Dear Fellow Old Boys,
Greetings!
It was with humility, pride and a great sense of duty that I and on behalf of my cabinet, accepted the privileges and responsibilities of the President and Committee respectively of the La Salle College Old Boys Association.
The OBA has, in the past few years, evolved from a fraternity inclined mainly towards organizing events for the leisurely socializing between Old Boys to more of an association in tune with its current status as one of the three support organizations of our Alma Mater; the three organizations being the La Salle Foundation, the PTA and the OBA. My predecessor, Dr. Bernard Kong, who was the President for three consecutive terms since 2004, has been instrumental in bringing about such development. His dedication and hard work and his unwavering love for our school have inspired those who had the opportunity to work with him for the past years and I count myself as one of those privileged few. Towards that end, I must add that he’s indeed a hard act to follow!
There have been voices from a few Old Boys that the OBA committee is not transparent and has been operating in a “black box” (in Chinese, 黑箱作ćĄ), I can assure you that that was never the case. The OBA is an association of the Old Boys, by the Old Boys and for the Old Boys. And it will remain as such! Nonetheless, the incoming committee recognizes this concern and will install more channels for our members to air their opinion and suggestions (and I hope not just their grievances which are of course also welcome). One such arrangement will be informal gatherings during the hour before some committee meetings where members can come in and chat with any committee member on subjects of their interest.
There have also been voices from our oversea chapters that they felt somewhat disconnected from the school and the mother chapter in Hong Kong and that we should look into the possibility of forming a global alliance of the OBA. This certainly is a huge undertaking of enormous magnitude not to be taken lightly. We propose, as set forth in our pledge, that a global communication platform be established during this term to further discuss this subject and to strengthen the connections amongst Old Boys worldwide. This matter will also be one of the subject matters for the World Conference to be held during the Global Reunion of LaSallians this December in Hong Kong. I believe that communications will always bring about better understanding and better understanding would yield the best decisions.
This year, our school is celebrating its 75th anniversary (viva La Salle!) and there have been and will be celebration activities throughout the year with the final event being the Jubilee Dinner to be held on the December 8, 2007. It is one of the pledges of this committee to share the Mission of La Salle by serving not just the LaSallian community but also the community at large. So, while we celebrate the great achievements of La Salle College for the past 3/4 century, lest we forget our school is now going through some very trying times and it’s facing challenges both old and new, imminent or longer term; it needs your support more than ever. The Jubilee Fund was established to raise funds for the school to meet these challenges. It’s time we give back a little, for all of us have received so much from La Salle.
Ask not what the school can do for you, ask what you can do for the school. That’s what I ask of you, my fellow LaSallians!
Yours in de La Salle,
Charles K. Chan ’77
President, LSCOBA 2007-08