Presidential Corner

Dear Fellow Manila Rotarians,

Today marks the beginning of a new Rotary Year, an auspicious time to BE THE INSPIRATION to our fellow Rotarians and the community we serve. With an array of activities ranging from service projects to fellowships, we usher in a Year of the Centennial of the Rotary Club of Manila and the Rotary movement in the Philippines and in Asia, an opportune time for all of us to get engaged, to stand up and be counted.

I thank President Jimmie Policarpio for a Rotary year that was where his ceaseless efforts in pursuing service projects of relevance and significance have earned him the nod of our district as he restored our rightful place in District 3810 history when our club was bestowed the OVERALL MOST OUTSTANDING CLUB and for him, the OVERALL MOST OUTSTANDING CLUB PRESIDENT. Further, he stood tall above the rest as he held fort for our club at the Rotary International Convention in Toronto, leading a group of Manila Rotarians in unwaveringly promoting the centennial of our club and forging congeniality with Rotary clubs from around the globe towards the end of inviting them to visit our country and be one with us from June 21-22, 2019, the culminating event of our centennial year.

Moreover, I wish to likewise thank PP Archit and Rotary Ann Nenne Bartolome for graciously hosting a Homeside Fellowship in honor of the Incoming Board of Directors and Executive Officers at their residence in Taguig City where a sumptuous feast, singing to our heart’s content and great company mixed and matched towards a perfect affair to remember.

Continuing a heritage of excellence, our centennial initiatives such as the Sari-saring Aralan and the Rotary Club of Manila Educational Assistance Program (REAP) have hit the ground running. In particular, I wish to thank PAT Hermie Esguerra for graciously sponsoring and adopting FIFTY (50) students under our REAP. I likewise wish to express my sincerest gratitude to the other Manila Rotarians who have already committed to adopt a student under the REAP. May your tribe increase as I earnestly seek your cooperation on these projects.

On the centennial front, PDG Obet Pagdanganan and SDG Frank Evaristo have led our club in signing a Memorandum of Agreement with PHILPOST regarding the issuance of the Commemorative Centennial Stamps. Further, Rotary’s Heart for Little Angels led by SDG/VP Lance Masters and PDG Obet Pagdanganan are beginning to get things done. Moreover, PP Teddy Ocampo’s musical inclinations have worked wonders for our club because together with renowned composer Louie, his youngest brother, and in collaboration with other Manila Rotarians, the Centennial Hymn is set to be released.

Our very own DG Rudy Bediones and our club take centerstage on the fast approaching Handover 2018 while An Evening with Rotary International President Barry Rassin and Lady Esther is set to bring our club to unprecedented heights. These are exciting times to be Manila Rotarians. Let the pride we share motivate us to bridge a glorious past towards a brighter future for Service Above Self. 100 years of Service to Humanity has never been this great.

Today, we savor this rare opportunity of beginning the new year with a bang as we bring in no less than our very own Manila Rotarian, Secretary Carlos “Sonny” G. Dominguez, III, to break the ice and get the TRAIN moving.

In ONE CENTURY ONE MISSION ONE ROTARY, we remain.