Today we will have a representative of Rotary International in our midst and he is none other than our District Governor, Benny Uy.  During the recently concluded Membership Development, Retention and Protocol Seminar, our Governor mentioned that a lot of Club Presidents were nervous during their  encounters with the Governor during his visit.  He said that this was due to a misconception. His role is not that of an "Inspector General" out to catch  a club  doing something wrong.  His job is that of the "Chief Mechanic" who sees to it that our Rotary  wheels are spinning just fine. 

Last Satuday we had the Membership Development,  Retention  and Protocol Seminar at the Sea and Sky Hotel. The affair was organized by our  daughter club, the Rotary Club of Metro San Fernando La  Union.

It was a great success, according to  no less than  our District Governor. So the daughter club is following the footsteps of  its mother club. By the way, I wonder why we call  ourselves  the mother club when there is not a single mother  in our club. Anyway, thanks to Directors Jerry Parlan, Jun Tio and Richard Dy, Asst. Secretary Frank Buenaventura, Immediate Past-VP Arnold Ignacio and Rotarians Ruel Tana and Rick Marquez who were with me during the affair. This is aside from PDG Ces Mendoza and ADG Rey Bonifacio who of course, had parts in the program. So all in all, we were ten (10 ) registered members in the affair, which is our target.

During the same affair, 14 members of our club were recognized as "Pearl Awardees" for being active Rotarians for 30 years and above. We shall be personally awarding to these members the Plaques of Recognition given by our Governor during the "Membership" Seminar. 

Thanks to Rotarians Jun Tio, Frank Buenaventura and Romy Chan who accompanied me during the Well-Baby Contest held at the ITRMC OPD section during the entire morning of August 16. This affair which was sponsored by our club in coordination with the Pediatrics Section of ITRMC, has as its objective the increasing of awareness among parents in the less economically privileged sectors of  our society, the fact that taking good care of infants and toddlers need not be expensive. 

We also had the opening of the YMCA inter-civic Bowling Tournament last August 16  in the evening.  Taking up the cudgels for our club were PP Ben Ang, PP Canor Salvador, IP Richard Dy, Sgt.-at-Arms Arnel Chanpingco and Rotarian Romy Chan.  We lost our first round tussle with Lorma but our motto is of course to keep on doing our best and conduct ourselves like true sportsmen. 

Yesterday, our club hosted an affair for the representatives of Rotary Foundation who were here for the 3-H Grant Project involving Hospital Equipment Maintenance. Club Directors and physicians of the club were there with the guests enjoying the good food and ambiance at the newly opened La Mer Resort owned by Rotarian PP Bob Kaiser.             

DG Bennie may very well be that LEADER. A man of truly awesome credentials.

As a businessman, he is the Branch Manager of the family-owned Johnny's Supermarket, Angeles City. A Director & Corporate Secretary of Angeles Johnny's Supermarket Inc., and Chairman of the Board of Metro Angeles Insurance Agency , Inc.

GG Bennie was born in Angeles City on February 13, 1963. A graduate of Holy Angel University with a Degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Management.

He is happily married to Ma. Eliza G. Uy and blessed  two children.

DG Bennie comes from a family of Rotarians. His father PP Johnny Uy is a Charter President of  RC Angeles North, three of his four brothers and four sisters are  members of different Rotary Clubs in Angeles City.

His family is a great contributor to The Rotary Foundation.  His father is a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow and seven members in the family including his Mom and Spouse Liza are Paul Harris Fellows. DG Bennie is a Four (4) Time Paul Harris Fellow, a Benefactor and still a Paul Harris Sustaining Member.

He started his membership in 1988 as a charter member of RC Dau, five years later, he was one of the Founders of RC Metro Angeles. As a true-blooded Rotarian, he held various positions in the club and carried the record of leadership excellence. He was three (3) time Outstanding Rotarian and three (3) time Rotarian of the Year, two (2) time Club President and (2) time Leadership Awardee in the district not to mention that he is a One Hundred Percenter Home Club Attendance up to present

During his term as Club President of RC Metro Angeles, he played a pivotal role in initiating the noble Dugo Mo, Buhay Ko Project, the first of its kind in the District and pioneered the establishment of the Angeles City Blood Bank, that serves a number of lives not only in the city but also outside region 3 as well. For that leadership he was a recipient of RI Presidential Citation.

Held ranking positions in the District as: (1) Two (2) time DGGR; (2) two (2) time Chairman of the GML; (3) DGSR of RC Metro Angeles Centennial(4) GSE Coordinator and District Secretary. His dedication to Rotary goes beyond the shores. He attended the RI Convention in Korea, Taiwan, a voting delegate to Indiana, USA, a voting delegate in Singapore.

His motto in life being "hindi yan sinasabi, ginagawa", DG Bennie is a man who acts with courage and integrity, and stick to the ideals that has given meaning to Rotary. He may not be a perfect leader  but rather a true leader who is strong enough to inspire confidence and to gain the District respect. A leader who inspires others with the faith that the BEST IS YET TO COME