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Lions Get a Bang out of Bangkok
by Jay Copp
International conventions are nothing new for Larry and Cynthia Spaeth of Illinois. Between them they’ve attended nearly 20. But the Bangkok convention in June was especially rewarding.
“I came away rejuvenated,” Larry Spaeth said. “You listen to the speakers and the accomplishments, and you hear what some clubs do around the world. That inspires you to do more in your local community.”
The Spaeths were among the nearly 17,000 Lions from more than 100 countries who attended the 91st annual convention. Lions visited the city’s famous temples, haggled for bargains in the ubiquitous markets and, of course, attended the convention’s seminars, plenary sessions and receptions. Bangkok was a whirlwind of activities and a wellspring of inspiration. Lions bumped into old friends, forged new friendships, marched in the parade and generally immersed themselves in all things Lions.
“The visuals and the music [at the plenary sessions] were fantastic,” said Kumar Acharya of London. “I get rejuvenated at a convention. Lions are a first-rate organization.”
The reaction to the convention was almost uniformly positive. “It truly was an amazing experience. I learned a lot about the great deeds of Lions all over the world,” Mina Tabamo of the Philippines wrote in an e-mail.
Thais were exceedingly friendly. “We’d be on the bus [with other Lions] and people would just wave to us,” said Larry Spaeth, a past district governor from near Chicago. Then there was the time the Spaeths were at a temple and obviously perplexed on where to go. A Lion from Bangkok approached them and helped them out.
The convention highlights included:
· Al Brandel of New York took the oath of office as international president. He praised Lions as everyday heroes who make miracles happen. His charming biographical video portraying him as an All-American boy who came of age in the confident, civic-centered post-World War II era drew smiles.
· Outgoing President Mahendra Amarasuriya of Sri Lanka happily told of the membership growth in 2007-2008, reversing more than a decade of decline.
· Campaign SightFirst II not only reached its $150 million goal but also exceeded its $200 million Challenge Goal. The total of $200,329,000 was slowly revealed on the 70-foot-wide screen in the plenary hall, and fireworks and celebratory music followed.
· Sid L. Scruggs III of North Carolina was elected as second vice president and Eberhard Wirfs of Germany was elected as first vice president.
· Keynote speaker Adil Najam, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, cited clean, accessible water as a vastly underrated social problem that leads to disease and discord. (“Lions are involved in their communities, so this is something we can work on,” said Spaeth.)
· The plenary sessions were enlivened by a 70-foot screen that showed fast-paced videos, entertainment such as Sri Lankan dancers and rhythmic dancers, and crowd participation devices such as thundersticks, huge but soft inflated “earth” balls that Lions gleefully batted about, and a grand finale with Lions singing along to Brandel’s theme song about everyday heroes as they waved miniature flashlights and watched a map of the world on the big screen be lit up country by country.
· The parade, flag ceremony, Melvin Jones Luncheon and other convention traditions sparkled with spectacle and pageantry.
· The convention hall buzzed with Lions trading pins, learning about Lions’ programs, seeking advice and information from Lions Clubs International staff and finding gifts to take home.
· A Taste of Thailand and the International Show, as well as organized tours, gave Lions a pleasant introduction to the host country.
The end of the convention was about new beginnings. In the plenary hall, the newly elected international directors were introduced and the 2008-2009 district governors pulled off their district governor-elect ribbons, signifying the start of their leadership—a year to continue time-honored service projects as well as to start new traditions.
Words Worth Remembering
Adil Najam, the convention’s keynote speaker, directs Boston University’s Frederick Pardee Center for Study of the Longer-Range Future. He shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore for their work on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Here is an excerpt of his speech to Lions, as well as excerpts from other speeches.
“Climate and civil violence is coming soon. And it may already be here. … The crisis in Dafur and the crisis in Rwanda are at their core climactic crises. Before you have ethnic conflict something happens to the resources. My water drys out. I go to your village, start drinking from your well. Your well doesn’t have too much water. You start hitting me. By the time the news sources CSN and FoxNews get there, it’s all about ethnicity. But the trigger of a lot of civil violence happens to be environment.
“We talk about climate as an energy issue but climate will become a water issue.
I wish some organization will do for water what Lions have done for eyesight and blindness. Because the issue of the future is water. … When we think of climate we think of energy and cars and how much oil they use. But when you think of the impact of climate change most of them in the immediate term will be about water.
[He refers to the longtime conflict between Pakistan and India.] “In 60 years of constant conflict the total number of Indians killed is less than the number of children in New Delhi who will die in any one year because of dirty water alone. In my own country, Pakistan, exactly the same is true in Karachi. My point is if you are the mother of that child you do not care whether your son was killed at the wrong end of a gun or the wrong end of a tap.
“As a professor of international relations, I do not know what to do about the gun. As a professor of the environment, I know what I can do about the tap. I know there are Lions in the world who can do something about the water that comes out of that tap. That tap can save lives--today right now, right here.”
Mahendra Amarasuriya
Amarasuriya, the 2007-2008 international president, delivered his farewell address at the first plenary.
”We need to protect and preserve our clubs by adapting and evolving. We can’t stand still. As I’ve always maintained, traditions are wonderful and we absolutely need to hang on to whatever is working. Lions don’t need a revolution. The fundamental values of Lions should remain intact. We don’t need to change who Lions are and what we do. But we do need to change how we do things.
