Welcome to  Ohio Lions 13 OH 1 

May Update:

We’re headed down the home stretch of another Lions year. It’s been an unusual Spring with many of the days seeming like Summer was already here. I am certainly grateful for the fine weather we had Convention Weekend. The attendance was excellent, and it appeared most of those of us in attendance had a good time. See the side feature on the Lions who were recognized for their contributions at the Convention. DGe Deb and 1VDGe Sue did a great job putting the weekend together, and we had a very congenial International Guest in Directory Jeff Gans. He was extremely transparent in responding to how the International Association runs, emphasizing its strengths and weaknesses. One thing he pointed out is that the Portal changes are not happening until late July at the earliest so you don’t need to change your normal end of the year reporting process. Submit your officers as soon as possible. He was a great asset to setting the tone for the relaxing collegial weekend we had from his words on Friday night to his participation in the Saturday activities.

We have a few areas in which we have excelled this year. Thank you so much for your support of the State Project to send the Ohio State School for the Blind’s Marching Band to the International Convention in Boston this Summer. MD13 surpassed the amount for which we committed our financial support. Thank you too for reaching the goal of $20,000 in support of pediatric cancer treatment, research and family support by convention time. We went over the top Saturday when the Napoleon Lions presented a generous check from their STEPS walk. We ended up purchasing six 60” color TV’s and 24 HD8 Tablets to be used at the Ebeid Children’s Hospital Cancer Unit in Toledo. We also were the top district in respect to contributions to the Ohio Lions Pediatric Cancer Foundation. The old saying is, “Seek and ye shall find.” Thanks to your generosity we struck gold this year. Please remember the OLPCF and our STEPS programs in your future club donations. The statistic we are working to overcome is that children who have been “cured’ of pediatric cancers only average five more years of life. While around 85% of the children identified in their early years obtain some type of remission, five years of life is a sobering statistic.

We need to work the next two months in improving our support of LCIF. Over 1.2 billion dollars of LCIF support has lessened the suffering of people all over the world since 1968. Currently, LCIF funds have helped alleviate some of the misery caused by earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, the fighting in the Ukraine, and recent tornados in the United States to name a few hot spots. We have seen many Ohio disasters where the LCIF is the first to respond, along with our Ohio Lions Foundation. Please consider a donation of any amount. Individuals can donate, as well as clubs. PDG Barbara Plaugher is our district’s LCIF chairman. Her address is 62 Anna Circle, Bluffton 45817. Send her a check and a thank you for her tireless efforts in supporting LCIF. We are the world’s biggest non-governmental charitable association.

We are currently at -15 for the year. We celebrated the lives of 28 Lions who have passed away since the 2021 Convention so we have gained 13 more members than we have lost to death, but we need to grow even more. The idea is to “Ask One”, even if you have to ask them multiple times. If they are a good person, we want them to join us in service to our fellows in need of help. Due to declining numbers in membership, our Council of Governors, of which I am a voting member, elected to put a $5 a year increase in our state dues on the ballot. All I can say is that MD13 is an outstanding multiple district with some great leaders and over 9000 great Lions. We currently have an International Director, Lion Ron Keller of the Millersport Lions Club, and three living Past International Directors, one being our own Lion Jerry Smith. We were the only multiple district in the world to have 100% reporting of service activity. We repeated that distinction by early March this year. State dues allow us promote our clubs, our activities, and our service. They allow us to support the travel of our officers. They support a central location from which we can support our local clubs, our district organizations and the Lions Clubs International. They host meetings and provide a zoom account bringing down travel costs. They allow us to sponsor a State Convention which is normally the host to the incoming International President, as is the case this year with Dr. Patti Hill being our guest. All that and more for $17.16 if members in attendance registered by their local clubs vote to approve the increase at the State Convention on May 19. We used to say, that’s just the cost of a cup of coffee once a month. Now, we say it’s the cost of a cheeseburger with bacon and onion rings on top. Boy, that sounds good, but I can give up one a year!

Well, that’s a lot to think about! The Convention is over, but the Lions’ year isn’t. Asking for donations isn’t why we are Lions. It’s about Service, but donations do help up increase our service at home, in our state and nation, and in the world. WE SERVE.,

I hope the weather stays mild and not so windy,

DG Dave Stockum

             /

DG Dave and 1VDG Deb Crawford delivered a check for $6000 to the Ebeid Children's Oncology/Hematology Unit of the ProMedica Hospital in Toledo, Ohio on Friday, September 24th.  The donation, the result of a Community Impact Grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation, will be used to purchase 55" TV screens for the six infusion rooms on the oncology floor.  Ebeid deals with around 75 pediatric cancer patients annually, many of which are dealing with prolonged stays to assure recovery from sickle cell anemia issues.  Chemotherapy often also requires extended treatments.  Community Impact Grants are one way donations going out of our district are returned in part to us.  OH1 has been an excellent supporter of LCIF which has donated over $2 Billion to disaster relief and other charitable causes since 1968.

 Millersport, Ohio Lion Ron Keller becomes MD-13's latest International Director, joining PID's Steve Sherer, Steve Thornton, and OH1's Jerry Smith.

2022-2023 Zone Map

Dates to remember

2023

May 15 – Compliance Deadline for clubs on January 1 – December 31 accounting

May 19 – Final Quarterly Council of Governors Meeting (Marriott Columbus/Dublin)

May 19-21 – MD13 Convention at Marriott Columbus/Dublin

June – TBA Potential End of Year Picnic

July 7 – July 11 – LCI International Convention (Boston)

• Club members can attend any region meeting that fits their schedule or location needs. Simply contact the appropriate Region Chair to make a reservation so there is enough food.

Sept 13 - 17  -- Pilot Alumni Association Convention (Staybrikdge Suites -- Maumee)