District Governor 2000-2001

Continuity

And the world would be better for this

(June 2000 Issue)

I would like to begin with what I said at the start of my main speech last District Assembly. I said, “The Object of Rotary has not changed in the last 95 years. Great things never changed: the northern star, the centre of gravity, motherhood, love of God, friendship and so on. It is the conviction that Mother Nature would not change that has encouraged ages of men and women to continue their search for knowledge, the secrets of Nature, the principles of intellectual truth, and above all, the knowledge of oneself. Similarly, it is the unchanging desire to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a worthy enterprise that has spurred generations of Rotarians in search of the best methods and processes through which they can put more Rotary into Rotarians, thereby enabling Rotary to be more relevant and useful to Mankind.”

My friends, this is how I interpret Rotary, and this is what I expect of every club and Rotarian in the District, in Hong Kong, Macau or Mongolia: to put more Rotary into Rotarians, to be relevant, and to make the world a better place in which to live, for ourselves, but more importantly, for those who need our service.

Doing good has never been easy; and the road to godliness has never been straightforward. Take cleanliness, for example, which Dickens said is next to godliness, the welfare, livelihood and health of countless poor children could be enhanced by quanta and their misery appreciably alleviated, if only each child is given access to clean water and a small bar of soap. Many Rotary clubs in Asia have been working on clean water projects and have made good progress, but there is still so much, so much more to be done.

I told you before and some of you would recall the video in which Frank Devlyn warned us that our journey with him next year would surprise us, delight us, challenge us, and even exhaust us, but above all, change us. This will be the challenge ahead, and may I add, not only for the next 12 months, but also for the rest of the lives of those who have Rotary in them. This is the Continuity I have been talking about for the last year.

Frank Devlyn has urged us to be proactive. Yes, we must be proactive. We must be proactive with membership development and extension; we must be proactive in improving Rotary’s public image, our image in the community; and we must be proactive in the use of latest information technology and the Internet.

My response is summarized in the District Goals I presented at the District Assembly. Once again, these goals are not ends in themselves. Rather, they are means to achieve Rotary’s objectives, which are to develop effective clubs and to promote Rotary. Accordingly, we are planning to increase our membership number to 2001 by mid 2001, but without forsaking the high and consistent standards and quality in the membership. We are planning to provide more Rotary training so as to prepare our members to take up leadership roles beyond the club level. We are planning to encourage every member to contribute towards the Rotary Foundation. Above all, we are planning to be relevant in our community, by taking their problems head on and taking action together with them and our partners in service.

I quoted Dr. Martin Luther King at the District Assembly. Let me quote again, “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand at times of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.” Our incoming Action Presidents and Team Members will not be unaware of the challenge that lies ahead. Frank Devlyn has challenged us to create awareness and take action. He has warned us that it won’t be easy. He likens it to the mission of Don Quixote seeking his impossible dream, except that Don Quixote was a man without vision. Don Quixote was not a Rotarian. Our Action Team members will be Don Quixotes with a mission to create awareness and to take action in our club, in our community and in our world, and the world would be better for this.

District Governor 2000-2001

“Anybody recognize this club?”

This was the question posed by an experienced but exacerbated Rotarian when he was confused by the decisions of the club leadership over club administration and other matters. He went on to explain, “In my days, I would get at least five calls in the afternoon if I failed to turn up at my club meeting without first telling the president or another member. Now, nobody seems to care whether I turn up at all and nobody from the club called me in the last three weeks I was unable to attend club meetings. It seems that the worst has yet to come judging from the letter the board has just served this dedicated past president. The board has threatened to remove him from the club register if he cannot offer a satisfactory explanation for his failure to turn up at the past four meetings.”

Déjà vu indeed. It is not inconceivable from a distance that neither the board nor the experienced Rotarian was entirely right or wrong. Paul Harris had said, “There are no great fundamental differences between men and between nations. None are entirely good, none entirely bad. The great mischief-maker is misunderstanding.” Paul Harris had also called for tolerance between members, describing the quality as the single most important for Rotary and between Rotarians.

