President-Elect: Vince Pinto, Vice-President: C.K. Tsang, Secretary: William Drake, Treasurer: Isaac Sofaer, Community Service: Joseph Kwan, Vocational Service: Rajiv Makhija, International Service: CP Chandru Parmanand, Attendance: Stacey Pallaras, Bulletin: Walter Whyte, Fellowship: Irene O'Shea, Membership: Raju Daswani, Programme: Francis O'Tremba, Rotary Information: IPP Hans Schult, Rotary Foundation: PP Dipo Sani, Sergeant-At-Arms: Elissa Cohen.

President Louis Thomas wanted his year be one of consolidation, but he was nonetheless delighted when it ended up being a year of growth. However this was not so much in terms of numbers, but in terms of development, as President Louis emphasised the need to get members actively involved in the club's committees and other activities. Some of the club's successes resulting from increased participation included winning the tug-o-war at the annual District Sports Day, our very successful Annual Ball, and the most successful sale of Christmas cards, which raised almost HK$300,000.

Carrying over from the previous year the Shanghai project to fund educational video equipment for the National Educational Film Body in Shanghai was completed, and a presentation ceremony in Shanghai was attended by a delegation lead by IPP Hans. Continuing on with International Service, a sister club relationship with the Rotary Club of Hamamatsu South in Japan was formalised, and ties with our first sister club, the Rotary Club of Paranaque in Manila, were nurtured through the travels of PP Emmanuel.

Remarkable independence, solidarity and diplomacy were exhibited by the club when it made a decision to become the only club in the District not to financially support construction of the District Preserve Planet Earth Statue, which was regarded unanimously by the Board of Directors as frivolous. It was a difficult position for any club to take, let alone such a young club, but the club remains convinced that the correct decision was made in the true spirit of Rotary. The club would have been happy to provide an equivalent amount of money for a project which would directly provide relief to youth, the elderly or handicapped people, but not for a mere monument.

Numerous awards were received from the District, including Best Club Bulletin, for hosting the Rotary Foundation Seminar and for the large delegation of club members attending the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne. A Rotary International Presidential Citation was also received for achieving a balanced club programme.

The club membership at 30 June 1993 stood at 52, a decrease of 4 members (7.14%) over the previous year.

(PP Louis Thomas is now a Senior Active member of KGM.)

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Rotary Year 1993/1994: "Believe In What You Do, Do What You Believe In" "信你所做的, 做你所信的" RI President Robert R. Barth (RC Aarau, Switzerland) DG Moses Cheng 鄭慕智 (RC Hong Kong Northeast)
Club President: Vince Pinto (溫礎銘)	President Vince

President-Elect: C.K. Tsang, Vice-President: Irene O'Shea, Secretary: William Drake, Treasurer: Mervyn Cragg, Community Service: Joseph Kwan, Vocational Service: Elissa Cohen, International Service: IPP Louis Thomas, Attendance: Adrian Smith, Bulletin: Walter Whyte, Fellowship: Raju Daswani, Membership: Francis O'Tremba, Programme: PP Dipo Sani, Rotary Information: CP Chandru Parmanand, Rotary Foundation: Derek Andrew, Sergeant-At-Arms: Bryan Van Dale.

This was another year of "firsts" for our ever youthful club. Our club had its first Australian 'in the chair' in President Vince Pinto, who was also the first bearded President of the club, and probably the first male President of a Rotary Club ever to sport a diamond stud earring ! Apparently this had something to do with the fact that President Vince was a very keen Harley-Davidson enthusiast (see a photo of him as a young biker or a photo of his first encounter with the Police !).

Nonetheless this still had rather a disconcerting effect on certain staid members of the Rotary establishment in Hong Kong.

Other firsts included the establishment of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile Community Service Fund Limited, which obtained formal recognition as an "official" charity from the Hong Kong Government. During the year, President Vince also formally established the first KGM Past President's Council, who would serve as advisors to him and future club presidents.

As far as club membership was concerned, President Vince inherited 52 members from his predecessor President Louis but, by the end of his term, club membership had grown to 60 members, a net growth of 13%, and the second highest in District 3450, where many clubs had recorded zero growth or a nett loss of members during the year. This was a remarkable achievement, given that natural attrition resulted in the loss of 8 members from our club during the year. Our club also achieved excellent attendance for the year with an average of 83% recorded, and this was the 3rd highest in District 3450 calculated, of course, strictly in accordance with Rotary guidelines.

Fellowship was promoted actively during the year, and President Vince's personal target of one fellowship event every month was easily achieved. There were a diverse variety of fellowship themes which included Chinese, Filipino, British, Mexican, Vietnamese, Indian, German and Australian nights, and a Horse Racing night.

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However the fellowship highlight of the year was surely President Vince's wedding to our (and his) First Lady Jeanette, and their lavish reception at the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, attended by over 400 guests from around the world, who danced the night away to the music of Ken Bennett and the Kowloon Honkers (from Ned Kelly's), and Mojo (a black American band from the L.A. Cafe). At the newlywed's request, guests were asked to make donations to the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, in lieu of gifts to them, and this resulted in the sum of HK$125,000 being raised during the evening for the club Community Service fund. 

