Council Chairman Portfolio Reports


Constitutions, Nominations and Resolutions - PCC Lion Philip Goodier

My predecessor, Lion Trevor Kell, liked to say that 'Convention is where the Clubs of the Multiple District get to influence where we are going as an organisation. Members in Clubs have ideas all the time – 'wouldn't it be better if…' Why don't MD do…''

Your Council of Governors cannot possibly have all the answers, let's be honest, they probably don't even know all the questions! We all have an investment in how the organisation works and it is up to all of us, not just the Council, to drive the organisation forward.

Over the past few years, the number of Resolutions being submitted by Clubs has dwindled considerably, indeed, both the resolutions to be debated at Convention this year have been submitted by Council.

  1. Each District has its own CNRO (Constitutions, Nominations and Resolutions Officer) who would be only too willing to help a Club formulate a resolution. I too, am only a telephone call or email away to offer advice.
    Resolutions can come from a Club seconded by another Club (this assumes you talk to other Clubs!) or from a District. They all start as an idea from an individual member or a small group of Club members.
  2. The timetable for submitting Resolutions and Amendments and guidance on the procedures is circulated with the Convention Call which goes to all Clubs in early August. By necessity, this timetable is strictly adhered to. 
  3. I would encourage all members to stand up in Convention to debate or question the Resolutions being presented for you to consider. If you don't understand something then please ask, there is a good chance that others in Convention may not understand either. Remember to keep your questions relevant to the subject being debated. Whilst only Registered Club delegates may vote, any member can debate or question the resolutions.  
  4. Throughout the year I have advised Council, individual DG's, District Officers and Club members on various Constitutional and procedural matters. My contact details are in the Directory that is available online, and I am always happy to help.

SDC - IPCC Lion Kavaljit Dev

The members of the MD 105 Strategic Development Committee (SDC) for 2025-2026 are:

  • Immediate Past Council Chairperson – Lion Kavaljit Dev
  • Immediate Past District Governor – Lion Steve Carley (105SE)
  • 1st Vice District Governor – Lion Tim Hanton (105SC)
  • 2nd Vice District Governor – Lion Mark Cooper (105SC)
  • MD105 Treasurer to Council of Governors – Past District Governor Lion David Mckirdy
  • MD105 Secretary to Council of Governors - Past Council Chairperson Lion Peter Burnett
  • MD105 Headquarters Manager – Lion Brigitte Green

During the year, the Strategic Development Committee was tasked with several key areas to support the future direction and sustainability of our Multiple District.

Key Areas of Work

  • Strategic Planning - Reviewed and updated the 5-year Strategic Plan to ensure continued relevance and direction.
  • MD Conventions - Considered the future format of Multiple District Conventions, following feedback from the member survey.
  • Headquarters Review - Assessed the role, structure, and future needs of Headquarters.
  • Financial Sustainability - Identified cost-saving opportunities in response to a budget shortfall due to a decline in membership (June 2025).
  • Governance & Roles - Developed a job description for a Deputy Treasurer and reviewed the criteria for appointment of the Council Treasurer.
  • Budget Planning - held a dedicated finance meeting to discuss and recommend the 2026–2027 budget.
  • Rules & Procedures- Reviewed the Multiple District rules for International Director (ID) elections.

The Committee has completed its work and submitted all recommendations to the Council of Governors for consideration and decision.


Patron Liaison Officer - PDG Patrick Hamblin 

In conjunction with the staff at National Headquarters, I organised and issued the certificates for Clubs and Members that have achieved 50, 60, 70 and 75 years of service. All these 90 certificates were individually signed by our Patron, The Duchess of Edinburgh.

On behalf of the Multiple District, I sent Christmas greetings to our Patron and her Household.

I arranged messages from our Patron  for Clubs on the occasion of their 75 years celebrations.

I arranged for our Patron to provide a message for the opening of the Multiple District Convention in Llandudno which I was privileged to read out.

I arranged for our Patron to prepare a foreword for the latest edition of 'Changing Tomorrow Today.'

I forwarded our Patron copies of the new digital Lion magazine when published.

Following receipt of invitations from the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to garden parties at Buckingham Palace and Holyrood, I liaised with the Chair of the Council of Governors and made the necessary arrangements.


Compliance Officer - PDG James Mathers

Brief details of progress since last report:

Throughout the year I have advised the Council of Governors and individual District Governors on several occasions including considering contractual documents and updating policy documents.

Proposals or decisions:

None

Plans /Objectives going forward

I will continue to provide advice to the Council of Governors when requested and to review policies and procedures when asked.


Data Protection - Lion Robyn Banks

This is my sixth full year in post.

