Serving as acting president for the second time, VP Rudy initiated today's meeting by inviting Rotarian Andrew II to introduce our visiting Rotarians and guests: PP Tony Wong of Happy Valley, PP Peter Tse of Tsimshatsui East, PP Veronica DeKrey of Hong Kong Harbour, Rotary Scholars Pia Schmeckenbecher and Philipp Frey of Happy Valley (Hong Kong)/Worms (Germany) and our special guest Miriam Young.

In response to the concern of low attendance due to SARS, PP John Kwok was able to convince Excelsior to reduce the minimum attendance rate to 15. Furthermore, because of Rotarian Kishu's efforts, members should expect Excelsior to offer a set of new and exciting luncheon menus soon.

Sergeant-at-arms Rotarian Andy announced that $1,400 had been collected for our red box. Pia Schmeckenbecher and Philipp Frey took the rostrum after a brief introduction by PP John.
Pia and Philipp are visiting Rotary scholars from the University of Applied Sciences, Ludwighafen, in Germany. Having spent a semester of language study in China, they are currently attending the University of Hong Kong..
Pia is from Heidelberg, a city with 140,000 inhabitants. Heidelberg was first mentioned by historians in 1196. As Germany's oldest university town, Heidelberg boasts 28,000 university students and many university clinics and R&D centers in medicine. German Cancer Research Center, IBM Europe Research Center, European Laboratory for Molecular Biology and Research Institutes for Astronomy and Physics are among the world-famous institutes there. Many well-known companies such as Lamy (pens), Heidelberger Druckmaschinen (printing machines), and Springer Verlag (publishing house) also established their headquarters in Heidelberg. The unemployment rate in Heidelberg is 9% and average disposable income is around 116,000 HKD per annum.

Unscathed in WWII, the old city of Heidelberg is one of the best preserved in Germany. Today tourism is an important sector in Heidelberg. Some well-known sightseeing spots include:

· Heidelberg Castle - Built as a fortress by Prince Elector Ruprecht III in the beginning of the 15th century. It was turned into a castle in the 16th and 17th century. It was destroyed and rebuilt after several wars, but a big fire in 1764 left it as a ruin. Ironically, the castle became really famous as a ruin in the 19th century. Today some 500,000 tourists come to visit each year.
· The "Big Barrel" - 8.5m long and 7m high, the big barrel is in fact the biggest wooden barrel ever to have been filled with wine. The barrel was constructed 250 years ago and can hold over 220,000 liters of wine!
· Student's prison - students were once imprisoned there for minor transgressions, e.g. disturbance of peace after heavy drinking or participating in dueling.

Philipp is from the city of Mannheim with a population of 324,000. Mannhiem's history dated back in 766 when it was only a settlement. By 1566 Mannheim was developed into one of the largest villages and in 1607 granted a city status. In WWII, Mannheim was the target of over 150 air raids. During the night from the 5th to the 6th of September, 1943, Mannheim experienced its most devastating air raid: 6,000 building were destroyed. More than a quarter of the population was homeless and 414 people
perished that night.

Today Mannheim, the second largest City in the Federal State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, is a city of science, art and culture. This lively city with more than 1200 years of history has many sights worth seeing (e.g. the scenic Bergstrasse (Mountain Street) to the east and the fabulous Weinstrasse (Wine Street) to the West.)

There is a long history of Rotary Club in Germany. First club in Germany was founded in 1927. Today, Rotary in Germany has 14 districts and 824 clubs with over 40,000 Rotarians. Polio plus campaign, youth exchange and dyslexia prevention are some of projects Rotarians in Germany are focusing on. Rotary Club of Worms, with which Pia and Philipp are affiliated, is 45 years old and it's well-known for its special foundation for young people with excellent artistic or scientific talents.

While attending classes at the University of Hong Kong, Pia and Philipp are actively taking part in the various cultural exchange activities (e.g. German night) offered by the University. They are also active in Rotary related functions. They participated in the District Conference in Macau, attended District Vocational Seminar and met many fellow Rotary scholars. When asked about their experiences in Hong Kong, they spoke of long opening hours of shops and supermarkets, friendly Rotarians and a very international campus with people from all over the world.

