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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2005-06 Rotary Year : Issue 13 : 4 January | ||
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is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(Another Year) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Another Year
Only a week ago, I was at the St John's Cathedral for the MIdnight Mass. Revd John Roundill in his sermon talked about the perception of distance as a metaphor. He also reminded us of what happened last Christmas when tens of thousands of people were killed in the Asian tsunami, and that many are still suffering in silence when the media have left the scenes. In their Christmas messages, our church leaders said we should uphold justice and peace. Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen said Hong Kong was in "dire need" of peace because many people were tempted by greed. He urged the public to keep to and live by the truth of univerdal brotherhood "Not jsut giving alms, like scraps from the table, but letting everyone sit at the table and share the fruit of the common effort." And Archbishop Peter Kwong also warned us of the danger of human greed and urged us to turn back from selfishness and address the widening gap between rich and poor. "No wonder people are unhappy because they find it hard to contribute and make full use of their talents..." Yes there are all timely reminders of humanity, regardless of our denominations. You don't have to be a Christian or Rotarian to contribute to a worthy cause. We remember the tsunami, the September 11 attack, Katrina, New Orleans, the earthquakes in Pakistan and India, and the London bombing. These disasters have caused death and destruction on an unprecedented scale, and one wonders if humanity have turned its back on itself. So would there be anything left to celebrate? In his new year message, Pope Benedict stressed the importance of a family based on marriage in the life of church and of society, and referred to the late John Paul II who reiterated it many times, that a crisis within the family comes at the grave detriment of our civilization. It's coincidental that our last speaker this year Patricia Chu of HKU's family Institute talked about the importance of family values which gave us plenty of food for thought. As the new year revellers begin to leave, it's perhaps also time for all of us to reflect on another year of trial and turbulation. As the Queen said in her New Year message, "The world is not always an easy or safe place to live, but it's the only place we have..." Happy new year. | ||
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President's
Column
We had a very successful Christmas party on 17th December, 2005. Thanks to PP Edward and his organizing committee. If there were no protests against the WTO and no traffic chaos we should have all our members, who were in Hong Kong, showing up in our Christmas party and a lot more guests. However, we still have the attendance of more than 110. The Christmas party has continued to be a family reunion for our current and old members, our Rotaractors, Interactors and potential members. PP Peter, IPP Thomas, Kennedy Tsang and I have sponsored the participation of 3 Interactors and 6 students and a teacher of Valtorta College in our Christmas party. After the party PP Peter told us that the teacher and the students of Valtorta College are interested to organize an Interact Club in their school and this shows our enthusiasm in our work for the young generation has always invited interests in Rotary and respects from the community. Certainly, we will arrange a follow up for the school. The party was casual, joyful, a good time for fellowship and a good opportunity for children performances. It has become a very good tradition for Kingspark. We held our Annual General Meeting successfully on 22nd December, 2005. We have elected Patrick Wong to be our President for 2006-07. PE Patrick was inducted a few months after our club was chartered in May 1994 and his classification is Banking - Wealth Management. He has worked for many posts in the Board and has been a Rotaract advisor for many years. Our IPP of our Rotaract Club of Kingspark HK, Virginia Seung, said he is one of the best Rotaract advisors whom she has met. We have confidence in him and I am sure all our members will give him our full support. Right after our AGM we had our club assembly. PP Peter was happy to tell everyone about how the teacher and students of Valtorta College of Tai Po had indicated their interests in Interact. We have sponsored 3 Interact Clubs and we are given the challenge for the 4th one. We have seen our Interactors from Wah Yan College, HK becoming President and officers of Rotaract Clubs and IPDG Alexander proposed the Interact advisors to build up some contacts with the old Interactors. He also proposed to collect the contacts for the outgoing Interact graduates of every year for the reference of the Rotaract Clubs in the Universities for their membership. | ||
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Not
from the Webmaster The Christmas Party By PP Edward Lau
Notwithstanding the riots near the Convention Centre that evening which brought complete chaos to Hong Kong, we had a near capacity crowd of 106 people for our Christmas Party held at the Miramar Hotel. This year we truly CELEBRATE THE ROTARY FAMILY with fellow Rotarians and their families, Rotaractors, Interactors, former Kingsparicans, teacher and students from our YDC School-Company Partnership, Youth Exchange student from South Africa and friends. PDG Raymond, AG Albert and his rotarianne, and our past member DDS Rainbow also joined us for the fun and fellowship. As usual, the Party was co-organized with our Rotaract Club and, once again, they were excellent partners. Thanks to Rosenna, Clarance, Iris, and President Vivian. The highlight of the evening must be the performances by our Rotarians' children, the Rotaractors, the Interactors, the YDC School team, and the South Africa exchange student. It was wonderful seeing the children perform - whether it's singing, playing musical instrument, recital, or telling stories - and they were not only not shy at all but quite professional. Very impressive indeed! PE Patrick's three children started the show, followed by President Dominic's Vincent, VP Sunny's daughters, Spark's daughter who came back for a second performance later on, Raymond Lam's son, and so on. I believe I got everybody but, with so many things happening at the same time, I may have missed someone. The entire group of 17 Rotaractors then gave a wonderful cabaret performance which was followed by a rousing karaoke performance by the 6 Interactors from our 3 Interact Schools. The YDC Students sang a couple of Christmas songs and then one of the students gave a short talk on "The things that should be done in life" which turned out to be a rather unusual story about writing letters to his secret admirer. Palesa, the South African exchange student, talked about life at home and comparisons with Hong Kong. Some interesting tidbits: Michael Eyles, Feroz and Francis all missed the party due to traffic. Our former member Terry Yeung once again extended an invitation for us to visit his home in Fanling which was duly accepted and we will be having a fellowship BBQ at his home on 14th January. Thanks Terry! I must also report that official business was conducted that evening as well as both The Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong and The Rotaract Club of Kingspark Hong Kong held their regular meeting and general meeting respectively. In light of the festive spirits, CP John gave one of his shortest presentations on Rotary Information. Bravo CP John! Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow committee members including President Dominic, PE Patrick, Joyce, Kennedy and the Rotaractors as mentioned above for a job well done. As MCs, Kennedy and Iris deserve an extra mention for keeping the party flowing smoothly. Also thanks to everybody for showing up and having a good time. See you all next year! | ||
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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 from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Dominic Ko | ||
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