Today marks our 27th year. As I look back, I can’t help but reminisce a bit, seeing this behind-the-scenes ingress video of one of our events in the TeamAsia LinkedIn Page.
We started in 1992 as an event management company organizing the Asian Management Awards for the Asian Institute of Management and the Far Eastern Economic Review in six Asian countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). Back then, we were just a team of four: Mike Hamlin, my sister Pinky, Myles and me.
Mike and I would travel to each country, meet with the judges, the AIM board of governors, the AIM alumni association, business management schools, as well as local and regional media to invite companies to enter the Awards. We would print several thousand letters and nomination packets and send them out by snail mail.
Once the entries started coming in, we would pour over each one to ensure completeness of the responses. We would then organize meetings in each country to shortlist and then select winners, and with the media to promote the Awards. Once the winners were known, we would write each one to invite them to a gala awards dinner with the head of state as keynote speaker.
Raising sponsorship money to cover the cost of the project was another nail-biting challenge, as well as coordinating with the venue, caterers, florists, stylists, audio-visual suppliers, photographers and the like to ensure a successful press conference and awarding ceremonies. Why, we would even have to write the script ourselves.
Days before the gala awards in each country, our team would arrive armed with the glass trophies designed by Impy Pilapil and the exhibits that we would then have to physically carry and set-up ourselves. We would coordinate with the local registration team, print out tags, set-up registration, and brief the hired ushers for the event. We would arrange seating for between 500-700 VIP business guests, supervise the setting up of the backdrop and the styling of the venue, then dress up in formal clothes to greet the guests and manage the actual event.
Looking back, I am amazed that we were able to successfully organize the Awards for three years, at a time when there were no mobile phones, no faxes, no emails, no Internet. Truly, we’ve come a long way since then.
When we learned about the importance of sustainability through the League of Corporate Foundations, we decided to practice greening not just in our office, but in our events to reduce waste and impact on the environment. In the early days of event management, we would print thousands of direct mail invitations and send them by snail mail. As new technology was developed, we graduated to fax marketing and email marketing, supported by our team of dedicated telemarketers. Today, we promote our events through digital media, and hold virtual coordination meetings to avoid time-wasting city traffic.
We use event technology as an enabler to make the planning and marketing process easier, to engage guests and enhance their delegate experience, to capture online and onsite registration, share up-to-date event information to guests, collect their feedback, strengthen security, measure ROI, and more. We develop award-winning websites, mobile apps, AVPs, chatbots and audience response systems, and use different technologies for the WOW factor. Speaker presentations are no longer printed and bound in folders, but posted on the website and sent to guests for downloading.
While technology has in many ways made life easier for us, I must say that the secret ingredient to TeamAsia’s success is still the amazing people who create innovative ideas and deliver next-level experiences for brands using integrated marketing strategies.
From intimate executive briefings, corporate anniversary celebrations, and employee engagement activities to large-scale global conferences, TeamAsia handles each event with the same passion, excitement, and painstaking attention to detail. Armed with excellent organizational and story-telling skills and a creative approach to problem solving, our Experience, Creative, Content and Digital Marketing teams create unique turnkey events that bring next level experiences to brands, helping them connect meaningfully with their audiences.
Happy 27th anniversary, TeamAsia! It’s been an amazing adventure.
If there is one thing that is totally satisfying, it is sharing one’s gift of time, talent and treasure to those who need it most. I daresay that the volunteers and sponsors get more out of giving than the beneficiaries themselves. We’ve been so blessed to have this opportunity yearly. Little did we know that what we started in 2008 would snowball into a yearly tradition.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) and TeamAsia organized “My Dream in a Shoebox,” a beloved tradition of collecting and distributing shoeboxes filled with school supplies to less fortunate Filipino children. With the increasing support of our compassionate industry friends, we’ve grown from 200 shoebox donations in 2009 to more than 50,000 in 2015. These shoeboxes were donated to public schools and foundations covering Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Digital campaign #ShoeboxChallengePH
This year, we set ourselves a goal of 75,000 shoeboxes, which we are still on the way to achieving. So far, we’ve received over 60,000 shoeboxes, and pledges are still coming in. Early December, we launched a digital campaign called #ShoeboxChallengePH, where volunteers take a short video of themselves pledging to donate shoeboxes, then nominate three friends to do the same. Several people joined in the campaign, and this started the ball rolling.
