What is Your Moon?
On September 12, 1962, in Rice Stadium in Huston Texas, John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to ad-dress the nation on the direction of the United States in the “race for space”. Four years earlier the Soviet Union had put Sputnik in orbit. 18 months earlier they had put a man in to orbit. All before the United States. Kennedy during his speech lays out this goal for the country:
“We choose to go to the moon — We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not be-cause they are easy, but be-cause they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”
At this point, Kennedy laid out the purpose for the country – the goal that would define the 1960’s – the United States would go to the moon within the decade. Kennedy was ask-ing the country to dedicate itself to achieving this goal – this purpose.
A few years later Kenney was touring the NASA space center and met a jani-tor in the hallway. “So, what do you do here?” the president ask. “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President” the janitor re-plied. The janitor under-stood why he was there and he understood that he made a difference in keep-ing the floors clean and orderly.
SO, WHAT IS YOUR AND YOUR CLUB’S MOON?
- Do you know what you are trying to make happen?
- Do you know why you are trying to make it happen?
- Does your community know what you are trying to make happen?
- Does your community know why you are trying to make it happen?
As the new Lions year starts it is critical that we set goals. We need to set them out to our members and to our community. As a district, our goals are to focus on our clubs that have less than 15 members to bring them to at least that level; to, as a district, support the placement of Little Free Libraries; to have a positive membership growth and for all clubs to report their activities and membership every month.
As Kennedy said – “we do them not because they are easy but because they are hard…”
We serve with a purpose.