DISTRICT DATA PROTECTION/DATA COMPLIANCE OFFICERS

This year I have had much support from the appointed officers in A,  CN, N, SC and SW– I should like to publicly show my gratitude to these officers for their work with me in their respective Districts. I am the Officer myself for CE, CW and SE as well. We held an online meeting on Teams in February 2026 to discuss any updates/issues.

INFORMATION COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE (ICO) – FEE

This continues to cause issues for clubs and I advise when approached.

PRIVACY NOTICES AND OTHER DOCUMENTATION

A Privacy Notice is a legal requirement to be drafted for each club/District/ Multiple District – regardless of whether or not a website is in place. I continue to run a rolling programme for those clubs who have not yet approached me to offer my services. It should be noted that I conduct this work for Lions Clubs free of charge, but it is my professional integrity on the line constantly. Any ADVICE given is based on 26 years experience in the field and with the backing of my business professional indemnity insurance – no such thing as a "silly question"!

Some MD Officers charge the MD for their services – I do not do so. However, it is worth mentioning that, whilst I am a volunteer like others – were I to charge for my services to Lions, these Privacy Notices equate to circa 180 clubs (of those currently "open") x £150 (my usual charges for a charity) = £27,000

I am happy to continue to provide advice to clubs whenever they may request it – whether it is answering questions, giving advice on utilising data or providing appropriately-worded documentation. I am happy – especially if this can be achieved electronically – to "visit" clubs, zones, regions or District meetings to present on the matter.

There is a selection of Articles on MD website which provide guidance on the ICO fee, Privacy Notices and give the suggested wording for Email footers, forms (whether on a website or on paper). Recently, articles on Email Addresses, email Scams and security of data on the Lion Portal were issued to District Governors for onward dissemination to the membership. I hope they will appear on the MD Bookcase as well.

CASEWORK

If any Lion believes that there has been a breach of Data Protection/UK GDPR laws involving their data through the Lions organisation, they should report it to either the District Officer or myself (or both) for investigation. This year there have been a couple of cases of this - all resolved.

TRAINING ON THIS SUBJECT MATTER

 am happy to provide any online "workshop" on this subject matter – to a club, Zone, Region, District or even the MD if a request/need is identified. I am a certified professional trainer and will be completing my Lions FDI training this year to be a Lions Trainer as well. The latter qualification will enable me to provide training on any Lions matters specifically.

INTERNATIONAL

There is an International Agreement in place with LCI at Oak Brook to allow us to legally utilise the Online System (now the Portal). This Agreement needs to be in place to provide the framework for the Clubs, Districts, the MD and LCI to process the data of individual Lions in 105 appropriately for membership purposes and support the service whether at local, national or international level. This Agreement has been put in place this Lions Year and - at the time of drafting – is awaiting publication on the MD Members Bookcase for all Lions to see. An Article has been drafted to issue as well which provides further explanation around this Agreement from a Data Protection perspective. I am happy to answer any questions on this matter – if I can.

It is, I believe, worth noting that I am in consultation with the Swedish Lions, Danish Lions, Romanian Lions and Dutch Lions on taking their International Agreements forward – in particular, the Romanians, Swedes and Danish are interested in utilising our Agreement as a basis for theirs as they utilise the Portal in a similar way to ourselves. This work is important to MD105 as it shows our reputation and credibility with our European counterparts is strong. 


International Convention Committee - PCC Peter Burnett & PCC Alastair Joel

International Convention Report for MD Convention 2026

The biggest news is that there will be no International Parade this year in Hong Kong. As one of the highlights of an International Convention, this is a disappointment, but is a decision beyond our control.

A zoom briefing for those attending to be held on Thursday 28th May at 7.30pm, this should be no longer than an hour.

Registration is open with the rate of $265 until the 30/6. Onsite registration is $340, Omega Leos is $100, and Alphas Leos and children $20.

Once you have registered you will receive regular updates. There are currently 69 members from MD105 registered to attend.

You can cancel your booking up to the 1st May with a refund less a $90 admin charge.

Hong Kong is made up of a series of islands, transport is via road bridges or water taxis, for those staying in official hotels there will be transport laid on for you between hotels and the Convention Expo centre.

To give you a rough idea of distances:

DGE hotels to Expo centre 15- 20 min bus ride, although I understand these may have now changed

Official hotels to Expo Centre 35-45 mins by bus

LCI HQ hotel to Expo Centre 40-50 mins by bus

There are two hotels next to the Expo centre joined by a tunnel (10-15 walk), these are not official hotels, but there is nothing stopping you staying there if you wish (unless you are a DGE)

There is unlikely to be an official app, as there is difficulty getting it to work in the 12 official languages. Instead, the electronic guide will be avaliable, as used before in Orlando.

There will be the MD105 WhatsApp group for communication between ourselves, this will be set up prior to convention itself.