Vice District Governor, Lions of Virginia - District 24E

As Vice District Governor (VDG) of the Lions of Virginia – District 24-E, Bud Chambless is the chief administrative assistant to the District Governor. The VDG role has many responsibilities but Bud says, “The most important one is to participate in reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the district clubs, identifying the existing and potential weak clubs establishing plans to strengthen them, and submitting the plans to the state and international headquarters by the end of my term as VDG.” “I believe that membership and retention is the key to strengthening the Lions clubs so they can fulfill the Lions motto: We Serve. In order to do that I will chair the district Membership, Extension, Retention and Leadership Development team (MERL), as well chair both the Membership Committee and Retention Committee.” The MERL team is a group of appointed Lions working together to, among other things, motivate district membership chairpersons to set goals and develop programs that increase and retain members and provide suggestions and support to club retention chairpersons.

Leadership Training

During 2006-2007, the Lions of Virginia selected Bud to assist training more than 250 new Lions Club Presidents. He has also been involved in training the District 24E Region and Zone Chairpersons.

Council Of Governors’ Distinguished Service Medal

Bud was honored to receive the Council of Governors’ Distinguished Service Medal on May 20, 2007 at the Lions of Virginia State Convention in Richmond, Virginia. This medal is presented to Lions who have distinguished themselves in service to their community by being active in a number of community outreach programs, performed at a high professional level by advising the District Governor on sensitive matters that impact the Lions of Virginia, and have been in a substantial Lions Club International project that reflects in an extraordinary way on the Lions’ motto of “We Serve.”

Camp Too Sweet

Carilion Diabetes Management Program, in partnership with Lions Clubs of District 24-E, provides a summer camp for children and young adults (ages 7 – 16) who have Type 1 diabetes. Bud and District Governor William H. “Bill” Brammer represented District 24-E at Camp Roanoke. Camp Roanoke, nestled within 700 acres of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in western Roanoke County, is proud to be accredited by the American Camping Association, a nationally recognized organization that focuses on the quality, health, and safety of camp programs.

The camp is designed to meet the social, recreational, and educational needs of young people with diabetes and focuses on having fun and helping campers accept their diabetes as a part of their daily living. Through the camp, participants learn to interact with others, improve coping skills, and challenge themselves. Activities include canoeing, arts and crafts, outdoor sports, archery, hiking and much more! The staff consists of both licensed healthcare professionals and graduates of accredited outdoor recreation programs.

Mission of Mercy for Giles County

As VDG for District 24-E, Bud participated in the Mission of Mercy dental clinic that was recently held in Roanoke. Clinics are held in locations easily accessible to all people who live in a specific geographical area. Patients arrive on-site, register for services, and complete and sign a health and release form. Patients are treated on a first-come, first-serve basis, Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of patients and time constraints, the dentists are not able to address every dental problem Patients receive an initial screening by a volunteer dentist who determines which procedures would most benefit the patient. Difficult extractions are performed in the VCU School of Dentistry Mobile Clinic, which serves as a mobile oral surgery suite.

Bud said that the large number of people who came to the Roanoke MOM clinic and the severity of their dental problems convinced him that Giles County desperately needs this project. However, he says that in order to bring MOM to Giles County a number of things need to be organized and coordinated. First, the support of Giles County’s various governmental entities is imperative. “Over the next two months, I will appear before these bodies and gain their support for this project. Once the government entities approve and invite the state organizations to bring the project to Giles County the next steps will be to 1) assist the Virginia Dental Association in contacting dentists within our 50 mile radius; 2) locate corporate sponsors, 3) and locate a facility to provide care for approximately 1200 folks.”

Eventually Bud would like to see a Rural Area Medical – Mission of Mercy (RAM-MOM) project in Giles County. This project serves people who need dental care, sight services, and minor medical care for minor medical problems. In order to gain experience on conducting a Mission Of Mercy in Giles County, for the next two years I will be observe the processes and assist in the administrative area on teams in other areas. This year I will participate in the RAM-MOM in Wise County from July 19-22 and the Mission of Mercy in Grundy in October to assist in the Project for Giles County.

Virginia Tech Disaster - Lions Club International Fund

The Pearisburg Lions Club proposed a project to assist victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy. As the District 24E Region I Chairperson, Bud worked with District Governor William H. “Bill” Brammer and the District 24E Cabinet for approval. He then presented this Project to Past International President Kusiak who contacted Lions Club International for support. Bud says, “I am pleased to report that the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) approved a funding stream to address certain needs related to the Virginia Tech tragedy. The purposes for this fund are to assist the following victims: 1) Long term injuries and recovery of surviving victims, 2) Families of professors and others who lost their lives in this tragedy, 3) Others who as a result of the VA Tech tragedy suffer from various medical and psychological traumas in the Blacksburg, VA, area. This will include citizens of the area as well as first responders who experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the various situations which they faced during this tragedy.”

“The administration of the funds donated to LCIF-Virginia Tech will be through a tier of Lions Club officers. Application for assistance will be made to one of the Lions Clubs in the Blacksburg area. I am finalizing administrative documents for presentation at our July 15^th District 24E Cabinet Meeting.” To contribute to the Fund log on to http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/lions_lcif_virginia.shtml.

As you can see, I have been heavily involved not only at the local level but with District 24E, Lions of Virginia, and Lions Club International. Our motto “We Serve” has become a real way of life for me.

There are many ways the Lions can assist the community. If you have recommendations, contact your local Lions Club (Narrows, Pearisburg, and Rich Creek) or me and we will try to respond to your suggestions.