An additional sum of over HK$200,000 was raised through the sale of Christmas Cards, a project in its fourth year. As far as spending on Community Service projects was concerned, the grand sum of HK$468,000 was distributed to ten worthwhile beneficiaries, covering the areas of youth, the elderly and the handicapped.

Vocational Service was not forgotten in President Vince's agenda, and vocational visits were made to PDG Ira Kaye's dairy farm in Guangzhou, the Carlsberg factory in Hong Kong, the shipyards at Stonecutters Island, the container terminal at Kwai Chung and a visit to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vincent.

President Vince will surely be remembered as the 'Travelling President', as club members accompanied him on his travels to various countries, in an effort to actively promote International Service.

The first of these was an official visit to the Rotary Club of Hamamatsu South, our sister club in Japan, who were only signed up in the previous year under President Louis. Next on the agenda was a visit to our first sister club, the Rotary Club of Paranaque in the Philippines, which President Vince felt was particularly important in light of the fact that his new bride and our First Lady originated from that country. 

The third trip was a short but enjoyable visit to the Rotary International Convention in Taipei, and this was by far the largest of our delegations, with 22 Rotarians and their partners attending. Finally, a delegation of 12 members trekked north across the border to attend the first District Conference ever to be held in Shenzhen. In reciprocation of our visits, our two sister clubs made official visits to us in Hong Kong during the year, and this served to bolster our friendships even further.

The club membership at 30 June 1994 stood at 60, an increase of 8 members (15.38%) over the previous year.

(Despite 16 years of service to Rotary, PP Vince Pinto was expelled from KGM during the tenure of President Elissa Cohen due to his low attendance for the 6 month period from 1 July 2005 to 31 December 2005, but he remains Webmaster for the KGM web site.)

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Rotary Year 1994/1995: "Be A Friend" "做朋友" RI President William H. Huntley (RC Alford & Mablethorpe, UK) DG Liu Lit Mo 廖烈武 (RC Hong Kong Island West)
Club President: C.K. Tsang (曾昭群)	President C.K.

President-Elect: Irene O'Shea, Vice-President: Joseph Kwan, Secretary: Bryan Van Dale, Treasurer: M.V. Ramadasan, Community Service: Raju Daswani, Vocational Service: Mervyn Cragg, International Service: CP Chandru Parmanand, Attendance: PP Dipo Sani, Bulletin: Walter Whyte, Fellowship: Carola Chard, Membership: Cassidy Lam, Programme: William Drake, Rotary Information: IPP Vince Pinto, Rotary Foundation: PP Louis Thomas, Sergeant-At-Arms: Hans Peter.

Continuing on with a theme of firsts, under the leadership of President C.K. Tsang the club embarked upon it's first Gala Movie Premiere with the movie "The Client", which managed to raise in excess of HK$180,000 for our Community Service Fund. These funds were supplemented by a further HK$100,000 raised through the sale of Xmas Cards and HK$80,000 raised during the Annual Ball, making a grand total of HK$360,000 for the year, a significant sum of money in 1995 terms.

As far as membership growth was concerned, President C.K. faced a daunting challenge which was not unique to our club. However, in contrast with the District average net loss of members, our club managed to induct five new members which, after deducting the loss of four members during the year mainly due to emigration, the club recorded a nett gain of one member. Additionally, the club's average attendance for the year was 70%, which was higher than the District average.

On the Vocational Service front, visits were made to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and the Carlsberg Brewery, and the latter proved, for some unknown reason, to be an extremely well-attended function ! Members also visited the Ying Wa Boys College and gave enlightening vocational talks to the several hundred students who attended. The club also had nine fellowship events during the year which were, as usual, supported enthusiastically by members.

Seven club members also visited our sister club in the Philippines, the Rotary Club of Paranaque, who were celebrating their 20th Anniversary, and this visit served to further strengthen our mutual ties. Moreover, our club embarked upon a Matching Grant Project with the Rotary Club of Ortigas called "Feed the Children", which helped to provide much needed nourishment for underprivileged children of Quezon City.

On a District level, the club was the organiser and host for the District Assembly held at the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, Shatin Racecourse on 21 May 1995.

The club membership at 30 June 1995 stood at 58, a decrease of 2 members (3.33%) over the previous year.

(PP C.K. Tsang remains an Active member of KGM.)

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Rotary Year 1995/1996: "Act With Integrity, Serve With Love, Work For Peace" "以真誠來行動 以愛心來服務 為和平而奮鬥" RI President Herbert G. Brown (RC Clearwater, Florida, USA) DG Vincent To 杜偉強 (RC Victoria)
Club President: Irene O'Shea	President Irene

President-Elect: Joseph Kwan, Vice-President: Bryan Van Dale, Secretary: Patricia Blair, Treasurer: M.V. Ramadasan, Community Service: Elissa Cohen, Vocational Service: Cassidy Lam, International Service: PP Vince Pinto, Attendance: Ebe Tung, Bulletin: Steve Evans, Fellowship: Hans Peter, Membership: CP Chandru Parmanand, Programme: PP Dipo Sani, Rotary Information: IPP C.K. Tsang, Rotary Foundation: PP Louis Thomas, Sergeant-At-Arms: Jim Smillie.

