Meet the Lions Clubs International President

2011-2012 International President
Embrace Members Like Family

In July, Wing-Kun Tam became Lions Clubs International’s 95th international president and its first from China. Born in Guangzhou, China, Tam was educated in Hong Kong where he began his international cargo company and raised his family. His Chinese background is an integral part of his identity, but his story is universal. His life decisions shaped him and led him to Lions’ highest office.

When Tam was 20, his company sent him to the United States to learn the business. He continued his education in San Francisco. After several years he returned to Hong Kong. “In one year, I made the three most important decisions of my life,” says Tam. 

Decision #1
In 1981, he started his own business. “For me being a Hong Kong person, we are born with entrepreneurship in our blood. If you really want to make some good money, you to have to start your own business,” he said. Today, Tam’s transportation company has 200 employees in 20 offices worldwide.

Decision #2
In 1981, Tam also decided to marry his wife Irene. “She was very pretty, a very kind heart,” said Tam. “We became good friends.”  Together they had three children – Alvin, Tiffany and Andrew. Tam’s devotion to his family didn’t diminish his attachment to his job – or later to the Lions.

Decision #3
In 1981, Tam noticed a pin with the letter L on the lapel of a business associate. “What’s that?” Tam asked. “If you join Lions, you elevate your status,” the associate told him. Tam decided to join. Tam was the youngest member of his club; the president was 94. The president gave him his first assignment – providing gifts for senior citizens the club was taking on a cruise. Tam brought the seniors candies and other small gifts. “You wouldn’t believe their reaction,” recalls Tam, who told the president about their joy. “He said it wasn’t the value of the gifts that meant a lot to them. It was the love and care I brought them.”

According to Tam, it was then that he “started to understand the spirit of Lions. I understood and believed we are to help the needy and share our happiness with others. My club treated me like a family member. As a new Lion I was like a baby and my club took care of me until I could stand on my own and be the one to nurture others. Our clubs need to treat our members like family,” he says.

Soon, Tam took on bigger projects, including the largest project ever undertaken by Hong Kong Lions. Under his leadership, Lions raised more than US$2 million for a Nature Education Center. With each success, Tam and the Lions developed bigger plans.

Getting authorities to approve a Lions Clubs international convention with a parade of thousands was not easy. “When Tam came to me with the proposal to host the Lions convention and parade I was concerned because we’ve never done anything like it before,” said Benny Ng, then a top official with the Hong Kong police. “Tam was confident Hong Kong could do it. I believed in him and everybody placed their faith in him. Events proved him right.”

Tam was just getting warmed up. Millions of Chinese were blind because of cataract. Tam and other Lions began meeting with Chinese officials to request that they allow Lions to initiate a cataract campaign. Soon a pilot project was approved and funded by Lions, followed by SightFirst China Action, which helped 5.2 million people recover their eyesight.

While Tam recorded many successes in business and in developing Lions projects, his family’s happy life was changed dramatically when they learned Irene had cancer. For 15 years Tam comforted his wife, took her to the doctors and helped her believe that she could conquer the disease. In many ways, cancer brought them closer together. But in time, Irene lost her battle.

After Irene died, Tam lay on the couch day after day, disconsolate and drained, watching the news. Then a devastating earthquake struck China’s Sichuan Province in 2008, killing 70,000. The televised images of the shattered families galvanized Tam, who called Lions’ headquarters and asked for assistance. Tam reached out to Lions in China too. Teams of Chinese Lions drove hours to aid victims. LCIF approved a US$500,000 catastrophe grant.

“I lost my wife and it was so sad. But I believed I could help,” says Tam. “He fought for funds and supplies,” says Andrew, his son. “I could see in his eyes a spark I had not seen after my mom passed away.” Tam believed in the power of Irene’s fighting spirit and he believed in his ability to overcome past obstacles. He believes in Lions and our dream of service.