On September 5, Past President Grace led a team consisting of Past President Angela and Maurice to pack and deliver hot meals to the elderly. Not only hot meals but face masks were distributed to about 200 elderly. Our next volunteer outing will be on September 26.
Our Club continued to meet on Zoom due to pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. 7 Rotaractors and 2 Interactors joined our meeting in our annual “Youth Day”. Ms Crystal Lee from HKU also joined. The meeting began with Charter President Patrick, Rotarian Jason and President Elect Sam taking turns to give details of our upcoming project, Rotary Cares Food Aid 2020. Patrick gave a quick introduction of the project’s purpose and concept. Jason gave updates of the project’s strategic and operational details. Sam gave updates of the project’s fundraising activities. In all, the planning for the project is already underway. Members were invited to help. (A kickoff ceremony is scheduled to be held on September 17. Please refer to our Whatsapp communication for more details.) Rotarian Eliza, joining from New Zealand, wore her Preserve Planet Earth (“PPE”) hat and gave us some news and details about District’s Beach Cleanup Event on October 3. Eliza mentioned that this is one of those very special events where Rotarians and Rotaractors work hand in hand to keep our environment clean. Due to the pandemic, the cleanup crew will be divided into small groups, with a maximum of 20 participants. For…
On August 22, District successfully held a Membership Forum online. Several members attended, including Charter President Patrick, President Elect Sam and Rotarian Eliza. President Mark and Past President Lily dialed in from Holy Cafe. One of the most exciting breakout sessions was about Virtual Rotary Exchange Program. Past District Governor YK Cheng and Past President Silva Yeung of Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile detailed how Virtual Rotary Exchange came about during our Rotary Connects the World Forum, hosted by our District, back in June. In that Forum, an idea to innovate existing Rotary programs was germinated, including the prospect of a virtual exchange program. With a virtual exchange, young participants no longer have to take time off, often at the beginning of their careers, to participate. They can log on after work, at their leisure time, in their own home, and connect with other exchange participants thousands of miles away. The opportunities to make new connections, to facilitate cultural exchange and to encourage international understanding, are endless.
On August 22, Rotarian Jason led a team consisting of President Mark, Past President Dora, Past President Lily, and Newton, Mark’s friend, to pack and deliver hot meals to the elderly. In addition, several of us walked the streets of Cheung Sha Wan and delivered additional meals to street cleaners, and to sanitation workers at a LCSD Refuse Collection Point nearby.
Our Club continued to meet on Zoom due to pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. Past President Douglas Hsia, our Club’s Y2K President (RY1999-2000), joined from California. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by his presence and most happy to welcome Douglas back! The meeting began with the usual report by Club President, but not before Past President WT led a virtual chorus to celebrate Past President Angela’s birthday, in a few days. Thereafter, Douglas was invited to update us about his life in sunny northern California. Now belonging to the Rotary Club of Walnut Grove, Douglas told us that, like us in Hong Kong, the current global pandemic also made physical meeting difficult in California. He also mentioned that he was his Club’s lone representative at the RI Convention in Atlanta – our Club also had one representative that year – but did not remember meeting any Rotarians from Hong Kong. Personally, he found living in Walnut Grove, a designated U.S. Historical District, fascinating. A Chinese-American history buff himself, Douglas explained that Walnut Grove was steeped in Chinese-American history and traditions. Douglas ended his sharing by hoping to visit us in the future, whether physically or via Zoom. Next…
On August 10, President Mark visited our service partner, Amity Foundation, to wrap up the “Walk for Living Water 2020” project, of which our Club was an event partner. The event was a success, with hundreds of participants and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised. Our Club received a certificate of appreciation for recruiting the most number of event participants. Several Club members and our Interactors also received medals for achieving superior exercise levels, all the while staying healthy and fundraising for Amity. The funds raised from the event are scheduled to be deployed in the coming months in various projects in Southeast Asia. Mr. Anthony Tong, Executive Director, gave updates of our sponsored water projects in Myanmar. The projects are ongoing; project progress shall be shared with members later during Club meetings.
On July 23, our Club met on Zoom due to heightened pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. The meeting was conducted in the evening. Undeterred by the time difference, Past President Angelica Rinehart (Rotary Club of Fremont, Ohio) woke up early to join from the United States. Past President Angelica last visited us in February and March 2019. Everyone was surprised to see her and was most happy to welcome her back! The meeting, in addition to the usual report by Club President, had two highlights. The first highlight was our Club’s first-ever virtual induction of a new member. The induction began with Past President WT giving a brief introduction of our newest member: Eliza Ning. No stranger to our Club and our District, Rotarian Eliza is already an active Rotarian who has served on both the District Peace and PPE Committees. Eliza also has additional connections with our Club: Past President WT was her mediation mentor when she began studying the discipline some years ago. Furthermore, through her involvement in District’s Sustainable Seafood program, Eliza has previously worked with President Mark, Past President Grace and many of our Interactors in the past. Eliza has also worked with…
On July 12, 14 members attended District Installation, held at HKCEC. To comply with gathering restrictions, members were separated into four tables, with Charter President Patrick sitting at the head table with guest of honor, Jasper Tsang, invited by Rotarian Fei and Charter President Patrick; Past District Governor Belinda sitting at the Past District Governors’ table; and the rest of the members split into two separate tables. Past Presidents Angela and Grace had OC duties throughout the day. During the Club Presidents Installation ceremony, Past President Lily stood in to pass the presidential sash one more time to President Mark. In one significant moment of the evening, Charter President Patrick received on behalf of Rotarianne Wendy the rare and prestigious Rotary International award: “Rotary International 2019-20 Excellence in Service to Humanity Award”.
On July 8, President Mark, Past District Governor Belinda and Past President Lily attended the Club Installation of Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong. On July 9, President Mark attended the Club Installation of Rotary Club of HK Northeast to congratulate his classmates Immediate Past President Heidi Lee and President Martin Law.
On July 9, our Club met for lunch at Regal Hongkong Hotel, our first meeting of the new Rotary year. While the government has somewhat relaxed gathering rules, special precautions were still in place: all attendees were required to get their temperature checked and their hands alcohol-wiped before entering the venue; and attendees were divided into small tables. During the meeting, President Mark gave updates of various District-level and Club activities, as well as upcoming Installations of other Clubs. Past President Grace described in detail our hot meals distribution program at Holy Cafe on July 4. Past President Dora updated us regarding constant liaison with our sister clubs. Our Club’s Foundation AGM was also held. Past President Kay, as Chair, reported on the finances and activities of our Foundation. Several matters were discussed and motioned during the AGM, including the reappointment of Past President Kay, Past District Governor Belinda, Past President Grace and President Elect Sam as directors of the Foundation and election of Past President Kay as Chair. Finally, President Mark noted that, as we enter the new Rotary year, we should be careful while addressing Rotarians as many of them may have new Rotary titles. While President Mark…