Inaugural Address of Wayne A. Madden
2012-2013 International President
Immediate Past International President Tam, executive officers, members of the board,
distinguished past presidents, Lions, Leos, guests.
Every great orator, and every great speechwriter will tell you that the most important part
of a speech is the conclusion. If a speech has a strong ending, that’s what people will
remember.
Well–I’m going to break every rule of speechwriting and speech delivery today. I’m going
to start my address to you with the conclusion.
IN A WORLD OF SERVICE - ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
There are countless examples of how one person changed the course of history–
Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others. But that’s not what I’m referring to when I say one
person can make a difference.
I’m talking about one-on-one interaction. I’m talking about the ability of one person to
make a positive difference in another’s life through sometimes just a simple act of kindness.
You see – everything that lives, lives from the heart. It’s our ability to lift someone’s spirit
– to raise their heart if you will–that makes the real difference. At least to them.
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization. But that’s not
what makes us so great. That’s not what sets us apart. What sets us apart is that we are the
BEST community service organization in the world. Why?
Because we have HEART. We do, in fact, have the heart of a Lion. We live our motto
each and every day–WE SERVE. We live IN A WORLD OF SERVICE.
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That’s why we are the greatest–and it’s probably why we also just happen to be the
largest. People want to be part of something great, but they also want to know they are making
a real difference in the lives of others.
And there you have it. The shortest inaugural address in the history of Lions Clubs
International.
Actually, if there wasn’t such tremendous need, if there wasn’t such tremendous
suffering in the world–maybe that WOULD be the end of my speech. But we have so much to
do. So many people to lift up. So many lives to change.
I grew up in Indiana. It’s in the Midwestern region of the United States. In fact, I’ve lived
there my entire life. It’s a land of small towns. Of farm land. Simple living. I’m proud to call it
home. No, I’m not a man of the world. No one would call me cosmopolitan.
Linda and I live very unpretentious lives. Until recently, we rarely traveled beyond the
confines of our Indiana home. But it was in Indiana I learned the value of serving others. I
witnessed it each and every day.
And I was so proud when I was asked to become a Lion. Through Lions I came to
realize there is a whole network of women and men whose sole purpose is serving others.
Lions.
My theme this year, In A World of Service, calls on Lions to not only celebrate our world
of service but to expand our impact, rising up to meet new challenges.
Another inspiration from my Indiana roots comes from the world famous Indianapolis 500
auto race. I’ve been an auto racing fan for over 40 years. Something I’ve noticed during those
40-plus years is that successful race teams employ a well thought out strategy and devise a
formula for excellence.
My winning formula is Dedication + Preparation + Teamwork = EXCELLENCE.
There can be no question that Lions are dedicated to providing service.
But have you ever stopped to wonder what the world would be like without Lions clubs?
How many lives we have touched, and how many lives we have changed? Many, in fact, the
majority of the people we help never go on to become Lions themselves. But they do change.
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In our 95-year history, it is safe to say we have directly helped tens of millions of people,
but we have directly affected the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Just one small act–
providing a sewing machine to a young woman in India, a new pair of eyeglasses to a child in
Central America, and, yes, giving Mr. Stevie Wonder his very first musical instrument–a drum at
a Lions Christmas party he attended as a boy in Michigan.
Just those three examples potentially altered not just their lives, but many, many other
lives. That sewing machine allowed that young woman to become self-sufficient, able to send
her children to school to get a good education. They in turn became productive citizens, and
their children then went to school. And so on, and so on.
Our renowned dedication helps us in everything we do–including our continued
participation in the Global Service Action Campaigns of engaging youth, working with the blind
and visually impaired, feeding the hungry, and working to improve the environment. But I’m
asking you to do more.
One of the most important gifts parents can give their children is a good education.
Yesterday we heard Dr. Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, tell
us that education was a key factor in unlocking human potential.
The acquisition of skills and knowledge enables people to overcome poverty, disease
and other social ills. It empowers communities and gives individuals the confidence needed to
shape their own future.
