Yes, I am from Ipoh and i don't have 'Point Blanc - Ipoh Mali' as my ringtone or alarm. For your information, Ipoh is not a 'Kampung' or rural area. It's one of Malaysia's largest city. I live in Pasir Puteh area of Ipoh and i studied in S.M.K Anderson Ipoh. Back in my high school, I am not a studious person and i spent more time on my co-curricular than my academic activities. How so? I was the President of Leo Club of Anderson Ipoh, Vice-President of Red Crescent Society and school player for Basketball. Pretty cool, isn't it?
I remember joining my school's Leo Club back when i was in form three. I was initially interested in joining Interact Club but instead, was pulled into Leo Club by my friends and seniors. I have a bad impression on Leo Club as most of my friends are in it to meet girls. It is nothing more than a social club to me at first. It was a nuisance as i have to memorize the Leo Pledge, Lion Spirit song and whatsoever. Then, i started going for some of its activities like functions from another Leo Club of another school. As i start to dig up more information about Leo Club, i have this growing interest in me. Leo Club is something like a junior version of Lions Club and Lions Club is the most active organization in the world. Fascinated, i start to volunteer and taking up posts in it's events. I still remember i was the Master of Ceremony and the Caterer for my first project, a Game Function. I was so nervous up on stage that i was shaking the whole time and stuttering words even if i was just reading from a script at hand.
I start to realize Leo Club isn't all about the fun, but instead helping to serve the community. Event management and communication skills are some of the main abilities I have enhanced during my time in Leo Club. Trust me, Leo Club isn't just your normal school clubs. It really trains people to be good leaders and being in Leo Club sometimes feels like being in politics. Competing against other Leo Clubs in the world to gain awards and recognition in Leo Forum and in the same time, serve community. Besides, dramas do happen in the Board of Directors and in the world of Leo Club.
Speaking of Leo Forum, it is an annual major three-days-two-nights event where Leos in one District, in my case District 308 (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei), gathers to be given recognition and awards for its hard work throughout the fiscal year. It also acts as a medium for Leos around the world to get to know each other and build friendships. The awards are in a hierarchy order ranking from Merit to Outstanding and finally Top. However, in order to be qualified to compete for Top awards, one must first achieve Outstanding awards first. There can be many Merit and Outstanding awards winners but there can be only one Top award winner. There are also many prestigious awards. This inspires many Leos to work hard. It also marks the end of one fiscal year.
I eventually worked my way up and gotten the President post for fiscal year 2009/2010. I have travelled to many places to attend other clubs' projects and even did some joint projects with them for instance, KL, Penang, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak, etc. As Leo Club of Anderson is the first Leo Club ever formed in District 308, it is up to me to continue its legacy (My seniors got the Top Club award back in fiscal year 2009/2009). It was not easy to live up to everyone's expectations as i had some bad experiences with my board of directors. As i have said, dramas do happen. All of my board of directors disliked me and they boycotted me. I spent the first six months of my fiscal year bonding with them and we eventually got back together. We worked our hearts out for the next six months and organized some major events which brought our club back to life. We also attended the annual Leo Camp and Leolympic, which we got gold in basketball and bowling and silver in futsal but lost to Leo Club of Sam Tet for the Grand Trophy. Besides, it is here where i met a girl who i have feelings for but never get the chance to be with.
After a great year, it has come to our long-awaited Leo Forum. Leo Forum that year was held in Tower Regency Hotel, Ipoh with approximately 1200 Lions and Leos deligates. On the second night, an Oscar-themed Grand Dinner was held and that's where the awards are presented. While we failed to defend our most prestigious award, Top Club award, I was awarded Top President Award and International Director Excellent Leo Youth Service Award. We also gotten ourselves THREE more Top Awards which is :-
- Top Most Innovative and Creative Project Award for our 'Charity Home Hopping' project (A amazing race-ish project that instead of going to locations, teams go to orphanage, old folks home and any other charitable homes. They have to complete tasks after tasks while racing to reach the Pit Stop.)
- Top Fundraising Project Award for our ''117 Fallen Stars'' project (A fundraising project to raise fund for National Kidney Foundation in the names of the Leos who passed away in a dragon boat race. We raised a total of RM10,000.)
- Top Joint Project for Leolympic (A sport competition organized by a total of 13 clubs in our Region. It consists of basketball, badminton, futsal, bowling and more.)
We got a total of 27 awards altogether in that night. That was one of my greatest moment ever in my life. We were given a special certificate by our school for our achievements. After that, i went on to be chosen to be a nominee for Leo of the Year Award, representing District 308 (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei) to compete with other countries. Unfortunately, i didn't make it but i was happy enough to have achieve so much. Now, i have passed down my job to my juniors and went on to join an Omega Leo Club (A 18+ years old Leo Club). I want to thank three persons in particular which is Leo Jeremy Lam (my Vice-President), Leo Daviz Foo (my Treasurer) and District Chairperson Lion Alan Thoo for backing me up and working hard with me. There are many more i would like to thank. You know who you are. This is me being a Leo. So, if you are interested in joining a Leo Club, please do so as it is a life-changing experience. Look who i am now. You can do the same. If you have any problems or questions about Leo Club, you can refer to me.
If you want to check out Charity Home Hopping videos, go to this URL
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=237968507112
Here are some of pictures. ENJOY!
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