Welcome to our Guest of Honor and Speaker, former mayor (3 terms) of Narvacan, the Honorable Edgardo T. Zaragoza. We invited him as Guest Speaker not because his first name is "Edgardo" which is in everyone's lips nowadays ( as in Angara or Espiritu ), nor because he hails from Ilocos Sur, where the current crisis all began, but because the guy is an achiever ( look at his bio-data ) and so we can learn a lot from him. Still, if you want to ask his opinion about his fellow politician, Governor Chavit Singson, whom we wish to invite but cannot locate, you may do so in the open forum. Gov. Singson has joined the ranks of the NPA ( no permanent address ).

The Mid-year Review in Vigan last Saturday ( 1-13 ), showed that our Club has a big chance of doing a repeat of last year's incredible feat. We won 8 out of a possible 9 awards, missing out only on number of new recruits. This is more than that garnered by any other Club in the District. Still Governor Bennie refused to award any Plaque for Most Outstanding Over-all Club during the 'Mid-Year'. It is his opinion, that it is not over until it is over. I agree with him. We should still continue to do our best for the Club and for the Community.

Yesterday, I was in Agoo, and received another award in behalf of the Rotary PDG Rudy Nisce Foundation, which is affiliated with our Club. This was given by DMMMSU during their Foundation Day Celebrations.

Despite our awards, we do not want to rest on our laurels. In fact, we are again undertaking several Community Service Projects in our Adopted Schools and are also preparing for our upcoming Valentine's Party. Director Jerry Parlan and Chairman Reggie Chan will discuss the plans in today's meeting.