25. May 10
This is a short summary, for the full Bulletin in PDF, click the following link:
Club President John Barnes opened the meeting by extending a warm welcome to our guests and fellow members.
Acting Sergeant at Arms David van Meerendonk welcomed:
Visiting Rotarians:
- Rtn. LÖfdahl Lars-GÖte, RC HuskvarnaRumlaborg, Schweden, Sweden
- Rtn. LÖfdahl Astrid, RC JÖnkÖping Rosenlund, Sweden
- Rtn. V. Kleist Elke, RC Kaufungen-Lossetal, Germany
- Rtn. Urs Ziegler, RC Bottmingen-Birg-Eck, Switzerland
- Rtn. Tom Mack, RC San Mateo California USA
- Rtn. Colin Smith, RC Esslingen-Filder, Germany
- Rtn. Jacob Zilber, RC Indian Land, SC USA
And visiting guests:
- Ms. Clare Person, Speaker
- Mr. Benno von Canstein, guest of Rtn. Marlis
- Ms. Sammy Fang, guest of Rtn. Alan
- Mr. Dan Goodman, guest of Rtn. Alan
- Mr. Michael Sohinkel, guest of Rtn. Benjamin
- Ms. Fiona Liu, guest of Rtn. Einar
- Ms. Jeanie Park, guest of Rtn. Josephine
- Mr. Ian Syer, guest of Rtn. Einar
- Mr. Bill Longskect, guest of Rtn. Yvonne
Banners were exchanged with the following Rotary Clubs:
- RC Kaufungen – Lossetal Germany
- RC JÖnkÖping Rosenlund, Sweden
Reports & Announcements:
Happy New from Nicolas
Rtn. Nicolas shared his happy announcement about his father being in town and his son being accepted to State University of New York.
Ball Volunteer Appreciation
The members who pitched in at the last moment to make the Ball a fun and rewarding experience were thanked. Ian Sayer of Helping Hand was also thanked for his help with the event.
Early Ball News
President John announced about 150K was raised at the Ball night. Further detailed will be announced when the financial summary is finalized by Nick Cham. John also announced there are 50K worth of furniture coupons donated by Ilioni which are still available for sale. Interested members should check out the store an/or website and contact Nancy if they are interested.
Morning Tear Bus
The Morning Tears Bus which we participated in providing will be at the Beijing Belgium Embassy this coming Thursday (May 27th). Members who would like to join this ceremony please contact Regula.
Speakers Program:
Speaker coordinator Rtn. Alan introduced today’s speaker, Ms. Clare Person Founder and Editor for the Charitarian Magazine.
He’s a Chinese government official. She’s a British lawyer. Together they publish a magazine that hopes to lift a veil of illegitimacy clouding a local NGO scene that’s thriving in a gray area of Chinese society. Edited by Wang Liwei, vice-mayor of Guan County in Shandong Province, and Clare Pearson, a lawyer at the Beijing offices of DLA Piper, The Charitarian wants to encourage the local non-profit sector by informing NGOs about how to operate within government guidelines. Ms. Person talked about her experience and reason for co-founding the English version of Charitarian Magazine, as a way of encouraging knowledge and understanding of how to operate as a charity in China. A number of questions were asked about whether the magazine will be able to help those interested find effective charity organizations and its ability to influence the direction of charity in China. Clare gave great credit to Wang Liwei, editor of the magazine, for his vision and perseverance. Clare indicated that the greatest future challange will be issues related to climate change.
Rtn. Benjamin thanked Clare for her speech and John presented her with a Rotary banner.
