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For Immediate Release

15,000 Lions to Roar Into Boston June 30 - July 4 

OAK BROOK, Illinois, June 1, 2006—More than 15,000 members of Lions Clubs International and their families will meet in Boston for the association’s 89th Lions Clubs International Convention from Friday, June 30 through Tuesday, July 4. Convention events will be held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. 

This is the first time that the Lions Clubs International Convention will be held in Boston and the first time since 1936 that it will be held in the northeastern part of the United States.

Presiding over the convention will be 2005-2006 International President Ashok Mehta of Mumbai, India, who has spent a year leading the Lions organization and visiting Lions clubs around the world. Welcoming the Lions will be Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a member of the Hyde Park Lions Club, who has been an active Lions club member for more than 25 years.

Highlights of the convention will include:

• A spectacular Parade of Nations, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1. An estimated 10,000 Lions from 110 countries, many in native dress, will march along with floats and 25 marching bands from the corner of Boylston and Exeter Streets to Boston Common.
• A keynote address by The Honorable Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of the Republic of Iceland on Sunday, July 2, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
• Presentation of the 2006 Lions Humanitarian Award to Shri Dipchand Savraj Gardi of Mumbai, India on Tuesday, July 4, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. The 91-year-old Gardi is being honored for his lifetime commitment to philanthropic work.  The award includes a grant of US$200,000 for continuing humanitarian work.
• Election of the new Lions Clubs International President Jimmy M. Ross from Quitaque, Texas, USA on Tuesday, July 4.

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with nearly 1.35 million members in 46,000 clubs in 197 countries and geographic areas. In addition to its efforts toward conquering blindness, the organization has made a strong commitment to community service and helping youth throughout the world. To learn more about Lions Clubs International visit www.lionsclubs.org.

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