At the recent Multiple District 202 Convention of Lions Clubs International, held in Tauranga, Graeme Wilson of Invercargill was elected as the Council Chairman for New Zealand for the 2017 – 2018 year. Graeme, Invercargill Kiwibank Branch Manager, is currently the District Governor for District 202F which includes 48 clubs from Stewart Island to Wanaka and Tuatapere to Owaka. Graeme feels greatly honoured to have been elected to the top position in New Zealand Lions – the last time a Lion from the deep south was elected to the position was in 1996-1997.
At the end of June, Graeme and his wife, Chanel, will be attending the International Convention in Chicago, USA. This year over 30,000 Lions members will be celebrating 100 years of Lions Clubs in the city, where Lions clubs were started by Melvin Jones.
Graeme is looking forward to the year ahead, a year of change as the organisation looks toward the next century of serving communities. There is going to be more marketing and public awareness to make New Zealanders know that Lions are much more than people who sell sausages to raise money or sell Lions mints.
Lions Clubs International have launched a new Global Service Framework – five areas of humanitarian service. These five areas of service are Diabetes, Environment, Hunger Relief, Pediatric Cancer and Vision.
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service organisation with over 1.4 million members and the organisation has a seat on the United Nations, the only nongovernmental organisation (NGO) to have this privilege. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired, championed youth initiatives and strengthened local communities through hands-on service and humanitarian projects. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit lionsclubs.org.nz