| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
 | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark |  | ||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
Editorial
(Fundamentally Flawed) - By Francis Wann | ||||
Fundamentally Flawed? It could have been the happiest week for everyone in the Government, or everyone who's closely related to our Government with the prospect of 280,000 visitors crossing our borders from the Mainland, and if their arithmatic is anything to go by, their visit would bring about more than $200m in business. And Hong Kong's rich and famous are still reeling their heads in the aftermath of their meeting with President Hu Jiutao who reiterated the importance of an all-out support for the Tung Government from the business sector, with Mr Li Kashing of Cheung Kong (Holdings) talking about a Hong Kong-Shenzhen industrial region made possible under Cepa. The President called it a "star-studded delegation". And indeed Hong Kong will soon be flooded with stars big and small when HarbourFest starts banging on October 17. And with $1bn earmarked for the project, apparently no star is too big to be on our list - not even the Stones, so we're told. Well Hong Kong's upbeat everywhere, and we're now firmly on the rebound, so the Goverment believes. Now that the threat of Sars has subsided, and people are prepared to go out and spend. One might just wonder, is it an illusion, or is it too good to be true? After all, who'd like to talk about our unemployment rates which stood at 8.6 per cent last month when everyone, everywhere wants a dose of sweet talking? The Government could only congratulate itself over the fall of 0.1% when the figures were released last time, which translates to about 200 people off the dole. And what about the future of the 300,000 chronically unemployed? This month is Vocational Services month on the Rotary calendar. Perhaps while our Government is relying on the stars and visitors to revive our economy, we Rotarians might give it more serious thought. | ||||
President's
Column Friends and Friendship The song "FRIENDS" sung by Alan Tam has been a hit for many years. I think the reason why it has been so popular for so long is not because of the singer or the melody, but the lyrics. I have listened to this song many times and have gone over the meaning of the lyrics. I am fully convinced that it is the lyrics that have made the song a hit those days. Talking about friends and friendship and how they can be defined, I think everyone would have their own perception or definition. It does not matter how they define them or whether they are right or wrong. Everyone would have a different point of view and based on which they would select their friends. Here, I would like to share with you my experience based on two incidents in the past. In 1972, I obtained a project from a very famous worldwide oversea toys company. We were to fit out 6 stores factories. The project included fitting-out offices, workshops, laboratories, warehouses and so on, but we had only 45 working days to complete it. Obviously, I encountered many difficulties due to these constrains. We commenced the work on 1 November, and the project need to complete on 15 December, just before Christmas, so that all the senior staff could return to their home country for their holidays. The other problem was that this company had implemented a quality policy called T.Q.M. It was a new concept to me at the time, but we had no alternative but to commit. There was an engineer Mr. Fung in-charge and he supervised the project. During that period, I received a lot of complaints from him everyday. He checked our defects, workmanship and program very strictly, and I hated his attitude. Sometimes I thought that he was the cause of the defects, and he made me very nervous. Eventually, the job was completed on time, and I did not incur any liabilities due to the penalty clause on liquidated damage. However, according to the payment terms, our final payment would only be settled after the Chinese Lunar New Year, when as usual, there would be financial difficulties and cash flow problems. I was frustrated by the many project variation orders which had taken me a lot of time for calculation and approval by the engineer and accounts department. This was normal procedure for such an international company. Faced with this problem, I had no alternative but to seek assistance from Mr. Fung direct. Five days to the Chinese New Year, I told him my situation. I was so amazed that he took my invoices there and then and walked into the accounts department requesting a cheque for me immediately. The accounting manager was reluctant to approve the payment on his personal guarantee. I was moved by his action and also because of him, our company has since become their nominated contractor until now. Two years later, he left the company, but we kept our friendship, and I have since learnt from him many professional project management skills. I began to understand why he treated me so strictly and rigidly before. In a way, he had helped to drive me to success. After ten years, I applied the same mentality to my sub-contractor Mr. Ho. I received an open recognition from him at his wedding party in front of his guests. The party was held in a 5-star hotel. He said, "Without Mr. Lo's advice, teaching, complaints, criticism, scolding and so on, I could not have tonight's party." He held my hands on stage and invited their parents to present me a token of appreciation. I will never forget this memorable moment. This experience reminds me to tell the facts and the truth at all times and never wear a mask. Between person to person, character is important, but putting that into practice is an art. I love our club because we have many friends. They are my mentors, and not simply acquintances for passing time. | ||||
