Protocol

With the changing of the guards around the corner, installations will be a common activity among clubs over the next few months. And as a regular attendee at such functions, I would cringe every time a member of the public (and Lions too) comment negatively about the function, the ‘meaningless mumbo-jumbo’ on stage, ‘boring & longwinded’ speeches, ‘endless’ award presentations, and 'incorrect' protocol.

While each club is independent and could do what it wants with the installation of its new officers, there should be some common practices to follow. I have witnessed simple installations carried out during a club meeting to elaborate ceremonies involving royalty. At a club in Australia, the process was simple: the outgoing President invites each new member of the Board to come forward, lay his or her hand on a bible, raise his/her hand and repeat the pledge of office. With the incoming President, he also presented the gavel, and concludes the ceremony. The atmosphere was solemn and no VIPs, visiting members or guests (except me) were present. After the formalities were over, tailtwisting was held and the outgoing Board members sportingly presented their successors with fun stuff. I remembered the IPP presenting a pair of trousers to the President (a lady) as she will be 'wearing the pants in the house now that she is the boss!'

Then there are the ones where everything is so formal and rigid, even had to 'sembah' before heading for the loo! While royalty added to the esteem and primness of such an occasion, often non-Lion guests are among the attendees. And the ceremony being so formal, these friends soon found the function time-wasting and costly (due to extra overheads to cover for the VIPs eating on the house). The next time they are invited, you can be sure of excuses not to attend!

While installations are a handover ceremony meaningful only to the Lions family, clubs often use the occasion to raise funds from the public through ticket sales and advertisements in the souvenir magazine. I always say if you want to raise funds, use the club anniversary where entertainment is provided and formalities are kept to a minimum (e.g. a short speech and cake-cutting). Keep the installations to club members only, maybe have some neighboring clubs to witness it but keep the costs low and affordable. Joint installations are the way to go: cost-saving for the attendees who rather attend one function than many individual ones, and for the organizers as more hands make lighter work.

Protocol extends not only to the proper addressing of dignitaries during a speech, it entails proper seating, appropriate program, even environment and attire. Many are the occasions where the uninformed (or unbothered) who would turn up in a t-shirt while the rest are in suits. Horror of horrors is when a Lion dignitary or Guest of Honor is inappropriately attired! And those who complied with the invitation sweating in coat and tie! When added with the din of children bawling or running around, the whole function turns into a circus. It is alright to have less formality in a function but everyone should be informed early and follows the said attire.

I just found out that the order of precedence has been changed recently. The PCCs and PDGs are now placed by alphabetical order rather than recentness of service. And the Campaign SightFirst II Coordinators take precedence over PDGs, VDGs, the IPDG and even PCCs. They come right after the DG. Wow, such prominence! This LCI policy ends after June 2008. But let's not even go there. Currently, simple practices are ignored or wrongly carried out in addresses or seating. Some say that its alright, for example, to put a non-Lion government official higher than the DG (probably to apple-polish the official). But then, this is not a government function! It is a Lions function and Lions protocol applies. I am sure the reader have attended a function with the DG seated at a far corner of the main table or even worse, not in the main table. The DG is the highest-ranking officer in our District and should be accorded a place of honor for he/she represents LCI.

Experience vs Enthusiasm

It's coming to the end of the fiscal year and a new set of people are going to sit in the leadership positions whether it is club, district or international. Every time such a transition occurs, the question of Experience versus Enthusiasm comes in to play.

For a healthy club playing by the rules, the norm would be the ascension of the 1st VP to presidency, 2nd VP to 1st VP and etc. The outgoing President does not really have a say (other than his/her one vote) as to who should succeed him/her. The incoming President also does not (and should not) dictate who should be elected into positions in the new Board. The general membership in nominating the Board are the ones who weigh the Experience of all the members, their past contributions and activeness and their potentials. They also weigh the Enthusiasm of new members, their freshness and new angles to service. Then after the nomination, the Board of Directors are duly elected by all members at the Election Meeting. In most cases of such a healthy club, the new Board would consists of a good representation of new Enthusiastic and old Experienced members. This time-tested method does not look at who serves as the president, it looks at who can best serve the club and help it achieve its goals.

However, in a weak club, the scenario is starkly different: a presidential candidate dictates who should be in his/her board, often filling it with his cronies who may be coerced into joining the club for the wrong reasons. This may result in a flood of megaprojects carried out by the cronies for the sake of pleasing the president though without support from the rest of the membership. Or no projects at all as the cronies and old members wage warfare over control of the club (especially the funds). Here is where some of my fellow Lions said this blog should be called "Experience versus Cronyism."

I am not against Enthusiasm, I embrace it wholeheartedly. Many new ideas and much life have been added to a club facing lethargy and dullness after years of doing the same thing. Not every new member is or will become enthusiastic. However, because of their newness, most new members are often the most active. It thus falls on the existing members to tap this enthusiasm to make it work. And Enthusiasm needs to be tempered with Experience so that past lessons learned can be passed on, successful methodology and projects are continued, and that the new Lions are guided correctly. Even LCI recognizes this when they included positions like the IPP and 2-year directors into the standard club constitution. This check and balance practice, proven since Lionism started 90 years ago, ensures continuity for existing club policies, goals and directions.

But I am against cronyism! Unlike the followers of a strong, visionary or charismatic leader, cronies are 'yes men (and women)' who do not think for themselves, but blindly do what their leader want in return for acceptance or favors. They are selfish and willingly perform the dirty work so that their smarter leader will appear clean. Does such lowlifes exist in our elite Lionistic circle? Oh yes they certainly do! History will testify to the many cases of cronies of failed presidents who leave their club when they finished filling their greedy pockets. What's the use of a boardful of cronies who would agree to everything the President desires with no consideration for the rest of the members or the club and its future?

The Lions club, because the membership remains mostly the same after every fiscal year, is fortunate. Errors in judgment could be quickly corrected as continuity ensures the survival of the club. At a higher level, it is a different story.

The District, unfortunately, does not elect its Cabinet Officers. Only the Governor and the Vice Governor are elected. The officers are then appointed by the Governor. The cabinet serves for one year and is dissolved. There is no continuity, no requirement for the next Governor to reappoint certain officers. The Governor is king.

The wise Governor would seek to put the best and most capable Lions (even if they are vocal in contending issues) in his/her cabinet to ensure LCI, District and club goals are met. This is because he values their contributions towards a common goal.

On the other hand, some Governors would fill the cabinet with their cronies to ensure his/her personal goals are achieved. No opposition is tolerated. So, with a constitutionally given right to about RM100,000 in membership dues plus whatever can be raised through 'charity' projects, all in the name of Lionism, a cabinet can be pretty powerful to dispense 'goodwill' and 'rewards' to justify its reign. There is no real check and balance to ensure fair play. And when grassroot members decided to question certain (mis)usage at the annual convention, it is already 10 months since the said Governor and his cabinet performed their final duty. A new cabinet (who would probably inherit the sh*t) is already ending its fiscal year.

And Lions do have such short and forgiving memories, sigh!