THE Rotaract Club of Saipan installed its new officers and inducted its new members at Crowne Resort Plaza on Saturday, July 27.
The new officers are: President and Community Service Director Genelin Camacho; Vice President/Treasurer Arriane Antonio; Secretary Michael Camacho; Club Service Director Hillary Agulto; and International Service Director Simon Necesito.
The newly inducted members are Cameron Atalig, Richelle Caponpon, Princes Castro, Clyde Concubierta, Jimmy Marquez, Mark Pangelinan, Kaeli Pathil, Camille Quitugua, Jose Rabago, Abby Racoma, Angel Soguilon, and Kayla Yi.
In his address, Richard Baleares, who was the club president for the past three consecutive Rotary years, highlighted the three gaming tournaments, food drive, beach cleanups, bus stop adoption, financial literacy workshops, and other activities that the club undertook during its 10 years of existence.
He called on members to emphasize teamwork with the new officers.
“To me, the magic of Rotary, Rotaract and Interact comes from collectively walking together in unity and putting service above self,” he said. “It is something I’ve witnessed firsthand in [clubs in] Saipan, Guam, Japan, and Taiwan. You can accomplish many things individually, but as a group, especially a club like ours, we can do magical things together,” he said.
For her part, the new club president, Camacho, said she is looking forward to working with the members as a team.
“I cannot and will not promise you that the road ahead will be sunshine, flowers and rainbows. However, with everyone’s cooperation, support, respect and love for one another, I am sure that we all can carry forward the Rotary mission, which is service above self,” she added.
Rotaract and Interact clubs are programs affiliated with Rotary International, a global humanitarian organization. Rotaract is for adults aged 18 and above, while Interact is for young people aged 12 to 18.
Guest speaker
The ceremony on Saturday featured Precinct 5 Rep. TJ Manglona, who was asked by Rotaract members to deliver inspirational remarks.
Manglona spoke of the successes and tragedies of his life, to include his founding of Tribe Marianas, his election to public office, and the death of his young daughter.
He told the club members that they need to find inner motivation to drive themselves forward.
“We’re all going to come to a point in our life where we’re going to hit rock bottom,” he said. “No matter how high you get in life, it’s a roller coaster; it’s an up and down. I was at a high in my life in 2023. [I] got elected into office, and then here I am again at the absolute rock bottom, trying to figure out what is my motivation? How do I get up?” he said, referring to his daughter’s death.
“I realized that we’re all going to get to a point in life where we’re not going to have a physically tangible thing to motivate us. There’s nothing else [now] that motivates me other than my love, my passion for our people and our community,” he said.
Manglona spoke positively about community organizations such as the Rotaract Club, which, he said, operate “out of love.”
“At the end of the day why do we do what we do and why should we do what we do? Because we love it, we do it from our heart, we do it with passion, we do it with kindness. I don’t know if any of you have hit any bottoms yet, but I’m telling you they are going to come. But even when I thought I lost everything, if I can come back from that and still stay here and have a smile on my face, and still want to serve our community, then we can all do it and we can all do it together.”
The Rotaract Club inducted 12 new members on July 27 at Crowne Plaza Resort.
From left, new Rotaract Club President and Community Service Director Genelin Camacho, Vice President/Treasurer Arriane Antonio, Secretary Michael Camacho, Club Service Director Hillary Agulto, and International Service Director Simon Necesito.
Outgoing Rotaract Club President Richard Baleares emphasized teamwork in his address.
Precinct 5 Rep. TJ Manglona delivers inspirational remarks at the Rotaract Club of Saipan’s installation ceremony.
