Glossary of Frequently Used Abbreviated Terms & Acronyms used by Lions Clubs and Members
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Lions have both a slogan and a motto.
The slogan reflects the organization’s formative years in America during and after World War I. The motto declares its common purpose in two short words.
In the early 1920s, the slogan “Liberty, Intelligence, Our Nation’s Safety”—an acronym for the word Lions—appeared widely on club stationary, billboards and other promotional materials. Who said it first? Perhaps it was a young attorney named Halsted Ritter who rose to speak at the 1919 International Convention in Chicago.
“The name Lions stands not only for fraternity, good fellowship, strength of character and purpose,” Ritter declared, “but, above all, the combination of L-I-O-N-S heralds to the country the true meaning of citizenship.”
The words suited the patriotism that swept the U.S. following WWI, and Lions adopted the acronym as its slogan.
As the Lions movement grew across national borders, cultures, and languages, Lions began looking for other words to describe their mission and work. In 1954, the board announced an International Motto Contest and invited suggestions from all 522,000 worldwide members.
According to the entry form, the motto had to be “enduring,” “international in character,” and “easily translatable.” There was also a strict contest rule to discourage wordiness. Lions could submit as many mottoes as they liked, but each entry could be no more than five words in length.
To get Lions thinking, the organizers gave out a few five-word examples: “Men of Action in Action.” “Working with Others for Others.” “Worldwide Service to Humanity.”
Thankfully, 11 of the 6,000 Lion contestants had better ideas. They each submitted identical entries. But Canadian Lion D. A. Stevenson from Fonthill, Ontario, was declared the winner as his submission had the earliest postmark. His motto contained two simple words: “We Serve.”
(CEP) – Club Excellence Process is a structured workshop process designed to help Lions clubs improve in areas of their choosing. Each club participating in a CEP workshop would discuss service, communication, growth and involvement.
Club Branch - enables a small group of people to form a Lions Club and start making a difference in their community sooner. Branch members are part of an existing “parent” club, but hold independent meetings and select their own projects and activities.
District - a collection of clubs for administrative reasons. In Australia (MD201) there are 19 districts.
Excellence Award (Club) - Clubs receive a distinguished banner patch to proudly display on their club banner and the Club’s President receives a Club Excellence pin to recognise their outstanding leadership.
Family Membership - applies to eligible family members so that they can receive a discount on membership dues.
FAQ - Frequently asked questions. A frequently asked questions list is often used in articles, websites, email lists, and online forums where common questions tend to recur, for example through posts or queries by new users related to common knowledge gaps.
TFYDFA - The Follow Your Dream Foundation - Australia - To support disadvantaged children and women here in Australia, particularly in the areas of education, health and hardship. To assist other NOT FOR PROFIT Organisations who implement programs to meet the above objective of assisting disadvantaged women and children.
GLT - Global Leadership Team - directs efforts toward identifying and cultivating effective leaders through active training and leadership development initiatives, while providing necessary information, guidance and motivation.
GMT - Global Membership Team - provides a structure of membership development which is continuous, focused and integrated. Team members stand ready to assist in the development and achievement of club membership goals and the identification of and assistance for struggling clubs.
GST - Global Service Team - Inspire and motivate service by supporting the development and implementation of service projects in clubs.
Health Assessment (Club) - a report from LCI that includes club specific information such as status, membership growth or decline, reporting history, financial status and contributions to LCIF made by the club and/or its members.
LCI - Lions Clubs International - The official name for the International Association binding all Lions Clubs around the world.
LCIF - Lions Clubs International Foundation - the charitable and emergency response arm of Lions Clubs International. It awards grants for humanitarian aid, disaster relief and major projects that clubs could not manage on their own.
LEO - Leadership, Experience, Opportunity - the LEO Club programme provides opportunities for younger people wishing to participate in community engagement as part of the Lions organization. ALPHA LEOs are school based clubs (12-18 yrs) and OMEGA LEOs are community based clubs (18-30 yrs).
Lion Tamer - A Club officer entrusted with the responsibility for the Club’s property and utilized as a Greeter at Club functions.
LADF - Lions Australia Diabetes Foundation - The aims of the Lions Australia Diabetes Foundation are: to fund research into the causes and treatment of diabetes PLUS to raise awareness and provide education to the end that there may be improved care for people who have diabetes or are at risk of developing diabetes.
LAF - Lions Alzheimer’s Foundation - preventing Alzheimer’s through research. The Lions Alzheimer’s Foundation (LAF) was launched in Perth, Western Australia, in 2016, after more than 10 years of fundraising from Lions clubs throughout Australia.
Lions Prostate Cancer Research & Treatment Project - For over 17 years, Lions Clubs throughout Australia with generous donations to The Lions Prostate Cancer Research & Treatment Project have been supporting the Mater Research / Mater Foundation with purchase of equipment to attempt to find a cure for Prostate Cancer.
Lions Recycle for Sight Australia - is part of the Lions Clubs International Worldwide Eyeglass Recycling Program, headquartered in Queensland and operating throughout Australia and overseas. We receive requests from humanitarian organisations either travelling to a developing country or supplying shipping container loads of suitable humanitarian aid from Australia to groups in the these countries.
Lions Rheumatism and Arthritis Medical Research Foundation Australia - The Lions Rheumatism and Arthritis Medical Research Foundation Australia was established by the Lions Clubs of Elwood to support the development of Rheumatism and Arthritis Research for the benefit of the population within the five Lions Club Districts encompassing Victoria and Southern New South Wales.This is a Lions International District 201V1-4 project and is currently run by elected members from the following Lions Clubs; Northcote, Heidelberg-Warringal and Essendon, for the Victorian Lions Districts. It became a National Project in July 2019.
MD201 – Multiple District 201 - colloquially known as Lions Australia, it is the coordinating and administrative body for the 19 Lions Districts in Australia.
Region - an administrative grouping of Zones of Clubs within a District. District 201Q1 has 4 Regions allocated.
• Nortern New South Wales • Gold Coast • Redlands, Logan Region & Southern Brisbane • Scenic Rim & Western Queensland
Region Chair - is a person chosen from the Zone Chairs in each zone to coordinate and assist the Zone Chairs in that zone.
Status Quo - is a condition placed on a Club by LCI which is a temporary suspension of their Charter (licence to operate as a Lions Club). It is usually a last resort by LCI in an attempt to bring the finances of that Club back into line and to re-establish its membership and governance. All bank accounts are disabled and the distribution of the LION magazine is suspended.
WMMR – Web-based Monthly Membership Report - required under the LCI Constitution and By-laws to be submitted by the Club Secretary via the MyLCI website portal. This allows the effective management of Club information globally.
YOTY - Youth of the Year Program - an annual youth competition aimed at encouraging, fostering and developing leadership qualities in young Australians.
Zone - an administrative grouping of Clubs in a District (4 to 8 clubs) allocated by the District Governor (DG) and managed by Zone Chairs.
ZC - Zone Chairs - manages a Zone together with representatives of the clubs in that Zone called the District Zone Advisory Committee consisting of Club President’s, Secretaries and Membership Chair.
