October 3, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_10032013

Kudos RC San Juan for a very successful hosting of Rotary Academy 101 held last September 28 at the Camelot Hotel. It was a well attended event meant for the Marikina and San Juan Zones (also known as Cluster 2). A total of 111 relatively new Rotarians (less than 2-years in Rotary) attended to get their dose of Rotary Information that will speed up their Rotarization. Recognition goes to AG Gina Sanchez and PE Rose Caoc who did most of the preparations, as well as members who had speaking parts during the program namely Pres. Therese Montecer, Rtn. Gigi Rodriguez, AG Gina Sanchez, and PP Pol Leoncio.

The Camelot Hotel of FDG Benny Pe has made its mark as an alternative venue for small District events. Incidentally, our FDG has been diligently preparing these past two weeks for his role as Day Chairman for today’s meeting.

Let us welcome our speaker Mr. Bob Noriega, former Asst. Coach of the UP Fighting Maroons who will give us an insider’s view of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men’s Basketball Tournament. Welcome to RC San Juan Coach Bob Noriega.

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec./PP Jovie

September 19, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_09192013

What a Rotary filled week it was from Sep. 9 to the 16^th. Outlined below are the various Club and Club related activities and meetings that transpired during said week.

Sep. 9 – IPP Jojo Bacarro and I attended the 3 pm meeting in Club Filipino for the coming Interact Assembly.

Sep. 11 – PE Rose Caoc, FDG Benny Pe, PN Jay Penaflor, Rtn Gigi Rodriguez and I met at the Club Filipino (10:30am) to discuss final preparations for the Financial Literacy Seminar project on Saturday 

Sep 14. Pres. Therese and AG Gina Sanchez attended the 5pm meeting at the Gloria Maris Restaurant to discuss the Rotary Academy 101.

Sep. 12 – was our regular weekly meeting with Mr. Ramir K. Libre as guest speaker. Rtn Jay Penaflor was also elected to be our club’s President Nominee – his term starts right after PE Rose Caoc.

Sep. 13 – I attended the BLT Monitoring meeting in the San Juan Elementary School together with the delegation from the Jollibee Foundation.

Sep. 14 – was the big day of our Financial Literacy Seminar project held from 8am to 5pm at the Camelot Hotel. Several members pitched-in to make this a successful project. Special mention goes to the following members: Service Director (FDG) Benny Pe for spearheading this project, PN Jay Penaflor who invited corporate sponsors and was also a speaker, Rtn Gigi Rodriguez who was master of ceremonies, AG Gina for inviting the Global Presidents and PP Doray for bringing in several patrons.

Sep. 15 – Pres. Therese attended the welcome dinner hosted by our District for Japanese Rotarians from District 2770 at the Pan Pacific Hotel. Our guests from RC Satte, Japan donated USD 1,800+ to install CCTV cameras in SJNHS.

Sep. 16 – we met with the same Japanese Rotarians for lunch at the Hai Kang Restaurant in Wilson St. After lunch we took them to the San Juan National High School and show them where the CCTV Camera’s would be installed. A courtesy call to Mayor Guia Gomez followed before they were brought by our rented van to their respective hotels (in Manila).

Next, our club will be Co-Host with our sister-club RC Marikina for the Rotary Academy 101 on Sep. 28. This will be held at the Camelot Hotel. And lastly, our Club will host the Second District Mass Induction of new members on November 16 (venue to be announced).

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec/PP Jovie

September 12, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_09122013

This observer has noticed that on two occasions, a female member have expressed their feeling of jealousy. The first was manifested by PP Doray Giorla when FDG Benny Pe escorted our guest speaker FCP Nikki de Vega to her place at the presidential table two meeting days ago. The next happened last week when PP Tito Villaroman of RC Downtown SJ introduced the lady branch manager of MetroBank to our club as a potential new member – this drew dagger eyes from FCP Therese Montecer. I think we better consider other ‘classifications’ except bankers for now.

This Saturday is a big day for our club as we conduct our whole day Financial Literacy Seminar at the Camelot Hotel. Preparations are underway and the organizing team feels that ‘we’ve got all bases covered.’ Everyone is enjoined to attend the seminar and bring at least one more participant. We will also start reminding sister club (RC Marikina) and the Global Presidents about their commitments.

Our Club has also been designated to sponsor the Rotary Academy 101 on September 28, 2013 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at the Valle Verde Country Club. This event will be for the San Juan and Marikina ‘Cluster.’

The next event assigned to our club is the 2^nd District Mass Induction on November 16, 2013 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm at the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino. This early, Baby Rotarian Gigi Rodriguez is being eyed to have a major role in our preparations for this event because of her expertise in events planning.

