by Nicole Brown

In addition to providing children ages 11-13 with a chance to artistically express their views of peace, the Lions International Peace Poster Contest is also an excellent public relations opportunity for Lions clubs. It allows clubs to showcase their work with youth and others in the community and what Lions Clubs International is all about—service.

International President Mehta stresses the importance of promoting Lions Clubs International in his 2005-2006 International President’s Program: Passion to Excel. He says, “It is important to passionately promote your club, district and multiple district activities to your local media. Simply put, there is no better way to improve our public image and increase public awareness of Lions clubs than through use of the media.” He continues, “One activity sure to attract media is the annual Peace Poster Contest. There are hundreds of success stories from clubs who have received positive media coverage through this contest, the fastest-growing event sponsored by Lions Clubs International.”

Passion to Promote
Be sure that your contest receives the coverage it deserves by keeping newspapers, radio stations and television stations informed. If they don’t know about the contest, they can’t give it the publicity it deserves, and your club will miss out on a great chance to increase local awareness of Lions clubs activities.

Holding judging in a public venue is a prime way to increase both student involvement and community awareness. Some ideal locations include grocery stores, libraries, banks, malls and community centers. Students will be excited to know that their family, neighbors, and friends will see their artwork. This is also an ideal opportunity for each club to highlight and promote both their club and Lions Clubs International.

The Texarkana Lions Club in Arkansas developed a relationship with the local shopping mall that proved beneficial to both the club and mall. The combined club of Arkansas and Texas Lions called the mall to set-up a meeting with the facility’s manager. “We were loaded with lots of info. The mall is a business and if they feel that it is going to be good for them as well as us, that really helps,” said Lion Dean Clark. By explaining the advantages of the mall and club working together, Lions were given permission to display 1,000 peace poster entries in the mall. Local television, radio and newspaper media outlets joined parents, teachers and friends at the mall to view the poster display. The posters drew more than 20,000 people to the mall.

Originally assigned to a small room at one end of the mall, the display became so popular that it was relocated to the center of the mall, and Lions were able to post additional signs and photos of the children who participated in the contest. The media coverage was not only beneficial to the club, but also to the mall, which was anxious to have the Lions Peace Poster exhibit return the following year.

Inviting local celebrities and city officials to judge the contest will also help strengthen the media potential for your contest. The Belize City Lions Club in Belize held a four-day exhibition of all 128 Peace Poster entries at the Belize House of Culture. The Prime Minister of Belize, the Honorable Said Musa, presided over opening ceremonies of the event and presented prizes to the first, second and third place winners. Media attended the event, with national radio, television and newspapers reporting on both the Peace Poster Contest and the opening ceremonies of the exhibition. Inviting the Prime Minister to officiate the opening ceremony was an obvious draw for local residents as well as the media.

The Canterbury Cathedral in England proved to be an ideal site for the Lions of Multiple District 105, United Kingdom and Ireland, to display the 13 district winning peace posters. The Vice Dean of Canterbury unveiled the posters. His presence and the significant location helped lure media and others to the exhibit. The winner of the district contest was then presented with a prize at the House of Commons during a small but prestigious ceremony.

Nacogdoches Evening, Nacogdoches Breakfast, Garrison and Cushing Lions clubs in Texas enlisted the help of the Nacogdoches Art League to organize a display and reception for winners, parents, art teachers and school representatives involved with the Peace Poster Contest. Stephen F. Austin State University agreed to allow the clubs and Art League to display the posters in their Art Center downtown. Over 100 local residents attended the event. The guest speaker for the evening was a local author, historian, storyteller and writer, who spoke on the annual theme. The event was tied in as part of local Veterans Day celebrations and a total of seven winners were announced. Lions worked with the local media, securing live television coverage and newspaper stories. As a result of the club’s planning and notifying the media, the student’s accomplishments were recognized while generating publicity for the Lions clubs. Pairing the event with other Veterans Day festivities helped the clubs secure media coverage.

Multiple District J, Uruguay, and District 108 YB, Sicily, Italy, took a different approach to spread the word about the Peace Poster Contest and their clubs. Both developed calendars with images of local winning posters. In addition to the children’s artwork, the colorful wall calendars also included details about the contest and Lions Clubs International.

Share Your Success Story
Clubs are encouraged to share ideas and stories from their own contests. Lions Clubs International welcomes photographs, clips and examples of your club’s or district’s own creative ways to promote the Peace Poster Contest. Please send submissions to: Kristopher Kempski, Public Relations, 300 West 22nd Street, Oak Brook, IL 60523-8842. Please do not staple or write directly on the photographs, as this will make them unsuitable for publication. Digital photos of 300dpi or greater may be e-mailed to kkempski@lionsclubs.org.