I urge you to revisit the June message from President Frank. He recalled the five presidential conferences he had presided in Mexico City, Miami, Cape Town, Manila and Vienna that had focused on a range of issues, from urban concerns to membership. He had seen first-hand how hard these proactive Rotarians had worked to accomplish the many goals they set for themselves. He then urged all Rotarians to join him in supporting his successor Rick King to accomplish the four challenges for the next year, namely, to grow our membership, enhance Rotary’s public image, ensure that all Rotarians are excited about Rotary by being better informed, and ensure that every club is ready, willing and able to embrace service projects Rotary need to complete.

Even in the eleventh hour of his term, President Frank has asked his district governors and club presidents to redouble efforts in membership growth and membership development.

Closer to home, it certainly has been an eventful year. There was not one day in the past 18 months and probably longer, not one day on which Rotary in general and this District in particular was not on my mind. At first, I thought that Rotary had kept me awake or asleep, Rotary had kept me going, or that Rotary had fueled my imagination. Later I realized and now I am fully convinced that it is you, all of you, who had been responsible. Indeed, Rotary would be meaningless without the people in it. You are Rotary in District 3450. Collectively, you have made Rotary meaningful and I am happy to be part of you.

At the District Installation last June, I said that I was accepting the office of District Governor with humility. As time goes by, the feeling becomes all the more intense, and a year later, I am thoroughly and completely humbled by the experience and the privileges of having had the experience. I have seen dedicated men and women at work. Most of them have worked quietly on projects that would benefit humanity in general and the underprivileged in particular. I have seen presidents standing staunchly by their principle and spending hours, days and months taking their clubs through thick and thin. Indeed, there are many unsung heroes among you and your members.

Some of you have achieved more than others, but that is not an issue. We are volunteers. We have volunteered to serve our fellow human beings, for better or for worse. As long as we have tried our best, the results do not matter. Just as the race is not always to the fast and the battle to the strong, the arguments are not always to the right and the righteous. But don’t lose heart. Don’t ever lose heart. You are not here for the laurels and recognition. You are here for the extra opportunities to serve. Your mission surely must be to motivate more service minded individuals to join our organization, people who believe in what we believe, even in the face of temporary setbacks.

To my Action Presidents, don’t ever even begin to think that your work has finished. No, I have made this point before and let me say for the record that Rotarians never retire. You are now to assist your successors, the presidents-elect to become even more effective presidents. Indeed, you would not be regarded as having done your full and complete duty as Action Presidents if he or she fails to deliver a better year ahead. We need progress in the organization. Your role is to ensure that the Rotary wheel will continue to roll forward.
To Governor-elect Johnson, I pledge my full support under the leadership we can certainly all expect from him. I expect Johnson to build on the success of the past and take the District to greater heights, and I would support him in all his endeavours towards this end. I am convinced that we would have a better tomorrow for the District. I have enjoyed and benefited from the support he has given me during the year, and he can expect and indeed demand the same from you and me. This is what continuity is all about.
To the Presidents-elect, I congratulate you for embarking on this next stage of your journey in Rotary. The prospects are good. Our leader for 2001-02, Johnson Chu, is a good guy and deserves every bit of your support. Give him your best. More importantly, you should feel assured that support from your predecessors is considered given.

Let me conclude by thanking all of you. There is no way Rosita and I could have survived the year without the love and support that you have showered upon us so generously and selflessly. As long as this spirit of understanding prevails and as long as there is a willingness to tolerate each other’s difference, everyone will recognize that we are Rotarians. Thank you.

District Governor 2000-2001

Continuity

Is there a beginning or an end?

(May 2000 Issue)

In the past months, many friends and well-wishers have asked me whether I would become increasingly busier as July 2000 came closer. My reply invariably was that I should be, adding that Rotarians are always busy.

