According to President Peter, Rotary Club District 3230 of India is seeking our support for  their project by a matching grant and PP Gary will take charge of  this.  IPP Bernie donated two tickets for auction for the opera Sampson & Delilah on 19th May and PP George Li won the auction with a bid of HK$500.

Today was Paul Harris Fellows presentation day.  President Peter and Sergeant-at-arms John presented Paul Harris Fellowships to members who had made the required donations.  Rtn David received his first Paul Harris Fellowship, while PP George and VP Tobias received their one stone Sapphire.  

The Leprosy Project committee had finished its meeting just before lunch.  Rtn John will give a talk to 1,100 students about the Leprosy Project.  We hope the school would be interested in this and provide us with some assistance.

President Peter had proposed his friends, Ms Jessica Li and Amy, to become our members and Rtn David is going to introduce Mr. Elmer to join us.

The Board Meeting is postponed to 3^rd June after the lunch meeting.  A charity ball will be held from 28^th to 30^th May in Beijing and the exact date and details will be circulated later.  DG Jones will visit Mongolia in June, if any members wish to join him, please contact Lillian.  The District Installation will be held on 5^th July in the Miramar Hotel and we will reserve one table.

Our Speaker today was Mr. Dominic Notario, who is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.  He is from the USA and is studying in The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).  The topic of his talk was “Life as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar”.  He mentioned his 10 most important memories of being an Ambassadorial Scholar:

1.      In order to adapt to the local environment, he has to walk uphill everyday, making him healthier than before.

2.      He experienced local cuisine, especially in the CUHK, because the meals are at very reasonable prices, and the price is equal to the quality.

3.      International understanding through cultural exchange: In the CUHK, lots of students from different countries have a chance to exchange cultures.

4.      He participated the Rotary Walkathon, which was organized by Rotary District 3450 and raised HK$4200.

5.      International Fellowship: He attended different Rotary functions and met with many Rotarians, making a lot of friends.

6.      Teaching: He had an opportunity to teach children English in mainland China.

7.      Mentoring and Leadership Development: He met his sponsor in HK and received much valuable advice.

8.      Ambassadorial of Goodwill and International Understanding: He visited the beautiful Shangri-La in Yunnan province.

9.      He went to Guizhou with the university students, meeting with local teenagers.

10.  He joined the HK Rotary Family, visiting 25 different clubs in Hong Kong.

His duty as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar will be over at the end of this month.  Although he will work in Bangkok, his ambition is to live and work in Beijing.