A friend of mine, Bea Tan, vice president at Citibank, gathered her children and godchildren at her home one afternoon to stuff 50 shoeboxes and wrap them in festive paper. They all had so much fun wrapping the gifts, and I am sure the children will remember this for a very long time. I am so proud of her effort to instill the values of generosity of heart in the young!
Another friend, Joel Pascual of PEP Group, did a video on Facebook, and he says there were so many people interested to help, even some from overseas who contacted him through Facebook. Friends of mine from San Francisco have also donated willingly to the cause, as have personal friends who learn about this project. At TeamAsia, we rang the bell one day to signal the stop of work and the start of an afternoon of wrapping shoeboxes.
Last December, I’ve helped out at three gift-giving days, and would like to share what happened then.
December 10, 2016
Shoeboxes ready for distribution
Early that morning, we trooped to Barangay Payatas, Quezon City for our annual gift giving day of My Dream in a Shoebox at the Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc. (PAOFI). Run by the missions of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation, PAOFI provides social welfare development programs and services to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged persons/families relative to their health/medical, nutritional and educational needs.
Fr. Julio welcomes us to Payatas.
That day, however, Fr. Martin was in Lucena tending to their communities in Barangay Dalahican and Talao-Talao in Lucena City. Instead, it was PAOFI’s executive director, the genial Fr. Julio who welcomed us at Payatas, together with Michelle and Shyla.
We expected 500 scholars at PAOFI, but sadly only 300 of the kids could attend the actual gift giving because of the National Achievement Test that was being administered that day. However, 133 volunteers had signed up for that session, and we were a bit worried that we had too many volunteers. This turned out to be a boon as the volunteers had more opportunity to interact with the children.
First, we grouped the children into tens and assigned each group three volunteers to serve as their big sisters/brothers, then had them come up with a group cheer. This was a tremendous success as each group tried to outdo the other in their cheering prowess. Thanks to Bea Lim and Armo Armovit for serving as judges for the cheering competition. The groupings also allowed the volunteers and the children to bond.
We had two games, the Newspaper Dance and The Boat is Sinking, with United Health Group (UHG) volunteers serving as game masters with the help of FIS Global. Emerson and UHG comprised the food distribution committee. The big brothers and sisters took charge of distributing the shoeboxes to the kids in their care, as well as, getting them hotdog sandwiches, orange juice and Picnic shoestring potatoes.
We also had a storytelling session in Filipino, which I led based on a story of a young boy who was at a loss as to what to give to his teacher on Christmas. He was sad because he could not afford to buy a gift because of his poor circumstances but was inspired when his mother told him a story about another young boy in a similar situation who drew on his creativity to come up with the best gift in the world. I told them that the gift of love is the most important thing in the world.
And love it was that we experienced that day. Hearty thanks to our selfless volunteers from Emerson, FIS Global, P&G, United Health Global, TeamAsia and IBPAP. Thanks too to Emerson for sponsoring the food and drinks for the activity, to P&G for providing the prizes for the games, to Megaworld for the Picnic shoestring potatoes, to Asia Brewery for the yoghurt, and to all those who donated shoeboxes filled with school supplies! And congratulations to TeamAsia’s Clah Salindato and Beverly Aguilar and to IBPAP’s Cholo Antonio for organizing this gift-giving day! I daresay that the volunteers left PAOFI with hearts full of happiness and contentment for sharing themselves and their morning with the children. And the smiles on the faces of the children were priceless!
December 22, 2016
One thousand thirty-six children from sixteen damayan centers. That’s how many children awaited us at the covered courts of Parokya Pedro Calungsod in Southville 3, Muntinlupa. This quasi-parish under the stewardship of Fr. Benjamin Molina, Jr., was established on October 14, 2012 to service the spiritual needs of the informal settlers that have located in the housing resettlement in a 50-hectare portion of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reservation.
Our family with Fr. Didoy.
Not one to be fazed by such a daunting task, Fr. Didoy organized two gift-giving days for the children of the community, each one with 1,000 children. We were assigned to the second outreach. Come to think about it, Fr. Didoy has always set big, hairy goals when it came to helping people lead better lives. He was our parish priest at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish for three years, and he was (and still is) very much loved by the community. Which is why there were volunteers from Southbay and Goodwill who came to help that day.
Fr. Didoy telling the story of the first christmas tree during his homily.