Yes, Rotarians are always busy. Many business and professional leaders in Rotary have for many years worked tirelessly with endless dedication to help their fellowmen. They are always busy with other people’s problems: they lose sleep because they know out there many people are waiting for their help; many children are roaming the streets, underfed, underclothed and often abused and overworked; many families are starving because the breadwinners were incapacitated in avoidable accidents and sicknesses; and many more families were displaced through conflicts between leaders of their countries. Every time I read about their deeds, I feel proud of being a part of this wonderful organization called Rotary, started by one dreamer Paul Harris who wrote that “Perhaps dreaming is not so bad if one dreams good dreams and makes them come true.”

The untimely passage of our dear friend Paulo V. C. Costa last month must have shocked many Rotarians, but life is for the living. Paulo would not lie content if Rotarians did not continue with the good work which he had started with other worthy Rotarians. Among other things, this RI Past President left us a book of Rotary philosophy and inspiration, called Rotary Wisdom – Reflections on Service. He commissioned this work of love in 1990 when he was Incoming President. It was a collection of some 200 essays of Rotary leaders from 41 countries all of whom were asked to write in no more than 300 words on the only one question of why I am a Rotarian. Only 1,000 copies were produced. Eight years later, when James Lacy was President, 65 more essays were added to the collection which was published as Volume 2 in unlimited copies, at least more than 1,000 anyway. I urge every serious Rotarian to order at least two copies, one for himself and one for his best friend.

In the Introduction, Paulo Costa observed that none of the Rotary leaders had mentioned the quest for fame, for riches or for power as reasons for being a Rotarian. “Rather, these writers speak from the heart. They speak of their commitment to serving mankind. They speak of love, understanding, friendship and peace. These are simple messages, singular and sincere, that passionately express the great wonders that Rotary has to offer.”

It is thus that Rotary and its ideal of service has survived all these years. The mode in which we deliver our service to our fellowmen may have changed, but the Object of Rotary has not. To the committed and dedicated Rotarian, this worthy enterprise is a way of life. They have seen, heard or experienced good deeds being done to their fellowmen, witnessed how the lives of so many have changed because people care, and participated in humanitarian or educational programs which have opened up enormous opportunities for so many. It is this way of life that has attracted the right people to Rotary and inspired them to stay and help to inspire others, through action.

To the committed and dedicated Rotarian, therefore, life is a continuing quest to follow the heart, as opposed to a quest for fame and fortune. Our leader of leaders has challenged all Rotarians to create awareness in our clubs, in our world and in our community, but more importantly, he has urged all of us to take action once awareness is created or enhanced. There is no need to wait for the turn of another Rotary year or calendar year. Any time is a good time for service. Let us keep each other busy and keep ourselves busy all the time. It follows that there is no beginning and no end in the enterprise of service; and this is what continuity is all about.

District Governor 2000-2001

April GML

We had a successful District Conference. Where do we go from here?

My Dear Action Presidents, Club Secretaries and Rotary Leaders,

President Cinderella (Guia) came all the way from Macau for the District Conference in advanced pregnancy. Some of her friends had advised against that, for the baby could be born any time, but when her doctor said that it would probably be another ten days after the Conference, she bravely took the journey to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. She was radiant with love and beauty at the Governor’s Banquet. If only a quarter strong of the membership in the District were as high-spirited and supportive of the Conference as Cinderella, the Conference Organizing Committee would have been able to balance the books and would not have to resort to seeking an advance from the District Finance Committee to settle the bills.

We had a very successful District Conference. President Frank Devlyn’s Personal Representative, Director-elect Toshio Itabashi was all praises about the Conference programmes, the video conference with President Frank in Manila, the Governor’s Banquet, the reception he and Ritsuko had from the District and the seriousness of the participants at the Conference.

