Letters to the Editor

Please send your comments to Managing Editor PDG Y K Cheng c/o Rotary Information Centre
14/F Capitol Commercial Building, 26 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
Phone:    (852) 2576 4343
Fax:         (852) 2895 0237
E-mail:    ykchkcpl@netvigator.com

Contents

1. Rotary Institute in Hong Kong in November § By District Correspondent
2. Governor’s Monthly Letter § By DG John Wan
3. September Governor’s Monthly Letter in Chinese - to be upload
4. From the Manager Editor § By PDG Y K Cheng JP
5. Continuity Column § By DGE Johnson Chu
6. From District Secretariat
7. Bunny’s Column § By Bunny
8. Zen Moments
9. Attendance Report § July 2000

Rotary Institute in Hong Kong in November

From 10 to 12 November 2000, Hong Kong will be host to over 700 Rotary leaders from 27 Districts in South East Asia. Hong Kong would also host a Governors-elect Training Seminar (GETS) from 8 to 9 November for the DGEs

Rotary Institutes are normally for past, present and incoming RI officers and observers and guests invited by District Governors. The Rotary Institute to be held in November in Hong Kong, however, will be open to all Rotarians in the 27 districts covered by this Institute, following a decision of Institute Convenor RI Director Gary Huang. This would mean that Hong Kong is preparing for a gathering of over 700 participants, or nearly three times the number at the one held in Taipei in 1999.

Each year, the RI President and President-elect would each attend 17 zone institutes. In 1999, Carlo Ravizza attended the Taipei Institute as President, and this year, President-elect Richard King and Rotary Foundation Trustees Chairman Past President Herbert Brown will attend. President Frank Devlyn would be holding a Presidential Conference in Miami at the time.

The 27 districts comprise four districts from Thailand, seven from Taiwan, ten from the Philippines, and one each from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia.

By convention, training of the governors-elect would take place around the meetings of the Institute. This year, the training is more formalized and formally titled Governors-elect Training Seminar or GETS. Past Governor Y K Cheng has been appointed Training Leader and has decided to organize the training the two-day training from 8 to 9 November in two places. The Seminar will start at American Club and finish in Furama Hotel. A separate but mandatory program for spouse will take place on the second day, only in Furama Hotel.

The 2000 Hong Kong Rotary Institute will formally open at 6:00p.m. on Friday, 10 November at the Jade Ballroom of Furama Hotel. President-elect Richard King will deliver the Institute Inaugural Address, which will be titled ¤The Real Rotarian¥. The evening will end with a welcome dinner.

Saturday will start early with a Foundation Breakfast Meeting, attendance of which would be by invitation only. The Second Plenary Session will begin at 9:00a.m. with Past President MAT Caparas as keynote speaker on the topic of ¤Expectation of Rotary in Asia¥. This will be followed by topic presentation on membership growth, polio eradication, task forces, public relations and districting. Participants would break up into groups for round table discussion after a coffee break, followed by lunch. The Third Plenary Session in the afternoon will cover Rotary Foundation, Council on Legislation, Youth Programs and Reports on the Round Table Discussions. The evening will feature a Host Hospitality Night at the Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in Aberdeen.

Sunday will start with the Fourth Plenary Session, which will deal with the 2001 San Antonio Convention, promotion of the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Rotary Institute and an Open Forum to be presided by President-elect Richard King. The Institute will finish with a Farewell Lunch.

Governor’s Monthly Letter

Register for the Zone Institute; World Headquarters is now our Service Centre; Support the Rotary Foundation

My Dear Action Presidents and Rotary Leaders,

The cover story this month talks about the Rotary Zone Institute to be held in Hong Kong in November § the 2000 Rotary Institute Hong Kong. Traditionally, Rotary institutes are meetings designed for the attendance and participation of past, present and incoming officers of RI resident within the area the institute is to serve. The RI Board attaches great importance to Rotary institutes. They are useful medium of communication for developing and strengthening support, cooperation and understanding between participants. There is an entire section devoted to institutes in the 1998 Manual of Procedure, which again is indicative of its importance in Rotary. Among other things, Rotary institutes provide a forum for learning, discussion and inspiration.

