| 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
(Club Leadership) - By Francis Wann | ||||
District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||||
|
Club Leadership
After the formalities, CP John came to the fray with a reminder that would have left all of us embarrassed. It was indeed a reminder of an earlier reminder he wrote in the last edition of Kingspark News. The fact that we managed to meet the minimum requirements set out by Rotary International in our contribution to the Rotary Foundation was not exactly anything to be proud of as the donation was made by no more than three members. Put it bluntly, over ninety percent of our members haven't contributed anything for the whole year. That must be something worrying for the leadship which is also faced with the daunting tasks of collecting membership dues and other receiveables. Club Services Director gave us a comprehensive plan of club activities and it's basically fellowship. Fellowship is understandably an integral part of the Rotary spirit and the trouble with our club, as some members saids, was not enough fellowship gatherings. But while fellowship is important, it should not be confused with our prime objective - service - which is what we vow to offer. Vocational Services Director Feroz's plan to include visits to Government Departments was immediately challenged as irrelevant. Yes, why are we doing something the school might accomplish without our involvement. As John put it, the nature of our vocational service is to utilise our members' own specific professional expertise to broaden the view of the youngsters. Then the question of meeting venue came up and, as usual, there was no consensus. President Thomas suggested gathering members' views via email, temperorily forgetting his role as chairman. Another member suggested doing a survey on the spot, claiming at least this could offer some direction for the leadership. It was nothing short of pandemonium and certainly not very businesslike, to say the least. I couldn't help smiling with amazement at the situation we've got ourselves into. I remember when I was at IPP Peter's Board meeting exactly a year ago, they also had a lot of discussion, and the discussion just dragged on and on. It's the kind of business which shouldn't have taken us so much time, and perhaps it should not go on the agenda in the first place. What is the whole purpose of the Board of Directors if every issue is brought back to the meeting for consideration? If we think our leadership is not capable of making a sensible decision, why did we elect them to office? Then the matter of membership and retention came up. IPP Peter explained if we penalised members who were relocated to the mainland and were therefore unable to attend meetings, we risked losing at least a dozen members. It was a hard decision, but one which had to be made, and the sooner the better. As PP Edward put it rightly, why (do we) not just wake up to the fact that we only have 24 members, and start with it. That seems to be the most sensible comment that afternoon. We expect our club leadership would seriously look into the matter, and inform members of their decisions. One spin-off, according to PP Ted Ho, would be that althougt membership would suffer, membership attendance rate would inevitably go up - if we believe in the numbers game. | ||||
President's
Column A Busy Fortnight
Following this philosophy, I attended three Rotary functions: the Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference, InterCity Meeting - Foundation Night and Hong Kong International Model United Nations (HKIMUN). I was not lonely because I was joined by a lot of members. In this regard, I would like to express my gratitude to those members as their presence has demonstrated the spirit of Rotary. Let me briefly introduce these programs. (1) The Rotaract Conference was organized by our Rotaractors for Rotaractors and Rotarians to enable them to enjoy each other's fellowship and to discuss areas of mutual interest and networking opportunities for future service projects. The plenary sessions speakers were very experienced Rotarians including three past and present RI directors, John Eberhard from Canada, Alfredo Pretoni from Brazil, John Thorne from Australia, and PDG & RI Rotaract Committee Chairman Philly N. Karani from India plus other District Rotaract Chairs and District Rotaract Representatives. (2) During the InterCity Meeting - Foundation Night, our Past RI Director and Past Foundation Trustee Jose Alfredo Pretoni delivered a keynote speech about the Rotary Foundation while RI Director John Eberhard recognized Major Donors. (3) As regards HKIMUN, it was jointly organized by our Club and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, co-organized by Rotaract Club of Victoria and Rotaract Club of Kwai Chung. It is an authentic simulation of the United Nations General Assembly, which catapults secondary school students into the world of diplomacy and negotiation. The students, better known as "delegates" in MUN, prepared their position papers, drafted resolutions, plotted strategy, negotiated with supporters and adversaries, resolved conflicts, and navigated the United Nations' rules of procedure - all in the interest of mobilizing "international cooperation" to resolve problems that affect almost every country on Earth. Talking about the Rotary Foundation, it is essential for all of us to contribute because our contributions will enable the Rotary Foundation to fund projects and programs which improve and invigorate the lives of people around the world. In brief, it involves Polio Plus Grants, PolioPlus Partners Grants, Humanitarian Grants Program, Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants, 3-H Planning Grants, Matching Grants, District Simplified Grants, Individual Grants and Educational Programs such as Ambassadorial Scholarships, Rotary Grants for University Teachers, Rotary Centers for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolutions and Group Study Exchange (GSE). As it is difficult for us or any single club to participate in all the above programs, I would encourage you to donate to the Rotary Foundation generously because your contributions will make our world a better place in which to live. Let's do it hand in hand to build a better future. | ||||
|
The Last Enemy
Now, the Catholic Church has held that the Blessed Virgin Mary was raised into heaven, body and soul, which meant that Mary conquered death, which is the rason why the Catholic Church has encouraged faithfuls always to pray to Holy Mary, Mother of God, especially at the hour of our death. Death is certainly something any person would consider an aweful subject. Even the very faithful would harbour some fears about death, which is why the Church encourages people to pray for the courage to face death. On the other hand, few would disagree that, to the just and virtuous man, death has no terrors equal to the stain of falsehood and dishonour. Readers who had read the article by Steven Knipp published in South China Morning Post yesterday (14 August) would not fail to notice the noble qualities of one ethnic Chinese lady - Betty Ong - whose single-minded action had inspired America in the last minutes of her life, "amid scenes of horror and bloodshed on the first plane involved in the terrorist attacks of 9/11." This lady had calmly relayed details of the hijackers such that their identities were unveiled to the FBI even before the first plane crashed into the first twin towers. Throughout the 23-minute conversation, Betty Ong displayed impeccable courage, selflessness and professionalism. She did not panic nor ask for personal help. Her message was "Pray for us" rather than "Pray for me." She has met her last enemy as a just and virtuous person indeed. The priest giving the homily at the Mass I attended today also talked of a WWII combat pilot who wrote a book entitled "The Last Enemy" during his hospitalization from injuries substained in a dogfight with a German pilot. He met his last enemy when he flew again after he left the hospital. There must be many stories on life and death, real stories which project how men and women over the ages have faced their last enemies in manners that would do the human race proud. It would reduce the other enemies one meets day to day to trivialities and begets the question of why one finds it so hard to forgive one's enemies, in particular those who hurt or reject one. The scripture reading last Thursday (12 August) indeed was about Peter asking Jesus whether it would suffice to forgive people who hurt or reject us seven times as if seven times would be very generous and virtuous. In reply Jesus said, "No. Rather seventy times seven times!" which means indefinitely, or for as long as we live. I pause to reflect on how many Rotarians or members of Rotary clubs have left Rotary because they find it hard to forgive another individual or individuals in the course of the latter's handling of matters related to the club or district. The numbers could be phenomenal, which I suggest is something we all should think about in this Rotary's Membership and Extension Month. | ||||
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
: Thomas Chan | ||||
| Return to Contents | ||||
| Send
a message to Chief Editor Francis Wann 2004 Issues, Back Issues, Home | ||||