President’s Column
by Pres. Manuel U. Along

For the first time since Interplast Australia began coming here from 1998, I was deeply involved in hosting them and aiding them in their mission here. I have found those two weeks a very rewarding experience. Rewarding in the sense that I have come to appreciate the wonderful work they do here. I have seen the positive impact of their work in the lives of many indigent children (and some adults) not only in our city but also from other areas. This is indeed a wonderful project and I encourage everyone to get more involve the next time we undertake it.

The fellowship hosted last Oct. 22 by Lady Tere Sarraga for the Interplast team was well attended. We were honored by the presence of DG Bing Juarez and her spouse, Atty. Jun Juarez. Although DG Bing had to leave early to fulfill other commitments, Adm. Juarez, as he is called by us in the PCGA, stayed behind and clearly enjoyed the camaraderie prevailing that evening. He has such a magnetic personality and is a natural leader, that some could not help but try to recruit him into our club. He would surely be an asset to us.

It’s almost the end of October. We have just around six weeks left before we break up for the Christmas holidays. Time for us to hasten our pace. Although we have implemented several projects, they were mainly the ones we do year in and year out. For sure they are all worthwhile and deserve to be continued. But I think we could do more. We now have a membership of 55, up from 46 when we started the year. I am sure that fifty five Rotarians can collectively produce a project that will have a positive impact in our community. We should try. We need to try. After all, rotary is about SERVICE. That is the reason for our being. So, I encourage everyone to think of how we can give more SERVICE to our fellowmen.

We have the water project under the chairmanship of IPP Ric Gabaon. But it’s still in the planning stage. We hope that in the next few weeks, it will enter its implementation stage.

With his track record of accomplishments during his term, am pretty sure it will be another feather in the cap of IPP Ric.

Happy Halloween and a great weekend to you all!