Dearest Leaders,

Good day! It has been just a month since July 1, but a lot of things have happened already. This speech is supposed to tell the vision and goals of the new rotary year, but I believe the challenges have started measuring the leadership capabilities of all of us greatly by now. Even before the new rotary began, the vision had already started to take shape in the district.

My journey began as a kid who wanted to do something. A child that doesn’t just want to sit and watch while others are busy. Little did he know that this meant making a difference. The bold move was made when that child turned into a high school youngster when opportunities for leadership were opened through the names "student council" and "interact." Right there and then, that youngster knew his passion, which was to serve other people.

Initially, I’m envisioning this rotary year as the year of innovation. Through the magic of prayers and belief, unexpectedly, it bridged two new words, alignment and opportunities. Alignment in the sense that the changes in rotaract have demonstrated great innovations by processes and by causes. Our RI President, Stephanie Urchick, has highlighted her immense prioritization of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belongingness. I believe that we must show others that we are all serious, not by words but by actions. Always remember that doing an activity about this cause wouldn’t be enough. It must always start with you, Rotaractor. Your awareness, perception, and actions towards people that represent the DEIB community would always show your true ideals towards this cause. Next are opportunities; the alignment of the improvements from our processes and mandates has now opened many of these for us. The opening of applications for district grants of rotaractors has now materialized through the application of the Rotaract District 3800. Other than that, being a membership type in RI, the opening of rotaract clubs through the different club models has been implemented in the chartering process. Moving forward, we’ll now see rotaract clubs with innovative and new approaches to handling their respective activities. Brace yourselves, as new experiences for us are about to be unveiled.

It has been just weeks since the new rotary year began when Typhoon Carina devastated our communities. The presidents and district officers, even though they haven’t been inducted yet, have already experienced the fullness of being full-pledged rotaractors and servant leaders. Despite being flooded and being victims themselves, it didn’t stop them from serving the community. A great number of Rotaractors initiated different donation drives and distributions in their respective communities. This really proved that real leaders have been chosen and that an oath is not needed to prove yourself as a person with compassion. With this, I am immensely proud of all the rotaractors in the district! Your resilience, as we are described, is astounding! In just a short period of time, your dedication and leadership have resurfaced well enough.

To the Hope-Creating presidents, thank you and congratulations for all your hard work! It wasn’t an easy year for us, but your efforts, dedication, and leadership have greatly marked our district and produced new reliable leaders. As I’ve said to some of you, please don’t leave your presidents. Guide them and help them materialize their vision. You’ll be of great help for them to surpass their term.

To my irresistibly magical presidents, good luck on our term. I am hoping you will all be able to execute your innovative and creative vision to better create magic in your communities. It wouldn’t be an easy year for all of you, for sure. But I believe in your capabilities and qualities as leaders. Be the luminary that you should be.

To my irresistibly magical district officers, my dream team. Thank you for saying yes to serving the district and our community. You have proven yourself well enough to be a luminary of magic. With this, don’t just carry it, instill it in other people. Let’s envision it as our job for the future. To produce not just the same, but even better leaders than us!

To my home club, the Rotaract Club of San Juan East. It has just started, but I am immensely grateful for your support already. You’ve always been there, from my preparations to my implementations. I am hoping for another fruitful year together! To my sponsoring club, the Rotary Club of San Juan East, you’ve molded me into who I am today, and now you are still here to support and show others the kind of family that we have in our club. Thank you so much for everything.

To the rotaractors, I’ll make sure you’ll experience new things this year. The team is working hard to integrate innovations into our processes and increase your awareness when it comes to the changes in RI. I hope to see you all at our upcoming activities!

The new rotary year has barely started but has already given us a lot of challenges that we’ve all surpassed together. I am happy to welcome you into this magical year. Together, let’s help bring magic to our communities and be irresistible leaders of resilience. God speed!

JAKE O. VILLABLANCA

District Rotaract Representative

Rotary Year 2024-2025