Showing Up

Greetings Lions,

The two years that I have had the great honor of serving as your international president have been some of the most memorable and meaningful of my life. It’s inevitable that one goes into this role with a set of expectations about how it will be, but I can surely say that my tenure in this role was nothing like I expected and far exceeded all my expectations.

While I never anticipated I would serve two full terms as your international president, the past sixteen months have been different than we all imagined.

This year has changed me. And I know it’s changed you, too. We head into the 2021-2022 Lion year as new Lions, ready to take on anything. Because we have shown that we can take on anything. I have been amazed every day by the ingenuity and dedication I see from Lions. But even more, I’ve been astonished at how your kindness has always shone so brightly.

My experiences as your president have shown me that I, too, have so much still to learn about life. And I learned those lessons from you. From you, I learned what perseverance really looks like. From you, I learned what kindness really means. And from you I learned what service truly is – it’s giving even when you have nothing. It’s finding something in yourself to be of service to another no matter how hard your own life is. Because no matter how hard our circumstances, Lions know there is always someone whose circumstances are more dire. There is always someone who needs us. And you, Lions, have shown me what it means to show up, truly, when everything is at stake.

I am humbled, as ever, to have served as your president. I thank you profusely for the honor.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jung-Yul Choi

International President, Lions Clubs International