Dear Rev. Fr Farren, Fr Zee, Fr Foley, Principal Tam and Principal So, All retired teachers and the two retired assistant Principals, Raymond Yu and Anthony Ho and most important, my fellow Wahyanites around the world:
This 7th International Conference is a very special event for Wah Yan because it happens in the New Millennium and it involves co-operations among many chapters. I have to thank Fr Deignan and the two retired assistant principals so tirelessly giving us guidance and inspirations throughout our planning stage to recruit retired teachers and alumni speakers. On behalf of our Board and our Organizing Committee, I sincerely welcome all of you to Los Angeles, the land of opportunities and cultural diversities.
Southern California offers the best in entertainment, museums, amusement parks, California cuisine, sunshine and beaches. So please take this opportunity to stay a few more days to enjoy a class reunion and to explore the local special offerings. You may even venture to join a Las Vegas tour or a Mexican Riviera cruise.
Professor James Tong has organized a content-rich program with authoritative moderators that rivals his own UCLA educational productions. I am sure you will agree with me when you look at the proposed program and especially true when you complete the two-day conference of the fun filled and yet serious discussions about both Wah Yan Colleges.
No conference will be complete without fun and good food. We have plenty of both waiting for you and your family in the Seafood Buffet, the Dim Sum lunch in Chinatown, the Rodeo Drive tour, the Gala Dinner Dance with its 9-course Chinese Banquet and entertainment and the Finale Dinner at the Queen Mary of Long Beach. There are also Universal Studios tour and City Walks within walking distance from the hotel. By attending these events, you will have the most memorable conference in the New Millennium.
I hope you will share our Board's excitement and I again thank you all for coming to make this conference a success!
Wah Yan Spirit in the New Millennium!
Respectfully yours,
Albert Wai Chow Young Wah Yan Kowloon 1962
President, Southern California Chapter,
Wah Yan Alumni Association
Dear Friends:
As Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, on behalf of its residents, I would like to welcome each of you to our great city as you gather for the Gala Dinner of the Millennium of Wah Yan College.
While in Los Angeles, I urge you to explore the many wonders of Los Angeles, which has something for everyone to enjoy. Our city offers an unparalleled array of sights, activities and attractions. We are the entertainment capital of the world, and our beaches are matched by the warm Angelenos spirit. For restaurants, arts and dazzling architecture, there is no better place to visit.
Please accept my best wishes for a productive and successful convention.
Sincerely,
Greetings Alumni, Family and Friends of Wah Yan College,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the 2000 Wah Yan College Intemational Alumni Conference and to the City of Los Angeles. During your stay here, I hope that you find enchantment in the richness and diversity of this city with its breadth of scenery and surrounding areas.
Since I began my presidency last year, I have met educators, community leaders, physicians, engineers, architects, writers, and filmmakers, who, like you, guide our understanding and our action in larger worlds and cultures.
May your time here be one of joy and illumination even as you gather with old friends, cultivate new friendships, learn more about the world around you, and share new beginnings.
My best wishes to you.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Lawton, S.J. President
Dear Wahyanites,
I would like to open this short passage by thanking the very professional team of conference organisers for their hard work and effort in planning and organising our 7th International Conference. I know planning has been underway since we last met in Calgary in 1998. It takes time, patience and foresight to get such a large disparate group together under one roof but as I write in early July I am already aware of the high attendance from ticket sales and hotel bookings which have already been processed by the organising committee.
I say we are disparate. We Wahyanites are of all ages and professions and we all have different family circumstances and ambitions. We are overwhelming Chinese but our real bond is the fact that we are Wahyanites. This word means nothing to somebody who has not worked or studied among Jesuits, and in particular “our” Irish Jesuits in Hong Kong. We all feel particularly fortunate that we were schooled and worked alongside them. The Jesuit fathers and teachers in Wah Yan devoted their lives to us so that we would become ambassadors for the principles and ideals they stand for. The fact that we now gather in such numbers from so many walks of life and only with this common bond is a tribute to our Jesuit teachers and the principles they have passed on to us.
Those who attended our 6th Conference in Calgary will recall that I hoped to strengthen PSA bonds with the school. I am pleased that this is certainly taking place. The LA Conference will increase our numbers and our ties. In a world where there is little regard for permanence and tradition I think we all gain spiritually and emotionally from the simple knowledge that we have like minded Wahyanite brothers “out there” so to speak.
I have had considerable joy lately flicking through the recently-published First Edition of the Wah Yan Who's Who Directory. This lists all the students who joined the school since its formation and has a section where many of us have included their own photograph and detailed contact information and other useful biodata. It makes very interesting browsing for any Wahyanite… much better than Netscape! I strongly recommend it to you and I also encourage you to forward your own biodata, if you have not already done so, to the Directory organisers for publication in the next edition which will come out in a few years and will be even more comprehensive.
I now use the Directory on a daily basis when past students visit the school particularly from abroad. You are all aware that many Hong Kong emigrants in the last few years have returned to Hong Kong to work. Wahyanites frequently make the school an early port of call to renew their memories of the school, meet with teachers or just get details of the PSA. You are reminded that Wah Yan is your second home and you are always welcome to visit whenever you can.
I do hope I can get round and see everybody over the three days of the conference. Please do seek me out in the crowd if I fail to spot you. I am sure you too are looking forward to 3 days of reminiscing and hearing about plans for the school's direction in the next century.
Yours sincerely,
Tam Siu Ping, George Principal
Dear Wahyanites, teachers, families and friends,
On the happy occasion of the Millennium international alumni reunion, I wish to first thank Dr Albert Yeung and all the courageous and generous past students who started working on the organizing two years ago at Calgary and ever since.
We certainly live at crucial turning points in history. The Human Genome officially published most of the mapping of human genes two days ago. This will change so radically our life.
This is the Internet Age when we are truly becoming a “global village.” The stocks of Cisco Company that provides routers to link up the computers, increased 2000 per cent in 5 years, double that of Microsoft. That just showed how important it is to have hubs for union and communication.
All our local chapters of the alumni association are like such hubs. Through such reunions may we continue to embody the love of God for every unique human person and build up a greater sense of community no matter where we are. We all need to tap into our HQ – heart intelligence –, anchored in the love of God and help transforming the world into the Body of Christ.
Thanks again to all those who have contributed to this great event.
May God bless all of you and all your loved ones.
Dear Old Boys of Wah Yan,
I wish to congratulate the Past Students' Association and individual graduates for their having successfully convened the 2000 International Conference. The Conference is the work of many dedicated people, which could not have been possible without the loyalty and great sense of belonging that exist in the hearts of all those who spent the formative years of their life at Wah Yan.
Dear graduates of Wah Yan, I am truly grateful to what you have done for the school, and I presume to count on your continued support in the future. The International Conference is a good opportunity for us to come together to refresh our fond memories, and to plan deeds, no matter how grand or how humble they may be, so that every conceivable assistance can be given to help the school to prepare future generations that will be at least as upright, responsible, loving and successful as you are. In answer to your efforts, we at Wah Yan shall try our very best to provide our students with whatever support they may need.
With best wishes for a triumphant millenium,
Norman So (1965)
Principal
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If you would like to supply any extra information about this conference, please contact ic2002@wahyan.ca. Thank you. |