From the Editor... A Message from RI Pres. Majiyagbe Bring a Friend... a prospective Rotary Member Member Notes Destination Osaka Rotarians Also Laugh In it for the Long Term

by PP Lyne A. Abanilla,
RC Intramuros, D-3810

We, in Rotary, belong to an association of friends. To fully appreciate the import of this statement, one must define the words "Association" and "Friend". To do so, I consulted the dictionary and found the word association to mean: "An organization of persons having a common interest". And the word friend to mean: "One attached to another by affection or esteem; a favored companion". In this context, we find the statement to be true.

Further to this, I have yet to find any contrary to Aristotle's conviction that: "Friendship is a virtue. most necessary in view to living. For without friends no one would choose to live. (for even if we possessed everything but are without friends) what is the use of such prosperity without the opportunity of beneficence, which is exercised chiefly and in its most laudable form, towards friends?"

Also, I could not agree more to Aristotle's observation that affection or love is the best element of friendship - "For with respect to each other there is a mutual and recognized love, and those who love each other, wish well to each other in that respect in which they love one another. Now, those who love each other for their utility do not love each other for themselves but in virtue of some good which they get from each other."

The Rotary Club of Intramuros, like any other, is organized for the benefit of its community and beyond - our motto attests to this very ideal - for we are a community of men and women dedicated to "service above self" for the good of the community.

According to Aristotle, "every community is established with a view to some good; for mankind always act in order to obtain that which they think good".

In order for us to do more good, today and beyond tomorrow, we must guarantee the community of our club - we must add to our numbers. Also, in order for us to prosper, the revitalizing infusion of new members to our organization's life blood is paramount - for it is essential for our survival against the effects of the "oceans of time" and its ever changing tides.

In our search for new members, it may be prudent for us to consider the high standards which we aim to maintain. For a community to prosper successfully, its membership, both old and the new, must be able to coalesce to arise from the combination of distinct skills of expertise and become one. There must be a union for we cannot exist without each other.

If I may suggest, when considering one to be a member of a Rotary club, to keep in mind: One who can assimilate, one we can take in and appropriate as nourishment in revitalizing our club; one who can easily be absorbed into the system; one who can take to mind and thoroughly comprehend our motto "service above self"; one who can absorb the culture and mores of Rotary which is based on truth, fairness, acting only when it is for the benefit and good of all concerned. In short, one just like yourself.

New members of this caliber cannot but guarantee the continuity of our club, protect the very standards which we aim to maintain and enable us to do more good for our community and beyond, in the years to come. So, my dear fellow Rotarians and friends, in our next Rotary meeting, bring a friend, a prospective Rotary member.