District Installation Speach

The time has now come for my team and I to carry the baton and charge forward.
We shall continue to build a strong district
through strengthening our clubs and continue to serve our community with passion and vision.
Thank you David for showing us the way. Let’s put our hands together for our great leader, David Harilela.
Tonight, we have about 800 Rotarians & guests in this hall.
We are truly honored to have with us tonight, Dr. Ko wing man, Secretary for Health and Mr. Eddy Ng, Secretary for Education, leaders
from professional bodies, and representatives from our service partners. I thank you all for sharing this special evening with us.
Your presence means a great deal to us, this is truly a “recognition” to our commitment in making a better and more peaceful world through our service.
Your support will certainly energize us to do
more.
My speech tonight will cover three areas.

  1. Rotary and Peace,
  2. Make a difference through service
  3. District vision and mission

Rotary and peace

The Rotary international theme for 2012-2013 is “Peace through Service”.

Rotary is an international service organization with strong commitment to build international understanding and peace through its humanitarian service projects and programs carried out by 1.2 million Rotarians in more than 200 countries across the world.
Since inception in 1905, generations of Rotarians have been making significant contribution to world peace.
The program book on your table provides detailed information on Rotary’s commitment
in peace throughout the last one hundred years.
And if you are still not convinced, try Google, search two words “Rotary and peace”, and you will find over 15 million results.
Rotary helps us to build peace in its most traditional sense, by reducing the causes of conflict such as hunger, illiteracy, poverty and lack of healthcare and sanitation and eradication of polio.
In order to build a peaceful world, Rotary
builds bridges of friendship and mutual understanding among peoples and nations through its many programs.
Programs such as youth exchange, Ambassadorial scholarship, Group study
exchange and peace and conflict resolution. To make peace sustainable, we must engage and motivate our young generation to carry the
torch of peace building.

We must look for ways to inspire Rotarians and members of our community to share our concept of Peace through service.
In the current year, Rotary International will organize three Rotary Global Peace Forums in Berlin, Honolulu and Hiroshima, Japan.
Our district and our clubs shall provide full sponsorship to 12 inspired young individuals to attend these forums and to learn about the concept of peace and peace in their communities. Upon their return; they shall become ambassadors to help spread the message of peace to our community and their peers.

Making a difference through service

This year, I am calling my club presidents and district officers, the MAD Team as we all strive to serve, and to Make A Difference to
the needy people in communities near and far. Let me now present to you, these dedicated Rotarians who are standing tall and proud behind me, they are my MAD Presidents and in the next 12 months, they will lead members of their clubs to serve and to make a difference.
‘They are a constellation of business, professional leaders and dedicated volunteers joined together with a single unifying mission, that is, pursuing peace through service, and doing good to our community. I use the word ‘constellation’ intentionally and cautiously. A constellation is a cluster of stars and points of light bound together by mutual gravitation. In the Rotary year ahead, all of you will indeed be our stars and light
Fellow Rotarians and guests please put your hands together for our Rotary leaders.

Making a difference with clean drinking water.

In the last Rotary year, our District has installed 6 water filtration units in 6 schools in poor villages in China.
Using the latest technology in ultra-filtration these units could filter out all the bacteria and insoluble contaminants in water.
I inspected these water filtration units in April, which were installed a few months earlier, and to check on the quality of drinking water there and how well these filtration units perform. This was the quality of water before filtration. Would you like to drink that?
(See pictures of foul water) Vs clean water, This is the water they used to have, thank you to Rotary, this is the clean water that is available to them right now.
I could never forget the look on the faces of the children as they turned on the tap and found crystal clear water running which they could drink with the confidence that the water is safe and would not make them sick.
This is the image I will always remember and as a Rotarian, I know that real happiness can only be found by serving others.
A teacher from one school wrote us a letter on the day we departed; there were a few simple sentences in this letter that touched my heart deeply.
In expressing her appreciation to our contribution, she wrote and I quote “the water was yellowish, cloudy and smelly, the students did not want to drink it and teachers dared not drink it.”
and ” after drinking this pure water, my legs hurt no more and my back sores no more, I can now walk with strength”.
Fellow Rotarians and guests,
I am pleased to announce that in the current Rotary year, Rotary clubs in our district will give support to a district water project and together we shall install 40 water filtration units in 40 schools in poor villages of Xian, China.
More than 40,000 students and teachers will benefit from this worthwhile project.
Fellow Rotarians and guests, this is how we make a difference to the lives of these young students and teachers, by giving them clean and safe drinking water.

