Acceptance Speech and an offer to serve by District Governor-Elect (2010-11) MJF Lion Ashok Kumbhar at the 20th Annual District Conference of District 323A2 held on 11th April, 2010 at Smt. Zaverben Popatlal Sabhagrah, Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai

Presiding Officer District Governor, Lion Rajender Tanwani & Lion Geetaji, Past International Director Lion Naresh Aggarwal, 1St Vice District Governor (Elect) Lion Hasmukh Jobanputra & LL Hemaji, & Second Vice District Governor (Elect) Lion Mahesh Gupta & Lion Jyotiji, distinguished and most revered Past District Governors and their gracious Lion Ladies, Cabinet Officers, Cub Officers, Fellow Lions & Leos and Lionesses, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.

Before I proceed further I would like to congratulate 1St Vice District Governor (Elect) Lion Hasmukh Jobanputra and Second District Governor (Elect) Lion Mahesh Gupta on their election as a successor to me in 2011-2012 and thereafter.

Friends, I am extremely delighted that I succeed the proud son of our senior most Past District Governor Lion Dr. Haripal Tanwani. It is said that normally a son works on the shadows of a father and thus he is able to succeed in his aspirations. But, here is a District Governor, who not only fulfilled his father’s aspirations by becoming the first father-son duo of District Governors of 323 A2, but also succeeded in every aspect of District’s aims and objectives for the year 2009-2010 and would like to congratulate him for leading the District in an efficient and effective manner. I must also confess it was a sheer joy working along with him as 1st Vice District Governor and I thank him for his cooperation and guidance in enabling the MERL Team giving a superlative performance this year.

Friends, there is a saying that you are as great as the thoughts you think, as the worth you have attained, as the fountains at which your spirit drinks and insight you have granted. You are as great as the truth you speak, as great as the help you give, as the destiny you seek and as the life you live.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Friends! I am a very firm believer in God and whatever he ordained for me has come about and therefore I dedicate my success to God Almighty. It is because of Him that I stand in front of you today as District Governor (Elect). I also dedicate this moment of success to all my Lion brothers who first elected me as their First District Governor on 5th April, 2009 and again today as District Governor (Elect) forthe Lionistic Year 2010-11.

I express my deep gratitude to each and every Club of my District for their valuable support to me. My special thanks to my I-tome Club, Lions Club of Nerul for its support and love and for sponsoring my candidature, Sponsoring Committee Chairperson, PDG Lion Nandlal Rajpal and Club President Lion Milan Shah and Immediate Past President Lion Arabinda Pati. I assure you all that shall continue to project the virtues and values of our great Club. My thanks also goes to Lion Kantilal Jam for rendering my Nomination Speech in such a fine fashion, today.

I thank our District Governor Lion Rajender Tanwani and Lion Geetaji for the respect and affection they showered on me and my wife Ashvini and shall always cherish the wonderful tenure as his deputy.

I express my deep respect and regards to our Past District Governors for their support and guidance. I had a pleasure of working with many of them in their respective Cabinet and they have helped me to grow both as a Lion and as a human being. I humbly bow to each one of them and to their respective Lion ladies for their love and affection and I seek their continued support and blessings.

Mother of all thanks goes to you all Lions, Lion Ladies Leos and Lionesses of our District for their continued support and encouragement over the years culminating in what you are seeing today. In the same breath, with your blessings I promise to change few negative votes into positive support with positive mind for positive Lionism.

Now with all my humility and with all seriousness of purpose, I accept the position of 20th District Governor of our great District 323A2.

Friends, exactly on 5th April, 2009at the very same venue, you elected me as your First Vice District Governor, on the basis of my long experience as a Lion.

I am sure you are satisfied with my performance and involvement. I have fulfilled all my obligations diligently and honestly under the able leadership of our District Governor Lion Rajender Tanwani as well as my performance as Chairperson of MEAL which has shown excellent results in Membership and Extension, thanks to my colleagues in the MERL Team.

