LIONS International president Dr. Patti Hill is slated to arrive in Manila today to attend the 60th Orient and Southeast Asia Lions (OSEAL) Forum scheduled on November 2 to 5 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
Immediate Past International President Brian Sheenan of the United States will accompany Dr. Hill and her husband, Greg Holmes.
A member of the Edmonton Host Lions Club since 1990, Dr Hill was elected as international president of Lions International at the association’s 105th International Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, USA held from July 7 to 11, 2023. As international president, she heads the largest service club organization in the world, with more than 1.3 million members in 49,000 clubs, serving 200 countries and geographic areas worldwide, and oversees the activities of all member countries grouped into eight constitutional areas worldwide, including OSEAL, to which the Philippines belongs.
Dr Hill has held many positions within the association, including district chairperson for Membership, Environment, Convention, and International Cooperation and Understanding. She also served as a committee member of the USA/Canada Lions Leadership Forum, multinational coordinator for Campaign Sight First II, secretary of the Lions Eye Bank (Alberta) Society, vice president of the Lions Eye Research Institute of Northern Alberta, and presenter in many forums and conventions. She is a founding member of the Lions of Canada Consultative Committee.
In recognition of her service to the association, International President Hill has received awards, including several International President’s Awards. She has been honored with the Ambassador of Goodwill Award, the highest honor the association bestows upon its members. She is also a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow and recipient of numerous other fellowships.
Since their founding in 1917, Lions worldwide have been rallying for the five global causes of vision, hunger, the environment, childhood cancer, and diabetes.
The presidential theme for this Lion year is “Changing the World.” Lions explains: “Changing the world is a journey with no middle and no end. There is only a beginning – and it starts with every Lion member. It happens through the many small choices and acts of kindness we make every day. Together, the sum of our efforts makes the world a better place, one life, one relationship, and one community at a time.”