But before the actual gift-giving, Fr. Didoy celebrated Holy Mass to remind everyone that we must first give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings. During his sermon, Fr. Didoy recounted the story of the very first Christmas tree that wanted to give homage to the King. The children were enthralled listening to his story, as they were, to my Filipino version of the “punong-kahoy na Pamasko.”
The volunteers distributing shoeboxes to the children.
What is amazing is that despite the large number of children, they were all extremely well-behaved, following the instructions of the youthful volunteers. Soon, the volunteers from the different companies began arriving: Henkel, Alorica, Infosys, Intelenet, Northern Trust, Asurion, DSM Manila, Serenitea and IBPAP and TeamAsia. And just like the multiplication of bread, the blessings overflowed that day. Earlier, we had sent over 1,000 shoeboxes filled with school supplies for the children. On the day of the outreach, however, Henkel delivered an additional 1,500 shoeboxes, followed by Asurion with 150 boxes and Serenitea with 155 boxes. The children were so happy, as they each brought home not one, but two shoeboxes, ensuring that that their siblings too would have supplies for school.
The children sang, danced, and played games with the volunteers eagerly helping out, especially when it came to distributing food and beverages as well as the shoeboxes. I noticed too that some of the volunteers brought along their own children, which is a great way to teach them the importance of sharing with those less fortunate.
After the outreach was over, the volunteers gathered for a souvenir photo. There were so many that we could hardly fit them in the photo, and had to take it from the second floor of the gym.
December 30
Once again, the gifts multiplied, this time at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish outreach. Five hundred children from the developing communities of Estrada 1 and 2, Mangga, Aratiles, Silangan, Villonco, and Waterfun were gathered early in the morning at the parish church. Outside the church, another hundred or so children waited in the hope of being allowed to join the festivities. Earlier, we had delivered 600 shoeboxes to Ascension. To our surprise, Alorica arrived with another 500 boxes. This meant we could give more than one box to each child inside the church, as well as, to the children waiting outside. Wonder of wonders!
While the children were singing in the church, the parish commission and youth volunteers, the corporate volunteers from VXI, Alorica, TeamAsia and IBPAP, as well as, individual volunteers like Michelle Cruz, Olette Gonzalez, Lou Mercado, Juliet and Rene Cinco, Jun and Tess Latorre, the Liwanag family, and many more were busy preparing the games, food and drinks and shoeboxes that would be distributed that day. Everyone had a task to fulfill, some as game masters, others as marshals, gift coordinators, food coordinators, and so on. There was even a clean up committee to pick up debris left by the event.
That Jolly Bee surprised and delighted the children.
A surprise visit by the Jollibee mascot got all the children excited, as did the various games organized for the children, like the straw relay, balloon relay and Japanese walk. Even my storytelling was listened to attentively by the children.
After the children had their snacks provided by VXI, they lined up to get their shoeboxes and other gifts from the volunteers. After this, they had their photo taken at the belen together with Fr. Joseph Landero, parish priest of Ascension of Our Lord.
Tired but happy volunteers at Ascension of Our Lord parish.
When the happy children had left, the volunteers broke bread and had souvenir photos taken at the parish. From the smiles on their faces, one could see that they were very pleased with themselves. And that’s the real blessing one gets from sharing.
Yesterday morning, I attended the launch of Brewing@AIM: Conversations with Thought Leaders with VP Leni Robredo as its very first guest speaker. Truth to tell, I was a bit miffed when I arrived at 8:45 am only to learn that the keynote speaker was scheduled to arrive at 10:30 am. It was nice though that there were some early birds like me, and so I joined the table of my friend, Yoling Sevilla, CEO of The Leather Collection, Inc. Yoling and I are both board members of the Women’s Business Council (WomenBizPH). Yoling invited me to her company’s 25th anniversary celebration at AIM on September 16, and reminded me that my late husband Mike who was then VP for External Affairs at AIM had given The Leather Collection its first big break with the AIM diary.
Yoling is one admirable woman, an entrepreneur par excellence, and is currently doing wonderful work with the GREAT Women project. She kidded me about her being the youngest graduate at our table, having finished the 18-month part-time program, Master in Entrepreneurship (ME). A relatively new offering of the Asian Institute of Management, ME is designed to help busy entrepreneurs grow their business, develop practical skills and realistic approaches to value creation and growth, and balance both personal and business goals.