And now friends, I need your help more than you have ever given me to move the District forward and give Lionism a new vista in our District. It is in this regard that I appeal to all the respected Past District Governors, First and Second Vice District Governors (Elect), Cabinet and non-Cabinet Lion Members, Club officers, Fellow Lions, Leos and Lionesses to strengthen my hands by your involvement in the District and your Club affairs. Friends, your club is the base of your existence as a Lion. Strengthen it by all means by your commitment to achieve my goals in line with the programme of incoming International President, Lion Sid L. Scruggs Ill.

MY PLANS AND POLICIES FOR THE LIONISTIC YEAR 2010-2011

Now, I present my road map for the year 2010-2011. Let this Lionistic year be a year of “Beacon of Hope”. This year under leadership of District Governor Lion Rajender Tanwani, our District has touched new heights of performance. From here on, we shall move forward for further improvisation.

With the recent economic crises, as well as global - natural and man-made, disasters ‘hands on’ service has become increasingly important. More than ever before there are people in need, people who need Lions. There are also people who are looking for meaning in their life and who would like to spend their time in service. In this 2010-2011 year of service we should do the following:

Shine a Light on Service: We will organize global service campaigns, using technology to show real-time results. Our campaigns will involve each and every member in meaningful service. We will attract new members by rededicating our service mission through the Service and Mission Data base of LCI and promoting Adopted Service Programs. We will actively support service strategies —

• Implement Global Service Action Days,

• Encourage Clubs to ‘Sign’ the First Service Pledge

• Read and spread the news about the International President’s Service Blog

• Provide information and materials for a Service Needs Assessment

Shine a Light on Public Relations: Service and effective public relations are connected. We will create an effective public relations program, utilizing the resources available on the LCI web site and publicize information about The Beacon Awards. We will also encourage clubs to establish a ‘signature service project.’

Shine a Light on Membership: Lions are proud of what they do, of the difference they make in people’s lives. By increasing the number of service projects and embedding service in the reputation of Lions Clubs International, Lions have a reason to be proud of being a Lion. We will enhance community service projects which will increase our retention and attract new members. In addition, we will share the details of the Bright Star Award.

Shine a Light on Youth: Through implementing youth programs, we will encourage youth to be service oriented and prepare them for the future. To do this we will:

1. Spread the word about the Global Youth Music Contest

2. Use technology and social networking to engage and attract today’s youth

3. Increase awareness of an essay contest for the blind/visually impaired youths between 11-13 years of age.

Shine a Light on Leadership: Implementing service projects provides the opportunity for members to practice their leadership skills. To identify and encourage potential leaders we will:

1. Implement practical job training for club officers and zone chairpersons

2. Encourage the use of online training resources (Leadership Resource Center/ Lions Learning Center)

3. Encourage Lions to take on leadership responsibilities

4. Communicate opportunities for leadership development with new/prospective members

5. Encourage participation in local training programs (Lions Leadership Institutes and Faculty Development Institutes)

6. Promote and encourage use of the Lions Mentoring Programme

Shine a Light on Giving: In addition to service, Lions give from their own resources. We need to emphasize and increase support of LCIE To accomplish this, we will:

1. Increase the understanding of LCIF’s programs and their impact on individual’s lives

2. Promote donations to LClFfrom clubs and individuals

3. Work with Multiple District Chairpersons/ District Chairpersons/ LCIF Coordinators for donations and promotion

1. Consolidation of Clubs:

I need not over stress that Lions Clubs International or our District is as strong as the strength of its clubs. The very fact that the worldwide membership of Lions Clubs is struggling to maintain its top most position we need to take strong measures to meaningfully improve the health and growth of Clubs. Therefore, this shall be my core concern and top priority. This task we shall achieve by making Zone and Region Chairpersons directly responsible for their respective clubs.

The plan is to:

a) Develop Club Leadership through regular Schoolings and Workshops and make it ready to undertake the task chalked out for the year. It would be my aim to build more leaders and the leadership for tomorrow. To be precise, to make the Clubs undertake all the Constitutional obligations, like filing of MMR, to pay all Club dues on time, to hold at least one Regular and one Board Meeting every month independently at Club level.

b) There are over 800 Past Presidents in various Clubs in the District. They are seniors rich in experience and knowledge of Lionism. I would like them all to be more actively involved in all the Club programmes and meetings and the Clubs benefiting in the long run.

c) One of the main reasons for Lions losing interest in Lionism is lack of time-bound and interesting meetings. We shall urge upon the Club leadership to pay special attention to this aspect.

