GCARM 2010 Annual General Meeting
Maggiano’s Little Italy, 500-16th Street, Denver, CO 80202
Monday Oct. 25, 2010
18h30 to 20h45
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—Andrew Mok
Wow! You should be at the Annual General Meeting of the GCARM held recently at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Denver. The sumptuous dinner was served with buffet appetizers, double salads, double main dishes consisting of capon and salmon with Italian ice cream for finale. What a meal! This phenomenal presentation was generously sponsored by Vitrolife/Smiths-Medical. But this is not the raison d’été to be at the meeting. Here is why:
When the writer arrived at the venue with friends at slightly after 18h30, the place was already bustling with happy, noisy people. They were talking to one another, shaking hands, bear-hugging or just laughing out loud whole heartedly. What a scene! And seen running around amongst these busy bodies was Shehua, totally absorbed in collecting membership dues, enrolling new members or trying to catch up with old acquaintances. Soon after 19h20, Zhao Yulian sprung into action. She said a few most appropriate words to thank the sponsors and promptly started the dinner service. Once again, one can attest to the true tradition of Italian hospitality: T.M.T.E. (i.e. Too Much To Eat for you, OK?)
The highlight of the evening was the Award Ceremony presided by Chen Zijiang and Frank Yelian. Honoured this year were four most deserving individuals: Zhuang Guanglun, Zhang Lizhu, Jack Huang and Shen Shehua. Zhuang Laoshi was decorated for his vision, his leadership and his dedication and initiation to GCARM. Of course he gave a passionate thank you speech as always. Everybody was moved. Zhang Laoshi was honoured for her leadership in bringing forth the first IVF baby in China when she was 60 years old. Qiaojie accepted this distinguish honour on her behalf as she was unable to travel to Denver. Jack Huang was honoured for his prolific research papers publishing feat (Aham…. reportedly to be 29 in number in slightly over 24 months!) That was truly remarkable. The last individual to be spot-lighted that evening was no other than our Shehua Shen. She has been the backbone of GCARM, the driving force and the work horse behind all these happenings. She has been working her fingers to bare bones in bringing us together. It is no secret that without her, GCARM would not be what it is today. After all, we had 80 people attending this 2010 Annual Dinner Meeting! At one point in her thank you speech, she said: “In my left hand, I am holding not only your membership money, I am holding your enthusiasm, your trust and your dedication to GCARM. “ Well said, Shehua and Bravo!
Each recipient was presented a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers. Their honour plagues would be mailed directly to them for their convenience. How thoughtful! Lively discussions were held after the Award Ceremony. Seang Lin Tan remarked in his closing statements that GCARM would be hosting another World Conference somewhere in China in 2011. An organizing committee had been struck and further news would be forth coming. Watch out for it folks! Before the group dispersed, a group photo was taken. Just like a bunch of school kids, it took more than 20 minutes of prodding and urging and threatening before the group was cooperative enough to adhere together for the picture. Here is a sample: (picture) A good time was had by all!
Post mortem and Credits:
Tidbits you may not know: Despite the great work and effort of Shehua, no one can work alone anywhere. There are a few unsung heroes behind the scene. The conductor who orchestrated this award ceremony was preoccupied that night: Xu Kangpu. He was the chair of the Award Search Committee. It was apparent that he did a fine job in dragging out these four recipients to accept the award, knowing how humble those four people are. He planned and created the whole ceremony. 80 people from all over the world just did not converge all at the same time into an Italian restaurant by chance. It took timely planning, bargaining, advertizing and perhaps propaganda and more. We must attribute the success of this meeting to the effort of some other dedicated souls: Zhao Yulian, Zhang Xinqi and Wang Weihua to name just a few. Yulian planned and arranged the dinner event. Zhang Xinqi advertised the event on our new GCARM website as well as managing it. Wang Weihua designed and distributed the flyers to attract those who were not keen in surfing the net. What a team!
To quote Charles de Gaulle at Montreal City Hall four decades plus 3 years ago: Vivre le GCARM!
Group picture by Andrew Mok