KINGSPARK NEWS

Club Number: 30119

2007-08 Rotary Year : Issue 2 : 16 July

Contents

Editorial (A Question of Leadership) - By Francis Wann
From the Charter President (Sharing) - By CP John Wan
Letters to Editor
The Board

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EDITORIAL

A Question of Leadership

It's now well into mid July but I doubt very much if President Marvin has ever conducted his first formal meeting in his official capacity.

I went to the District Installation some ten days ago and I called up PP Dominic for the details including our guest of honour etc. Indeed I asked CP John the same question and was told to search the district webpage. I did but that didn't help either.

It wasn't until we arrived at the Convention Centre then we knew more about the arrangement. I must say for such a Rotary event - probably the most visible - every decision in the organization process would affect the outcome. Many would want to know the identity of the guest of honour before they made up their minds.

Of course guests of honour aren't supposed to entertain the crowd, but it's the de facto highlight of the ceremony. Most of the time it's not what they say, but who and how. I still remember vividly during a past district installation our guest of honour from the Liaison Office did not make a speech at all.

There were various colourful banners flying everywhere and we had our sergeants-at-arms patrolling the venue. President Marvin dutifully spotted a Rotarian jacket from courtesy of Michael Eyles. Now it seems to be a case of form over content. The image of Rotary was very much in evidence within the hall. But outside, who knows?

The broadcast of DG Peter's interview was swamped by the noise there. On the table there were respectable copies of "Rotarians in Action" which summarize what we did over the past year. Hot from the press - literally. I was amazed to read the growing list of various titles, posts, and committees. The emphasis on protocol must be one thing our district has been good at. Will this book grace the coffee tables of many homes?

There are many questions we have to address ourselves as Rotarians. The long arm of Rotary International may not be able to reach our clubs and they naturally would accept and respect the authority of our DGs. PDG Peter Wan initiated his DG newsletter two years ago but the tradition seems to be losing its edge these days. Indeed at time of press our new DG Peter's first contribution was still nowhere in sight.

For the past few years, we have had the tradition of calling editorial board meetings and members were also fully aware of their titles and responsibilities. Soon I realized those were empty titles like many other Rotary titles. Outside the Rotary nomenclature, nobody cares.

Maybe I'm wrong. When Marvin reassured me the other day KingsparkNews was now put under Club Service and would be given proper recognition, I smiled.

Again, Dear President Marvin, it's now a test of your leadership.

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From the Charter President

Sharing

A few things about our new RI President - Wilfrid J Wilkinson - had particularly caught my eyes, apart from his theme for the year.

He is from Ontario, Canada, meaning that he could be like many of our Hong Kong business and professional people who had spent some time there, for various reasons. He is a retired accountant; and many of our own club members are accountants, He has been a Rotarian since 1962, and he was married to Joan since 1953, suggesting that he has tremendous staying power and commitment to Rotary and to his wife. Not many marriages last more than 20 years these days, let alone 50 years and still going strong. It must be a great feeling to be able to share one's life with another person for that long.

Of course, he speaks about sharing as the greatest attribute of Rotarians.

Anyone can share. The essence of sharing is not what is being shared, but how much of what one has is being shared. The best motivation for sharing and for practising sharing is that the more one shares, the more one has. More often than not, it is only by giving up something that one would find what one really needs.

It follows that sharing is not the exclusive domain of the haves, the rich and famous, the wise and erudite, and so on. The Bible tells of Jesus commending a poor widow's giving of a very small sum as the biggest and greatest gift; and the Bible also tells us how one should give.

Sharing requires courage, the courage to give something that others may not take, or the courage to accept rejection. In the end, it is the volition or motivation of the sharing that counts.

Spirtual sharing often exposes one's apparent weaknesses for public examination; and some would argue makes one vulnerable. But look at Paul, St Paul, in his Letters, who boasted about nothing but his own weaknesses. Indeed, it is only by sharing one's weaknesses that one can get stronger. After all, one does not need to be as strong as one thinks he needs to be to do great things. The battle is not always to the strong or the race to the fast; otherwise we would not have so many weaker brethren among us.

One needs to be sincere in sharing and one ought not expect any return from such practices. Rotary used to have a motto "He profits most who serves the best" which I suggest is a variation of why one should practise sharing.

The faithful believes that they would be rewarded manifold for their giving and sharing when practised wholesomely; and history is full of examples of how great men and women were honoured for givng and sharing their time, talents and resources selflessly, generously and unconditionally.

Leaders are expected to lead by examples and to share more of his time, talents and rsources that they do not even know they have or in control. Alas, we live in an imperfect world; and it would not make it more perfect to dwell on unreasonable expectations, particularly when we all profess ourselves to be leaders of our own respective circle, communities or profession. It is such understanding and compassion which would make the process of sharing complete. In sharing, we need to be generous and open-minded with what the other party shares with us on the one hand, and we should also be responsive and be prepared to reciprocate what the other party has shared with us on the other, no matter how little or insignificant the sharing may appear.

After all, sharing is an art and needs constant practices to perfect.

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Letters to Editor

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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The Board

President : Marvin Lai
President-Elect and Membership: Joyce Mak
Vice-President and Public Relations: Michael Eyles
Secretary : Kennedy Tsang
Treasurer : Ted Ho
Rotary Foundation : Patrick Wong
Club Administration : Edward Lau
Service Projects : Peter Lo
Sergeant-at-Arms : Alexander Kar

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