This year was a double-whammy for our club. Not only did we have our very first female leader in President Irene O'Shea, but she was also our second Australian in the chair. Rumour has it that the latter was of far greater concern, especially for our somewhat staid European members, who began to suspect that a plot by our Australian members to rule our little world was slowly but surely unfolding !!

These initial fears of Antipodean Antics were not alleviated when the first Vocational Service visit of the year was once again to the Carlsberg Brewery in Hong Kong, followed soon thereafter by a horse racing day Fellowship at Shatin. However in an effort to distract our members from the underlying plot, President Irene ordered that the next fellowship event be a Swiss Fondue evening, involving enormous amounts of cheese and people wearing silly hats.

On a more serious note, a Matching Grant was organised between our club and the Rotary Club of Bombay Queen City to acquire a machine to assist patients with respiratory problems. During the year, the club also embarked upon it's first "Walkathon", which managed to raise in excess of HK$150,000 for our Community Service Fund. The club also staged it's second Gala Premiere with the action movie "Heat".

The club membership at 30 June 1996 stood at 54, a decrease of 4 members (6.90%) over the previous year.

(PP Irene O'Shea now resides in Australia is no longer a member of KGM.)

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Rotary Year 1996/1997: "Build The Future With Action & Vision" "用行動與憧憬建造未來" RI President Luis Vicente Giay (RC Arrecifes, Argentina) DG Y. K. Cheng 鄭恩基 (RC Hong Kong Island East)
Club President: Joseph Kwan	President Joseph

President-Elect: Bryan Van Dale, Vice-President: M.V. Ramadasan, Secretary: Patricia Blair, Treasurer: Angel Yan, Community Service: Elissa Cohen, Vocational Service: PP Dipo Sani, International Service: Cassidy Lam, Attendance: Eric Lee, Bulletin: Jim Smillie, Fellowship: Stephen Evans, Membership: Raju Daswani, Programme: CP Chandru Parmanand, Rotary Information: IPP Irene O'Shea, Rotary Foundation: PP Vince Pinto, Sergeant-At-Arms: Monica Black, Webmaster: PP Vince Pinto.

The plot by the Antipodeans to rule our world had become clearly evident with the ascendancy of President Joseph Kwan to the highest office in the club, yet another Australian !

However, despite the initial concerns, 1996/1997 proved to be a successful year for the club. On the Vocational Service front, the club embarked upon a trial "Best Police Officer" campaign, which culminated in an award ceremony in honour of a Police Officer from Yau-Tsim District, who was cited for bravery after saving the life of a woman who had fallen into Hong Kong harbour and almost drowned. Additionally, visits to the club were made by the Interact Club of Ying Wa College and by another group of civic-minded young adults by the name of "Youth Outreach". President Joseph also had the proud honour of presiding over the inauguration of the charter night of the Rotaract Club of Kowloon Golden Mile.

Fellowship was not forgotten during the year, and some of the club's events included a BBQ night at the Filipino Club, an Indian night at the Viceroy of India restaurant (graciously hosted again by our generous Indian members), and a Chinese night at the Baptist University Chinese restaurant (hosted with similar generosity by our Chinese members), when we were enjoyably entertained by a group of youngsters playing traditional Chinese musical instruments. However the highlight of fellowship for the year was undoubtedly a club milestone, our very successful 10th Annual Ball, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

As far as International Service was concerned, President Joseph lead a delegation of members to Bangkok for the Rotary International Regional Conference, which was a memorable event in more ways than one, least of all in terms of fellowship. The club also participated in large number of inter-club visits within our District, with official visits being made to our mother-club the RC of Kowloon, as well as other visits to the RC of Kowloon North and the RC of Tsimshatsui East. Our club was also one of the host clubs at the inter-city meeting held in honour of the President of Rotary International who was visiting our District.

In terms of Community Service, the club contributed to the Children's Orthopaedic Research Foundation, the St. James Settlement, Springboard, Operation Smile (for children with cleft palates), and the Haven of Hope School for disabled children. The club also entered a team in the annual Rickshaw Race at Chater Garden, and we were pleased to win 4th place while raising funds for worthwhile causes.

Finally the club's first Internet web-site was launched in June 1997.

The club membership at 30 June 1997 stood at 54, which was no change from the previous year.

(PP Joseph Kwan remains an Active member of KGM.)

(On 1 July 2001, PP Joseph Kwan was awarded the "Medal of  Honour" by the HKSAR Government in the annual 2001 Honours List, for "his valuable contributions in improving a built environment that caters for the needs of people with disabilities").


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