St. Maarten resident Claudius Anthony "Toontje" Buncamper was installed as the Lions District Governor for area 60B with responsibility for the Caribbean Islands from Cayman Islands to St. Lucia at 32nd Lions Multiple District 60 Convention which was held at the Trinidad Hyatt Regency Hotel from May 23rd through 27th. The new Lions year starts July 1st, 2012 and end June 30th, 2013.
The newly elected District Governor who started his journey over 22 years ago as a Leo Club member worked his way through various positions in the Leo & Lions Club such President, Secretary, Tail twister and various other board functions along with numerous high profile positions on the district level.
A few years ago, he decided to postulate himself for District Governor which started him out being elected 2nd Vice District Governor at the Lions District Convention which was held in St. Maarten in 2010.
After gaining enough votes in the election amongst various clubs, District Governor Buncamper was led into the hall by two past District Governors from St. Maarten namely Lion Wally Havertong and Lion Maxime Larmonie which started a 3 minute performance depicting characters from the "Lion King" along with Stilt Walkers. Included in this performance was a large contention of Lions Club members and friends from St. Maarten who were sharply dressed in cream colors waving various district flags. International soca artist Shadow Man was flown in from St. Maarten for the occasion to sing the new District Governor’s song which was done by changing up the words of his popular "Follow the White Line" song to "Follow the Lions", an uplifting tune that will be used throughout the District Governor’s year on all islands under his jurisdiction.
The focus for the District Governor for the new year is the continued implementation of a five-year strategic plan which aims at improving the membership experience amongst the various clubs. Another is attracting young people to the Leo Clubs in the region which in turn will lead them to become Lion members in the future. According Lions District Governor Buncamper; "Vision without action is day dreaming while action without vision is a nightmare ", which is why the district’s proactive approach to bring new members to the organisation. His motto "We Still Believe" was chosen from the simple fact that if Lion Club members do not believe in the their own motto "We serve ", they might as well stop serving the communities.
The District Governor also believes clubs should partner with NGOs and financial institutions and they also should make an urgent assessment of the community needs on their islands in order for the clubs to be successful. In closing he thanked all that made his governorship possible including his mother, wife, family members, his sponsor and mentor Lion Maxime Larmornie and the St. Maarten Lions Club members along with Lion members across the district who were in the audience. He will be assisted by a cabinet of over thirty persons while his cabinet secretary treasurer is Lion Lisandra Havertong, another long serving member of the St. Maarten Lions Club.
This year’s Lions Multiple District 60 Convention was hosted by the Lions Club of Port of Spain Central which celebrated 50 years of existence on May 22nd and was the first club established in the twin Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.