“Building on Our Rich Legacy”  

I became interested in "Lionism" several years ago while reading the Dallas Morning News and becoming aware that my classmate and good friend, Lieutenant General B. K. Solomon, was scheduled to be the guest speaker.  I drove over to the club, asked if I could come in and I was welcomed. I had an opportunity to talk briefly with my friend and subsequently was sponsored by PDG Bill Melton for membership in the club, and I've been especially grateful to him since.  As a careerist in the helping profession, I've found it especially pleasing to serve others for which the only remuneration has been the sheer joy of helping others.

As we've entered our 75th Anniversary Year, I'm aware of the legacy that has been left for us.  That legacy is encouched in our motto, "We Serve", the essential essence of which, so it seems, is to always bear in mind the obligations of citizenship in our community, state, and nation and to give our unswerving loyalty in word, act and deed.  As we stand on the shoulders of all those that have gone before us, it is our duty to preserve the legacy with which we've been left and to make our erstwhile Lion's proud.

We must spend some time during this Diamond Anniversary Year reacquainting with some our our glorious past and continue to move forward with the "Ca Do" spirit that has been evident in the club since its inception.  Those of you that have been members of the club for a while are aware of the "Can Do" spirit of the Oak Cliff Lions Club is contagious and I enjoin the new Lions to catch our spirit.  How do you catch our spirit?  I ask myself rhetorically.  You catch the spirit by getting involved and by serving others.  I'm asking all Lions to help make this 75th Anniversary Year the one that prepares us for the next 75 years.

Be Well,
Stonell (Stoney) Greene, President 2003-2004