I bring you greetings from International President Judge Howard L "Pat" Petterson. My trip to the 80th Annual in Philadelphia was a learning trip and I shall share IP's goals and objectives personally as I visit your club. But this evening, I shall deliver my personal message.
It has been a dream come through for me as this particular challenge in front of me has been something I have been working for throughout my life. I am going to savor this and share this particular experience with you for many years to come.
As most of you can relate to the fact that we have our goals in life is highly dynamic and most probably will change over time as we gather different experience in life. In our childhood, we dream about being a doctor, lawyer or highly qualified professional. As we move through life, we start to realize that not everybody is made to be a doctor or lawyer. We are born with different skills, and we acquire knowledge in many different ways, mostly through our parents and teachers. As we step in the society and face a different world,our goals are changed by the situations on hand and in many occasions, they are beyond our control. Individuals make great efforts to overcome difficulties. We all succeed in different ways, and in different degrees. Some of us are more satisfied than others and in almost all cases, we end up with totally different life than we originally anticipated.
However, I believe we have one thing in common. We understand life better, appreciates achievements and accomplishments more and most importantly we understand how to adjust to the environment and society surrounding us. This enables us to grow both physically and mentally and be able to educate our children and hopefully they can be better than us in their lives.
I am no different than anyone describe here. However, I had a goal thirty years ago and I am very proud that I am still marching towards this goal without any doubt that this is what I want to do in my life. I feel all along that for all human beings to have better lives, we need to share our success, our experience and our wealth, no matter how big or how small they are. Only with this, we will make society better and everyone will benefit from this. All this time as a Lion, I have always remembered this and I have been faithfully following this simple rule of serving the community. I believe I have done something for the society but I do not think I have reached the final destination. I need help and support from all of you. This is not only a personal goal but a joint effort from everybody in the country to make us stronger and better.
It is with your support and services, Lionism will extend to its fullest potential. We should not be complacent with what we have done but to continue this long and meaningful journey as there are always the unfortunate and the needy people around us. Becoming a district governor does not mean a personal challenge to me but also my hope that you will continue your excellent services as in the past to make Lionism a way of life to the Malaysian society. I pledge to work extra hard to accomplish my goal and goals of many of you.
This occasion marks the beginning of a new era where we all can proudly look forward to the future and be able to one day look back and be remembered a part of the revolution towards a better society.