by Dawn Marie Lemonds – SI Board member

“MELBOURNE, NOTTINGHAM, SAN FRANCISCO, HELSINKI, SYDNEY, GLASCOW, MONTREAL, ISTANBUL, KUALA LUMPUR……

What a lucky lucky Soroptimist I am to have made the commitment in MY Soroptimist Journey to attend every International Convention since 1987!   MY MAP- because of Soroptimists- has many pins! Each of these cities evoke amazing, wonderful memories of people I have met, things I have learned, wonderful local site seeing, and mostly- knowing that our BIG world is waiting for us to band together to make positive and significant change on the lives of the women and girls that dwell here.  It is impossible to tell the impact that SI Convention Attendance has had on my life- so I found three words to describe the “lure” of SI Conventions in my life. 

*LEARNING- Learning cutting edge information about issues important in the world from top leaders is so empowering. Convention sessions are inspiring, challenging, and important to me as a global citizen.

*SHARING– I have made life long friends at the deepest level from all over the world. I yearn to meet new Soroptimists – learn from you and share the fun, festivities, and passion we have for OUR SOROPTIMIST and celebrate the work of our leaders.

*EXPERIENCING– Every city/country brings its new flavors of culture, cuisine, and interest to experience and imbed in your heart. To see that country – through the eyes of the proud Soroptimists of that country is a privilege and a joy and I can’t wait to be in Malaysia!

I know that financial issues are one of the barriers and confess, that as a person on a fixed income- I saved for two years so I could go to my first convention.  I now start saving right away so I won’t miss that next one! 

So here is MY Challenge to you –

If you have attended an SI Convention- and would like to tell us YOUR STORY – what you loved/learned at a Convention email us with the subject #SoropsOnTour

If you are planning on coming to Kuala Lumpur- Send us an article about what you are LOOKING FORWARD TO! with the subject #SoropsOnTour

hq@soroptimistinternational.org

A final challenge- if this is something you can’t do- but- you/ or your club wants to help make it possible for someone to go – “invest in them” to have this experience.  I had a sponsor for my first Convention- and still bring back my stories 32 years later! Hope to see you all in Kuala Lumpur!”

Register at https://siconventionkl2019.org/registration/

View all KL stories at https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/tag/kl-convention/