Ferguson to take over as Torquay Lions president

BILL Ferguson has taken over from John Bell as president of the Torquay Lions Club.

Mr Bell is completing his fourth stint as club president, whereas Mr Ferguson – who assumed the role on Tuesday this week – will be taking on the responsibility for the first time.

But Mr Bell said the club would be in good hands with Mr Ferguson.

“He’s got plenty of experience both nationally and internationally, and we’ll wait to see how he applies those skills to our club. He’ll do well.”

The Torquay Lions have 1st, 2nd and 3rd vice presidents. Members generally move their way through these positions before becoming president.

Mr Ferguson said this process had left him in

good stead. “By the time you’ve done each of those roles, you’ve pretty much seen the full operations of the club.”

Mr Ferguson also noted Mr Bell’s contributions as president over the past year.

“He’s very experienced and makes it look easy. He will be a tough act to follow.”

An added difficulty for Mr Ferguson is the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus.

But Mr Ferguson said he has been encouraged to see how club members have strived to contribute to the community despite the present difficulties.

“We have still been making donations to various bodies and club members are still doing things, but nowhere near what would normally be doing.

“We have been doing some work for the Bellbrae Cemetery, for example, things like weeding and gardening and digging the holes for the cremations.”

Mr Ferguson said while the club’s core aim is always to serve the community, he is also hoping to ensure the prosperity of the club itself.

“The other thing that I want to focus on is the actual health of the club because sometimes we’re so focused on helping everybody else we’ve got to make sure we look after ourselves as well.

“We want everyone to be active and involved, to be participating and to be enjoying what they’re doing.

“We’ll be looking to attract more members. We want more young members and we want more women to join. We’ll be looking at the development of the younger members, the same sort of thing I’ve done, going through the various different roles at the club so they’re across everything and ready to take on leadership roles.”