At the Closing Session, there were over 250 participants, an all time high figure for a conference closing session. It was indicative that the programmes had successfully sustained their interest. The Governor’s Banquet more or less broke even, The deficit was due to the unexpected and unprecedented low registration coupled with the failure to negotiate a lower minimum charge for the two lunches set by the Convention and Exhibition Centre. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed the Conference to the full. I thank all the Rotarians and friends who had taken part to make it such a great success. In particular, I am glad that nearly all Action Presidents turned up at least for a while, apart from a handful. I am eternally grateful to the public spirited Action Presidents for their advice and their decision and action to raise funds to pay for the advance.

A district conference is probably the single most important event in every district. In Japan, for example, Rotarians pay for the expenses of attending the conference in advance, through the district per capita dues, so that the organizers can focus on the programs instead of on the finance. This is perhaps something we can learn from. We have been talking and promoting our Conference for some time. The dates and venue were fixed a year ahead and I discussed the programmes in my monthly letters and at Joint Presidents’ Meetings.

A conference is as good as its programmes. It is not an occasion or a vehicle to make money, or an excuse for excesses. We had excellent programmes. First, it was a forward-looking conference. It was about the future, our youths. Our theme “Back to the Future” blends seamlessly with that for the Asian Presidential Conference held at the same time in Manila, “Youth and Service Opportunities.” To encourage participation from Rotaractors and Interactors, we had decided from the start that they would all attend free. I think we had done the right thing, for the Conference was organized for them. Secondly, we had involved more than ever our partner organizations and non-Rotarians. They participated as speakers, resource persons, moderators and award-presenters. For example, we had a Youth Forum moderated and empanelled with predominantly non-Rotarians and we had speakers from Government, the academia and the All China Youth Federation. This is in line with President Frank Devlyn’s emphases on partnering with other organizations. Thirdly, for the first time, we had a live video link up with President Frank Devlyn in Manila. Fourthly, we had organized the Governor’s Banquet in an entirely new format, with the extravaganza and exuberance of an Oscar evening. Lastly, to encourage attendance of non-English speaking members, we provided simultaneous interpretation in all plenary sessions.

On the other hand, attendance at a conference can be a reflection of the state of the District. I therefore take full responsibilities for the lower than expected registration. Obviously, we had failed to meet the expectation of quite a few members or to persuade them to register for the full programme. There are lessons to be learnt in the process.

Having been your Governor for over nine months, I have developed views on how our organization could remain relevant in the community in the wake of globalization, the mandatory popularization of the Internet, the information revolution, the scramble for positioning in the new economy and the increasing prominence of the third sector. We need an organization that is proactive and capable of delivering solution-oriented services to the people who need our service. And we must deliver our services more quickly, effectively and relevantly. We should be a leader among volunteers. We need a fundamental review in the manner we have been taking decisions in the District, particularly decisions that will have a long term effect on the well being and development of Rotary in the District. I had assembled experienced and dedicated Rotarians on the Governor’s Policy Committee (GPC) precisely for this, having regard to the irreversible global trend and demand for greater transparency and accountability. The GPC has been meeting monthly since March 2000 and could become an institution in the District.

Spurred by the low registration for the District Conference and the imminent failure to achieve the overall membership target, I have decided to reconstitute the GPC forthwith. I intend to assemble a smaller group that will meet between now and end of June 2001 and as frequently as necessary with specific terms of reference and tasked with making long term and strategic recommendations to the District leadership. This will be in line with President Frank’s vision to ask us to go into the 21st Century with a mission to create awareness and to take action. It will be in line with the need to modernize our organization to insure its relevance to the community and to the future.

I thank all my members on the GPC for their untiring efforts and contributions. Suffice it to say that leadership in a voluntary organization is not about authority, but responsibility. Governors and Past Governors have no authority over Rotary clubs or Rotarians, they have additional responsibilities, in return for the additional opportunities to serve. I ran this past Director-elect Itabashi before he left. He approved without reservation or equivocation of any kind.