d) The Club leadership shall be able to undertake at least one Charity drive early and to complete Club’s installation preferably before end of July, 2010.

e) Financial Discipline — This shall be another core area needing more attention. Clubs must maintain strong financial discipline like registering with The Charity Commissioner, obtaining Income Tax Exemption Certificate under Section 80(G) of I.T. Act, preparing yearly budget, presenting monthly Statement of Income and Expenditure at every Board Meeting along with vouchers, collecting all dues from members in time and paying District, Multiple and International dues on time. It is a must for all the Clubs to get their accounts duly audited. I appeal to all Cabinet Members to help their respective Home Clubs to achieve the above mentioned goals. The District Administration shall motivate and monitor these areas.

2. Lions Image and P R.O.

District shall encourage Clubs to enhance their Public Image and build bridges with their local community. District P.R.O. shall be too happy to render all support.

3. Role of G.M.T. & G.L.T.(Previously known as MERLOW)

i) Membership Growth:

District Membership Committee shall ensure a constant Membership Growth programme in every Club. We expect every District officer to add one new member in the Month of July 2010 in their respect Clubs. Clubs showing net positive growth in the month of July shall be recognized and rewarded.

ii) Retention

It is said that "a Member retained is a member gained". Effective Membership retention is the need of the hour, without which membership growth shall not yield their desired result. My appeal is to have a minimum possible membership drop in every Club through effective Retention.

iii) Extension

New residential and commercial complexes should be explored for new club formation.

iv) Orientation

Orientation is knowledge and knowledge is power. District shall help clubs to provide orientation at Club/Zonal/Regional and District level.

v) Women Membership:

New thrust shall be given to Women Membership Development and growth and in tune with International's ultimate goal of 25% growth. This year our target shall be 10%.

4. Lionesses

Our Lioness movement is quite strong and our relationship with them is very cordial and encouraging. We will continue to extend our best cooperation and help for its betterment and growth.

5. Leos

Youth is the future of Lionsim and we shall make all out efforts that Leos in our organization are given all possible encouragement to turn them into successful Leaders of Lionism tomorrow.

6. Core Activities

As I stated earlier, the International President 2010-2011 Lion Sid L. Scruggs III has coined the slogan "A Beacon of Hope - Shine a Light". In pursuit of this growth oriented movement and in the light of his theme, I call upon the Lions of the District to focus on the following:

a) Environment	b) Sight First
c) Activities	d) Peace Poster
e) Lions Quest	f) Twinning
g) Sports	h) Lions Opportunity for Youth
i) Youth Exchange Programmes	j) Thalassemia Awareness
k) Aids Awareness	1) Diabetes Awareness

7. District Theme Logo

I have been strong votary on maintaining perfect environment of human habitat. The World is today sitting on the edge, eager and concerned. The developled and developing nations are fighting out their battles at various international forums. Several small nations that are just 2/3 meters above the sea level are threatened to be wiped out of the global map.

Apart from the two World Wars the humanity faced in the last century, the current situation arising out of Global Warming is indeed the greatest threat that looms large over our heads. As the mighty Icebergs from the Antractic move towards New Zealand and Australia, melting down in the process, as the Himalayan Glaciers turn into tiny ponds to our North, as the desert expand, as the fields dry up waiting for rains and as the rivers swell like never before right here in the southern parts of India, entightened citizens like we Lions, cannot sit back and let things happen an their own.

Global Warming is emerging as the most threatening challenge to humanity. Copenhagen failed, Kyoto Protocol is torn apart but we can’t ill afford to fail. Lions are known to be the torch bearers. We talked of World Peace and Harmony among the Comity of Nattions, much before the United Nations was formed. History tells us that we had been the torch bearers and opinion makers around the glob. History challenges us once again.

Tackling Global Melting down may be a responsibility of the governments of nations. Yet the basic responsibility lies with all human beings. Leaders that we are, our responsibilties are heavier. We arre expected to be educating the masses. We are needed to mould the opinions in the society. We are required to lead by setting example.