I hope many of you would attend. The last time Hong Kong held an institute was in 1995, and the one before that, a very long time ago. It would probably be a good few years before we would host another zone institute. I hope many presidents, presidents-elect, past governors and present and incoming district officials would attend. I have enclosed with each hard copy of this letter a promotional leaflet with invitation letters from Director Gary Huang, Institute Convenor, and our Past Governor Arthur Au, Institute Chairman. There is also a registration form enclosed. Please make more copies and encourage your members to use them, beginning with yourself.

Before I leave this subject, let me give you one very important reason why more Rotarians in the District should attend, and why you should attend in particular. The reason is that it will better prepare us for the eventual International Convention that we have been lobbying so hard to host in Hong Kong. If indeed we succeed, we would need many Rotarians with the experience that an institute can offer.

From Zone Institute, I move to a recent RI Board decision to restructure service centres. Specifically, the Board decided to close from mid September the Southeast Asia Service Centre in Manila, Philippines. Our District is now serviced on RI and Foundation matters by RI World Headquarters staff at Evanston. Ann Koh and Dora Kordek are now respectively Manager and Coordinator of Club and District Administration for Asia/Pacific. Separate banking information for RI payments and Rotary Foundation contributions have also been made available and sent to all club presidents by the RI Secretariat direct. Please get in touch with your Assistant Governor or District Secretariat if you have other questions.

Still on Rotary news, you would have known by now that RI announced on 11 September 2000 the nomination of Bhichai Rattakul as President-nominee, RI for 2002-03. Bhichai Rattakul is a member of Rotary Club of Dhonburi, Bangkok, Thailand. He was RI Director from 1990 to 1992 and a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation from 1985 to 1986. He served as a member of Parliament of Thailand for nine terms. He was leader of the Democratic Party, foreign minister in 1975-76, deputy Prime Minister for 10 years, and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Bhichai Rattakul is a good friend of Hong Kong and a personal friend of many past governors in the District. He has a distinguished Rotary career since he joined as a charter member of his club in 1958 and is now a member of the 2000-01 Diplomatic Relations Task Force. You can get more details on this distinguished Rotarian from the RI web site.

Back to District matters, the District Rotaract Committee held the Rotaract District Conference on 24 September at Suen Douh Camp in Fanling. It is noteworthy that Committee Chairman Peter Lam (Tai Po) and his Committee had picked September, the New Generations Month, for the event. I went for the opening ceremony, as did Past Governor Joseph Lee and a number of Rotaract advisors. The advisors then met to discuss topical issues in the District, in particular those related to young people, while the Rotaractors had their training session. The advisors reached broad agreement that they should meet more regularly and frequently between themselves and with the District Rotaract Committee and the Rotaract club presidents. I am glad that Joseph Lee and Peter Lam have created awareness of the youth issues and will be taking action to address them.

Also on 24 September, the District held its first ever Swimming Gala in Ma On Shan. It was very well attended. There were well over 400, half of whom spouse and children. It was a day for the family. Full marks to District Sports Committee Chairman Tony C N Kan (Shatin) and the hardworking members of Rotary clubs of Kowloon Northeast and Taipo for putting together such a fine programme, and congratulations to the Rotary Club of Kwai Chung and the Rotary Club of Tai Po for having done so well in the men’s and women’s events respectively.

September also saw a very successful District Rotary Foundation Seminar organized by Committee Chairman Grace Young (Mid Level). There were record registration and attendance. Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator Jackson Hsieh came from Taipei to give the principal input and RI Director Gary Huang also spoke at the Seminar. Both spoke well of the Seminar and the efforts of the organizers and participants. However, we must not rest on our laurels, for there is still a lot of work to be done. Now is the time to prepare for talks and in-house seminars at club level in November, our Rotary Foundation Month, based on the input and experience gained at the District seminar, so that more members can benefit and learn more about how the Rotary Foundation work and specifically how the many humanitarian, educational and cultural programmes operate. The members of the District Rotary Foundation Committee and Sub-Committees are all ready, willing and able to assist. All you need to do is ask.

Your Governor John Wan

From the Manager Editor

By PDG Y K Cheng, JP

The 1998 Manual of Procedure gives the following definition of Governor’s Monthly Letter: ¤Personal, official communications issued every month by the governor to the president and secretary of each club in the district containing items of special interest and importance, including the Monthly Membership Attendance Report.¥

Over the years, we have seen various forms of GML § from ¤black and white¥ to ¤very colourful¥, and from ¤no pictures¥ to virtually photo albums. They are all a joy in reading, and all serve the purpose of keeping the District informed.

