In 2021, as Lions International was emerging from the most acute stages of COVID-19 pandemic, Lion Douglas X. Alexander of New York, USA, was installed as President of the Association. This photo records his installation as International President that was viewed live on social media because health restrictions continued to limit large groups of people from gathering in person. The 2021 Lions International Convention and officer installation was staged and broadcast live from Lions Headquarters in Oak Brook, IL.
In his reflections about facing the pandemic, Past International President Alexander shared in the recently published book, Resilience and Renewal: The Story of Lions International and the Crisis of COVID-19, his belief that resilience and creativity were essential to the survival of the Association . The following excerpt from the book reveals his concern about how Lions responded to the crisis, and his belief that the challenges of the pandemic only made the association stronger:
“My concern was that we were in the middle of a pandemic. We had to be careful about the safety of ourselves and the people we served, and our service was needed more than ever. So, how should we continue to serve and to serve safely? That became a concern of ours. Lions embraced that, and we started working with our first responders, providing meals to them. We also provided the PPE–personal protective equipment–that ws really important, and our district in the State of New York received a grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation for $200,000, which was split among the 11 districts in the State of New York. To see Lions still coming out and working in the community was inspiring to me. We learned that Lions are resilient and creative. The feeling was, if we survived this and our members survived this, we could only come out of this as an organization stronger because we had faced this challenge and it didn’t defeat us. It only made us stronger” (p. 24).
In the notable Blueink Review of the book published in October 2025, the critic described the the value of this and other stories of service:
“This book is a valuable addition to the growing body of post-COVID-19 literature, most of which involves partisan finger-pointing about what this or that organization did wrong. Littlefield’s account of what Lions International did right is a welcome refreshment.”
If you want your own copy to ready more about how Lions around the globe survived COVID-19 and inspired the world through ongoing service to those in need, go to http://www.stories-of-service.com. You can also contact the author at littlefield.r@gmail.com.
Lion Robert Littlefield's "Service from the Heart" Blog 