Beth Holloway to speak at Lions’ Forum

Published 8:22 pm Monday, June 7, 2010

Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, the Mountain Brook teenager who disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in May 2005, will be the featured speaker at a luncheon on June 12 at Troy University.

The luncheon is an event of the Lions Club of Alabama High School Leadership Forum, June 11-13.

The luncheon will be from 11:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Trojan Center Ballroom. Tickets will be available at the door. The price of the tickets has not been set but will be no more than $10 each.

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“Beth Holloway has been on a mission to warn high school and colleges students about the risks of international travel and the importance of being aware of its dangers,” said Angel Carlson, Troy Lions Club president.

“She is traveling around the country promoting her partnership with Investigative Management Group, a Manhattan corporate security firm, in an effort to ensure that parents can sleep easier when their kids go abroad.”

Holloway and IMG recently started “Mayday 360,” which promises to have the resources to intervene immediately at the first sign of trouble overseas.

“Ms. Holloway said that the most important lesson she learned from her awful ordeal was that, when a loved one is in trouble far from home, it’s vital to get bureaucrats to start an emergency response if circumstances demand it,” Carlson said.

That is a key component of what “Mayday 360” plans to offer.

The Alabama Lions Club hopes to encourage, motivate, and empower young people to return to their communities from the Forum as advocates for positive change and service through understanding and action based on effective, ethical and compassionate leadership.

“Ms. Holloway’s presentation is one way that the Forum will encourage participating students to be advocates for positive change that will protect young people when they travel abroad and make them aware of the dangers that exists even when traveling here at home,” Carlson said.

“The Forum is also designed to help students build relationships and to provide them with opportunities to network with other leaders, both youth and adult.”

Both the Troy Lions Club and the Troy University Lions Club are participating in the 2010 Lions Club of Alabama High School Leadership Forum.

“We are proud to have Ms. Holloway speak at the luncheon,” Carlson said. “We invite parents and young people to attend.”