For the year 2000-2001, in addition to communication, I hope the GML will act as a link between the District leadership and the membership at large, and that it will provide a forum for interactive exchange. As such, I welcome letters to me or to District Governor John Wan for inclusion in the GML on any issue for the good of Rotary so that the District membership can all share your thoughts and ideas.

One way of keeping the GML sufficiently simple is to ¤exclude¥ photographs. Instead, a District album has been created at the District website. Do visit the website and download and print-out whatever smiling faces you fancy to keep. I urge you to take advantage of the latest technology.

Matters relating to the production of the GML and creation of website fall within the ambit of my role as the District Information Co-ordinator. A list of committee chairs appears on page 11 of the 2000-01 pocket planner.

The Internet Committee is a new initiative. President Bill Benter (Kowloon North) is the technical expert and has made a tremendous effort to assist clubs in our District to set up their respective websites. To-date, 18 clubs have already created their websites. Having one’s own website is both fun and useful. Other clubs are encouraged to tap on Bill’s expertise.

A District goal this year is to assign to each club an electronic mail box. This would be in line with an initiative of RI President Frank Devlyn to promote the use of technology. In addition, we are planning to put up at least two billboards or chat rooms § one for news from the District Administration, and the other a ¤democracy wall¥ to encourage the free-flow of ideas.

Meanwhile, Bill is re-designing the District website to make it more efficient and user-friendly; sub-sections such as Preserve Planet Earth have already been created.

When RI President Frank Devlyn spoke to his team of Action Governors in Anaheim last February, two of the things he stressed were: public relations (PR) and media awareness; and partnering with other organizations.

A key to success is to adopt a ¤proactive¥ attitude in whatever we do. We now live in a day and age of PR such that we must simply take advantage of PR opportunities. PR goes beyond getting articles into the newspaper § it means doing anything we can to enhance the image of Rotary.

Forging ties with non-Rotary groups is high in this year’s agenda. We are in frequent dialogue with groups such as Lions, Junior Chambers and Agency for Volunteer Service, and we are constantly looking for new ideas and new co-operation opportunities.

I hope to up-date you from time to time. Remember § you are most welcome to give your ideas to these committees. They need your support and wisdom.

Continuity Column

By DGE Johnson CHU

This is the third article in a series from District Governor-elect Johnson Chu. In this article, Johnson described the process for assembling the Nomination Committee for his successor, DGN 2002-03; his view of the District Rotary Foundation Seminar held in September, and his happy experience with staff at the South East Asia Service Center which was just closed. He also urged Rotarians to support and register for the 2000 Rotary Institute to be held in Hong Kong in November.—Ed.

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

On 29th June 2000, DG John Wan sent a letter to all Action Presidents announcing that nominations were open for candidates for election to serve on the Nominating Committee for District Governor 2002-2003. Nominations closed at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th August 2000.

On examining the nomination returns received by the deadline, we found that more than one candidate was nominated for each of the nine areas. This means that we need to conduct voting through ballot-by-mail in order to select one candidate from each area for the DGN Nominating Committee.

On l6th August 2000, DG John Wan explained the position in a letter to each Action President together with an official ballot. Each club in each area is entitled to vote, whether or not the club has submitted any nomination for the DGN Nominating Committee. The number of votes a club is entitled to is based on the number of members of that club as of 1st July 2000. The ballot with its vote or votes cast together with the confirmation statement sheet must be returned to the District Governor not later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, 9th October 2000.

I am to form a Balloting Committee comprising one Past District Governor and two past presidents. The Committee will meet on Friday, 13th October 2000 to examine and count the votes. The candidate in each area with the most votes will be elected to the Nominating Committee, while the candidate with the second most votes will be the alternate, who will vote at the Nominating Committee should the first elected candidate be unavailable on the day the Nominating Committee meets.

The result of the voting will be announced to the District by District Governor John. Those nine successful candidates together with nine most recent Past District Governors who are still residing within the District, will form the Nominating Committee for District Governor 2002-2003. The Committee will meet on Friday, lst December 2000 for the selection of District Governor Nominee 2002-2003.