“So how have we done in the past year in meeting the challenge to change? Well, I’ve seen and been told of innovation and adaptation at meetings. Some clubs are shortening meetings. Others are spicing them up. Almost jokingly last year at the convention, I talked about clubs having karaoke at a meeting to make it more fun. Well, can you believe some clubs have done exactly that—they have added karaoke to their regular meetings and they are having fun.
“The goal of 20,000 net membership growth at the beginning of the year was our dream. But isn’t it true that if you don’t dream, you can’t make your dreams come true? So I spoke membership. I monitored membership. I lived and dreamt membership this year.
“And this year has been different. We achieved a positive membership growth. Our latest data may show a net membership increase of more than 23,000. This is the greatest year in recent history for club and overall membership growth despite a new financial suspension policy this year.
“The membership picture in the United States is particularly gratifying. Districts that have not extended a club for a decade or more have now done so. The tide has changed. We’ve laid the groundwork for future growth. …
“We want people to fully understand how important and relevant Lions are. When people think of Lions, they need to automatically associate us with vigor and success, with being robust and necessary. We want people to want to join us, to partner with us, to contribute to us. So we set about to rebrand Lions.
“We are redesigning our Web site, our Lion Magazine, our advertisements and our other materials that Lions and the public see. We are sending out consistent messages about what Lions are all about. We are repositioning ourselves in the market place of perception.
“We are the same Lions. But we want people to see us for who we are, not who they think we are.”
Ken Behring
U.S. philanthropist Ken Behring and his Global Health and Education Foundation made a matching contribution of $7.5 million to Campaign SightFirst II. He spoke at the second plenary.
“When I was young I could see what other people had and I wanted a big car, a big home. A couple of suits, whatever. So you start chasing what we call the American dream or climbing the mountain of what they call success.”
He was a used car dealer, a builder, banker, and owner of the Seattle Seahawks. “I had a lot of success. I made a lot of money and kept climbing that mountain. But finally at one point where I got to what I thought was the top and there was no longer anything I wanted to buy or needed, I found the top of the mountain was barren. So I decided there has to be something else in this life and world outside of money and the things money can buy.
“I took food, books and medical supplies to Africa. By chance a church gave me a wheelchair to drop off. Never thought about a wheelchair. Never had anyone in one. But when I picked up the first elderly man, he started to cry and said he had had lost his wife and had a stroke. He said, ‘Now I can go outside in my yard.’ I thought maybe this is what I’m looking for other than possessions. This was eight years ago. Delivered 800,000 chairs in 152 countries.
“What we found as we were giving people wheelchairs if you give somebody hope you give them dignity. Most important you show them that somebody cares. … That is how I found what I call purpose in life—trying to help someone and show them that somebody does care. That’s what the Lions have been doing for years, showing people without sight, without money, that somebody does care.”
Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, the founder of microlender Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, received the 2008 Lions Humanitarian Award at the final plenary session.
The Lions Humanitarian Award is “not just a recognition of me personally. It’s a recognition to 7. 5 million borrowers of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. These 7. 5 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women, joined Grameen banks as destitute women, take tiny loans, starting from something like $30, $35, and generate income for themselves and their families. And move up step by step.
“Today 64 percent of Grameen borrowers have crossed over the poverty line by creating self-employment for themselves and they send their children to school. This is part of the Grameen Bank program. One hundred percent of Grameen children must be in school. And then we give the scholarships…. So we have a totally new generation coming out.
“The payment rate is amazingly very high—98 percent, 99 percent. With the [loan] crisis going on in the world, this is quite a good story to tell—without collateral, without guarantees, without lawyers, people pay back.
“The conclusion is poverty is not created by the poor people. Poverty is created by the institutions we have built. Poverty is created by the concepts we have developed. If wee can fix the institutions, if we fix the concepts, there will be no more poor people on this planet.
“Please believe we can create a world where not a single person will go through the misery of poverty. If we believe in it, we will create it. Then we will put the poverty in a museum. So future generations will see poverty only in the museums, not in the society.”
Al Brandel
Brandel, the 2008-2009 international president, gave his inaugural presidential address at the final plenary session.
“Just because you come from a very small club or district never underestimate the service you provide. It is a miracle to those who receive our service. … Don’t ever say we are just a small club. A small club can make a miracle happen. … These acts of service add up to something spectacular. By doing your part you are part of a great global effort to make the world a better place to live.
“We do service whether it’s running a vision testing machine, making sandwiches after a disaster or cleaning up litter on a highway. Lions sincerely believe that no act of kindness is too small. When you deliver a food basket or holiday toys, never think that’s insignificant. Look into the eyes of the people receiving that gift because you are a hero in their eyes.
“I want ask each of you today to make Lions clubs and programs a priority. Former President Jim Ervin said, ‘Let’s not become foot soldiers in other people’s armies.’ We may raise so much money in our community but what do we do with it? We give it to other organizations.
“It’s very simple to write a check and put it in the mail. Let’s be proud of that check because money is important. … That’s fine. But we are much more than that.
“I personally believe if a Lion clubs member has an opportunity to go on an eyeglass or medical mission we will have a Lion for life because they see the way we affect so many people’s lives. … We are going to be taking at look at how we can enhance our medical and eyeglass missions around the world to give you the opportunity if at all possible so that instead of taking a vacation to New York or Maui you or your family may want to get on our Web site and find out where can I make a miracle happen, where can I teach my children how to be a humanitarian.
“The international president is not the most important person in Lions Clubs International. The most important person is you. Without you, all these programs and miracles would not have happened. We will continue to make miracles through service. And because of that you truly are everyday heroes and you are my hero.”
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