It’s been a busy year for ELG’s co-founder and director, Andrew Hill. Not only has he been fulfilling his duties at ELG and leading our sister NGO, Xiersen, as its chairman, but he’s also been president of the Rotary Club of Shanghai. Having just passed the baton over to a new president, Andrew looks back at his busy, fulfilling year.
Andrew first joined Rotary Shanghai back in 2005, and was elected president in July 2016. This year’s theme of “Family” was chosen to promote relations between members of Rotary Shanghai, the family of clubs in Shanghai, China, and the family of Rotary International, which consists of 30,000 clubs and 1.3 million Rotarians all over the world. A secondary theme for the year was “New Traditionalism,” to help connect the club’s historical values to the modern Rotary Club of today.
In keeping with the theme of “Family,” members were encouraged to invite their family members to a number of valuable service projects. Andrew’s highlights include The Library Project, where they donated books and built bookshelves, and the Gift of Life Project, where the club helped pay for the heart surgeries of children from poor families and paid friendly visits to them in the hospital.
Andrew attributes the source of his motivation to his passion for community spirit. “What really motivates me is doing good things together with other people,” Andrew says. “I really enjoy people and love to spend time with my friends. I am also very committed to doing acts of kindness and service to my community. To put those two passions together is the sweet spot for me. I feel so close to my fellow Rotarians because they are in the club for the same reason. To visit a hospital or a migrant school and share the experience makes for very strong bonds and friendships. This is a core principle of Rotary.”
He is grateful to have worked with such an incredible, supportive, and proactive team. He is thankful to all the board members and officers, whose dedication and energy helped the club reach new heights. During his presidency, Andrew’s “two pillars” were Linnet Kuok, the vice president, and Tracy Hua, the honorable secretary of the club, both of whom “made every aspect of running the club a joy.” Andrew also wanted to thank his “Rotarian of the Year,” Dr. Christian Kober, “who did so much for the club and never made a fuss about recognition for himself. Rotary has a great motto, ‘Service Above Self.’ He lived that so completely, our entire club owes him thanks.”
However, just because his year as president is over doesn’t mean he’ll stop being active at Rotary Club. “Rotary can be a lifetime commitment if one chooses. I have decided to be part of the organization for the rest of my life.”
All in all, Andrew is proud to have served as president for Rotary Shanghai, having carried out a series of projects to advance the situations of disadvantaged people, as well as bringing the club closer together. “Rotary is an important organization for China because it involves the good nature of people to volunteer their time to serve their follow citizens. When we base an organization on the goodness of people, wonderful things can happen.”
ELG is proud of Andrew’s achievements this year and looks forward to supporting him in his new role as immediate past president.