"Let Knowledge Light Your Path To Success" is the theme chosen by District Governor 60A, Lion Gerard Jackson, for his upcoming year in office.
Jackson, a member of the Port of Spain North Lions Club, was elected at last Friday's District 60A Convention Meeting at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel, during the Multiple District 60 (A&B) 21st Multiple & 41st District Convention hosted by the lions of Trinidad and Tobago from May 9 to 13, 2001.
The forty-one year old who is currently unmarried, is Government and Public Affairs Specialist with BP Trinidad & Tobago (formerly Amoco Trinidad). He is a former student of Siparia Boys Roman Catholic School, Presentation College in San Fernando and graduated from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management.
His rise to the highest position in the District has come through proper grounding, first with a series of managerial appointments in his own club including the presidency and, as well, in the District where he has served as Chairman for Leos and Lionesses, District Cabinet Public Relations and Lions Information, Zone Chairman, Region Chairman and Vice District Governor.
In addition to preparing for last Friday's appointment which runs for the new Lions year, which commences in July after Jackson attends a one-week Governor's School and is officially installed at the Lions International Convention in Indianapolis, Jackson was the Chairman of the Convention Committee 2001 for which close to seven hundred lions and their partners in service were registered.
The election of District Governor 60A is by rotation between Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago, and not left to chance or secret ballot. Because of job commitments, Jackson refused the post at the last rotation. But when he was appointed Vice District Governor at the Multiple District Convention in Barbados one year ago, Jackson was aware that he would be the successor to District Governor Mike Elshot of Suriname.
For Jackson "it was a normal progression as it was a process that I had gone through from serving the District as Zone and Region Chairman, getting that feel for the organisation, how it operates. It is all a learning process how the district operates." A district of sixty plus clubs which he must visit at least once during the year as Governor. His theme "is in keeping with the incoming International President's theme of "light your path. I believe that there are a lot of people who are young in lionism who do good work but still lack some of the basic knowledge of what lionism is all about. Lionism is about service and we should be aware of how a service organisation should operate and function to be successful."
During his year in office, Jackson will be looking "to bring lions up to speed with what is going on in the organisation, to develop potential and capacity of lions to take over leadership positions in the organisation, and there are a number of ways we are going to look at doing that." In conjunction with the new chairman of Council of Governors, immediate past D.G. Elshot, the areas will include leadership, mentorship, membership and for Jackson "knowledge." "We have found organising seminars for incoming officers every year nothing new, but a lot of lions do not attend seminars. If you are coming up for election as a club officer, you should take part in the club's training sessions."
So Jackson plans "to bridge the gap by taking the sessions to the clubs. Information will come to you, you do not have to come to get it." And is also looking at quarterly workshops to which not only the leadership will be invited but members as well. In addition, the Multiple District of 60A and 60B from Guyana and Suriname in the south to Jamaica and Cayman in the north, plans on running lions' institutes in the different islands, which will bring lions information to members through the Multiple District.
Says Jackson "I think there are many lions who are interested in doing the right things and being good lions. There are some, I believe, who have been practising lionism for sometime now and are set in their ways; people who have been there so long and think they know it all. But things have changed, the organisation is growing and we need to grow with the organisation if we are to be successful."
"I must have input as the District Governor in the seminars going on in my District. It is the District Leadership chairperson's responsibility to look after the seminars and plan the training programmes through out the district. While the Multiple District leadership chairperson's responsibility it is to look at the district and how we operate on a long term basis; to identify gaps we have right now and set up programmes to bridge gaps so that we can all function from the right place." For District Governor Jackson "it is about trying to bring Lions in my District together to serve the community as too often we tend to go off on our own to get things done in our own ways. The most basic principle of lionism is service to our community. Let's bring it back together."
Finally, Jackson also believes "we need to look at creating greater partnerships with some of our institutions whether NGO's or Government Agencies because it is about recognising that in today's society we cannot do it alone and we need the help of others who are like us and care about the people in our communities. If together lions and other NGO's and Government Agencies work to achieve the goal of making the lives of the less fortunate in our communities just a little better, I think I would have achieved what I set out to do."