Yoling and I were seated with AIM’s first MBM graduates from 1970 and 1971: Rene Sunico, Butch Bautista, Jun Orobia, and Chito Francisco. The talk around the table revolved around giving back to the community, particularly those who were devastated by super typhoon Yolanda. Rene shared that Republic Cement had built 25-sqm hyperbolic paraboloid houses in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Daanbantayan, Cebu. These houses were made to deflect the fiercest winds and withstand strong earthquakes, he said. Curious, I tried to remember my highschool geometry lessons and imagine how a hyperbolic paraboloid house would look. Rene tried to explain that the outside was pointed and the inside was round. Aha! So, it’s an igloo on the inside and a pyramid on the outside, I said aloud. To satisfy my curiosity, I asked him to send me photos of the houses, which he kindly did.
Promptly at 10:30am, Vice President Leni Robredo arrived. VP Leni also holds the office of chair of Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). She spoke quite passionately about her mission to eradicate poverty. Promising to make HUDCC a listening office, VP Leni shared her experience of traveling to the poorest and farthest barangays to meet and listen to Filipinos at the fringes of society. She admitted that working at the grassroots level was not the happy field trips and photo opportunities people thought them to be, but actually tense situations, mostly humid and tiring, where she met people who are angry, hungry and desperate for lack of opportunity. It was interesting that VP Leni called them partners in development rather than mere beneficiaries, giving them a more active role in improving their situation.
Citing the economic results posted two weeks ago where the Philippines hit 7% GDP growth, besting China’s 6%, VP Leni observed that this top line growth has put the country on the global map, and that now all eyes are trained on the Philippines. And yet, despite this economic boom, the inequality is startling with 52% of the national income belonging to the Richest, the top 20% Filipinos, while only a miniscule 4.45% of national income goes to the Poorest, the bottom 20% of Filipinos.
VP Leni pointed out that while inclusive growth is critical for the poor, it was also necessary so that businesses could grow sustainably. Admitting that government cannot do it alone, and that her office has a miniscule budget, she asked the AIM alumni to lend their support and help eradicate poverty through five main areas: 1) housing, 2) public health and hunger, 3) rural development and food security, 4) education, and women economic empowerment.
I was surprised to learn that there is a 5.7M total housing backlog, which translates to building 2,602 houses per day in the next six years. I nudged Rene Sunico and said this was right up his alley. But building houses alone will not solve the problem, VP Leni stressed. A whole eco-system must be built with livelihood opportunites, proper sewerage and drainage, security of tenure, schools, hospitals, parks, children’s playgrounds. HUDCC is also making it easier for people to have homes, by reducing paperwork for socialized housing from 27 to 9, and reducing processing time from two years to 15-30 days.
On the health front, VP Leni said there are 3.5M Filipino children suffering from stunting. Unless children are given better nutrition, a decade from now, the workforce will be weak and unfit for work. The objective is to improve nutritional intake of children in first 1,000 days of life from womb to two years. She cited the work that the Zuellig Foundation is undertaking to help address hunger and proper nutrition, and that of Seaoil in creating an Information Management System tool that allows data gathering of where the need is.
Rural development and food security can be addressed with Impact Investment. VP Leni cited the example of Jollibee Foundation that is helping small farming communities become entrepreneurs by teaching them to grow onions and sell them. This being a transition year in education with the K to12, the focus should be on career planning, skills development, and job matching. VP Leni shared that the aspiration of most high school seniors is to learn baking. Obviously, there is a great Disconnect as graduates need to have the right skills to enter the workforce. She urged LGUs to created a database of existing jobs that could be accessed to fight underemployment.
Women economic empowerment, VP Leni’s last initiative, is exactly what the Women’s Business Council (WomenBizPH) is advocating for, from livelihood training to mentoring, micro-finance and access to market. WomenBizPH has been in the forefront of organizing or collaborating with likeminded stakeholders in policy advocacy for women economic empowerment. For example, WomenBizPH served as the private sector representative during the last APEC Women in the Economy Forum held in Manila, as well as the lead partner of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in the Inclusive Lending Window for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs (ILAW) program that seeks to provide access to finance for women entrepreneurs. Other regular programs include quarterly WomenBizPH talks and bi-annual conferences, network and business matching, mentorship for entrepreneurial development and research on entrepreneurship.
VP Leni summed up her speech with three important takeaways learned during HUDCC’s listening and environmental scanning stage. First, the voices of communities must be heard; we must listen and find out what they need. Second, LGUs have a huge role to play to make poverty reduction a reality. Finally, there must be metrics that measure outcomes and not activities. She urged the private sector to work hand in hand with government to ensure inclusiveness for all. I trust that her words fell on fertile ears at AIM and that six years from now, poverty will be a thing of the past. One thing I am sure of, she can count on WomenBizH as a partner in development.
