"We have to open up and facilitate the community that we're in. Our club doesn't reflect the Masterton community at all."
Masterton Host Waipoua Lions Club was formed in 1957 and was the third official Lions Club in New Zealand.
"We're still doing the same thing now as we were doing then. Our community has changed but we're still doing the same things."
Mr Hayes said some Lions around New Zealand were embracing mixed clubs, male and female, but a lot of Lions still had a men-only mindset.
"We do a lot of stuff and work together and whether they're male or female should have nothing to do with the selection process at all," Mr Hayes said.
"At the moment our clubs are sitting in the past - well sorry - the world's changed."
He said the club's membership needed to reflect the community in order for it to be an asset to the community.
"We have no Maori, Pacific Island or Asian members but you walk around Masterton and all those communities are here." He said the average member was aged about 60 but there should be Lions from age 21 upwards.
"Because when you have got the diversity of ethnicities, gender and age you get a diversity of views which makes for a more active organisation."
Mr Hayes said there were several services in the community that needed to be supported. Recently the Masterton Host Waipoua Lions Club had started doing more work with Wairarapa District Health Board, other social service teams and the districts public nurses.
"They're coming to us asking if we can help and we didn't even know the need was there."
Mr Hayes said Masterton Host Waipoua became aware of a "disabled person who was really struggling with the day-to-day things". Among other challenges the person could not collect firewood which was something the Lions Club could, and did, help with.
"Some of that's provided by the social services anyway, and the DHB, but there's lots of gaps that people fall through.
"And we think Lions can fill those gaps. And as members we have a lot of fun doing these things." The club president said it was time to start thinking outside the square.
"This is not at all disparaging what the boys are doing. They have done some amazing work.
"But to survive into the future we have to change."
Mrs Bhaskar, governor of the Lions District 202M, oversees the clubs stretching from Wairoa, down the east coast to Wellington, then north up the west coast, to Levin.
She said the vision for the district and for Masterton was to "start from the grassroots" and get more young people involved with Lions by introducing Leo Clubs. "They will be able to put that on their CV for jobs and it's kind of empowering the next generation."
Mrs Bhaskar emigrated from India to New Zealand with her family in 1998. "I speak from experience because I'm a migrant myself and Lions has made a difference in my life. There's no race or colour in Lions." Introducing more cultural diversity into the clubs was one of the aims for the district.
"People are all very comfortable in their own cultural groups ... we could help them integrate into the community.
"We also learn from different cultures. Every single one of us has come from somewhere so its more to create a spirit of understanding and recognise not all cultures are the same."
She said Lions was a club for people of all walks of life and you didn't have to be a member to join in with the projects.
"We need to do community assessments to understand what the community needs and serve in those areas." Mrs Bhaskar said getting more women into the clubs would mean more ideas and more hands to work.