Now let me ask you: how many here today can write your name? How many here today
can read the first line of your LION Magazine? If you can, then you are not only literate, you are
considered highly literate.
But nearly 1 billion people around the world are functionally illiterate. That’s right.
Twenty-six percent of the world’s population can’t write their name. It isn’t a problem only in
what we consider developing countries. In the United States alone, 21 million people can’t read.
As much as we already do around the world, this year I’m asking Lions to expand our
world of service by joining what I call the Reading Action Program. It’s something every Lions
club can do because the lack of reading skills plagues every community around the world. I’m a
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former educator, and Linda has been a career teacher. We know firsthand the importance of
obtaining even basic reading skills, and the consequences of not.
There are many ways Lions can help. Reading to children at local libraries; volunteering
as tutors through your local school; donating books and computers, to mention just a few ideas.
There are more suggestions in the Reading Action Program guidelines available on the
LCI website. However you choose to approach the problem, be pro-active.
In the words of the famous children’s author Dr. Seuss, “The more you read, the more
things you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
I know you’ll take up this challenge to fight illiteracy because no challenge is too great for
Lions. Community service is our legacy and our foundation. It’s what makes us the BEST.
I want all Lions to embrace our heritage of service. From our founder Melvin Jones to
Helen Keller’s call to be “Knights of the Blind” that heritage of service continues and has been
paramount in our ability to expand our service to areas such as disaster relief, fighting poverty
and hunger, taking care of the environment, working with the blind and vision impaired, finding
new ways to fight preventable blindness and adopting new challenges.
Service is what we do, and who we are. It defines us as a revered, highly respected
institution.
But embracing our heritage does not mean closing our minds to change. The world is
changing. We must change with it if we hope to keep pace and continue to make a difference. I
challenge clubs this year to seek self-improvement and always be receptive to new ways of
doing business and be open to new traditions.
Nothing is changing faster in our world than our ability to communicate. But being able to
effectively communicate –using new avenues such as social media– takes preparation –the
second element of my winning formula for excellence.
We must be prepared if we are to move forward with new ideas, to be agents of change.
Increasingly, Lions members, clubs, districts and multiple districts are online –
communicating through various social media tools. How many of you are on Facebook? How
many of your clubs have a Facebook page?
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I’m living proof that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. I have my own Facebook
page, and I find it invaluable in connecting to Lions around the world.
This year LCI will continue to expand our methods of connecting to members and the
general public as we expand our worldwide impact. I encourage you all to post your service
projects on a club Facebook page, and do live tweets during your service projects via Twitter.
Through a special section on the LCI website, you can post photos and tweets of your service
activities–around the clock, every day of the year–continuously circling the globe through
service.
I want clubs and districts to maintain a high state of readiness and preparedness at all
times, like a well-oiled engine.
Throughout an auto race like the Indianapolis 500, drivers periodically pull off the track
for quick checkups. A highly trained crew, working together, changes tires, adds fuel and checks
the engine. It’s called a “pit stop.” Doing this preventive maintenance ensures the car will
maintain peak performance.
I’m asking clubs and districts to do the same –take periodic pit stops –one per quarter.
Why? Because Lions clubs and districts maintain a very busy yearly calendar.
It’s easy to get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that from time to time, it’s
necessary to set aside a day to reflect, review the status of membership plans and refocus
efforts as needed. Don’t overlook what seems like a small matter. Take care of small problems
before they become too big.
Consider whether your club as the right mix of talent represented. Use the pit stops to
assess and then continually reassess your club and district needs, and your members’ needs.
Ensure you are all working together.
I’m also challenging all officers and district governor teams to focus on achieving The
Club Excellence Award and District Governor Team Excellence Award. I found both to be
extremely helpful when I was a club president and later a district governor. To obtain these
awards, you must work as a team.
Working together–teamwork–forms the third element of my formula for success.
Teamwork encourages creativity, allowing everyone an equal opportunity to contribute. A Lions
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team should be about giving, listening, fellowship and achieving. American industrialist Henry
Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working
together is success.”
There are many teams that makeup Lions Clubs International. But are we doing enough
to use the teams we have, and are those teams working in unison?
