Reactions to the Centennial Celebration

DE/BLA Amado “Amading” D. Valdez

No words can express the height of our glee for the camaraderie and the tireless working hands displayed by every RCMERS for the last three days. It was an electrifying salubong fiesta from the heart of a philantrophist of Philipp Ong, a euphoric celebration of achievement on centennial June 21, from the selfless genius of President Susing and the committees, the heavenly masterpiece in the gala night which only a man with a master gift like Chairman Hermie can divine. Your prayers and varied support like your time in the allied activites, the financial flow from your pockets and the go-go-go fire of our staff made all the unforgettable experience possible. Let us be proud for ourselves and for our beloved Rotary Club of Manila. We will be in the next centennial celebration in spirit and memory!

Rtn. Celso E. Abastillas

Congratulations and Good Luck, RCM!

Let me narrate what we, Manila Rotarians, normally do at our Thursday meetings for the consumption of the next generations of RCMers.

The bell is rung by the president to call the meeting to order. The World Famous Chorale then leads the singing of the national anthem, invocation, followed by the RCM hymn, the recital of the 4-way test, introduction of dignitaries and guests, welcome and happy birthday songs for the guests and birthday celebrants, in that order. Then the president’s time follows and finally the speech of the guest speaker, followed by an open forum. Finally, adjournment of the meeting. This routine happens every Thursday, except holidays.

Some funny things that happen during the meeting: right after the singing of the Rotary hymn, a member would holler like a cowboy; the recital of the 4-way test would be made fun by members by repeating everything that the leader says from, “Please repeat after me” until “Thank you”. This practice had been going on for years until it was stopped recently, as some old members complained that it was unbecoming of Rotarians. On open forum there is a member who would make comments long enough as if he is the guest speaker himself. This would elicit a loud cry from some members-“Question, Question?”.

The club has 4-5 viber groups for better and faster communication. There is one (R-Men) devoted to “anything goes” topics, be it jokes (dirty or otherwise), current events, fashion, politics, history and even some girlie topics and pictures which at times go beyond the limit of decency. Some left this group on account of the latter.

It’s not all fun though being a member of RCM. Like in any organization, politics and or bickerings are inevitable. There are misunderstandings but later on, the greater interests of the club prevail. At the end of every misunderstanding, be it due to differences in opinions, principles or otherwise, members would close ranks eventually for the success of the club’s project. One good example is the celebration of the centennial year. It started quite slowly as only a few wanted to get involved in the beginning. But as the “D Day” approached, almost every member is participating and attending meetings, otherwise “they will miss the action, a.k.a fun” from this kind of project which happens only after every century.

The club currently consisting of 225 members has about 10 projects a year. Popular of them are the prestigious awards in journalism, tourism and labor (Tower). Likewise, what really makes RCM’s meetings interesting and worth attending is the rendition with passion and conviction by the World Famous Chorale of Lupang Hinirang and RCM hymn. One line in the hymn which invigorates RCMers is: “RCM is composed of men who are bold and daring”. Upon singing the hymn passionately in chorus with the World Famous Chorale, it really makes you feel prouder as a RCM member. Indeed, the regular Thursday meeting featured with good speakers and good renditions by World Famous Chorale are weekly preoccupations which members normally look forward to. We, the members, feel happy and obliged to attend Thursday meetings with much anticipation. We are a relatively old club, 100 years old with over 60’s members. While for some, going there on wheel chair is a hassle, yet they still would come and sing with the World Famous Chorale. That’s exactly the spirit at the Rotary Club of Manila.

Quality in members’ selection makes RCM one of the premier clubs in the Philippines as well as in Asia, a part of its excellence tradition to which it has never wavered for 100 years now. Yours truly has been a part of RCM for about 7 years now and I have seen how the club grows in prestige and in quality of membership. By the way, the recently concluded Centennial Celebration was a good example on how RCM members, despite some differences in style and opinions, could join together to deliver on a great project like this. Congratulations and snappy salute to RCM especially to President Susing Pineda, Chairs DE/BLA Amading Valdez, VPE/PAT Hermie Esguerra, PD Phil Ong and the rest of the guys who made the celebration a tremendous Success! And for the incoming/succeeding officers, Good Luck on the next century of the Rotary movement in the Philippines and in Asia. Mabuhay!