On November 12, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 6-person tables separated by ample spaces. After the usual reports and announcements from President Mark, Past President WT introduced our speaker, Arnett Edwards. Principal Edwards is school principal of Li Po Chun United World College (“LPCUWC”) of Hong Kong. Located in an idyllic part of Ma On Shan, LPCUWC has nurtured many responsible citizens in the past 20+ years. Many graduates of LPCUWC went on to do great things, from managing large NGOs to setting up an eye clinic in Africa. Principal Edwards shared with members and guests the philosophy of LPCUWC’s education, both inside and outside of the classroom. Some of the ideals espoused by its graduates include: international understanding, celebration of difference, integrity, service, compassion etc. – these ideals surely resonate with Rotary’s core principles and values. Principal Edwards shared the stage with Mr. Adrian Kwong, who is currently responsible for the school’s outreach programs. Mr. Kwong shared with members and guests the school’s various peace initiatives, including those with Rotary and Rotaract. Towards the end of the…
On October 22, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. The meeting began with President Mark giving quick updates of Club and District activities. President Mark also gave details about District Governor’s visit, which occurred the week before. The floor was then yielded to Immediate Past District Governor (“IPDG”) Wilson Cheng, who visited our Club to personally present the Rotary International 2019-20 Excellence in Service to Humanity Award to Wendy Poon. IPDG Wilson also brought gifts for everyone, but especially presented gifts to Club members who served the District with distinction during his tenure as District Governor: Charter President Patrick and Past District Governor Belinda for their leadership and advice; Past Presidents Grace and Angela for their work in public image, district training, District Conference etc.; Past President Lily for being his Deputy Assistant Governor for Area 3; and Past Presidents Dora and Lily for their work in public image and event preparations. President Mark also received, on our Club’s behalf, Rotary International Citation for 2019-20 as well as highly-rated wines for our members…
On October 8, our Club met for lunch at our usual meeting venue, Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. The meeting began with President Mark giving some updates about our Club and our District. Past President WT also summarized two consecutive weeks of delivering hot meals to the elderly and to sanitation workers. Before the speaker program, our members also celebrated the happy news that our Honorary Member Vivien Lau was awarded Silver Bauhinia Star by the Chief Executive on October 1. A cake was prepared by Regal for the occasion and shared by all at the end of the meeting. Our speaker of the day was Mr. Jackson Lam, an automotive consultant who has worked in marketing and corporate strategy for some of the largest auto manufacturers and their distributors in the world. Jackson shared with us the latest and greatest advances in autonomous transport, the prerequisite of which is a stable electric-based system and sensor technologies. Jackson noted that China is at or near the forefront of autonomous driving, mainly because provincial and local governments have been very accommodative towards the…
On October 3, our volunteer team returned to Cheung Sha Wan, for a second time in the past fortnight, to deliver hot meals to the elderly. On occasion, more than 200 Mid Autumn care packages, donated by various Club members, were also distributed. Care packages were being prepared the night before and hours before the start of distribution. Rotarian Jason led a team consisting of President Mark, Past Presidents Grace, WT and Samuel, and Coco.
On September 26, President Mark led a team consisting of Past President Grace, President Elect Sam, Past President WT and past Interactor Michael Yan of King’s College to deliver hot meals to 200+ elderly living in Cheung Sha Wan and Lai Chi Kok areas. Additional supplies, donated by other anonymous donors, were distributed. President Elect Sam, Past President WT and Michael also managed to visit some grassroots families in housing estates nearby, as well as sanitation workers at a refuse collection point.
Our Club returned to physical lunch meeting at Regal Hong Kong Hotel after two months of virtual meetings on Zoom. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. In a first for our Club, we tried a physical+online meeting, whereby the physical meeting was broadcasted live via Zoom to those unable to travel to Causeway Bay or currently out of town. The meeting began with President Mark giving some updates about our Club and our District. Rotarian Eliza, checking in via Zoom from New Zealand, gave updates on District beach cleaning and details about green club qualifications. Thereafter, the floor was yielded to President Elect Sam, who began to conduct his first Club Assembly. Directors took turns to give updates about aspects of our Club. Past President Angela unveiled a casual Zoom gathering, whereby members discuss anything and everything. The only rule: no Rotary business is to be discussed. Past President Angela also said that as soon as gathering restrictions become more relaxed, fun yet safe fellowship will be planned accordingly. President Mark reported, on behalf of International Service Director Past President Dora, updates about Nicole Au, our Rotary…
District Public Image Seminar was held virtually, on Zoom, on September 19. Members not only attended but helped to organize the event. Past District Governor Belinda, as District’s Public Image Committee Chair, gave the opening remarks and introduction. Past President Grace, as the event’s organizing committee chair, led a session on the Rotary brand. Past President Dora was the event’s MC. Past President Angela worked both behind the scenes managing the logistics and in front of the camera unveiling this year’s edition of People of Action Photo Competition. Members joining the seminar included: President Mark, Past President Lily, Rotarian Jason and Rotarian Eliza. Past President Grace remarked that the event’s organizing committee was a 3-generation affair, as Past President Helen Or of Rotary Club of Neoteric HK, our grandbaby club, and Assistant Governor Anna Or of Rotary E Club of Lantau, our baby club, were also members of the event’s organizing committee. Rotarian Eliza bookended the 3.5-hour seminar by winning the top prize (a wine + HK$1000) in a lucky draw, and promptly announced to donate the cash prize to our Food Aid project. Thank you, District PI Committee. Thank you, Rotarian Eliza!
As the pandemic rages on, nearly all sectors across the economy are deeply affected. Sole bread winners of families toeing on or below the poverty line are losing their jobs or having their wages significantly reduced. The wait for help from social welfare and food banks is getting longer and longer. Savings are being depleted. Many families are increasingly struggling to put food on the table. In Kwun Tong District, which is ranked, in terms of poverty situation, in the bottom-3 amongst all Districts in Hong Kong, livelihoods for many families are already challenging before the pandemic. Pandemic makes survival much more difficult. As such, our Club is partnering with Caritas Community Centre – Ngau Tau Kok (“Caritas”) to distribute, beginning in mid-September, food coupons to around 250 grassroots families and families living in subdivided units in Kwun Tong District identified to be in most urgent need of help. The coupons are designed to bridge the gap between applying for and receiving governmental and other assistance. A small kickoff ceremony was held at Caritas on September 17. Those in attendance included: President Mark and Catherine, Charter President Patrick, Past Presidents Eddie, Grace, Angela, and Webster, President Elect Sam, and Rotarian…
Our Club continued to meet on Zoom due to pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. The meeting was graced by the official visits by Area 3’s Assistant Governor John Wong and Deputy Assistant Governor Gilbert Fung. During the meeting, Board members took turns to give updates of our Club affairs to Assistant Governor John and Deputy Assistant Governor Gilbert: President Mark gave updates about our Club’s giving to The Rotary Foundation, District Grant, our sponsored Rotary scholar, Youth Service etc. Past President Angela, as Membership Director, summarized our membership growth plans and fellowship plans with the pandemic in mind. Rotarian Jason, as Service Projects Director, gave details of our various projects, from our special pandemic grants to our local service partners to our biweekly volunteering activities. Rotarian Jason also gave updates about our Rotary Cares Food Aid 2020 Project. Past President Dora, as International Service Director, summarized our liaison with our sister clubs, our active global grants, and international service partners. Assistant Governor John not only gave timely advice about how to conduct meetings and fellowship during the pandemic but also offered help to be a bridge between District and our Club. The meeting, despite its virtual nature,…
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.