The 63rd District Conference was held on May 20-21, 2023, at Regala Skycity Hotel. Many of our members attended: President Eliza, Past District Governor Belinda, Past Presidents WT, Angela, Dora, Ricky, Lily and Mark, and Rotarian Ka Man. Past District Governor Belinda chaired the Foundation sessions, while President Eliza managed the Preserve Planet Earth breakout. Past President Lily was on hand at the leaders’ lunch on the first day, while Past President Angela led group discussions during a Diversity Equity and Inclusion breakout. Past President Dora was in the Conference Organizing Committee, managing the conference floor and banquet. President Eliza also reported that she was part of the welcoming party that received our Mongolian Rotarians at the airport the day before the Conference.
As part of our Club’s mission to raise awareness of each of our personal carbon footprint, our Club challenged our members to calculate their own annual carbon footprint using Hong Kong Government’s carbon calculator. 46%, or twelve, of our members did the calculation. We then asked those who did the calculation to consider offsetting their carbon emissions by purchasing Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) through United Nations’ Carbon Offset Platform, a program under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Of those who took the time to calculate their carbon footprint, all agreed to offset their annual carbon emissions. Our Club identified a project in India that converts agriculture waste into energy, and subsequently purchased CERs specifically in support of that project. We purchased CERs as a group, the record of which can be found here. We thank all our members who took time not only to better understand global warming and carbon emissions but also to calculate their own carbon footprint — an important step in raising awareness. We look forward to future challenges, in particular to find out if, by becoming more aware of personal emissions, those members who calculated their current footprint manage to reduce their future footprint…
President Eliza as the District PPE Chair together with our to-be-pinned new member Ka Man and her family attended tree planting at Tai Po Fung Yuen where the Reserve is home to approximately 220 species of butterflies out of 245 in Hong Kong. In total, the group planted 67 bushes contributing to the preservation of the Reserve and its unique ecosystem. The event was not just helping carbon reduction but also pollination.
Our newest member Rotarian Ka Man and her family joined President Eliza and the District PPE Tour on February 26. During the tour, participants understood how disastrous it could be if we continue to waste food. The tour around O Park 1 facilities was also interesting and eye-opening. The workshop at Green@ Islands making dehumidifier using baking soda and coffee grounds was very interesting too.
Our lunch meeting on October 28 was attended by 16 members. Spouses Pat and Maurice, and Past President Theresa joined our lunch. Past President Daniel Lo of Rotary Club of Central and ex-Rotary Information Center senior staff Steve Kwok introduced to us Run To Your Home Foundation. It is a volunteer service platform that uses running and runners as a common element. The foundation has done a number of outreach services and can use your support and donations. Our speaker of the day, Mr. Clement Li, is a Project Manager at Baguio Green Group. He talked about the iRecycling app which combines the powers of marketing and recycling. Through commercial incentives (like coupon offers), users are able to send recyclable glass and plastics to. Incentives can be as much as HK$5 per bottle. As an integrated service provider, Baguio is able to provide pick up services at the user’s location. In the Q&A session, members were very curious about their buildings’ recycling programs. Clement suggests that members look at the waste management services contract to see if recycling is within the scope of work. If not inside the scope of work, it is likely that the recycled waste at your…
Five members (Past Presidents Angela, Grace, WT and Dora, and Rotarian Eliza) plus one spouse (Maurice) attended the District Preserve Planet Earth Committee’s Tree Planting at Fung Yuen, Tai Po on May 1. Motivated by Past President Angela’s call: “有錢出錢，有力出力”, our Club members donated 2,200 HKD in total with some of the donation going to clubs in Mongolia for planting trees there. The team carried the plants uphill before digging holes for planting the trees to attract butterflies to come to this “Site of Special Scientific Interest” conservation area, where over 200 species of butterflies (90% of the total 245 species in HK) live here. Among them, over 140 species are uncommon/rare/very rare in HK. The happy service+fellowship event was followed by a “heavy meal” filled with laughter in Tai Po.
On April 22, our Club met at Regal Hong Kong Hotel. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. Past President Dora, first to report, gave details regarding our virtual meeting with our sisters at Rotary Club of Taoyuan Southeast: it would be a Zoom affair, with the two Clubs’ respective Presidents Elect introducing their incoming Board members and their current Presidents giving a quick update of services in the current Rotary year. Past President Dora said that a Zoom link shall be provided to all in due course. Rotarian Eliza and Past President Angela detailed arrangements of our tree planting outing on May 1, with District Preserve Planet Earth (“PPE”) Committee. Rotarian Eliza also promoted beach cleaning, to be held on May 9. Finally, President Elect Sam highlighted the arrangements of the upcoming District Training Assembly, to be held on May 8. It would be a hybrid occasion with both physical and online options for those interested. Rotarian Eliza was our meeting’s speaker, who shared with us the current government consultation on the Producer Responsibility Scheme on Plastic Beverage Containers. The consultation, launched on February 22 and will…
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…
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 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…