Fellowship and service

Today marks the opening of a two-day District Conference (DISCON) of Rotary International District 3780 composed of 90 Rotary Clubs in Quezon City. The venue of the DISCON is the historic Manila Hotel and its floating pavilion, the M/S Philippines. Opening ceremonies begin at 1:30 in the afternoon although registration starts as early as 9 a.m. The first day will be highlighted by the "State of the District" address of District Governor (DG) Benjamin "Benjie" Bacorro and the first major speech of the Rotary International President Representative (RIPR), Rekha Shetty, a gracious, affable and articulate Lady Past District Governor of Rotary International District 3230 in India. Technical sessions will likewise be held on the following topics: Your Vocation as Service; Reaching Out to the Community; The Youth, Hope of the Motherland; Bridging the Seas with Service; Club Fellowship, Foundation of Service and What’s Up TRF (The Rotary Foundation). Capping the first day will be a Cultural Program at the Fiesta Pavilion with dinner and musical entertainment.

The highlights of the second day are the various presentations of different speakers who are recognized experts in their own fields. They will be talking in morning and afternoon plenary sessions about topics of interest and importance to Rotary’s programs of making this part of the world a better, healthier, cleaner and safer place. The speakers and their topics are: Ms. Patricia Evangelista, TV host and columnist, "A Youth’s View of Service Above Self"; Ms. Gina Lopez, chair of Bantay Kalikasan Foundation, "Ensuring Water Conservation through Environmental Initiatives"; Former President Fidel V. Ramos, "Service to the Nation – Continuity & Cooperation"; Ms. Vicky Garchitorena, chair, Ayala Foundation, Partnership of Excellence in Education; Past District Governor Mario Nery – Ethics Foundation of Service; Ms. Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, Women: Equal Partners in Service; and Dr. Bernardo Villegas, Knowing the Year Ahead. For one reason or another that escapes me now I also happen to be invited as speaker on the topic of "Enhancing Rotary’s Public Image". The closing event of the conference is the Governor’s Ball where DG Benjie Bacorro and his Ann Cyma and their family will entertain Rotarians and guests.

The DISCON is an annual gathering of Rotarians within the Rotary District where they renew their commitment to foster Rotary’s ideals of service so as to ensure the continuity of Rotary’s various humanitarian endeavors and programs. About 1,000 Rotarians and guests who are professionals, business persons and leaders in their respective fields are expected to attend the two-day event. Overall chair of this year’s DISCON is Past District Governor Melito "Bimbo" Salazar assisted by several other past district governors like Bobby Viray, Jess Laxamana, Efren Lim, Hermie Jarin and Nemie Peralta. The holding of the annual DISCON according to RIPR Ms. Rekha Shetty is like "drawing a Magic Circle which enfolds all Rotarians and their families in the magic of friendship and goodwill – a circle where all wounds are healed, where all gaps are bridged, where the light of understanding dispels the clouds of distrusts".

This year is actually the start of Rotary’s second century of service. Rotary International usually adopts a theme and President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar chose the very Rotary motto of "Service Above Self" as the most appropriate theme for the year because he said that "of the many wise words written by Rotarians over the past century he found none that defined Rotary and the Rotarian spirit better than these three words". This motto was first adopted barely six years after a lawyer, a coal dealer, a mining engineer and a tailor formed the first club in Chicago on February 23, 1905. Since then and for the next 95 years it has served as the underlying motif of the various efforts of Rotary, "to carry out humanitarian service, promote high ethical standards and work for international understanding and peace".

Indeed Rotary has provided various individuals all over the world the opportunity to serve their fellowmen and society through Rotary clubs where they could share their time, talents, and efforts in pursuing various altruistic and humanitarian projects more systematically and scientifically. On its 100th year Rotary has over 33,000 clubs with 1.2 million members coming for 168 countries. Focus of this year’s activities and service projects are literacy and education, health and hunger, and environment and water management. Clubs may also opt for other projects as the need of their community demands.

I have been a Rotarian for the past 20 years from the Rotary Club of Cubao West and I can say that I have truly discovered valuable treasures in Rotary in the form of opportunities: the opportunity to serve, to grow as a person and as a professional, to develop meaningful fellowship and to build a better world of friendship, peace and goodwill. What inspires me most are the total dedication and unwavering commitment of many fellow Rotarians. I see how they are stimulated by warm fellowship and driven by a spirit of pure volunteerism as they carry out projects after projects for the benefit of their fellowmen who need help.

Let me therefore extend my warm greetings of Mabuhay! to Rotary International and Rotary District 3780.

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