EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES
Lions Club of George Town Central (1981)
This
“axis of friendship” in all strata of society would prove vital in my future
undertakings. During my one-year term as Club President of the Lions Club of George
Town, I was satisfied that my set goals for the Club had been achieved. It
was great exposure for me as I did quite a bit of traveling within the country
and forged a few “Sister Alliances”.
While I
felt my report card would secure a distinction, somehow, something was
still missing?
Ah yes, as a responsible President, I had resolved to finish my term and to charter a new club. The reason was that the Lions movement was relatively unknown among Chinese businessmen. I found it rather difficult to convince the towkays to donate to our humanitarian causes.
So, I
decided to embark on “Plan B”; to be a ‘professional beggar’ and spread the
gospel of Lionism! I took up this challenge by resorting to knocking at the
doors of the merchants and shopkeepers along Beach Street, Weld Quay, and
Chulia Street. No doubt, it was an arduous task but it was bearing fruit!
In the
process of my mission, talking to the Chinese businessmen, I was confident that
there was definitely a need to start Chinese-speaking Lions Clubs so that these
‘towkays’ could be roped in and be part of our ever-growing fraternity.
In 1981, my wish came true when together with a few Lions, we succeeded in chartering the Lions Club of George Town Central; a club comprising mainly Chinese businessmen.
In our
line of business, we have come across many Chinese businessmen, bankers, and
charitable friends. We spoke to them and roped them in as Charter Members of the club.
My
utmost gratitude to the Lions Club of George Town for sponsoring the LIONS
CLUB OF GEORGE TOWN CENTRAL.
I became
a Charter Member of the new club together with a few other members to provide
guidance and direction. The members conversed in Mandarin and the local dialect but
we still stuck to the English Language in all written communications.
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