The Internet may well have more of an impact on the growth and long term success of Lionism than any recent event or activity. Lions from anywhere in the world can have open discussions with other Lions on a real time basis. In recent months I have assisted a Michigan Lion with getting the plans of a fund raising event of the Carrollton Evening Lions Club and have helped (I hope) a Queens Contest winner from Pennsylvania with locating Lions who could help her with an unfunded scholarship obligation from a defunct Lions Club.

A FEW FACTS

As of the most recent count we have, in Texas, 36 Lions Clubs and 10 Lions Districts with some form of web presence on the Internet. About 20 Lions in the current Council of Governors have an active email address.

LionNet (http://www.lionnet.com), of which LionNet TEXAS is one of about 75 nodes, has been officially recognized by Lions Clubs International (http://www.lionsclubs.org) as "a cross linked network of Lions clubs throughout the world" and is linked from the LCI home page. This cross linked network provides internet access to over 900 Lions Clubs, Districts, and Programs and has had approximately 200 "hits" per day to the main page of the LionNet site. In addition you will find information helpful in building a web page for your Club or District.

PRODUCT QUALITY

The quality and sophistication of each Club or District web page will vary. It is not important to have the latest and greatest bells and whistles on your site. If you do you are probably limiting the usefulness of your site in that the latest technology may not be viewable in older versions of Netscape or MS Internet Explorer. Additionally, many folks don't like to wait while the fancy graphics load.

We should also consider our message. There are over 43,000 Lions Clubs - we by no means need 43,000 histories of Lionism, biographies of Melvin Jones or Codes of Ethics - all of which can be found at the LCI site. What we do need to know is how each of these 43,000 Lions Clubs make a difference in their community and country. Put LOCAL information on your Club site. Tell folks who you helped and how you did it. Ask them to visit your Club. Ask them to be a part of your mission. ASK THEM TO BECOME A LION!

INTERNET TIPS

Last year I recommended the use of Juno (http://www.juno.com) for free email service for those Lions who don't have access to the Internet. While Juno remains a useful product it is no substitute for full internet access, including internet email.

For those who like to shop around for Internet access and who change Internet service providers (ISPs) frequently let me suggest you obtain a "permanent" email address from Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com) or other free email service. Doing so will eliminate the need to notify friends every time you change ISPs AND it will insure you continue to receive email from friends, family and Lions.

There are many other free services on the Internet you can use and recommend to others. One I like is ICQ (http://www.mirabilis.com). Once you download and install it you can send instant messages to other ICQ users as well as have real time "chats" with them. You can also allow selected ICQ users to know when you are on line just as you can be notified when they are on line.

GOALS FOR 1998 - 1999

The following information on goals was submitted to the Council of Governors with the hope that we can implement them during the upcoming year.

The coming year will be the year for the Lions of Texas to "wire" all of MD-2. At the grass roots level we are seeing more and more Lions becoming active on the internet. However, in order for these grass roots Lions to have access to Lions across the State there must be active support and participation from the District Cabinets and Council of Governors. In order to so we should strive for 100% participation by recommending:

• Each District Governor and Vice District Governor should have an active email address monitored either by them or by their Cabinet Secretary.
  
  
• Each State Chairman should be accessible by email in order to be a more effective resource at the District and Club levels.
  
  
• Each Region and Zone Chairmen should have an active email address and should encourage the Clubs in their regions and zones to have at least one Lion per Club who can be reached via email.
  
  
• Where possible, Club and District newsletters should be published on the internet as part of the Club or District web page.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• If your Club or District does not have a web page then volunteer to set one up.
  
  
• If you have designed and are hosting your District's page then approach your DG about making it official - be the your District's first Internet Chairman.
  
  
• See if your Club Secretary can include email addresses in your Club Roster.

A FEW USEFUL URLs

Official Lions sites

• Lions Clubs International - http://www.lionsclubs.org
• LionNet - http://www.lionnet.com

Club sites with lots of LOCAL information

• Uniontown Lions Club - http://www.akroncanton.com/lions/
• Carrollton Evening Lions Club - http://www.flash.net/~pickens2/celc.html
• CELC Club Projects - http://www.flash.net/~pickens2/9697proj.html

Other sites

• LionNet TEXAS - http://www.flash.net/~pickens2/lionnet.html
• State Internet Chair - http://www.flash.net/~pickens2/lions.html