A District Rotary Foundation Seminar was held on Saturday, 9th September 2000. Governor John was a bit worried about attendance a few days before the seminar, but the final figure showed that there were 240 Rotarians from 43 clubs registered. The actual number of participants on the day was 188. It was a good result. I extend my hearty congratulations to DG John for the immense success of his first district function.

Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator 2000-2002, PDG Jackson Hsieh from District 3520 (Taipei) gave a detailed report on the Rotary Foundation programs and contributions received. The most exciting news was that District 3450 was the number one per capita contribution to the Rotary Foundation in 1998-1999, when Anthony Hung was Governor. Every Rotarian present was very happy to hear the news, especially yours truly. The reason is because we will have more money in our District Designated Fund allocated from the SHARE system, which will enable our District to sponsor more humanitarian and educational programs under the Rotary Foundation. Once again, I extend a big Thank You to PDG Anthony Hung for his hard work in achieving this outstanding result for himself as well as for all Rotarians of District 3450.

 Rotary International Director Gary Huang joined the Foundation Seminar towards the end of the presentation by RRFC PDG Jackson Hsieh. In his address to the Seminar, Director Gary Huang promoted the 2000 Hong Kong Rotary Institute to be held on 10 - 12 November 2000. Director Gary also said that he would bring 250-300 participants from Taiwan and asked District 3450 to match that figure. As the Zone Institute is open to all Rotarians this time, I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to every Rotarian to register for the Institute. Your participation will not only show our enthusiastic welcome to overseas Rotarians, but would also enable you to refresh and deepen your Rotary knowledge. Please take action and register now.

Until recently, Rotarians and clubs in District 3450 have been serviced by the Southeast Asia Service Center in Manila, Philippines. At the end of June, I e-mailed Mrs. Ofelia Flores, Manager of the Center, informing her that I have not received the Rotarian Magazine for more than one year. About two weeks later, I received six magazines for January 2000 to June 2000. I find that the Service Center was very efficient and providing very good service.

Between 11th September and 14th September, I communicated with the Service Center on the issue of Group Study Exchange Application Form because I did not have the form. They immediately faxed me the form and sent me the original by DHL, which I received around 11.30 a.m. on 14th September. I then sent them an e-mail confirming my receipt and thanked them for their quick response.

At 3.43 a.m. on 15th September, only seventeen hours after my last e-mail to the Service Center in Manila, I received a fax from Rotary International in Evanston, informing me that the Service Center in Manila would be closed with immediate effect.

A Vocational Service Seminar, hosted by the Rotary Club of Peninsula, will be held at their regular lunch meeting on Tuesday, 17th October 2000. On behalf of the host club, may I welcome you all to attend that meeting and to enjoy our fellowship.

Thank you.

From District Secretariat

(For more information, please call District Secretary, Administration Kenneth Chow on 9460 4888)

Objective

The objective of the District Secretariat is to enhance the effectiveness of the District and to increase the capacity of the District Governor to respond to the growing demands from clubs.

Functions

The District Secretariat is an integral part of the district leadership.  Members are expected to work with, rather than work to, the Assistant Governors to assist the District Governor to implement the District Leadership Plan.

Structure

The District Secretariat comprises -

District Secretary (Administration)

District Secretary (Committees)

District Secretary (Returns)

District Secretary (Logistics)

District Secretary (Operation)

District Secretary (Macau)

District Secretary (Finance)

District Legal Adviser

District Treasurer

District Management Committee

Members of the District Secretariat and all Assistant Governors together make up the District Management Committee which is chaired by the District Governor and meets monthly to discuss how best to implement decisions of the Governor’s Policy Committee and all administrative matters relating to the general operation of the District and clubs.

Responsibilities

Secretary (Administration) co-ordinates the work of the District Secretariat, operates a District Filing System, organizes the day to day itinerary of the District Governor and ensures that District correspondence and papers are properly kept.

Secretary (Committees) keeps minutes of the Governor’s Policy Committee, and other important meetings including but not restricted to meetings convened by the District Governor.

Secretary (Returns) calls RI and district returns from clubs and ensures that clubs submit all necessary returns punctually.