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

PP/Sec. Jovie 

September 5, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_09052013

Last Thursday was a very long “Rotary Day.” Our regular noontime weekly meeting featured Fr. Edgardo Dumaual as guest speaker. After Fr. Ed, we listened to Mr. Dante Diamante speak about the Plastic-to-Oil Recycling Machine. He represents the Japanese manufacturer. We have come to know about this marvellous invention when PP Jimmy Ortigas shared the video in our Egroup. The thread of emails received several favourable comments from our members. As such, we sought to invite the local distributor to enlighten us about a possible Environmental Literacy Project if our club would get our hands on the ‘demo’ unit and use this to educate school children about the benefits of recycling plastic into oil.

After our meeting, IPP Jojo Bacarro and I picked up sacks of bread donated by Mr. Rizalino Chua the brother-in-law of FDG Benny Pe and in turn donated these to San Juan’s Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Next, we motored through the normal rush hour traffic to the Marikina Rotary Center at 7:00pm where we attended the weekly meeting of RC Marikina and witnessed the signing of the Sister-Club Agreement between our clubs. Several members were able to observe how our sister club conducts its meeting and also listened to FDG Benny Pe pitch our seminar project on September 14.

Attending the meeting of RC Marikina – an all male club, brought nostalgic feelings of when I was a ‘baby’ Rotarian in the early 80’s and our club was still all male. Our spouses were called Rotary Anns and male testosterone was at its highest during Rotary meetings. In addition, similar to RC Marikina, our club also had a ‘club house’ at the mezzanine of the Padilla Arcade (atop a popular watering hole in Greenhills, San Mig Pub). Those were the good old days, and I remember our departed fellow Rotarians well and how their attitude towards Rotary have moulded how I regard Rotary today.

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec./PP Jovie

August 29, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_08292013

Last week’s guest speaker was FCP Atty. Nikki De Vega who spoke on the legalities of franchising your business. She is the ‘classmate’ of FCP Therese Montecer.

PP Doray Giorla said that she felt jealous when FDG Benny escorted FCP Nikki to the Presidential table from where she was seated before the start of the program.

The second month in the term of Pres. Therese is almost done except for the Mass Induction of New Members on Saturday, Aug. 31 that will be held at the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino. Registration starts at 1:00pm. Our new members Nani Madrasto, Gigi Rodriguez, Sam Alleje, and Cef (Jun) Bata are expected to attend the Mass Induction. Other members are requested to show their support for our new inductees by their presence in this District affair.

Our trip to RC Marikina was postponed last Thursday evening because the City of Marikina was still under state of calamity due to flooding caused by several days of torrential monsoon rains brought about by Typhoon Maring. We hope the situation in Marikina has improved so we can visit their club (this evening) and sign the Sister-Club Agreement.

Our September 14 Financial Literacy Seminar is getting closer and each of us are required to invite at least one person to attend this seminar project. Let us work to make this a successful project.

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec./PP Jovie 

August 22, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_08222013

I hope all is well after the torrential rains that befell Metro Manila and adjacent provinces in the past days.

A 14-man delegation from the Rotary Club of Marikina visited our club and joined our meeting last week as a gesture or expression of desire to enter into a Sister-Club Relations with our club. Today (Aug. 22) we will reciprocate by forming our own delegation and attend the meeting of RC Marikina at 6:00pm this evening at the Rotary Center in Marikina. The Sister-Club Agreement has been drafted by our Honorary Member PP Ver Farcon and will be signed this evening.

Donations of relief goods (food, clothing, medicines) for flood victims are being solicited from members of our club. Kindly inform President Therese and we will arrange for the pick-up and delivery of donated items.

New Rotarians namely, Nani Madrastom Gigi Rodriguez, Sam Alleje, and Cef (Jun) Bata are requested to attend the District Mass Induction on August 31, 2013 at the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino. Registration starts at 12:30pm.

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec./PP Jovie Sison 

August 15, 2013

Secretary’s Corner_08152013

Rtn. Gigi Rodriguez delivered her Classification Talk last week. As Executive Vice President and Business Development for AGR Xperts Corporation, what Gigi does is: direct, manage, develop marketing strategies and alliances to grow the network and projects related to the production and communication such as but not limited to Audio Visual Presentation, Event Documentaries, Event Management, Infomercials, TV commercials, Radio commercials, Electronic Billboard Ads, Social Events, Sports Marketing Shows.

Given her credentials, the Club is looking at asking Rtn. Gigi to assist in our hosting of the following District Rotary Events: (1) The September 28 Rotary Academy 101, (2) The Mass Induction of new members on October 12. 

Last Saturday August 10, several members were present at the Zone Interact Assembly at the San Juan National High School and the Blood Letting Project at the San Juan Gymnasium. The Blood Letting Project was done in partnership with the Red Cross San Juan Chapter.

FCP Therese will again be absent for today’s meeting and has informed VP Noni Topacio beforehand.

We are currently campaigning our forthcoming September 14 Financial Literacy Seminar. Our Club has resolved to do an “Each One Bring One” strategy where each member will be responsible for bringing at least one (paying) person to our seminar. With this strategy we hope to reach the target of at least 100 persons in our seminar. 

Cheers and enjoy Rotary J

Sec./PP Jovie