Teamwork and leadership in LCI are linked together more than ever with The Global
Membership Team and Global Leadership Team, who together provide a structure for ongoing
membership growth and development of new leaders.
It’s a team that connects the international level to the constitutional level, and on down to
the district level, for the ultimate benefit and success of the club.
The important thing is to work together– at every level–to enhance our ability to serve
others. It takes teamwork to succeed in a world of service.
One other very important part of our team is LCIF–what I call the “Foundation of Our
World of Service.”
Yesterday you heard Chairperson Sid talk about the many achievements of our
Foundation. LCIF is doing more as the official charitable organization of Lions Clubs
International than ever before. That’s all due to the support of Lions.
LCIF is the perfect example of dedication, preparation and teamwork. The LCIF team is
bringing in new team members, partners in service like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,
World Health Organization, the Clinton Foundation, the Carter Center, to achieve success in our
global humanitarian service efforts.
Earlier I spoke about our heritage, about our traditions, about being agents of change.
But I am also a firm believer in the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
This year even as I ask you to embrace change I’m going to maintain a few elements
that were introduced under both former President Sid Scruggs and Immediate Past International
President Tam.
The global service action campaigns– focusing on our work with the blind and visually
impaired, feeding the hungry, working with youth and the environment–are examples of new
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traditions that work. They were established by then president Scruggs two years ago and are a
great way to focus our team effort during the year.
The president meets the presidents, brought in last year by president Tam, is a
marvelous way to connect to club presidents, to hear their thoughts, answer their questions,
learn from one another. So I intend to meet with club presidents throughout the year just as Tam
did.
I’m also going to maintain The Women’s and Family Membership Development Task
Force –also brought in last year–to chart our road ahead in growing women and family
membership, and more importantly, to be sure we are engaging them as key team members.
Speaking of key team members, there is one very important person to me as a Lion and
in my personal life. As Lions, we understand that what we accomplish is a team effort. Married
people also understand that. Believe me, whatever I have been able to accomplish, whatever
good I have been able to achieve, all the wonderful things in my family life, there is one person I
owe that to.
Like a lot of people, I think I do not always say what I need to say and show my love. So,
Linda, today I want to tell you how much you mean to me and how great our journey together as
Lions and in Indiana with our family has been.
(Wayne gives flowers to Linda)
Linda and I are very proud of where we are from. That’s something Lions have in
common. We serve our communities because we belong to them and cherish them.
I want to ask a longtime friend and mentor, Past International Director Gene Rice of our
home state of Indiana, to pay tribute to our home.
Rice Sings “Back Home Again in Indiana”
Back home again in Indiana,
oh it seems that I can see
That gleaming candlelight
still burning bright
Through the sycamores for me
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That new mown hay sends all its fragrance
From the fields I used to roam
Oh I dream about the moonlight
on the Wabash
Then I long for my Indiana home
Thank you, Gene. That was touching.
It’s going to be a busy year, it’s going to be a challenging year, and it’s going to be a
productive year.
I know throughout this year Lions will be at the forefront of service, strengthening our
shared commitment to humanity. And I know that as agents of change, working together we will
forge new insights on how we can work together to build a better world–a world that protects the
dignity of every person and fosters the incredible power of the human spirit.
The Lions spirit has never been more vibrant. Like the song says, “I’ve got that Lions
spirit down in my heart.” That spirit has never been more important. The world is counting on us.
In a world of need, there is someone to help. In a world of suffering, there is someone who
cares. In a world of destruction, there is someone to provide relief. In a world of illiteracy, there
is someone to teach. And in a world of service, there is one name that stands out among
others–Lions Clubs International.
Can we do it? Are we up for the challenge?
We will need our entire team of over 46,000 clubs around the world, each team working
together at a high rate of efficiency, in order to continue to make a real difference in our
respective communities. Proving once again we are not only the LARGEST service organization
in the world–WE ARE THE BEST!
And now – in the tradition of the Indianapolis 500 auto race–ARE YOU READY?
LIONS–START YOUR ENGINES!
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