Nair MJF
District Governor

DG Speaks