Posted Mon, 05/10/2010 - 14:52 by ljz
2007 Work Report
By December 31st, 2007, I’ll have served out my term as the president of the Tongji Medical College Overseas Alumni Association (TJMCOAA). At the beginning of the year, I laid out a six-point work plan, which was deemed “visionary” by some and “too ambitious” by others. A healthy dose of skepticism is always helpful. When I proposed the plan, I was unsure if it would be carried out. I was more concerned about what the Association needed most than what was practical. Fortunately, you embraced the plan enthusiastically. Together, we executed the plan with great success. Here is a brief summary report on what we have achieved in the past year.
o Newsletter. The official newsletter of TJMCOAA debuted in February and has since been published every two months. Under the tutelage of our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Shimian Zou and Associate Editor Dr. Jianping Li, the newsletter has evolved into a quality media entertaining and informing a rapidly growing readership. The first volume of the newsletter (six regular and one supplemental issues totaling over 100 pages) carried a variety of information, from the saddest to the happiest. As planned, the newsletters were reviewed by the Board before being distributed to the general membership and then archived in the TJMCOAA website. The responses from our readers have been extremely positive. The newsletter has reached readers far beyond our membership, including alumni, faculty and students in China. The recent correspondences between Dr. Zou and the Sri Lanka alum are indicative of the important role the newsletter is playing in promoting our Association and communicating with our members.
O TJMC Centennial Ceremony. In May, TJMCOAA sent a delegation (headed by Dr. Jiamin Teng) to Wuhan to participate in the centennial ceremony of our Alma Mater. During the visit, our representatives sponsored an English contest and handed out scholarships to four needy students. Our special present, a book of representative scientific papers authored by sixty overseas alumni, was well received and was exhibited at TJMC as a historic item. The book project was spearheaded by Drs. Sijiu Shen, Menrong Li, and Huiyun Xiang. We plan to continue this project and send the annual collection of scientific publications from our alumni to the library of TJMC.
o Fund-raising. My plan was to double the Association’s operating budget. This goal has been surpassed in the first six months. Partly due to the special circumstance of TJMC centennial anniversary, the Association’s bank account has seen transactions totaling over $12,000. A detailed financial report has been distributed to you by our Treasurer Dr. Xiaojing Zhang. In summary, we started the year with $3,308.73 and ended the year with $5,198.49. Despite the considerable expenses of scholarships and donations to TJMC, the Association’s “bottom line” has improved. Here, I would like to thank Jing Peng and Xiaojing for volunteering their time and expertise in bookkeeping and maintaining the bank account. Moreover, my heartfelt thanks go to each of the following individuals who opened their pockets to the Association:
Qiang Ma/Fang Xiao, Henry Liu/Menrong Li, Baihan Li/Li Han, Qiang Wang, Victor Xia/Lynn Yang, Chuanyi Lu, Xiaoying Ma (for Guohua Li), Jianfeng Chang/Xiaojing Zhang, Peiyi Hu, Sijiu Shen, Yuguang He/Biren Zhao, Min Shen, Jiabei Wang, Huafeng Wei, Li Li, Shuiping Dai, Kaijie Fang, Lei Cheng/Min Chen, Shimian Zou, Jingwei Yu, Yuqing Zhang, Xiang Liu, Dagger Chen, Huanchen Li, Xiaolan Ou, Keqin Hu/Changhong Yu, Jiamin Teng, Dale Tang, and Xin Wang (H77).
o Reunion. The July reunion party in Washington, DC, organized by Dr. Henry Liu, was a stunning success. The event was attended by alumni from as far as Toronto and San Antonio. It served several important functions, such as vacationing, entertaining, networking, and membership driving. I agree with Henry that the Association should organize at least one reunion party each year.
o Membership drive. Our target was to double the membership of the Association. At the beginning of the year, the organization had about 180 members. Thanks to the support from our alumni, the contact persons of many classes, and the hard work of our Membership Director Dr. Baihan Li and the IT team, the Association can now reach over 450 alumni. We should continue our effort, to have every alumnus benefit from the network.
o IT Systems. Our goal was to improve the webpage and the email list. Dr. Lanjing Zhang, Dr. Huancheng Li, and other members in the IT team have worked diligently in maintaining and upgrading our electronic communication systems. Because of their support, we have improved our communication without increasing our email traffic volume. The quality and amount of information in the homepage have improved significantly. By the end of the year, the Association’s homepage has recorded nearly 10,000 hits.
The above items are what were included in our work plan. There have been many other things that were not planned but as an organization we had to deal with. For instance, the tragic death of Dr. Hongwei Wang and the passing of Prof. Zhongbi Wu warranted our immediate responses. On the happier side, one of our members found her white horse through an ad posted on our homepage, several won prestigious awards in their academic fields, one of our board members got married, two recovered from major surgeries, and many moved or took new jobs.
As a young organization, there is always much more to be done. Among the unfinished businesses are applying for the Association’s federal tax exemption status under the 501 c category, electing a new board, and substantially strengthening the financial base. My relocation from Maryland to New York in the middle of the year has undoubtedly prevented me from devoting more time to the organization. Fortunately, I have a successor in Dr. Jiamin Teng who is much more experienced and much more capable than yours sincerely to tackle these and other issues facing the Association. The election of Dr. Baihan Li as the president for 2009 makes me even more optimistic about the organization’s future.
It has been truly an honor and a pleasure to work with you and serve our fellow alumni. I thank you all for your trust and support. Please do not hesitate to contact me whenever you come to New York City.
Respectfully,
Guohua Li
[email protected]