President-elect's
Column New Generations Month On the Rotary calendar, September is New Generations Month. Although there is no doubt that our Club has organized or has been involved in many youth-related programs, let me briefly tell you what we are doing for our next generations at the moment. After a thorough consideration of our Club's resources, our Board of Directors have decided to establish a new Interact Club with St. Benedict Secondary School with which we carried out our Vocational Seminar last year. Interact is a Rotary program and provides a forum for secondary school students between the age of 14 to 18 to work together in fellowship dedicated to services and international understanding. Our Club has already promoted the ideal of service through two Interact Clubs with Wah Yan College and Wah Yan Kowloon. With PP Tom, VP Dominic and Rtn. Michael Au as advisors of our new Interact Club, we are extending our services to our new partner. Another new program is related to our Rotaract Club, which comprises community-minded Rotaractors aged between 18 to 30. Being energetic and committed to the Rotary ideal of service, they are going to organize the "Big Brother Big Sister" (BBBS) program hand-in-hand with us to offer counselling services and support to those youngsters in need. Pioneer to target at the students of St. Benedict Secondary School, we are now working on the details of the program with the Principal and hope to roll the program out as soon as possible. We are also encouraged to identify the socially and economically disadvantaged youths aged between 17 to 25 with leadership potential and invite them to participate in RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award). Billed as one of the most significant services programs of Rotary that provide intensive leadership training, it has enabled thousands of young people to take part in the program world-wide every year. To know more about the program, please visit the Rotary web-site to find out the details. Our strength is not limited to the local community services. On the international front, we are working with our sister club, the Rotary Club of Sathorn, and are studying the feasibility of 3 Matching Grant projects: "Treasure of Knowledge" related to the building of 5 libraries, "Water for the Thirsty & Clothes for Whom Wear Rags" that aims to purchase water purifiers & clothes and "Music for Life" which teaches kids a music instrument. With all three projects related to our next generations, we are expanding our services in an international perspective. This month, let us focus on the programs that support the development of our next generation. If we believe that they are our future leaders, we should Lend A Hand in moulding them to take up the future challenges. | ||||
By Joseph Chan (Joseph Chan is our Review Editor.) A salesperson of a fire-fighting equipment company visited my company a week ago. She gave us a brief talk on fire risks at home, in the office and other places with a view to convincing us the need to buy her products. Although her sales technique was average at best, most of my colleagues spent more than a thousand dollars each to buy the fire-fighting equipment she recommended. The reason is simple: despite our disapproval of her "hard-sell" presentation, there is a genuine need for us to do something to mitigate fire risks. Fire at home is usually caused by children and the elderly. Apart from that, malfunctioning of electrical appliances and cigarette smoking are the other two major causes of fire. Fire caused by neighbours, due to negligence or suicides, has made news headlines recently. Hence, even if we have already taken many safety precaution measures at our own places, the risks are still there. I therefore think that it is necessary for us to have a fire extinguisher at home in case there is any accident. The one I bought from the salesperson costs less than $400. it has a useful life of 5 years, but it can only be used once. The contents are in powder form and it is easy to operate. It does not take up too much space for it is only the size of a vacuum flask, or no taller than 12 inches. If we make good use of the fire extinguisher, it may save the lives of our family members and neighbours by preventing a small fire from turning to a big one. Firefighting may be the job of firemen, but it is certainly sensible to do something before a fire spreads to a bigger area and threatens more lives. You can buy fire extinguishers in those shops specializing in firefighting equipment located in Mongkok and Wanchai. It is advisable to purchase those recommended