Message from
DG Anthony Paruñgao
District Governor, RY 2020 - 2021 | Rotary Club of Marikina North
February is Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month in the Rotary calendar. In observance of this monthly theme, the district will have a webinar on Anti-Human Trafficking on 16 February 2021 to be hosted by the Rotary Club of Pasig. This will feature no less than DOJ Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, the head of the country's Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. As attendance in the webinar will be considered a club activity for the Peace and Conflict Resolution Area of Focus, I look forward to seeing many of you in this noteworthy district event.
We just concluded our Mid-Year Review. Much has been said about this ground-breaking district activity - how 100% of the club presidents accomplished and submitted their respective checklists, how all but 4 submitted the accomplishment they are most proud of, how it took 3 weekends to complete, how each club president was given a chance to speak about his club, how well the district is doing - but, what stood out was how the clubs were addressing Rotary's four strategic priorities. More importantly, to see how we have helped and continue to help even more people was an inspiring experience! I doff my hat to the heroic effort exerted by the host club, RC Valenzuela, led by TP Arnold Cabiltes, with IPP Jojo Flores and PP Ronald Chua as the punong abalas. You guys are dabest!
On February 23, 2021, or World Rotary Day, we will be undertaking the innovative and groundbreaking environmental service project dubbed "Balikatan Para Sa Bakawan" at Lobo, Batangas. This mangrove virtual tree planting project, which addresses Rotary's seventh and newest Area of Focus (Protecting the Environment), is hosted by RC Marikina South. This early, I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this activity - from the hosts, to the donors most of whom came from our district, and our partners - for a truly successful collaborative endeavor. We were able to meet our target of 1,500 seedlings. I am so stoked at the prospect of watching the early morning livestream of this unique project!
Many of you are now busy preparing for our forthcoming District Conference scheduled late next month. Excitement can now be felt in the air as Talent Night practices are being held, Governor's Dance steps learned (through video tutorials), promotions done and publicity materials finalized to ensure maximum viewership, advertisements solicited and placed for the souvenir program, club listings paid, programs fine-tuned, shoots conducted, and the customized virtual platform constructed. Everything is falling into place. We will definitely have a different kind of conference, in keeping with this Year of Transformation, a DISCON to remember. Its success will be OUR success!
I cannot help but feel optimistic over DISCON 2021 as we already have more than 1,500 registered (and counting), a record by any standard, with still more than a month to go before the big event. But as the platform can accommodate up to 5,000 people, I earnestly request all my fellow Rotarians, all our lovely Spouses and partners, our Rotaractors and Interactors, to register now. Let this truly be the highlight of our Rotary Year together!
