It was a pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to attend the 93rd International Convention in Sydney from 28th June to 2nd July and in doing so represent the Lions Club of Sandringham Inc.

Tuesday morning saw a three and a half hour march from Hyde Park past St. Mary's Cathedral over the Hill and down Macquarie Street to Circular Quay. It was a very impressive display featuring native costumes and bands of every variety.

I was fortunate to be staying in the Holiday Inn bordering the China-town area of Sydney and across the street for the Entertainment Centre where the NSW Government provided a full-on concert on the Tuesday evening. The Governor-General Quentin Bryce AC was on site to officially open the Convention on Wednesday morning, she gave a speech telling us of course, "how good we are", and the benefit Lions generally bring to the world stage.

At Wednesday lunchtime I attended a function for Melvin Jones Fellows, it showed the importance of the reward through the work of LCI Foundation. Having the badge is one thing, seeing the work of the Foundation is another. The speed at which both LCIF and the Australian Lions Foundation worked to begin to make a difference during our Black Saturday bushfires was an example of their worth, and the work on the ground in Haiti was magnificent. Events such as these occur each year and are dealt with sometimes without us even hearing about the level of devastation and therefore the required assistance.

With ten (or so) convention halls at the Darling Harbour complex, Lions used five of them plus areas further down the walk-way where for example a Global Youth Music Competition Final was conducted on the Wednesday evening. These young representatives from the eight Constitutional Areas gave a wonderful concert, playing violins (Andre Rieu would have been proud of each of them). There were highlights every day, the main sessions being ably chaired by International President Eberhard Wirfs from Germany.

On Friday morning, Chesley Sullenberger (Sully) who guided the US Airways Flight 1549 to a crash-landing in the Hudson River in 2009 was the key speaker and warmly greeted in a packed Entertainment Centre. He gave an inspiring address about the way his crew worked together as a team to bring the plane down and ensure that the passengers felt secure in that they were handling the situation in a calm and responsible manner, and it worked!

Wangari Maathair from Kenya was awarded the 2010 Lions Humanitarian Award. She founded the Green Belt Movement - an initiative to reduce poverty and protect the environment.

Yu-Min Chen the 13-year-old student from Taiwan who won the International award in the Peace Poster Contest greeted us. This Contest is highly regarded around the world for its worth and the sentiment for which it aspires to achieve through our young.

Friday saw the induction of the "new" International President who is Sid L. Scruggs from Vass, North Carolina (District 31F); even for the sceptics this was a very impressive function. Lion Sid wrote a piece about his life, family and Lions, it was set to music and one of his sons, a talented singer gave one of two outstanding performances, the other being "Wind Beneath My Wings". Sid is no stranger to our local area as it was he who represented LCI on behalf of the Board immediately after the Black Saturday fires. Sid's International theme: "A Beacon of Hope"; it is his wish that we, all Lions, will wish to become a beacon of hope in our life in Lions' service!
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