Pia and Philipp plan to return to Germany to complete their degree in East Asia Marketing Management at Ludwigshafen this summer.

VP Rudy ended the meeting with a toast to Rotary Club of Worms in Germany.

 

While observing Rotary Magazine Month in April, it is essential to brief all members something about the official magazine known as The Rotarian. This publication is being sent to you by mail every month for your leisure reading. Our club can also send the editor any articles which we may think appropriate, such as community service projects or major donors of our club, etc. to be published in the magazine.

The first issue of The National Rotarian was published in January 1911. This 12-page tabloid was considered the best way to distribute an essay written by Rotary founder Paul Harris. The essay was titled, "Rational Rotarianism" About 2000 copies were produced by printer Harry Ruggles, one of the first members of the Rotary Club of Chicago. Soon the issue went back to press for another 2000 copies.

The second issue appeared in July 1911. It contained a "President's Corner," news from the clubs. Soon after, the magazine started its monthly publication schedule.

In 1912, by action of the R.I. Convention, the name of the magazine was changed to "The Rotarian." The first editor of the magazine was Chesley R. Perry, the first secretary of R.I. while the existing editor-in-chief is Vince Aversano.

Seventeen Nobel Prize winners and 19 Pulitzer Prize winners have written for the magazine plus a list of eminent contributors, such as Jimmy Carter. Most Rotarians read the magazine from the humour page which is called "Stripped Gear" contributed by Rotarians throughout the world.

Each month, about 500,000 copies of the magazine are printed and mailed to subscribers in about 199 countries and geographical regions where there are Rotary clubs, including the new provisional clubs in China and the new Rotary club of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Copies are shipped to subscribers in two countries where there are no clubs (Saudi Arabia and Vietnam). An edition of the magazine printed in New Delhi, India, is mailed to about 14,000 Rotarians in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Non English speaking Rotarians can subscribe to the official Regional magazines as mentioned in our last week bulletin.

"The Rotarian" is a worthwhile reading magazine and secondly, you have paid for it, so please read it.

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An airplane was about to crash; there were 5 passengers on board but only 4 parachutes.

The 1st passenger said, "I am Kobe Bryant, the best NBA basketball player, the Lakers need me, I can't afford to die." So he took the 1st pack and left the plane.

The 2nd passenger, Hillary Clinton ! said, " I am the wife of the former US President, a NY State Senator and a potential future president." So she took the 2nd pack and jumped out of the plane.

The 3rd passenger, George W. Bush, said, "I'm the president of the United States of America. I have great responsibility being the leader of a super-power nation and I am the cleverest president in American history, so America's people won't let me die." So he grabbed the pack next to
him and jumped out of the plane.

The 4th passenger, the Pope, said to the 5th passenger, a 10 year old schoolgirl, "I am old and frail and don't have many years left, and as a Catholic! I will sacrifice my life and let you have the last parachute."

The girl said, "it's okay, there is a parachute left for you. America's cleverest president has taken my schoolbag."

Our two speakers for today was Ms. Pia Schmeckenbecher who gave us a talk on her studies as a Rotary Scholar from Worms, Germany sponsored by the Rotary of HappyValley.	And our second speaker was Mr. Philip Frey also a Rotary Scholar sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour

At our left head table were seated PDG Uncle Peter, Ms.Pia & Acting President VP Rudy.	At the right head table were seated Hon. Sec Eddy, Philip Frey, & PP Veronica of Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour.

Our meeting was conducted by Acting Pres. Rudy who did a great job for the second time.	Rotary Information was again given by PDG Uncle Peter.

Rtn. Heron & PP Stephen are looking very pleased sitting next to the charming Miriam our former Club Sec who paid us a visit. Across the table were also seated Rtn Andrew II, Dr. Stephen Chow (with the mask) & PP Hubert all enjoying the meeting.

( L to R) PP Peter Tse (TSTE), VPE Robert, Rtn Alex & PP John IV all very happy enjoying the meeting.

(L to R) Rtn Danny, PE Henry (again resting for his next year), Dirs. Jason & Laurence (half masked man).

Group Photo of our visitors & guest speakers pictured with PDG Uncle Peter & Acting Pres. Rudy with PP Veronica & PP Tony Wong (Happy Valley) on 16th April, 2003.