Inaugural Speech of Centennial President Susing Pineda on May 30, 2018

President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, City Mayor of Manila, Rotary International Director-Elect Raffy Garcia, Gov. Loy Cosico, our very own Gov. Elect Rudy Bediones, Pres Jimmie Policarpio, HE Isikeli Mataitoga, Non-resident Ambassador of Fiji to the Philippines, your Excellencies, fellow Rotarians, ladies and gentlemen, good evening!

It is truly an honor and privilege to stand before you tonight as the new President of the Rotary Club of Manila, first and Premier Club in Asia, for the Centennial Year 2018-2019.

To serve as President of our Club is a collosal undertaking. I congratulate each of the new members of the Board of Directors and Officers. You are here today because of the outstanding contributions, Service and sacrifice you have extended to our club and humanity.

I wish to thank President Rodrigo Duterte, who has given us enormous support through the Presidential Proclamation No. 413, where he has declared July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 as the YEAR FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA AND THE ROTARY MOVEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES AND IN ASIA. This proclamation will open new doors for Rotary Club of Manila. I look forward to the many new opportunities this will bring to our Club and the many Rotary Clubs in the Philippines - for support, partnerships and cooperative endeavors with Government Institutions and local government units, and the ability to help as long as they are aligned with Rotary’s different noble advocacies for Service to the Filipino people.

Likewise, I would like to thank all of you for being here tonight, inspite of the heavy traffic and your busy schedules, but most especially to my wife, Maritess,for her unconditional support of my leadership in all RCM projects, together with the project-driven Rotarians, who shared their time and effort in making this a great event, namely, Past Pres Benny Laguesma, VP Chito Zaldarriaga, Dir. Sam Eldebs, Dir Albert Alday, Dir Carlos Reyes, Club Treasurer Nicky Villaseñor, ASec Rene Policarpio, Rotarian Romy Nones, Rotarian Congressman Roy Golez, and last but not least, our hard working Club Secretariat, Led by Ms Ana Toledo, and my working Team...Maraming salamat.

This year, we celebrate a hundred years of service to humanity. Throughout the past century, ONE MISSION has united us, together with many clubs around the world. Service Above Self – our motto has endured for a reason – there will always be people who have less in life, and it is a challenge to our Rotary Club to fulfill the duty of answering their call. The values that you have exemplified as members in fellowship, global understanding, ethics, integrity, diversity, leadership, and service – will be essential to PAVING the way FORWARD to the NEXT CENTURY.

We are the FIRST Rotary Club in Asia and the OLDEST, BUT WE ARE FAR FROM OBSOLETE OR IRRELEVANT. We must keep moving forward to keep our balance if we are to continue to lead the way and for us to leave a legacy that will create sustainable change in the next ONE HUNDRED YEARS, as ONE ROTARY.

As technology becomes an integral part of our daily lives in an interactive environment, we must be reminded that these are merely tools for us to use in our service to humanity. With Rotary as a catalyst, we can create programs and projects that touch the heart, mind, and spirit of humanity.

We have started our legacy projects with our Rotary Club of Manila Educational Assistance Program. The “Adopt a Student” Project with with our academic partners, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, has been launched last May 3, 2018. Out of the 100 poor and marginalized students, who we aim to support with financial assistance at 2000 pesos per month, 30 who qualified for the program have been adopted by Manila Rotarians, and many more Rotarians have pledged to adopt the other 70 students as they qualify in our program. Likewise, we have initiated Sari-Saring Aralan, an out-of-school-youth project with our partners, the Ayala Foundation, Grameen Australia Philippines, Rotaract, and the City of Manila. This legacy project is inclusive of the six pillars of Rotary, which may qualify for a POSSIBLE GLOBAL GRANT.

I challenge my classmates and Inspiring Presidents, who are here tonight, to follow our RCM Educational Assistance Program, by adopting ONE student PER CLUB or 123 poor and marginalized students in the public schools of your choice. We believe that education is the future of any generation, hence, the need to prepare our youth for tomorrow.

To my esteemed colleagues in the Rotary Club of Manila, join me in this centennial journey, and be engaged in the forthcoming humanitarian projects of our club. Choose your committee and get involved, for there are many challenges in Rotary that need your support, your time, your effort, and your financial assistance! We all need to be ROTARIZED. As I have said, “Great things that happen in Rotary are never done by one person, but they are done by a team of Rotarians.” Let us be the inspiration and lead by example. It is time for us to ACT and EMBRACE THE TRUE SPIRIT OF SERVICE TO HUMANITY. Our presence in a changing and dynamic Society will be felt not only in the lives of the people we help and serve but also in their Hearts, in their smiles, in their homes, and In their communities. We lead by example to pave the way forward.

WE MUST TAKE THE FIRST STEPS INTO THE NEXT CENTURY, UNITED BY ONE MISSION AND ACTING AS ONE ROTARY. Thank you and Mabuhay!