PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

From the remarks made by PDG Dr Arasu, one of the speakers, “It appears that the biggest losses in members seem to occur in the second year of existence, while the third, fourth and fifth years bring more stability …” In fact, clubs are aware that new members need to be nurtured. We cannot leave them alone once they have become part of our fraternity. The setting up of a mentor system is a necessary strategy for clubs. We need to monitor our new members’ progress and ensure that they are sufficiently involved in our projects and activities. We must make a concerted effort to reach out to them as well. They must be part of our social circle.

It is also crucial that clubs encourage women in Rotary. Our Club made a wise decision to admit the first lady member last year. Now we have two. They are actively involved in projects and activities. There are a few in the pipeline. We cannot ignore women membership. More and more women are now in the corporate sectors and are also professionals in the various fields. Their services could be much needed in our community. From the RI statistics, we had in May 2004, 146,918 women Rotarians translated to 12.07% of the total membership worldwide. In June 2008, women membership stood at 187,976 with a percentage of 15.26%. The women have also impacted themselves as District Governors. The figure is increasing every year and in 2008, we had 63 women District Governors. It is therefore an undeniable fact that women will play a greater role in Rotary in the not too distant future.

Our RCPJ has a strong membership team. The Membership Committee has made a stand that membership development and retention is the commitment and responsibility of the Club and this means that every member has a role to play. I absolutely subscribe to this thinking. The dynamic duo of Rtn Kamarul and Rtn Rianne have created an impact when we they presented their views on membership development at the last membership committee meeting. Their CIC Membership Program could make tremendous changes to the traditional ways in membership drive. ‘Interest Meetings’ will be set up soon to identify potential members. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to listen to them at one of our luncheon meetings.

Rotarians, I challenge you to make a commitment to raise our membership to 50 by this Rotary Year.

On Sunday 9th August the Rotary Club of Kelana Jaya organized a District Membership Development and Retention Workshop at the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club. It was attended by about 140 Rotarians from over 30 clubs. Six of our members were in attendance, namely President Dr Eric Wong, Membership Director PP Dr Tarciscius Chin, PDG Dato Dr Low Teong, PP Liew Shou Kong, PP Chris Ng and Rtn K O.

There were two lectures in the first part of the morning. They were “Membership as an asset of a Rotary Club” by PDG Dr R T Arasu and “Winning the Rotary retention battle: a review of club dynamics” by Rtn M N Thagaraj. Dr Arasu gave many examples of the contribution of Rotary in the world and some interesting statistic on woman in Rotary. As at 30th June 2008 there are 187,076 lady Rotarians in the world or 15.26% of all members in the world and 63 lady District Governors. Rtn Thangaraj presented the many reasons why members leave Rotary and provided some management ideas to prevent the loss. He also highlighted the need to change to accommodate the many younger Rotarians we are now admitting.

The second part was a workshop where the Rotarians were asked to list up to 10 conclusions a Rotary club will derive in one year’s time if its membership doubles. The group then converted their conclusions into a drawing. The winning drawing is as shown.

In the afternoon about 30 Rotarians attended a brainstorming session on the topic: Every Rotarian: Bring One Keep One: HOW? Many interesting ideas and suggestions were presented by many of the Rotarians. Some of the useful ideas were the developing of a long-term district strategy, having the District Membership Chair serve for 3 years like the TRF Chairman, and establishing a pool of MDR Counsellors to help clubs. As Chairman of the session we will certainly work on these and the many other ideas presented. Hopefully it will help our district reach the 2000 members target in the not too distant future.

This week also saw the admission of our first member into the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya. Rtn Ryan Ho was inducted by President Dr Eric Wong at our weekly meeting on Tuesday 11th August 2009. Ryan was proposed by PP Albert Yong. The club’s target is to reach 50 members by 30th June 2010. 

At the Membership Committee meeting on Wednesday, 12 August, Rtn KO presented his proposal for a guest evening to recruit more members. It will be held on Tuesday, 6 October 2009. Keep that date free. More importantly start looking for a prospective member to bring to the event. 

“Every Rotarian: Bring One, Keep One.

Our speaker today was Dato Dr Nellie Tan-Wong, the CEO of the Women Institute of Malaysia (WIM). After a video presentation on the WIM, she spoke on the management principles applied that ensures the eventual success of the WIM. They are as follows:

Finally, she believes the influence of women in society will grow because of the IT age, and also because possession of muscle and brawn is no longer the advantage.

Induction of Rtn Ryan Ho

PP Michael Chua introduced Rtn Ryan Ho in the absence of PP Albert Yong. President Eric inducted him into the club and Rtn Rianne Chin presented Mrs Agnes Ho with a bouquet of flowers from the club.

Rotary quote of the day contributed by PP Ong See Seng:

“I am not a Rotarian just because I have accepted an invitation to become a member of my club. I will only be a Rotarian when I fulfill the obligation deriving from that membership.”
PRID Aart Jan de Boef, Director Rotary International, 1985-87

ATTENDANCE: 23/37 = 62.16%

Ryan Ho is 34 years and married to Agnes Chin. They have 3 lovely children: Donovan 5yrs old, Darell 3yrs old and Amanda 1yrs old. 

He graduated from University of Kansas, USA with a Biochemistry degree in 1997 and then furthered his post-graduate in Optometry from IUCCT, UK.

He started his career in Mettler Toledo, a US based company and worked his way up to a Regional Manger looking after the Asia pacific distribution arm of laboratory products. At the same time, he managed and observed the competition around the region in the optical industry. Then in 2002, he decided to manage the Malaya Optical together with his wife. They subsequently, repackaged, re-branded and repositioned, the Malaya Optical today to a premium Family Eye Care Center business and is also seeking new business partners to invest till date. Malaya Optical now is proud to have 7 outlets throughout Klang Valley. 

25 Things about Ryan

1. Loves mountain biking
2. Play casual golf, not too good at it though
3. Love to bring the kids to the park, TTDI Park
4. Favorite place to eat, China Town curry laksa and also Paramount Garden Prawn Mee
5. Enjoy my morning cup of coffee and a spray of perfume to start my day
6. Loves Go-Karting
7. Favorite sports is F1 and watching only Tiger wood playing
8. I am a Tiger fan, Michael Schumacher fan, and a Michael Jackson fan
9. Enjoy boys Fridays night out with my sons to the barber and for “loke loke”
10. Loves the beaches 
11. My wife also says that I am a handy many at home and at work 
12. I am very systematic
13. My staffs calls me long winded as I am very meticulous about procedures
14. I believe in Team work 
15. I am a team player
16. I love to motivate people
17. I love inspirational songs example Tina Turner “Simply the Best”
18. I believe in work hard and play harder
19. I don't drink much, just half a glass will do just fine
20. I have a trademark work dress code: short sleeve, button up without tie and all linens
21. I love hiking up Gunung Nuang and Gunung Tahan and I love Nature!
22. I am not moody, not temperamental and very approachable, so much so that my staffs keep asking for a raise and bonuses :)
23. Now I just drink liquid for lunch to ensure proper healthy eating instead of the usual friend “kueh teow”
24. My family and I love to travel!! Especially to cold places eg. Korea
25. I love my wife Agnes as she is the pillar of support in my life and children and she has always been there for me.