As the famous chinese proverb says “If you are thinking one year ahead, sow seed…. If you are thniking ten years ahead, plant a tree…. If you are thinking one hundred years ahead, educate the people.” Let us be aware ourselves and educate the society. Both the rural and urban clubs can organize seminars, symposiums, rallies and exhibitions. We should ask ourselves as to how much CO2 emission can we control. How many trees could we plant? How much Energy we could save?

Mother Earth has been mercilessly exploited in the last century. “COOL EARTH” should be our mantra. Be it massive Tree Plantation or Energy Conservation, we have a definite and decisive role to play. It is our plants and trees that have protected us all along. It is our turn now to save them. We have proudly been the Knight of the Blind. It’s time we prove ourselves as the Knight of Mother Earth, as well.

With Cool Earth in our environment, we can extend our service arm to the needy with a Warm Heart. My Slogan for the Lionistic Year 2010-2011 will be

COOL EARTH – WARM HEARTS

I would request senior Past District Governor, Lion Nandlal Rajpal to please unveil the District Logo for the Lionistic Year 2010-2011.

8. Announcement of Senate & Region Chairpersons

Albert Einstein once remakred “You will be surprised at how receptive people can become when you are willing to share with them your expertise, experience, enthusiasm and energy.” I have pleasure in declaring my team of Executive Council who will share their expertise, experience, enthusiasm and energy in the service of Lionism during the Lionistic year 2010-11. While I thank each of them for kindly accepting my invitation to be in various positions, I would request them to come on the dais along with their spouses:

Designation	Name of Lion	Spouse Name	Home Club
District Cabinet Secretary	Lion Subhash Bhalwal	Lion Upindra	Vashi
District Cabinet Treasurer	Lion N.R.Paremeswaran	LL Shailaja	Turbhe
Principal Advisor	Lion Pravin Thakkar	LL Vasumati	Ghatkopar
Jt. District Cabinet Secretary	Lion Shridhar Shetty	LL Geeta	Kalyan
Jt. District Cabinet Secretary	Lion Nitin Shetty	LL Shobha	Chembur
Jt. District Cabinet Secretary	Lion Seema Pai	Lion Satyu	Vashi
Jt. District Cabinet Treasurer	Lion Rajesh Prajapati	LL Sunita	New Panvel
Jt. District Cabinet Treasurer	Lion Sanjiv Sharma	Lion Sarmistha	A.P.M.C.
District Public Relation Officer	Lion Balbir Sehgal	LL Savita	Amar Mahal
Administrative Officer	Lion Mukesh Taneja	LL Deepa	C.B.D.

In addition, I would like to introduce Shri S. S. Mani who will continue to provide back-up support to the Senate. I may also inform you that this year District Secretariat will function from the District Headquarters at the Lions Service Centre, Koparkhairne, Navi Mumbai.

Besides, I would like to introduce Leo District President (Elect) Leo Priyank Gesota from Leo Club of Garodianagar and Leo District Vice President (Elect) Leo Akansha Sharma from Leo Club of Vashi.

I would also like to introduce the Region Chairpersons of the 6 Regions of the District:

Name of Lion	Spouse Name	Home Club
Lion Ranjan Srivastava	LL Dr. Anita	Turbhe
Lion Lunkaran Tawri	LL Lata	Vashi
Lion Gopal Subramanyam	LL Madhu	Chembur
Lion P. V. Narsimham	LL Venkatalaxmi	Uptown
Lion Shailesh Poddar	LL Vinita	Thane North
Lion Mitesh Kalyani	LL Sumitra	Roha

Quite often you have heard that the success of men is because of women. I therefore take pleasure in introducing two women leaders of the District…….Lioness District President Lioness Dr. Anagha Kannure of Lioness Club of Juhoo Nagar as well as District Chairperson - Lion Lady Auxiliary Lion Ashvini Kumbhar of Lions Club of Nerul.

The Leo District and Lioness District will be guided by Leo District Advisor MJF Lion Namita Mishra and Lioness District Advisor MJF Lion Savitha H. Nayak.

This then is the core team and I would request all the Lions, Leos, Lionesses and Lion Ladies of the District to be in the service of the people, the maximum number of time to the maximum number of people.

Thank you. Thank you. God Bless you all.

MJF LION ASHOK KUMBHAR
District Governor – Elect (2010-2011)
11th April, 2010