Netnet Camomot
IT’S July 1, 2016.
Mindanao Gold Star Daily celebrates its 27th anniversary today. I’ve been filling up a space here in the Opinion page since November 2010. That’s almost six years of writing, with Editor-in-Chief Herbie Gomez at the helm. This is the longest “relationship” I’ve had with a newspaper.
It all began when GSD President Bebotte Chu and I went to Cebu in 2010 to attend the multi-Rotary district public relations (PR) seminar there. I asked her if I could write for GSD, and she said yes. This was one of those things that I had to make happen, and it wouldn’t have happened had I not asked Bebotte.
Botte, thanks so much from the bottomless pit of my heart for the opportunity to write! You’ve been a blessing gyud.
Six years later, and here I am, still writing for GSD, and Bebotte and I are again with Rotary International District (RID) 3870’s PR Committee, this time with Past District Governor (PDG) Rhia Rita Abalos as our chair, and yours truly as vice-chair. Starting today, though, I’m the PR Committee OIC while PDG Rhia is on vacation.
Well, GSD is not the only one celebrating today since it’s a new day for Pinas as she welcomes her new prez, and a new day also for Rotary International (RI) as it begins the new Rotary year with the theme, Rotary Serving Humanity.
Yes, aside from the Rotary motto, Service Above Self, the organization also has a theme for each Rotary year.
We, the outgoing world-class presidents, have been replaced by the newly inducted all-star presidents. Each Rotary year’s team has its own nickname: world-class for our batch, all-star for the next. Some Rotarians joke about that--How about wa-class? Hehe. Joke only, for RI will certainly not be amused for its team to be wa-class.
The new Rotary club presidents of RID 3870 are celebrating the new Rotary year (RY) with “Dakilang Ina, Ikaw Na,” as suggested by District Governor (DG) Jing dela Calzada who’s an obstetrician-gynecologist, thus, her advocacy on having a project for mothers for the first day of RY 2016-2017.
Some clubs in the district opted to have this as a joint project with other clubs or with their Rotaract and Interact clubs since DG Jing has also included focusing on the Family of Rotary as part of her goals. Even the club inductions have been joint celebrations with the Rotaract and Interact clubs and also the Inner Wheel club.
Each Rotary year has its own goals, depending on the new RI president whose goals will of course be adopted by the district governor. DG Jing has made the district goals clear by also including in her PowerPoint presentations the corresponding goals that each Club should ideally achieve.
Rotary is now strict in monitoring projects. Our batch of presidents was the first one to fill up the Rotary Club Central (RCC) via rotary.org, and somewhere in that website, there's a system that connects the RCC to the Presidential Citation questionnaire. Only three clubs--Rotary Club (RC) of Kalayaan Cagayan de Oro, RC West CDO and RC CDO East Urban--among the 42 clubs in RID 3870 at that time received the PC, and all three got the highest--gold!
The Presidential Citation is the award that the RI president gives to the Club that has achieved the minimum number of goals stated therein. I and my fellow presidents or classmates, had to kind of go through the eye of a needle in inputting the club's goals and projects into the RCC, with the guidance of District Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Chair Clifford Roa who eventually became our superhero for helping us get the gold.
He’s now going around all the zones--there are four, covering areas from Cotabato to Iligan and Gingoog--to teach Rotarians how to go online in updating their clubs’ RI data.
This is a challenge for old-school Rotarians who are stuck with pen and paper and who refuse to touch computers. They can't forever rely on the District ICT chair or on their staff to go online for them.
I, for one, updated the RCC only with a few projects with Clifford’s guidance. But I had to finish the rest on my own.
Incoming presidents, of course, can’t still relate with what we, the world-class batch, had to go through in meeting RI requirements. That’s the beauty of the Rotary presidency--it can be an on-the-job training.
The world-class presidents are now planning our vacations while the all-star presidents are planning their Rotary year. We look at them with this stupid smile on our faces: If they only know what we had to go through.
