Pet Escano Misa

Term:  1986 – 1988

My term as President came at the worst possible time in my life. The Club was bent on raising funds for our Casuntingan Day Care Center project, I was pregnant with my second child, my consultancy work was at its peak, and my husband was elected President of the Rotary Club of Cebu North. I walked into this task with the perfect formula for burnout. But surprisingly my fears were unfounded.

Zontians like fairy godmothers waved their magic wands and made the fundraising mission an exciting adventure instead of an uphill climb with a backpack of 50 kilos. We ventured into a mega production of an original musical for 40 children where each child sang or danced a role and brought in funds to win the coveted title of ZONTA Prince and Princess (a take-off from the small town “princesita” fundraising) I wrote the script, Betty Young found the child stars, Jessica Avila found anything we needed from props to lights. The rest of the Zontians just pitched in effortlessly like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and at the end, we met our financial target, I had my baby boy, my consultancy work continued, and my husband had a memorable term as Rotary President, such that he has now been reelected President of the same club after 29 years.

So what was my presidency of Zonta 2 like? A conductor harmonizing the diverse pool of talent available in each of the members who stepped up voluntarily and without coercion, then wielding the baton to make beautiful and fun music together.