SEVENTEEN has become my favorite number since 2015 when I was the 17th club president of the Rotary Club (RC) of Kalayaan Cagayan de Oro.

It so happened that my induction as incoming president was on July 17, 2015, and the induction a year later with me as the outgoing president was on June 17, 2016.

In between, the club had its first ever movie premiere sponsorship on Dec. 17, 2015 at the Ayala Malls Centrio cinema for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Which was the major comeback of the “Star Wars” franchise after, hmmm, a 10-year pause? With the prequel, original, and sequel trilogies, keeping track can be a challenge.

Several months later, the club won 16 awards at the Rotary International District (RID) 3870 District Conference in Cotabato City, including Most Outstanding Club and Most Outstanding Club President.

After getting used to 17 as my seemingly lucky number that time, we actually counted the awards and then asked, Where’s the 17th?

The 17th award arrived a few months later through the Gold Presidential Citation from the Rotary International (RI) president. This was the very first year for an RI president to give that award and only three clubs in RID 3870, namely RC Kalayaan CDO, RC West CDO, and RC CDO East Urban, were able to get that, with much thanks to Clifford Roa who assisted us in completing the requirements.

RC West CDO and RC CDO East Urban then had Pres. Anna Marie Jardiolin-Medes and Pres. Conchitina Borja-Lagonera, respectively, and we called our group as the Tres Marias. Conchitina started calling us Dai, and that has remained as our term of endearment for each other.

One of us would send a message at the ungodly hour of three at dawn, either to ask about some Rotary requirement or to remind each other about what we still have to accomplish for our clubs and, without fail, one or two of us would always reply. The next message would then be, You’re still awake!

It was Dai Anne who constantly reminded us about the RI and the District Governor goals, and there were times when I was clueless and had to ask her, Unsa na?

Voluntary work has its ups and downs. That’s probably why RI’s population has been about 1.2 million since forever.

The 1.2 million use their precious time to attend Rotary meetings, and to chair and participate in Rotary programs and projects.

I’ve been what I call as a Retirian since July 2017. Yes, there’s that 17 again. “I learned the truth at seventeen,” as the Janis Ian song goes.

So many things have happened since then. And I now consider losing weight as my No. 1 accomplishment since birth. Because it’s the most difficult goal to achieve. Remember when Oprah Winfrey struggled with her weight despite having a personal chef and the multi-million dollars she could use in her weight-loss journey? Whew.

I’ve reached that age when I’d rather read, write, and spring-clean as I follow the carnivore diet and work out at the gym daily.