Newquay Towan Blystra Lions Club have a new president following the former holder of the office, Lion Chris Bernard, standing down after three years at the helm of the charity which supports the community and local good causes through events such as Newquay Beer Festival and Community Christmas Lunch.
A former mayor of Newquay, Lion Jill Bunt, has now taken on the responsibility of leading the club and is relishing the opportunities and challenges which will be presented as we come out of lockdown and, hopefully, start to see the back of the COVID crisis.
“It is a genuine privilege to be elected to this position”, said Jill, as she received the chain of office and ceremonial gavel from Chris at an outdoor meeting of the club’s Beer Festival committee last week. “There is so much we have not been able to do because of the various restrictions but the club have remained strong with our members meeting via zoom every month and still doing activities which have enabled us to help others.”
Despite COVID, members of Towan Blystra Lions still enthralled hundreds of children and their families when they accompanied Santa in his sleigh around the town last year; made deliveries of groceries to the vulnerable alongside their colleagues in Lions and Rotary, and supported the late Chrissie Jackson’s Sunshine Appeal as administrators of her funds and with practical help in fund raising.
Chris Bernard added: “I have been very proud to have been the club’s president and seen the club go from strength to strength despite the issues which everyone has faced. Lions is a worldwide family of over 1.4 million men and women with a common aim ‘to serve’ others and I know Jill will be the perfect person to inspire our club to continue its good work in the future.”