Inspiring people comes easy for Governor Celso “Triple C” Cruz of District 3770. A self-made man, he worked himself up from shoeshine boy to taxi driver to marketing man, and now to founder and President Emeritus of the
Philippines’ premiere fireworks manufacturing and distribution organization. His life story is an uplifting tale of the power of perseverance and hope in the everyday man.
As district governor of the historic RI District 3770—a Rotary community that has produced illustrious Rotary leaders the likes of RIPP Mat Caparas and PRID Dr. Benny Santos—Triple C comes from a long line of prominent Rotary
Governors that has shaped the district into one of Philippine Rotary’s distinctive contributors to the growth of Rotarianism in this side of the globe.
The House of Friendship
Governor Triple, as he is now fondly referred to, Is quick to differentiate himself from his predecessors. In real life, he is unassuming. Yet, he carries himself with an aura of what Rotary pioneer Paul Harris called, in an interview in Tuskegee, “friendliness” and “neighborliness”— the foundational qualities of a true Rotarian. Even before his rise to the district governorship, in his home club, the Rotary Club of Guiguinto Suburbs where he is the first president, he led with a contagious, sensible go-getter attitude. Under his leadership, his club is spearheading the ambitious resurrection of D3370’s monumental House of Friendship (HOF), now envisioned to also be a Livelihood and Community Training Center under the auspices of the district, in partnership with vocational and training institutions.
Throwing in his personal money to the fundraising blitz, the fund now stands just Php 2 million short of completion. The new HOF at its original site in Tabe, Guiguinto, Bulacan, is at roofing stage, with donations in cash and
in kind continually pouring in. A sizeable part of these funds were personally solicited by Governor Triple.
Love Rotary More Today Than Yesterday
DG Celso believes that the first step to inspiring people is to give them reasons “to love Rotary and its mission in the world.”
“When we love our club, when we find ourselves itching to attend our meetings and participate in our community programs, we begin to radiate that love to others,” said Governor Triple in one club visit. Inspiration, he said, begins when people see Rotary as a benevolent force in the community, a partner of society in changing the lives of ordinary people.
“There’s a lot of love coming in from Rotary clubs. They only need to understand this idea of inspiration as a pragmatic and necessary tool for service,” he said.
Before his inaugural speech at Royce Hotel in Pampanga, the governor led the audience in singing the popular Spiral Staircase song, “Love You More Today Than Yesterday” with a twist, directing the song of affection to loving Rotary everyday. From then on, the song went around the district like a relentess last-song-syndrome, reminding everyone of their district governor’s counsel.
Triple the Love, Triple the Inspiration
District leaderships brand themselves with mnemonics that help Rotarians remember their governor’s call to action throughout the entire Rotary Year. Governor Celso’s monicker became
his message.
“If we love Rotary everyday, not only during club meetings or big conferences, it comes naturally for us to think, act, and be Rotary itself even outside of our regular commitments. We multiply that love and strive to serve even more. And when we triple the love, we triple the inspiration,” explains the governor.
Early in the first months of Governor Triple’s term, clubs all over the district responded to this call.
RC San Jose del Monte and RC San Miguel de Mayumo immediately launched new service projects in July—a New Born Screening Program and a WASH Project, respectively.
RC San Jose Golden Harvest responded with its own Portable WASH Projects in August. So did RC Talavera which launched its water project in Valle elementary School in Talavera.
In his recent visits to Northern Luzon clubs, Governor Triple witnessed a breakthrough program that provided a long-term solution to sustain the environment, and serves as a motivation for aspiring young leaders to emulate.
The Area 4 Rotary Clubs of Santiago, Midtown Santiago, and Cauayan in Isabela province launched a massive Tree Planting Program in August, in which Governor Celso and his district team participated.
A Bigger, Better District Family
Governor Triple envisions a district reaping the rewards of a truly inspiring district stewardship by the end of the Rotary year. Sharing the inspiration of RI President Barry Rassin, who Governor Triple looks up to as a visionary leader,
he projects the dramatic expansion and birth of new clubs all throughout the district.
“We are gunning to surpass the 2,000 membership mark by encouraging club
extension,” says the governor, citing as an example the recent meeting of the provisional new club in Malolos City—the RC Malolos Independencia sponsored by RC Malolos Hiyas, which he attended.
The governor also leads the campaign to organize more all-female clubs and encourage membership of women in Rotary, and planting the seeds of the future by initiating “a resurgence of Interact and Rotaract formation all over the district.” These, while raising resources for the various Rotary funds, which comprise the bloodline of Rotary’s humanitarian efforts—TRF, Polio Plus, and other funds.
“I see a bigger district family, and a more jam-packed, SRO District Conference as I begin to relinquish my stewardship of the district,” prophesies Governor Triple. “What better way to measure inspiration than to see more people
believing, loving being a Rotarian, and serving and giving out more of themselves, everyday.”
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