A PRIVILEGE ABOVE ALL OTHERS

Each year at the DGE Seminar there are three selected District Governors-Elect that are invited to address all other approximately 750 DGEs and their spouses, as well as the Incoming International President and the DGE Seminar Faculty. This year, the privilege was given to D132 Macedonia, and to myself.

Секоја година на семинарот за избрани гувернери, раководството на семинарот селектира тројца претставници на приближно 750те гувернери кои треба да зборуваат за семинарот, меѓународната програма, позитивната енергија... Оваа година привилегијата да се обрати ми припадна мене. Во публиката имаше повеќе од 1500 лица. Сите избрани гувернери, нивните придружници, блиски соработници, инструкторите од семинарот, а на сцената идниот меѓународен претседател со сопругата, претседавачот и потпретседавачот на семинарот со нивните сопруги. Возбуда како никогаш досега, но помалку и гордост што нашиот дистрикт и јас ја имаме довербата на новиот претседател.

Најпрвин сурово се критикував себе си, но подоцна многумина ми кажаа дека исклучително многу им се допаднал говорот, односно дека пораката била многу силна. Приближно 200 пати стиснатата рака во честитка и уште повеќе кренати палци и потчукнувања по рамо од задоволство ме уверија дека ги исполнив очекувањата.

Во продолжение следува текстуалниот запис од моето обраќање:

MY DEAR LIONS, 

INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, 

FELLOW DISTRICT GOVERNORS-ELECT 

DEAR FRIENDS, 

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY REALLY, WE ARE ONLY DAYS FROM THE BIGGEST BATTLE OF OUR SERVICE LIFE, AND I ONLY HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK TO YOU. (PAUSE) LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT LIFE! WHY?! BECAUSE LIFE IS PRETTY MUCH LIKE THE RACES WE'VE SPOKEN OF! 

LIFE BEGINS, AS A ROAD IT STARTS FROM THE DOOR AND LEADS US ON; DOWNWARDS, OR PERHAPS UP, SLOWLY WINDING OVER ROCK AND UNDER TREE, IT PASSES MAYHEMs, EVERY FRONTIER AND STEEP; UNTIL IT JOINS SOME LARGER WAY THAT BRINGS US NEW TASKS AND DARES AND TAKES US WHITHER. FELLOW DGEs, WE ARE AT THAT POINT NOW WHERE WE TAKE THAT NEW LARGER WAY, BUT I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL NOT ONLY WALK, NO, WE WILL RACE THROUGH OUR SHARE OF THAT LARGER WAY AND WE WILL RACE WELL. 

SOME SAY, LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO LIVE IT; WHILE OTHERS SAY THAT, WHEN YOU ARE AMONG FRIENDS, TIME FLIES. WELL, FOR ME THE LIONS WERE AND FOREVER THEY WILL STAY HUGE SUPPORT, REMARKABLE COMPANY AND ALWAYS DEAR FRIENDS, THUS MY TIME DID FLY, AND IN JUST TWO DAYS I SWITCHED FROM DGE TO DAD! IT WAS THE MOMENT THAT IRREVERSIBLY CHANGED MY LIFE. 

WHEN I STARTED MY JOURNEY ON THIS PATH A SMART MAN TOLD ME: “EVERY GOOD DEED THAT YOU’LL MAKE IS LIKE A DROP IN THE SEA, AND EVERY FRIENDSHIP A PEARL!” TODAY, TWELVE YEARS AFTER, MY HEART IS LIKE A WELL FULL, AND MY NECKLACE IS RICHER THAN IT EVER WAS! TWELVE YEARS AFTER ONE DROP I’LL ALWAYS CHERISH - THE LEO CLUB THAT I USED TO BE A MEMBER OF, AND THE LEOS THAT I’LL ALWAYS BELONG TO. BECAUSE LEOS ARE OUR FUTURE! - AND THE PEARLS, THEY ARE ALL VERY DEAR TO ME! 

FELLOW LIONS, OUR INSTRUCTORS IN THESE PAST FEW DAYS HAVE GIVEN US VALUABLE LESSONS FOR TEAMWORK, DEDICATION AND EXCELLENCE. THESE ARE LESSONS FOR LIFE! NOW, I WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THE LIFE-LESSON I RECEIVED JUST BEFORE I CAME HERE: MY CLUB HAS ADOPTED A FAMILY OF 7 AT THE SOS CHILDREN’S VILLAGE IN SKOPJE AND ON ZDRAVKO’S 14TH BIRTHDAY (HE’S ONE OF THE TWO BOYS) ON APRIL 30TH THIS YEAR, HE THOUGHT ME WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FATHER FIGURE TO SOMEONE. 

THESIS: ARISTOTLE SAID: “WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO. EXCELLENCE, THEREFORE, IS NOT AN ACT BUT A HABIT.”; OUR INCOMING PRESIDENT WAYNE MADDEN SAYS: “IN A WORLD OF SERVICE, THERE IS ONE NAME THAT STANDS OUT AMONG OTHERS – LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL.” 

COUNTER THESIS: CHILDREN ARE OUR BIGGEST TREASURE, AND WHEN TAKING CARE OF THEM THE HEART, THE EMOTIONS, LOVE IS OUR BIGGEST ALLY! 

CONCLUSION: ONCE WE ARE BACK HOME, WE, THE LIONS, HAVE TO BE THE EXCELLENT PARENTS THAT WE ARE TO OUR CHILDREN, TO OUR YOUTH THE LEOS, AND TO CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN GENERAL. TO BE TO THEM, WHAT OUR PARENTS HAVE BEEN FOR US, TO HELP THEM BUILD THEMSELVES UP INTO RESPONSIBLE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY FULL OF RESPECT FOR CULTURE, TRADITION AND HISTORY; TO UNDERSTAND TRUST AND ACCEPT OTHERS AND THE FUTURE; TO TEACH THEM ABOUT FRIENDSHIP (THAT ITS WORTH MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE), ABOUT UNITY (THAT THERE’S NO BETTER PROTECTION THAN IT), ABOUT LOYALTY (THAT IT’S A QUALITY WORTHY OF RESPECT), ABOUT COMMUNITY (THAT WE NEED TO HELP EACH OTHER); TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES.

THIS IS HOW WE'LL MANAGE CHANGE MY FRIENDS!