District Governor’s Corner
Lions, Lioness, Leos, Spouses and Friends:
Well I can’t believe my year is over. Lioness Betty and myself want to thank everyone involved in making the last year possible. We have to thank the
Lions and Lioness Clubs of New Berlin for being part of the “White Hat Posse” that worked so hard on my campaign and attended many fund raisers of other clubs in the District to get recognition and work on
votes.
We have to thank all of District 27-A1 for supporting us at the District elections for Vice Governor and for Governor. I could fill pages of what this time has meant to us.
I want to thank my fellow Council members for electing me to serve on the WLF Board of Directors. The Foundation was hurt drastically by the decrease
in the value of investments and interest caused by 911. Great strides were made in improving accounting and budgeting to the extent that the 2005-2006
proposed budget shows a surplus in the operations budget. Policies were added and others amended for improvements. The Foundation is healthy and I
am proud to be a part of that if even only for one year.
I did not achieve all of my goals, but I am happy with the direction A1 is moving in to keep it Number One. We have two great gentleman and leaders
coming forward in Lion Wally and Lion Dave. Lets all give them the support they will need and have earned.
This year as Governor is actually a three year commitment and worth every day spent helping the Lions in District and Multiple District to fulfill the Lions Motto “WE SERVE”.
I am not going to disappear. I hope to be involved in Lionism for years to come on a local level. I have been asked from time what my sign off on
my articles in the Pride means. For those of you who don’t know I will tell it here. An inspirational speaker by the name of Bob Perks, whom authored the story and has published it on the internet. It goes like this:
Recently I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her departure and standing near the security gate, they
hugged and he said, “I love you. I wish you enough”. She in turn said “Dad
our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.”
They kissed and she left. He walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude
on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “ Yes, I have,” I replied. Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me.
So I knew this man experiencing. “Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked. “I am old and she lives much too far away. I have
challenges ahead and the reality is , the next trip back would be for my funeral,” he said. “When you were saying good-bye I heard you say,
“I wish you enough.” May I ask what that means?” He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents
used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. “When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”