Every president’s legacy is to leave a stronger Club -- with committed Rotarians.

You will be president of your club but once (except for the second termers) and a successful term is what every president would wish for and work for.

Leading a district is not far from leading a club or vice versa . So both you and I have a common  goal of attaining the best of what we could contribute to the success of our district.

Let me tell you that like you too, I was a hesitant leader at the start – until I was literally dragged when I  when I was still grieving for the lost of a loved one. So it was an awakening for me to move on and I felt I will have to share, serving Rotary and serving others .

Again, both you and I are not far from having anxieties and fear about what it is like to lead a club or a district. Every now and then I develop goose pimples just like you.

One measure of success that you, as president, and I, as governor, should have, is how well one has implemented our goals and objectives and, of course, projects.

Today we will speak of one avenue of service in Rotary: Service Projects (or what we used to call community service).  Service Project is the heart of what Rotary is all about.  Since clubs exist primarily to serve the community, service projects are the vehicles in serving the community.

Our purpose today is for everyone of us to realize the importance of service projects.  We will reflect on what projects our club will embark on when our term comes.

You will relate with your fellow Presidents Elect on what projects our clubs can work on together in partnership and collaboration.

RI’s emphasis programs provide framework for project planning – like Water, Literacy, Health and nutrition  and of course my emphasis will be on Environment.

At this early stage, we all need to plan early (and this is one reason why we are having Pre Pets this early). We do not want to drown you with so many seminars while you are implementing your projects. This is why Presidents burn out.

We will hear from you what projects your clubs have been undertaking and will be continuing. 

I believe that  the success of a service project is not measured in numbers and costs but how well  a project was been implemented, sustained and carried out – no matter how big or small they may be.

Remember that our criteria for a good project will be:

• its relevance to the community
• its impact in terms of beneficiaries
• sustainability and continuity
• capacity building so that beneficiaries become self reliant and empowered to fulfill potential as human beings

I am calling into action all my PE’s, let us go” bigger than ourselves” serving beyond ourselves in fulfillment of Rotary’s motto “Service above self “.

I started my remarks by saying: Every president’s legacy is to leave a stronger Club with committed Rotarians, and I’d like to add: "... with committed Rotarians serving above self."

Good afternoon.