12. Jan 10
This is a short summary, for the full Bulletin in PDF, click the following link:
President John opened the meeting by extending a warm welcome to our guests and fellow members.
Four way test done by Rtn. Don in English. Don pointed out that we have been missing the first part of the test which should begin “Of the things we think, say or do:”
Acting Sergeant at Arms Charles welcomed:
Visiting Rotarians
- Rtn. Fritz Breiten Thaler, RC Berlin, Germany
- Rtn. Mike Besud, RC Mongolian
And visiting guests:
- Mr. Richard Rheindorf, guest of Rtn. Kevin
- Mr. Woffgan Jusse, guest of Rtn. Niels
- Mr. Arics Lam, guest of Rtn. Ruby
- Mr. Graham Brown, guest of Rtn. Curt
- Mr. Agustin Carioni, guest of Rtn. Einar
Banners were exchanged with the following Rotary Clubs:
A Banner was exchanged with
RC Berlin, Germany
Reports & Announcements:
President John made the January board meeting report. This report will also be put on the club website in due course for “members only” access.
Club Treasurer Report. Jens gave a monthly financial report and indicated that the club is in sound financial shape and able to pay its obligations. More detailed information will also be available on the “members only” access portion of the website. The Christmas Bazaar raised more than 165,000RMB to date for club projects. Special thanks to Rtn. Ruby and her great team. 8,000 RMB of the proceeds are to be used to host a reception for the 100 plus volunteers who helped with the event.
Nancy official introduced Mr. Agustin Carioni as volunteer intern, recommended by Hutong School. He has been approved by the board on Monday Jan 11. He is an MBA graduate who has worked in counterparty transactions for Argentina’s prune and peanut industries who is currently studying Chinese at the Hutong School. He will assist with weekly meetings, events and projects under Nancy’s direction. Members are encouraged to get to know Agustin and give him. He is interested in the China market and would like to get insights into the practicalities of doing business in China.
The club secretary announced that club is actively looking for potential speakers who will be willing to talk about the larger issues of doing business in China, including Chinese government policy shifts, practical how to information on business compliance, international trade relations issues, banking and finance, industry specific updates, notable projects etc.., no business promotional topics please, if a speaker veers in this direction the speaker will be asked to wind up their talk.. Speaker program coordinator Ulrike added the committee (Alan and Ulrike) would like to find more speakers from backgrounds outside the US and Europe. Members who have suggestions and contacts please introduce them to Alan and Ulrike.
Rtn. Christoph indicated that the Rotaract club needs volunteers to help sort donated clothes/shoes/blankets from January 10 to January 30th. Members can find their information on Rotaract website: www.rotaractbeijing.org/clothing-drive
Speakers Program:
Rtn. Ruby introduced today’s speaker, Ms. Marianne Friese President of Marianne Friese Consulting. Ms. Friese has been providing consulting services to corporations and organizations in China since 2001. Her professional background includes several years in the US, 10 years in Germany and now 8 years in China. Marianne came to China in 2001 through the Munich office of Ketchum, a US-based communications consultancy, where she was the Global Partner responsible for brand marketing. Prior to that, she worked as Marketing Director at the Germany-American Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, more recently she worked with the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.
Marianne gave an overview of the media relations industry in China and the different tools and how to use them. She emphasized the importance of planning and strategy as the core of effective public relations; the differences between eastern and western approaches to public relations; the importance of building real ongoing relationships with the media and how to show the client the value of public relations (PR) to the bottom line by using surveys to show the effect of PR on buying decisions. She also talked about the need to customize the message for outgoing and domestic markets rather than trying a one size fits all approach.
Rtn. Matt Siu thanked Marianne for her great speech.
