The Importance of A Zone in NAMI

Each Lions zone chair has an important role in the North American Membership Initiative (NAMI). Let’s define some important words in the previous sentence.

It’s really simple. The zone chair oversees a zone. In the Lions Club, a zone has three to six clubs. Normally the clubs in the zone are geographically close to each other. That makes attending a zone meeting very easy because there is very little travel involved. It’s a common practice to have a zone meeting once every three or four months.

A zone meeting helps the Lions in each club get to know other nearby Lions. That’s important when undertaking service or fund-raising projects. The zone chair also reminds the club president and club secretary of district goals. This is where NAMI comes into play.

NAMI has a key feature missing from previous membership campaigns. NAMI adds accountability to the members find agreement. Clubs and zones hold the District Governor responsible for membership growth. The District Governor holds the zones and clubs responsible for membership growth. Knowing the goal and knowing that each month someone is looking at the goals keeps Lions focused on the end game.

Success comes by encouragement. For Lions membership to succeed, it takes everyone on the team doing their part. That means everyone plays an important role in achieving the NAMI goal. Every zone and every club should set a membership goal. Then inform the District Governor.

Here is an easy example to understand. Suppose the club presidents tell the zone chair they can combine for six new Lions this year. Suppose those same club presidents tell the zone chair they can reduce membership drops to a total of 4. Here is what that means.

By the end of August, the zone should have one new Lion. If a zone forecasts 6 Lions in a year, then every other month there should be a new Lion in the zone. Here is another example.

Suppose two Lions drop their membership in the same month. Then it’s incumbent on each of the remaining Lions to discourage membership drops. Two drops equate to half a year of membership drops.

NAMI’s ultimate success is at the club level. The zone is the first line of assistance for clubs. 


We Serve because Kindness Matters 

Lion Andy Kalinowski (Andy K)
District Governor
662.549.3421 

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