Perhaps in a sense, to a certain extent, every Rotary President-Elect is a bit reluctant about assuming office. We look to July 1 with some trepidation and reservation and not without misgivings.

    The countdown to July began the moment the names were submitted during the District Assembly nearly a year before...but reality began to bite somewhere around December during the Pre-PETS in Club Filipino...and then it really hit home when the definitive Presidents-Elect Training Seminar or PETS for short, took place that fateful weekend in March in Clark.

    My club RC San Juan Gems, under the leadership of CP Maricris Lim and GP Jane Caro was awarded the privilege of hosting the PETS for 2011. It was a huge honor...considering we are a newly chartered club...and a Herculean logistical challenge to gather 86 Club Presidents-Elect, an equal number of newly minted District Officers, and a lofty assemblage of past District Governors in one place, house them, entertain them, feed them, inspire them and stimulate them to take the cudgels for their clubs for a whole year, and live, breathe, talk, walk Rotary.

    It was an honor we didn't take lightly, and a logistical challenge we faced head on, sparing no effort and expense to make sure that the PETS 2011 would be an unforgettable experience for all concerned, one that would be the best the District has ever seen, in keeping with the standards that its illustrious audience deserved, and would expect from their District Governor-Elect who expect no less of them in the coming year.

    Every detail was carefully planned and deliberately selected...and every procedure painstakingly rehearsed and practiced....

    From the lamppost banners that lined the avenue leading to and the big bold signages at the venue announcing the event and the occasion...

    To the thunderous beat of the drums of the Ibon Tribal Dancers who welcomed each PE as he or she arrived to register with the contingent of GEMS clad in our trademark fuchsia blazers...

    To the adrenalin pumping theme music Americano used to signal the start of proceedings and lead the delegates in to the plenary and breakout sessions...

    To the orderly queuing of delegates and processional march into the hall accompanied by the dramatic music of Chariots of Fire...

    To the landmark audio visual presentation that inspired the incoming leaders and moved a number of them to tears of pride and joy especially when they heard the heartfelt message of encouragement and unity from the District Governor-Elect...

    To the punctual scheduling of modules and the invigorating lectures of the speakers, each of whom had been handpicked by the Faculty of the PETS to arm each incoming leader with a phalanx of information about the world of Rotary and the goals for the year that lay ahead...

    To the unobtrusive yet effective sergeant-at-arms, GEMS again, who helped keep time and order...

    To the festive fellowship that night marked by the retro music of the Bits and Pieces, and the phenomenally simple yet brilliant talent contest that cost no one any money, only guts and chutzpah...

    To the dinner that dragged on for a while, until the GEMS took matters into their own hands and started serving the guests to help speed up the meal service the hotel apparently had some problems managing...

    To the brilliant and invigorating team building session led by CP Maricris, herself a trainer of trainers... To the emotional and hair-raising closing that left the assembly of incoming leaders proud and ready to serve, now willing to grab the mantle given them with both hands and whole hearts...

    Not a moment was wasted, not a word misused, not a gesture lost, not a cue was missed as the GEMs, under the watchful eye of CP Maricris and GP Jane, hustled and herded the PE's through their mind boggling agenda that weekend.

    Buoyed by the incredible moral support of a formidable contingent of PDG's and their equally resplendent spouses, each PE bravely and happily faced up to fact after fact, task after task, with grace and enthusiasm, even under pressure.

    It was pretty much just a day and a half...but the information, wisdom, and strategies came at each PE at warp speed and in full force....

    It was just a day and a half...but the organizers and the GEMs left no stone unturned to drumbeat the significance and importance of the occasion and vocation, to enable each PE to step into the tableau of his or her mission, namely the leadership of a club of extraordinary men and women committed to serve, committed to truth, committed to fairness and friendship.

    It was just a day and a half...but it left each participant with indelible memories of an unbelievably exciting and fruitful experience that would light the way to the journey that awaited them, and prepared them for the unveiling of a presidency, while not necessarily of their own choosing, but now certainly of their own making.

    After what has arguably been dubbed as the best PETS the district has ever had in recent history, now we do not merely look to July 1...we look FORWARD to it, we EMBRACE our destinies, to REACH the goal of the largest NGO in the whole world, SERVICE ABOVE SELF! MP Dolores Cheng, RC San Juan Gems