April 26-27 2024 – D50 Hawaii Lions Convention
On April 26-27, 2024, eight Hawaii Kai Lions and one CIS attended the D50 Hawaii Lions Convention at the Ala Moana Hotel. The first day was filled with ceremony, starting with the St. Louis JROTC Color Guard, moving on to the convention rules, credentials, memorial service (which included our own Lion Stanley Ito), resolutions, and the Hawaii Lions Foundation’s Parade of Checks (we donated $300). The keynote speaker for the luncheon was ID Judge Anthony Paradiso, from New York, who provided insightful information about being a Lion.
The Awards Ceremony Dinner on the first night was filled with fun and awards! Hawaii Kai won six of the nine award applications submitted, with a seventh surprise award. The six awards were for Club Bulletin (1st place co-winner), LEOs Spotlight Lions Club, Stellar Club (2nd place, plus $50 check), Global Cause Vision (2nd place for eyeglass recycling), Global Cause Childhood Cancer (3rd place for Valentine’s Day cards for pediatric cancer patients), and Global Cause Environment (3rd place for rescue tubes). The seventh surprise award was the Bragging Rights Award for turning in the most award applications and included a $50 check for the club.
Great job everyone for the fantastic work you do for the community!
Also, this night was designated as a 60’s – 70’s costume party for that era, with some Lions dressed up as hippies. Our very own Lion Cynthia Chun looked like she was dressed up as Marlo Thomas of the “That Girl” television series and was voted by popular demand to be the queen for the night. Congratulations to Cynthia!
The second day was jam-packed with discussing and voting on the Constitution & Bylaws and Standing policies, and continued with nominations and elections for this coming fiscal year’s district governor (DG), and 1st and 2nd vice district governors (VDG). As expected, Dr. Lori Inouye-Yamashita is our new DG, with Sean Benito as the 1st VDG, and Dr. Cedric Mitsui as the 2nd VDG. Congratulations to them and it will be great working with them in the coming fiscal year.
The second night was the DG Banquet, with Hawaii Kai Lion Ken Nishibun presiding as the emcee. The night was filled with merriment and good food, as well as the announcement of the Humanitarian Award, which is awarded to a non-Lion who goes above and beyond to help the community. This year’s award went to Jennifer Karaca of Maui, Director of Common Ground Collective. After the devastation of the August 8th wildfires on Maui, she brought together several organizations to feed those who were displaced by the fires.
It was a great two-day D50 Hawaii Lions Convention event, with many of us looking forward to next year’s convention. Hope to see you all then!