35th MD308 Lions Convention

35^th MD308 Lions Convention 

21^st MD308 Lioness Forum

Century Mahkota Hotel, Malacca 

17^th-20th April, 1997

After a lapse of 10 years, historical Malacca was once again chosen to host the 35^th MD308 Lions Convention. 

The convention kicked off with a colourful morning parade which was a 8 km walk to create the Malaysia Book of Records in the heart of Malacca. The police were on hand to control the traffic as the VIPs were taken for a joy ride in decorated trishaws to the opening venue. School bands in their smart uniform attire led the way with marching tunes and dances. Multiple Lion dance troupes performed for the 1,500 Lions delegates. A roaring welcome and tribute for the Lions!

The sheer size of the delegates made it impossible for all of them to congregate in one big hall. So, several venues were allocated. 

The Opening and Plenary Sessions, and later, the Banquet Dinner, were held at S.M. Pay Fong Hall. District 308A and District 308B had their Conventions at Century Ballroom (Hotel Century Mahkota) and Imperial Garden, respectively. The Closing Ceremony was held at Century Mahkota Hotel.

Personally, this convention will forever be etched on my memory. For I had attended this convention as a Vice District Governor and thereafter, I was elected as the District Governor during the convention. Before the election, a dialogue session was conducted to allow the delegates to “grill” and assess the candidates. Questions after questions were put forward to me about our future plans as DG. On hindsight, I felt that my 35 years of experience as a Lion in various designations proved to be the clincher. When it was finally announced that the delegates had given me the mandate to lead the Lions’ movement in Malaysia, it was truly a Cloud Nine moment for me! 

I gleefully took to the rostrum to give my acceptance speech. My wife, Lucy also presented a speech in support.

Another historic decision was the unanimous resolution by the delegates to bifurcate the two sub districts of 308A and 308B into four sub districts under the MD308. The resolution would take effect during the following year’s Convention. This significant decision indicated that our Lions movement had grown in leaps and bounds, and bifurcation was unavoidable.

International Director Paul Fan was the representative from Lions Clubs International. He was present with his wife, Mary. Council Chairman Dr. Chin Yoon Hiap appointed Lion Johnson Tay as the Convention Organising Committee Chairman. Meanwhile,  Lioness Goh Keat Choo from Subang Jaya was tasked to organise the Lioness Forum. The current District Governors, Chin Siew Gim and Leong A Sam chaired their own sub district 308A and 308B respectively.

After the MD Lions Convention, the District Governor-elect and Vice Governor-elect would undergo immediate training on their roles. However, there are still many topics that need to be covered prior to the LCI convention.

 A 4.5-hour training session covering the following topics would be appropriate:

1) Roles and Responsibilities of the District Governor

2) Authority and Constraints of the Governor and Vice Governor

3) The International Convention

4) Audit Rules

5) Public Relations

6) Annual Event Planning and Budgeting

7) Myths and Facts about Multi-District Operations

8) Visitation and Protocol

9) Leveraging Club Autonomy for Joint Activities

10) District/Region/Zone Activities and Projects - Freedom vs. Control

Each topic should be covered in 20 minutes, with a 10-minute break after every 2 topics. 3 minutes should be allotted at the end of each topic for questions.

More thought and planning must be put into this important training session to ensure it is as effective as possible.