News Release

OAK BROOK, Illinois, USA, June 1, 2010 – Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, the pilot who landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River, saving 155 passengers and crew, will address the 93rd Lions Clubs International Convention in Sydney, Australia on Friday, July 2. He will speak at 9:15 in the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

Sullenberger and his crew became international heroes when they made an emergency landing in the frigid waters of the Hudson River off New York City on January 15, 2009 and helped all aboard safely out of the plane into rescue vessels. US Airways Flight 1549 had lost power in both engines after striking a flock of birds. Following the event, the U.S. Congress passed a Congressional resolution recognizing Sullenberger and the crew for their bravery.

Sullenberger recently retired after three decades with US Airways where he was a management pilot and member of the company’s flight operations safety team. He had logged more than 19,000 hours in the sky before the emergency landing. He was instrumental in developing, implementing and teaching US Airway’s Crew Resource Management course.

Sullenberger is very active in aviation safety. He has served as an Air Line Pilots Association representative during a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, as a Local Air Safety Chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association and as a member of an Air Line Pilots Association national technical committee. He has also performed accident investigations for the U.S. Air Force.

He founded and serves as chief executive officer of Safety Reliability Methods, a consulting firm that provides strategic and tactical guidance to improve organizational safety, performance, reliability and management.

Born in Denison, Texas, USA, Sullenberger graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and served as a fighter pilot from 1975-1980, during which time he became a flight leader and training officer. He holds master’s degrees in industrial psychology from Purdue University and public administration from the University of Northern Colorado.

Sullenberger is the author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, which was published in October of 2009. Time magazine named him one of the world’s most influential people in 2009. He lives with his family in Danville, California, USA.

Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club organization with 1.35 million members in more than 46,000 clubs in 206 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.

Attention media: media passes will be available from the Convention Operations Office, Exhibit Hall 1 Foyer, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. For more information about convention events, visit the Online Convention.

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News Release

“Miracle on the Hudson" Pilot to Address Lions Clubs International Convention

A PICTURE OF PEACE

"I hope that there will be a day when everyone takes each other’s hands with smiles."