MEETING OF TUESDAY 30 OCTOBER 2012

Reported by PE Jeffrey Chan

In the absence of President Cze Hong who was in Melbourne, PE Jeffrey Chan rose to the occasion and took the helm of the meeting. He not only chaired the event but also, in a “pau-kow-liao” manner welcomed the visitors and guest speaker, led the toasts and delivered the vote of thanks – all on the advice and at the insistence of IPP Aaron. We were most happy to be joined in our fellowship by Rtn Harish Sekhseria of R C Calcutta Yunis and Rtn Nick Hollingsworth of R C Hastings, UK. Hasting was of course the location where in 1066 history was changed. Rtn Nick corrected our mistaken view of history and clarified that on the fields of Hastings, the French defeated the English, not the Norman defeating the Saxons as our former colonial masters taught us.

Our guest speaker was Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement. He was introduced by PP Russi who is on the Council of the Kindness Movement. William had a remarkable career – starting of as both a practising lawyer and a clergymen (he was called Reverend William Wan in his early days of legal practice –so PE Jeffrey recalled), he went on to be a psychologist and a businessman. Along the way he picked up numerous awards, including winning the Active Ager award in 2011. In an excellent and well structured presentation, William addressed the Indicators of Happiness, linking kindness with happiness. So those who are kind are also those who are happy. And how to know if one is happy, well there are some clear indicators. Foremost would be self-control. Without being in control of one’s self, one just cannot be happy. Next is self-esteem. This goes without saying. Examples were given of how when a person is constantly put down, especially by his loved one, this can destroy self-esteem resulting in an unhappy person. But one key indicator is the gap between aspirations and achievement. The lesson here is that when one keeps aspiring for more and more, whatever your achievements are, you just cannot be happy. And if you are not happy, how can you be kind to others.

Invariably the subject drifted to Rotary and Rotarians with William complimenting all of us for being members of this great movement, our fellowship and our positive outlook of life. The fact that we can think of helping others means that we must be happy as otherwise we cannot be so  kind.

William confessed that he, being a believer in kindness and happiness, has often wondered why he has not joined Rotary despite being asked on numerous occasions to do so. On hearing this we spontaneously issued to him an invitation to join RCRC as a member.  His immediate response was that he would do so if PF Jeffrey, whom he has known since university days, would sponsor him. To this PE Jeffrey’s quick response was “Consider it done”. So we look forward to in a very short time, welcoming Dr William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, a most kind, and by his own definition, a most happy person, as a member of RCRC. As PE Jeffrey said in his Vote of Thanks, Rotarians are most happy when we make others happy. We look forward to William making us happy in the same way as we hope to make him happy, and together we look forward in the spirit of Rotary to making others happy. In that way together we can spread the message of kindness.

Toast to the Red Cross

PE Jeffrey informed that the day before, i.e. 29 October 2012, was the 150^th Anniversary of the 1^st Geneva Convention. That international treaty recognized the Red Cross Emblem and marked the official establishment of the Red Cross Movement. Over the next 150 years, the Red Cross has been at the forefront of humanitarian efforts in both war and peace. In so doing it has ameliorated the brutality of warfare and made for a more humane world order. The contribution of the Red Cross to world peace and humanity has been recognised by, among other things, the fact that it has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 3 occasions. Separately, the founder of the Red Cross, Jean Henri Dunant was the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

In what he said was an unusual move for RCRC, PE Jeffrey led a club in a toast to the Red Cross on the occasion of its 150^th Anniversary.

(PE Jeffrey was until 2010 Vice-Chairman of Singapore Red Cross. He is now the Chair of its Legal Committee.)

Rotary Flag Day

The Rotary Flag day in aid of the Rotary Foundation is on this Sat 10 Nov 2012. RCRC has been allocated the area in the East which included Parkway Parade and Katong I12. PP Eugene who is in charge of this event for RCRC called for volunteers to assist in selling the flags, attending to the numerous administrative tasks and also supervising the Interactors and Rotoractors who wil be assisting in the sale of the flags.

At the suggestion of PP Ron, a Sunshine Collection was made for the Rotary flag day. Rotarians who are unable to assist were asked to contribute in cash instead. Even Rotarians who are going to assist were asked to consider contributing. The Sunshine Collection raised $137 for the Rotary Flag Day.

Career Symposium for school-leavers

Rtn Thomas Graf reported that all arrangement have been completed for this Vocational Service project. This wil be held at the Tampines Junior College on Saturday 17 November from 10 am. The participants are JC 1 students and also our Interactors and Rotoractors. Tengku Indra will begin with a presentation on basic skills such as writing a resume and preparing for interviews. Thereafter there will be short introductions to various career options. The symposium will then break out into specialised sessions for various career options. Among those speaking are PP Ron (Marine Services); Brian Tan (Hospitality); Rtn Karen Tan (Banking); PP Koy Nam (Medical Services); Rtn Tengku Indra (Human Resources); PE Jeffrey (Public Service); his spouse Susan (Education), PP Mohan (Law); PP David Ong (Management); PP Eugene (Accountancy)  etc. As this is a major Vocational Service project of the Club, members are urged to attend to support it.  

Charity Film Show

PP Mohan reminded that our Club’s major project, which is the Charity Film Show will be on 28 December 2012 at the Lido at 9 pm. The film featured is the musical “Les Miserables”. Tickets are priced the same as previous years and will be issued shortly. The beneficiaries are the Sunlove Home and the Crohn and Colitis Society.