Continuity
United We Stand
(April 2000 Issue)

At the March Joint Presidents’ Meeting, Governor Dipo Sani and I presented a proposal to hold a District Installation at the end of this Rotary year, specifically on Thursday 29 June 2000. It will be in the format of an Intercity meeting during which Governor Dipo will pass on his baton to me, as will all club presidents to their successors.

A District Installation is not a new idea, even in this District. A number of Past Governors had organized such meetings to mark the change of leadership in the District, and participation by clubs and members had been voluntary. What is new this time are the whys and wherefores, and perhaps the format.

First, a little background. Every year around June and July, Rotary clubs in the District would organize special handover meetings. Many of these meetings were actually very pleasant occasions and fun. The problem is, nobody outside the clubs involved knew about these events, hence such events were not conducive to promoting Rotary’s image in the District. Moreover, very often, the outgoing and incoming governors had problems deciding which ones to go when they were held concurrently. Against this background, Governor Dipo and I tried the idea of a District Installation Meeting on many clubs during the Governor’s Official Visits to clubs early this Rotary year. The feedback was very positive. Indeed, all the clubs we talked to, without exception, agreed that it would be a move in the right direction.

Entered RI President-elect Frank Devlyn. When he presented the theme for 2000-2001 at Anaheim, when he urged Rotarians to create awareness and take action, he also called for greater involvement with our community in general and for us to be more proactive with our public relations initiatives in particular. In short, he has urged us to develop Rotary’s image more effectively. Frank Devlyn’s call has added new impetus to our plan to change the traditional way of organizing change-over meetings at club level. His call has spurred us into action. Our response is a District Installation that will be a highly visible and high-profile public event where all club presidents will be installed into office in a solemn, dignified, and memorable ceremony befitting an organization of leading business and professional people, of which we all are.

So far, so good. Indeed the arguments for this big and mega event were so overwhelming and convincing to ourselves that we never thought that it required selling. Indeed we had never imagined any Rotarians would say no, particularly after the sounding out exercise we conducted earlier with the leadership in many clubs. Perhaps we should have known better that one doesn’t always win when one is right; or perhaps we, and I in particular, could have had more lessons in public relations.

The result was not exactly a landslide in our favour as we had expected. A few presidents were not sanguine that their membership would agree to the proposal, citing costs and possible erosion of the club’s autonomy as reasons, while a president challenged it as undemocratic in that it had no regard for the clubs and members who did not want to attend. The debate was lively and some said afterwards that the proposal was controversial.

I would rather not rehash the arguments for or against the proposal, and would certainly not pass judgement on who are right or wrong. The bottom line is that we are holding this big event to mark a policy change on the way we have been handling public relations. Under the new covenant, we are to engage in effective public relations and on a proactive basis. We are all new to the game; and with hindsight, I could have presented the message better. If you think I have done a bad job, I apologize, but it would be wrong and unwise to discard the message if you don’t like the messenger.

It would be unrealistic to expect every Rotarian to turn up for the District Installation, but it would be a sad day for Rotary in general and for RI District 3450 in particular if not all the 48 clubs in the District were represented at the meeting. Attendance at the District Installation is a sign of solidarity within the District, for united we stand. Good attendance would be a show of force to the community which we have all professed to serve. It would enable Rotarians to stand up proudly and be recognized as people who care, people who believe in and hold high moral and ethical standards in their private and public lives, and people who are prepared to work selflessly for international peace and understanding in a seemingly faceless and materialistic world.

In the lead up to the big day, we would organize suitable publicity and arrange press briefings, including the preparation of a Press Kit, the issue of special newspaper supplements and holding a Press Conference on the day. Already, we have worked out the part of the ceremony involving 48 club presidents handing over the presidency to their successors. This will be the highlight of the evening, the whys and wherefores of the District Installation, and a hallmark of continuity in leadership.