I am
delighted to present the President’s Report for the year 2003-2004.
Events
The Society has had a busy year with
16 events. The spring of 2003 is
remembered for the SARS outbreak. Despite
SARS concerns at the time we had good support and attendance for our events.
It is heartening to see Hong Kong rapidly bounced back with great
resilience and vitality.
The year started with the traditional
Boat Race Dinner, which had a good attendance and featured our distinguished
speakers Sir James Mirrlees and Sir David Akers-Jones, as well as an excellent
jazz band. Later in
the year we had several speaker events which are all well-attended, with Dr.
Vincent Lo at the China Club, Mr. Tony Banham at the Helena May, and the
Baroness Rawlings at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. We also had a lively and very well attended Debate on
the subject of Iraq in July at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.
The
Christmas Cocktails were held in the sumptuous surroundings of the Garden
Lounge of the Hong Kong Club. We
had a large turnout and all enjoyed the festive spirit and carol singing. Our second Careers Fair proved to be highly popular with
Oxford and Cambridge students and graduates.
This year not only did we have increased turnout to some 200
participants, we had an expanded list of sponsors to 10 of the major employers
in Hong Kong.
The largest
event and the highlight of the year, was the Varsity Star Ball in October at
the Hong Kong Country Club, with attendance from over 280 members and guests.
The lavish programme of musical performances and entertainment catered for a
wide variety of tastes. During
the sumptuous feast we had a raffle prize draw and a very successful grand
auction. With the auction
proceeds we raised over HK$130,000 for the next two years’ Scholarship
Funds.
Other
events included our annual garden party with croquet, dinners, hiking trips
and two musical theatre evenings. During
the year, it was gratifying that well over half our membership attended at
least one event and total attendance at events exceeded 1,600.
Membership
The Society’s Membership now
stands at 428 Members, of whom 259 are paying Members.
The balance of 169 Members are student members.
The vast majority of Members now receive the Society’s communications
by e-mail and nearly 80% pay by autopay, both saving the Society time and
expense. The current split of allegiance is Oxford 197 and Cambridge 231.
During the year 65 new Members joined the Society, including 40 student
members.
Charity donations
During the
year, a donation of $5,000 was raised to support the Living Hope Christian
Orphanage in China, provided out of the surplus from the successful Christmas
Cocktails event.
Scholarships
During the year we dispensed $47,400
in scholarships to five Hong Kong residents who are currently attending Oxford
or Cambridge. These
undergraduates pursued a wide variety of projects in the long vacation which
they would not have been able to do without our support.
The Varsity Ball 2003 enabled us to raise over HK$130,000 for our
Scholarships for this year and the next.
We have recently allocated a further $60,000 in scholarships to six
candidates for this year.
Administration
Sandra Chan has stepped aside as
Administrator after giving two years good service, and Gwyneth MacCormick has
taken over the Administrator role with a fresh and effective approach.
Thanks to Dr. Charles Ng, the Society’s website has been
significantly enhanced and redesigned, and it is now a mine of useful
information on all aspects of the Society.
Thanks
It has been a great honour to serve as
the President of this fine Society. I
would like to thank my wonderful Committee for their inspiration and
assistance, and for organizing so many excellent events during the year.
It has also been a great pleasure as President to meet so many members
as well as all our guests. Thank
you all for your continued support, and I look forward to serving the Society
as Immediate Past President.
Peter
Wong
President 2003-2004, 20 March 2004