But each president will have his own treasure chest of experiences, depending on how determined he is to reach goals. DG Jing wants her all-star team to have passion and to have fun while serving the community.
Well, I used to believe I have passion for reading and writing only--those are the two things that I would fight for. Aside from my family and friends, that is.
Then, I became club president. And, as they say, the rest is history.
RC Kalayaan CDO received 16 awards during the District Conference (Discon) in Cotabato City last April. Six of these were major awards, including Most Outstanding Club and Most Outstanding President (MOP).
I’ve been stuck with the number 17 upon realizing that we had our 17th induction on July 17 last year. I then got hooked on having at least 17 projects, giving $17,000 for The Rotary Foundation (TRF), the District TRF seminar was held in Iligan on October 17, 2016 and I took that as a good sign for the Club even if we were not its hosts, our block screening for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was on Dec. 17, 2015, and we were supposed to have “Finding Dory” on June 17, 2016, but cancelled it due to, hmmm... So, we had our 18th induction on that date instead.
Because of our “Star Wars” block screening, I ended my acceptance speech on July 17 last year with, May the Force be with us all! And ended my valedictory address last June 17 with, May the Force be with you!
Our then Club Secretary Kim Daguman also ended her Secretary’s Report for the weekly club bulletin with, May the Force be with you!
As for the $17,000 for the TRF, it morphed to at least $1,700. Still a great number--it still had 17 in there. And the Club was able to give more.
Upon noting the 16 awards we received at the Discon, I had to ask my friend RC Kalayaan CDO Past Pres. Linda Costales, 16 lang? Yup, blame my query on my obsession with 17.
And Linda replied, Ang ika-17 katong Presidential Citation. At that time, we didn’t know when it would be given to us, and we had no idea about the Gold, Silver and Bronze citations.
Then DG Leo Ochia handed it to us last June 22 during the induction of RC CDO Premier. When I saw the word Gold, I had this stupid smile on my face again. How did it feel? I felt relieved.
Service Above Self means you do this for the Club, for the district, for RI, and for the community. It's not about you. Only one of the 17 awards had my name, and that's for MOP. All the 16 awards had the name of the Club.
I did everything I can to bring RC Kalayaan CDO to greater heights. If my best was not good enough, well, what can I say?
I was the most reluctant president when I was pushed to become one in January 2015. I had no ambition at all to be president of anything. I was content being the club's forever-and-ever bulletin chair and public relations committee chair. That’s it.
Joel Quimbo was then the president-elect but he begged off. And that’s how Emma Tan, who was then being groomed to be the next president after Joel, and I ended up as the two choices for the presidency. I felt like, Oh my gas, what am I doing here? Past Assistant Governor and RC Kalayaan CDO Past Pres. Malene Camat gave us one toothpick each, with one longer than the other.
I think the one with the longer toothpick would be the next president? I'm not sure anymore. Basta, I was declared as the toothpick winner, and I became the saddest person in the room that night. I didn't want to be president, and not even a toothpick could convince me that I should be one. To top it all off, that January evening was the fellowship for us, January celebrants. Talk of birthday gifts, huh?
Then DG Manny Along, who attended our fellowship that night, and who was a witness to the toothpick picking, told me, Net, the PETS will be in Cebu. That's the Presidents-Elect Training Seminar. And it would be a few weeks from that night. The morning after, I bought plane tickets and reserved a hotel room for me and my sis. My journey as a reluctant president had begun.
And that journey ended yesterday, June 30, 2016, the last day of my term as RC Kalayaan CDO president.
No, I can't relate with PNoy or Noy--we have to remove the P since he's no longer the country's prez. He was prez for 100 million Pinoys. I was prez for 49 Pinoys. He was elected; I was, hmmm, toothpicked. He was probably willing; I was reluctant.
Each of the new Rotary club presidents in the district will have his own share of stories, too.
Congratulations to DG Jing and the All-Star Team!
And congratulations to Mindanao Gold Star Daily!
