To benefit the Rev. Bro. Paul Sun Education Foundation, the Speakers’ Forum 2010-11 is a fund-raising program featuring a series of 4 quarterly charity dinner events. The first one was held on Wednesday, 29 Sep 2010, at the Hong Kong Football Club.
Thanks to our sponsors and supporters, nearly all seats were sold before the event. The excellent weather on the day made sure we had a full-house. Guests started to arrive even before the commencement time down on the program. Matthias Li (Chair of the Forum) and other Trustees of the Foundation were on hand to greet our guests and make them welcome.
Our special guest speaker was none other than the mercurial Chairman of Ocean Park Corporation, Hong Kong, Dr. Allan Zeman. Other honored guests included Mr. Tom Mehrmann (CE of Ocean Park Corporation, Hong Kong), Mr. Graham Silverthorne (Principal of South Island School), Fr. Vittorio Grioni (Supervisor of SJACS), Mr. Paul Yeung (Principal of SJACS), Ms Kwok Wan (Principal of SJACPS), and Mr. Peter Yip (Chairman of the newly listed Bright Smart Group). Special mention must be made of the corporate sponsorships from the Bright Smart Group and Messrs. Kwok, Ng & Chan, Notaries and Solicitors. This event also received excellent support from Josephians, with the best effort coming from the Class of ’70.
As MC, Matthias kicked off with a warm welcome to everyone and introduced the Trustees of the Foundation to the gathering. The next speaker was Peter Yeung, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and also the Josephian Association. Peter gave a short history of our school, Rev. Bro. Paul Sun’s significant work in education and the establishment of the Foundation to carry on his good work.
Then came the highlight of the evening – the talk by Dr. Allan Zeman on ‘How to Make it in Hong Kong and China.’ Mixing well with Josephians and guests, Allan was very relaxed and very much at home. He told his own story of how he became successful as a young man without a college degree by not just being hard-working but also inventive and imaginative. He came to Hong Kong at a young age and decided to make it his home, mostly because he could identify with what he called the ‘can-do’ spirit that was very much the essence of this dynamic city. Allan’s most notable success included ‘Ocean Park’ and ‘Lan Kwai Fong,’ two local home-grown international brand names.
Truly blessed with the gift of the gab, Allan spoke for more than half an hour without break or refreshment. This was followed by a video on the future development of the Ocean Park, which shed light on the vision Allan has conceived not only for the Park but also Hong Kong as a whole. To finish off, he spent ten minutes answering questions from the floor. Notably, one of the questions was from one of the two SJACS students attending the function that evening to share this wonderful experience, thanks to the sponsorship of Madam Fancy Li of the SJACS SMC.
Chairman Peter Yeung presented a memento to our Speaker. An enthusiastic photo session with our Speaker followed before the evening drew to a close. Very much engaged throughout the evening, all guests stayed till the very end. It was a wonderfully enjoyable evening for all participants. We feel sure most would be coming to the Forum again when we hold the next dinner in January, 2011.
On this occasion, the Foundation raised over HKD 120,000, and another event is being planned. Please, stay tuned!
Please click here to see more photos.
Please click here to see more photos.