Poverty

Poverty in HK is more serious than many of us think.
Many low-income families are struggling everyday just to keep up with the escalating cost of living in HK.
There is a significant problem in the lack of social mobility
How could we Rotarians make a difference in this regard?
Our district has recently entered into strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Council of Social Services. Under its wings, there are some 400 NGOs and social enterprises that specialize in providing effective services to meet the needs of low-income families in HK. Our district and HK Council of Social Service will work hand in hand to facilitate interaction between individual Rotary clubs and NGOs with the aim of establishing partnership leading to the implementation of many social service projects addressing to the needs of the low-income families.
Rotarians would infuse their expertise in professional support and idea as well as the ability to raise fund through their business and personal connection. The partnering NGO would do what they do best in executing the work or action needed to achieve clear and specific project objective in poverty alleviation.
My fellow Rotarians, just imagine, just image the impact that we could make together if we could align the mission of every Rotary clubs in our district on poverty alleviation, each Rotarian shall be recognized as a part of a powerful force that helps to create peace and harmony through their service to the poor. District vision and mission statement.

District vision and mission

I think the best thing any district governor can do for his district is to leave it stronger than he inherits it.
To succeed, we have to look past ourselves, beyond our year as district governor and into the long term.
I often asked myself what could I do for my district that will still be going, still be moving, and still be changing lives for the better, long after I left office.
In Rotary, we know it does not matter who thought of it or who gets the credit, becauseour motto is Service above Self.

In the end, it is not about us, it is about the work that gets done. Our district is really blessed, we have past and future district governors who truly understand what continuity and corporate blending is all about. My successors, District governor-elect Eugene, District governor-nominee Belinda and I have agreed on a joint district strategic planning committee consisting of some of the best
brains in our district with proven ability in corporate management, legal and accounting profession, public administration and social service.
We further agreed that the district governor elect will serve as chairman of this committee as it is there to assist him to formulate strategic action plan for the future taking into account the agreed district vision and mission statement.
This district strategic planning committee has met three times before July this year and we have agreed on the district vision and mission statement, which guides the development of our district in the foreseeable future.
I have pleasure to present to you the district vision and mission statement which is also detailed in the installation program book.

I would like to conclude my presentation with a story about the future.

A famous artist held an exhibition of his paintings
One VIP asked the artist which one of his paintings he would consider his best. The artist quietly pointed to a blank canvas. Everyone was puzzled. The artist then explained that the blank canvas would record his future creativity and that his best work has yet to come.
My fellow Rotarians, I am convinced that Rotary’s best has yet to come, and I am sure all of us in D3450 in particular all the MAD presidents standing behind me, will take an active part in Rotary and together, we shall paint the bright future of Rotary.

Tonight as the blank canvas unfolds; the MAD team and I are picking up our brushes and will start to paint.

There are a few individuals whom I must thank in making this installation party a huge success.
First, I would like to thank the installation Organizing Committee chairlady Claire Mak and her team.
Claire is the past president of my own club, Rotary Club of Tai Po. PP Claire is an old friend of mine and a true Rotarian who is kind enough to take up the challenge without any hesitation.
PP Claire, I salute you and thank you for your support; and to your team of dedicated Rotarians, PDG Anthony Hung, AG Wendy,
PP KL Cheng, PP Angela Hui, PP Eddie Leung, PP Anwer Islam, PE Francis Au and Rtn Sincere Yip and Rotarianne Mary Hung.
They have spent countless hours in the planning and the execution of tonight’s
celebration. I truly appreciate the splendid job that you and your team have done for the district and for me.
Please stand up and be recognized.
Please give these talented Rotarians a big hand.

Fellow Rotarians and guests, I would like to share with you how lucky I am to have Lucia as my wife. Lucia has been a major part of my life for the last 26 years.
Words simply could not express the love and affection I have for this lovely woman.
Lucia is a source of inspiration and motivation to me.
We have a beautiful family with two wonderful children Amy and Arthur.
Lucia supports me so well so that I could be freed to do what I like most, to serve Rotary. I would not be able to serve as district governor without her blessing and understanding.
My lovely daughter Amy is also here tonight. Amy was raised in a Rotary family so she understands the pride and joy of being a Rotarian.
Amy is a fine Rotarian in the making; she has taken part in many Rotary services since her return from Australia a year ago.
Amy and Lucia, could you please come on stage and share this special moment with me.

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