Rotarians share how they are “Making Dreams Real” at Ipoh District Conference

The 74th District Conference held on 2-4 January 2009 in Ipoh, Perak, saw a contingent from Gombak join some 600 Rotarians and the family of Rotary. Colouring the Conference with our blue jackets, Gombak was also busy with two booths – one for the 75th District Conference in 2010, and the other for the mozziesafe project.

Gombakians present included District Governor Elect Leslie Salehuddin and Ann Ziela; President Peter Pek; President Elect Jeff Hoh Wing; Treasurer Douglas Brown; Past Presidents Sen Gupta, Shahar Noor, Chandran Nair, Yeo Soon Teck, Veiven Goon and James Emarievbe; Sergeant-at-Arms Dr. Kieran McClanahan and Rotarian Poonam Ramesh. Past District Rotaract Representative Jamie Tan of the Rotaract Club of Gombak (retired) was also there as part of the Group Study Exchange (GSE) team to the United Kingdom. She is sponsored by RC Gombak.

The event started off on Friday 2 with a Workshop on District Incorporation moderated by DGE Leslie, followed by an inter-country meeting with Thailand. The Fellowship Night went off with a bang with an international theme. The incoming GSE team from District 3620 South Korea and outgoing team to District 1190 United Kingdom, were also presented during this event.

Saturday, the Conference was officially opened by His Royal Highness the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr. Nazrin Shah. Other highlights include keynote addresses by Rotary International President’s Personal Representative, RI Director John Lawrence (from Australia); Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim – “Rotary Movement and Challenges”; and Youssouf Mohammad Oomar, Malaysia Representative, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – “Child Mortality”.

The Third Plenary Session in the afternoon began with the District Progress Report by District Governor Dr Rajindar Singh. This was followed by a Plenary Session on Outstanding Club Projects. President Peter made a presentation on mozziesafe. After tea, there were separate workshops on The Rotary Foundation, Membership Development and the Club Leadership Plan (CLP). DGE Leslie was a panellist for Membership Development while President Peter was on the panel for the CLP workshop.

The highlight for the evening was the District Governor’s Banquet, which was graced by HRH Raja Nazrin Shah.

On Sunday, Club Electors President Peter and Past President Veiven Goon presented their credentials and ballots while PP Shahar Noor promoted the 75th District Conference at the Fourth Plenary Session.

The Fifth and Sixth Plenary Session continued with the business of the District. As for the elections, Gombak’s Past President Vincent Ng was elected to the District Nominating Committee 2009-2010 and Past President Dr. Ravee Kumar from the Rotary Club of Seremban was elected District Governor 2011-2012. The other highlight was the presentation of the District Conference flag by Organising Chairman Dato’ Mohd Ariff to the next host, the Rotary Club of Gombak, which was represented by Past President Sen Gupta.

Throughout the duration of the Conference, Gombakians took turns to man the two very successful booths set up to promote the 75th District Conference as well as mozziesafe.

All in all, the 74th District Conference was a memorable one and “Made Dreams Real” for all those present. See you at the 75th District Conference in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by the Rotary Club of Gombak!