People say that the first 100 days in office is crucial, since it is a gauge whether you will be successful in the remainder of your term. Having served our club for the last 100 days, I have mixed emotions. I feel successful, in the sense that I have a very supportive team behind me in all my endeavors; a team, that shares with me the same advocacy of service above self, a team that shares with me the same love and passion for ROTARY and most importantly, selfless dedication and loyalty to our club, THE ROTARY CLUB OF METRO ILOILO. Together, we were able to accomplish numerous projects, especially our Day Care Program. We brought happiness to a good number of children; provided medical help to our needy brothers and sisters; brought hope to the victims of Typhoon Frank. We also provided a source of livelihood to our physically and mentally challenged members of our society. I am confident that with the support of our officers and members, we can reap more accomplishment and honor for our club.

However, I still consider that I have failed in some aspect, since, until now I have not revived the interest of some of our members to be more active in our club. Until now, I cannot comprehend nor understood why some values of Rotary have been disregarded despite our club’s existence and excellence for 30 years. I considered this a big challenge in the remaining days of my administration, for I believed that a more active and vibrant membership could spell more success for our club.

The table tennis and basketball events were concluded last week with the Blue team winning the table tennis event and the Yellow team prevailed over the Blue Team in the Basketball event.

We also made our second partial delivery of livelihood equipment for our “Balay Dalangpan” project. Another batch of equipment will be delivered this month of October.

PDG Ramon “Toto” Locsin and IPP Kano Ng will be attending the Rotary Zone Institute Seminar conducted by Rotary International in Taiwan from October 15 to October 19, 2008 as our representatives, another mark of distinction for our club. Bon Voyage!