by the Fire Services Department. The shopkeepers should be able to advice you on this. When a fire breaks out, a major cause of casualties and injuries is smoke. Smoke not only causes suffocation and hence problems for people in their escape, it also generates poisonous particles which are fatal. To avoid being suffocated by smoke during their escape from fire, some people have used a wet towel or clothes to cover their nose and mouth. It will definitely be useful if we wear goggles as the smoke is very irritating to the eyes. Wet towels and goggles do help, but are there other better means to protect ourselves while running away from a fire? While crying for help from the Superman would be dramatic and romantic, acquiring a smoke escape mask in advance, on the other hand, would be more realistic. The salesperson I mentioned has actually shown us one. It looks like a transparent plastic bag with a special design that makes use of activated charcoal as a filter near the nose and mouth. It can help one breathe better within some 20 minutes during the escape from a fire and smoke. It can be used by people of all ages and is easy to wear. Besides, it is easy to carry with its light weight and pocket size. Apart from keeping a few at home and in the office, it is also advisable to bring it along with you during overseas trips since the major cause of death in a hotel fire is smoke. The mask is available at Watsons. The salesperson said that this mask is also recommended by the Fire Services Department. The last point I would like to make is that it is advisable to put the fire extinguisher and smoke escape masks further away from possible sources of fire. For example, don't put them in the kitchen or near major electrical appliances. This is because the heat emitted from them could often damage these equipment. Besides, if the fire does occur there, it may be too dangerous to get to them. Stay safe. | ||||
From
the Interactors Report
on AGM Date:
25th September 2003 (Thursday) The aim of this AGM is mainly to let our members know what kind of functions we are going to hold during the first term. We had informed our fellow students about our 1st AGM three days prior to the meeting and also on the following two days and finally, 47 students, including our 24 committee members, attended. We had also posted notices of the meeting on all classroom bulletin board to promote our meeting. This year, we have recruited 130 members from Form 2 to Form 7 with a membership fee of $10 for each student. In order to attract more students to join our club, we have formed an alliance with the Drama Society and Sports Association of our school to offer discounts on membership fee for students. We offered a 20-percent discount for students who join two of our alliance clubs. If one joins all three clubs, we would offer a discount of 40-percent. Here is the rundown of our 1st AGM - 1.
Introduction of the Rotarian Guests: Mr. Peter Lo, President of the Rotary Club
of Kingspark Hong Kong; Mr. Dominic Ko, Vice-President and our Interact Advisor;
Mr. Thomas Chan, President Elect; and Mr. Michael Au, our Interact Advisor. | ||||
Vocational Service October is Vocational Service Month. It is customary for clubs and districts worldwide to plan special activities this month to promote the vocational avenue of service. Vocational Service is the Second Avenue of Service, the First being Club Service, the Third Community and the Fourth International, thus making up the Four Avenues of Service referred to so frequently in Rotary parlance as the four respective elements of the Object of Rotary. Past RI President Cliff Dochterman wrote in his ABCs of Rotary that Vocational Service is fundamental to every Rotary club, for it is the banner by which Rotarians recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations and demonstrate a commitment to high ethical standards in all businesses and professions. We have a Declaration for Rotarians in Business and Profession with eight items. I commend every Rotarians to read the Declaration from time to time and to live up to its contents in their public and private avocation. I found the Declaration so important and relevant that I had it printed in a form for framing and display and circulated to all members when I was club president for the first time; I had it framed and displayed in my office and encouraged my fellow members to do the same, threatening to find out whether they had done so through visits; I had it printed in the district pocket planner when I was governor and I am glad that my successors have all done the same. Over the years I have heard clubs and Rotarians say that it was difficult to organize Vocational Service projects and every time I would refer them to this wonderful Declaration and invite them to study it carefully. I invite you to do the same now and specifically, I invite you to find time to re-read the Declaration sometime this month, or better still, to have it read out during a club meeting. | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response fro the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Peter Lo | ||||
| Return to Contents | ||||
| Send
a message to Chief Editor Francis Wann 2003 Issues, Back Issues, Home | ||||