Secretary (Logistics) plans, organizes and provides logistical support for the District Governor and district officials at district events as necessary, often in conjunction with Secretary (Operations), including transport for Rotarians from Macau visiting Hong Kong on official business.

Secretary (Operations) manages major district operations, particularly those involving the District Governor and past or current RI officers, in conjunction with Secretary (Logistics) where necessary.

Secretary (Macau) deals with all secretariat functions from clubs in Macau.

Secretary (Finance) is Secretary of the District Finance Committee and will prepare the draft Budget and examines expenditure proposals before putting them to the Finance Committee.

District Legal Adviser advises on legal matters affecting the District.

District Treasurer chairs the District Accounts Committee and is a member of the District Finance Committee. He examines all accounts on District functions before passing payments.

Clubs

To better serve clubs in the District, the District Secretariat has assigned clubs in two areas to every District Secretary such that each DS will work in conjunction with two Assistant Governors as a group.  The groupings are as follows:

DS Stella Kan—AG Chiang Sao Meng (Area 1)

DS Alice Liu—AG Walter Li (Area 2) and  AG Bob Schroeder (Area 3)

DS Edmond Chan—AG James Yick (Area 4) and  AG Jones Wong (Area 5)

DS Edward Lee—AG Sam Wong (Area 6) and  AG Amy Ho (Area 7)

DS Chris Tsang—AG Peter Wong (Area 8) and AG Peter Chau (Area 9)

Semiannual Reports

We remind Club Secretaries to complete and return the Semiannual Reports (SAR) and return them to R.I. Evanston, USA together with R.I. Dues. Failure to comply with the requirement will result in suspension of the club membership.

A copy of the SAR Worksheet (page 8) must be sent to District Secretariat (Returns) Edmond Chan.

Monthly Club Membership and Attendance Reports

These report must be sent to District Secretary (Returns) Edmond Chan latest by the 20^th of the month immediate following, without exception.

Bunny’s Column

By Bunny

Technical Support

(Dedicated to e-mail buffs)

The Problem

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed that the new program began making unexpected changes to the accounting modules, limiting access to flower and jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Hot-sex 1.0 and Romance 9.9 but installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and NBA 3.0. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and House Cleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

Desperate Wife

The Reply

Dear Desperate Wife,

Keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Try to enter the command: C:/I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME and install Tears 6.2. Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications: Guilty 3.0 and Flowers 7.0. But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, Happyhour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create "Snoring Loudly" wave files. DO NOT install MotherInLaw 1.0 or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. Consider buying additional software to improve performance. I personally recommend HotFood 3.0, Lingerie 5.3 and Keep-a-nice-body 10.1.

Tech Support

Get Back Time

(Dedicated to whoever needs laughs)

Man: Where have you been all my life?

Woman: Hiding from you.

Man: Haven't I seen you someplace before?

Woman: Yes, that's why I don't go there anymore.

Man: Is this seat empty?

Woman: Yes, and this one will be if you sit down.

Man: Your place or mine?

Woman: Both. You go to yours, and I'll go to mine.

Man: So, what do you do for a living?

Woman: I'm a female impersonator.

Man: Hey baby, what's your sign?

Woman: Do not enter.

Man: How do you like your eggs in the morning?

Woman: Unfertilized.

Man: Your body is like a temple.

Woman: Sorry, there are no services today.

Man: I would go to the end of the world for you.

Woman: But would you stay there?

Man: If I could see you naked, I'd die happy.

Woman: If I saw you naked, I'd probably die laughing.

(We have been assured that most of these exchanges had actually been deployed, but we are not allowed to publish the research on their efficacy or effectiveness in order to protect those involved. Note that ¤Man¥ or ¤Woman¥ does not necessarily refer to the conventional genders.—Ed.)

Zen Moments

(Part 1)

Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me, either. Just leave me the hell alone.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it.

Sex is like air. It's not important unless you aren't getting any.

Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

No one is listening until you make a mistake.

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat & drink beer all day.

If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Don't squat with your spurs on.

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

If you drink, don't park. Accidents cause people.

Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.

(This passage was sent to the editor through the Internet from a well wisher, possibly a Rotarian. We would publish Part 2 next month.—Ed.)

Attendance Report § July 2000

Go to District Web site for the July Attendance Report

[END]