Club Installation was held at Regal Hong Kong Hotel on July 14. It was a hybrid affair, with Rotarians attending both a physical lunch and a virtual broadcast via Zoom. During the installation, the presidential sash was passed from Immediate Past President Sam to President Eliza, with Immediate Past District Governor Keith and District Governor Norman presiding over the ceremony. Many Rotarians, families and friends also attended the virtual broadcast, including Past District Governor Peter Pang, District Governor Elect Andy Li, District Governor Nominee Nigel Lo, Assistant Governor Brian Ho, representatives from our service partners, representatives from our Interact and Rotaract Clubs, invited guests and friends of our Club, and our esteemed sister club friends from Rotary Club of Pudu, Rotary Club of Taoyuan Southeast and Rotary Club of Taipei Mingmen. Congratulations to President Eliza, and enjoy a splendid year as Immediate Past President, Sam!
A signature project of our club since 2001! District Governor Norman & his wife Isabel, President Eliza , Past President Eddie, Past President Grace and President Elect Jason attended the Island Scout Trail Walk 2022 Award Ceremony where our club was a co-organizer. Due to the pandemic, the trail walk was done on both virtual + physical format and achieved a total of 20,000 km by the scouts, their families and friends.
On July 6, our Club kicked off the new Rotary Year’s first project with Caritas Ngau Tau Kok for the Street Cleaners. A total of 50 street cleaners received health check using Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) method for screening of stroke and Alzheimer’s risk factor + cholesterol and blood sugar level testing. While on site, Rotarians also participated in stretching exercises together with the beneficiaries.
At the end of the Rotary Year it was great to have one last fellowship dinner. Hosted by Past President Peter and Coco, the dinner, on June 25, was attended by Past President Eddie, Rita, Past President Grace, Past President Lily, President Sam, President Elect Eliza, President Nominee Jason and Sara. Past President Eddie and Rita met Past President Peter and Coco early in the day to go to the market and prepare the sumptuous meal. By about 6pm, the other guests arrived at Past President Peter’s residence in Yuen Long. Over appetizers of homemade chilled abalone, spring rolls and durian cake, Past Presidents Peter, Eddie and Grace reminisced about ex-members and club events in the 1990s and early 2000s. After the fireside chat, the fire was lit for dinner. Past President Peter took care of a live fire barbeque while Coco was in charge of the Korean hot plate barbeque. The food included generous amounts of seafood , meats and vegetables. Dessert included ice cream and grapes. Everyone was too full to eat another bite. It was a wonderful evening of food and fellowship!
On June 23, our Club met for dinner at Regal Hongkong Hotel. A number of spouses were in attendance at this final regular meeting of the Rotary Year x 4th Club Assembly. There were no birthdays or anniversaries announced at this meeting. Past President Dora, as Sergeant-at-Arms, reported the final figure of the Red Box which far exceeded the annual target. She thanked all members for the strong support. With the help of President Elect Eliza, President Sam reported on District Blind Bowling Tournament and District Preserve Planet Earth Tree Planting Day which were held on June 12 and June 18, respectively.Club Installation is to be held on July 14 (Thursday, 12:30pm) and members were reminded to wear the new theme ties/scarves and pins. At the club installation, a recognition ceremony will take place to recognize the Paul Harris Fellows, Paul Harris Society, Benefactors and Major Donors of the club. After the reports were settled, President Sam invited President Elect Eliza to preside over the 4th Club Assembly. First, President Sam gave a President’s Report that reviewed the activities and major projects of 2021-22. President Sam finished by promoting the Photo Archive of RCHKH which is now accessible by password…
Our Club is the International Sponsor of Global Grant 2229737, “Emergency Ambulance Care for Taoyuan City”. The US$129,000 project provided an emergency ambulance service for Taoyuan City. Approved by The Rotary Foundation in January 2022, the ambulance debuted on June 20, 2022. Our District as well as our Club members contributed to this meaningful project.
President Elect Eliza led 70 Rotarians and friends in this year’s tree planting day at Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve. Briefing was at 9am and the activity took the whole morning to complete.
On June 12, President Sam, President Elect Eliza and 8 members of the Interact Club of King’s College participated in the tournament at the Bowling Centre of South China Athletic Association. Our Honorary Member Vivien was a guest of honor of the tournament. Vivien jumped in and gave tips to our novice bowlers. Even though our three teams did not win any prizes, our Interactors had a fun-filled morning and gained valuable experience competing together with bowlers from the Hong Kong Blind Sports Federation.
The Duty Rotarians arrived early on June 9 and ready to receive our speaker Professor Danny Lam. During the club activities report, Past President Eddie remarked how two days of volunteering on June 1 & 2 at LINKS Café and Holy Café, respectively, has improved his fitness. Packing, transporting and distributing 360 gift bags was indeed a hefty job. Then, led by Past President WT, we sang Happy Birthday to Past President Kay whose birthday was on June 14. Charter President Patrick gave the introduction of the speaker. Professor Danny Lam is currently Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong (“HKU”). As Director of the Policy for Sustainability Lab at HKU, Professor Danny, in partnership with HSBC, headed the rural rejuvenation project of Lai Chi Wo which turned it into a working farm and co-operative. Professor Lam first explained the background which he had to work with. About 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s total land area is protected from development by the Country Parks Ordinance. The down side is that basic infrastructure development in villages, or enclaves, surrounded by country parks is also bound by these rules. The result is that many villages are…