RCS Speaker Meeting December 10, 2024

On Tuesday, December 10th, Rotarians were treated to a highly energetic meeting. The meeting kicked off with Elias Maier’s self-introduction. Elias’ presentation provided us with great insight into his philosophy and values. He is currently an RC Discovery Bay member and is enthusiastic about joining our club. We look forward to welcoming him on board.

Then, our football-themed meeting began. The night’s speaker was Benjamin Wahl, the Managing Director of Borussia Dortmund East Asia. Borussia Dortmund is one of the major teams in Germany’s football league. Benjamin’s presentation included a video from the team’s managing director, Carsten Cramer, who told us he had been a Rotarian for 14 years. It was wonderful to be reminded of how truly global the Rotary family is. Rotarians learned some interesting facts about the Borussia Dortmund football club. It has a 50-50 male-to-female fan ratio in China, which is rare in football fanbases. They seek to preserve their integrity by not allowing any single investor to take over. It was a very insightful presentation on ow a German football team operates in China.

Then, the excitement truly began. Benjamin brought an original team jersey signed by all the professional players of Borussia Dortmund. An auction was initiated, leading to a fierce bidding war with the price increasing. Finally, the shirt was bought by our dear Frank for a whopping 10,000 RMB! It was, as always, amazing to see Frank’s generosity, and now he is the proud owner of this treasured team jersey. Not only did Frank demonstrate his generosity: in addition to the shirt auction, another 9,000 RMB in Happy Money was raised to support the Lebanon Disaster Relief Fund.

Finally, President Christian and President Nominee Markus had a surprise for us. Rotarians were highly curious to see what would be revealed as they took off their coats. It turned out they were wearing t-shirts from their own German football teams, Bayern Munich and Fortuna Düsseldorf! Football is known for its team rivalries, and Christian and Markus amusingly showcased that here. The night ended with Benjamin giving all Rotarians a Borussia Dortmund scarf. As the nights get colder, it was a very appreciated gift. We thank Benjamin for the scarves and the football fun that he brought to our proceedings.

Written by Secretary Rohit Ballal