Bea, Cara, Niccolo and I are in the car driving to Tali where we will spend New Year’s Eve with the Lago family. Their daughter, Mandy is Cara’s best friend from St. Scholastica’s College, and they have invited us to their lovely beach home.
We’ve traditionally spent New Year’s Eve with family at home. After attending mass, we would gather the family and our househelp together in the dining room for Noche Buena, with the usual fare of chicken relleno, homemade ham, and queso de bola. Over dinner, we would play High-Low, where each one of us would share our high and low experiences for the year. We would then thank God for our many blessings, especially the gift of family and friends. After dinner, we would head for the balcony to watch the fireworks around us. At the stroke of midnight, we would toast to the New Year with champagne, hurriedly eat 12 grapes for good luck in the coming year, and hug and kiss each other. And then the children would go off to see their friends.
Two years ago, we did the usual New Yea’s Eve celebration, but it was so sad because Mike was no longer with us. We resolved then to have a different experience each year. Last year, we went to Palms Country Club, and this time we will be spending it at Tali.
Looking back at work, TeamAsia has had its best year in more than two decades under the able leadership of Bea as managing director, with the help of our committed and strong ManComm, and our growing family of enthusiastic, innovative, and young TeamAsians. We’ve organized several conferences like Arangkada, the 7th International IT-BPM Summit, the Zomato Restaurant Summit, the IMMAP Conference, and the Pacific Insurance Conference, as well as, supported various APEC events and the inaugural Madrid Fusion Manila. We’ve brought the delegate experience to a higher level with our event mobile apps, audience response system and B2B matching, and our digital and social media marketing. We’ve continued to work with stellar clients like Capital One, Globe, Pepsi, Chevron and Google. And we are so very thankful for staunch partners like Mart Miranda, Vince Feliciano, and Manolet Tobias who have been the wind behind our wings. It’s also been a year of strengthening operations and cleaning house.
On the family front, our Dada is just as beautiful and charming as ever, a rock for all of us, but more frail than usual. She is now 81 years old, and still threatens to travel to the US to visit her children and grandchildren and to Madrid to visit her sisters, already hatching travel plans.
My first born Bea has blossomed into a strong leader, inspiring everyone to do their best, working with each director to ensure everything is on track, gaining the confidence of clients, and bringing sunshine and sparkles to the office each day. She has attended the wedding of two of her best friends, one in Texas and the other in Hawaii, and will be going to another one in India next week. One day, a very lucky man will be able to win her heart, and I pray that he will take care of her and love her with all his heart.
Cara has left her beloved Boracay to come to Manila and work on slow food research for Chele Gonzalez of ArroZeria and Gallery Vask fame. This gives her the freedom to pursue her entrepreneurial dream. A week ago, she launched her online swimsuit line Diwata Swimwear, creating cheeky bikinis for young women who, like her, love to explore islands and oceans (www.diwataswimwear.com). I remember scouring the streets of Trastevere in Rome two Decembers ago with Cara looking for a shop that sold Lycra fabric for her bikini line, and trying to communicate in Spanish to the Italian shopkeeper what she needed. Watching her doodle on her drawing book, contact possible suppliers, search for a suitable seamstress, and travel to different islands for inspiration with Ramon to take photos for her website, has revealed a whole new dimension of my once shy little girl.
Now a strapping young man and all of 20 years old, Niccolo is working through his double degree of Applied Economics, major in Financial Economics, and Marketing Management at De La Salle University. He is buffed from regular visits to the gym, and still goes biking sometimes, but spends most of his time with Sam, his girlfriend, who has gotten him interested in baking cookies and exploring the art world. While he’s grown to be a young man, Niccolo continues to be sweet and caring.
As for me, I started the first day of 2015 in Hong Kong with my then boyfriend Rollie Gosiengfiao. We talked about a future together, but it was not meant to be for by the third week of January, he was gone, taken suddenly by a massive heart attack. This came on the heels of a crisis in my professional life. Grief-stricken, I was once again thrown into deep depression, and escaped to Madrid and Rome to be with kin and lick my wounds. Coming back, I arrived too late to see my dear aunt Julia alive. I focused on work and my various commitments to associations. I’ve visited Bangladesh three times for a World Bank related project, and learned how life is in that part of the world. Visiting other places in the world and experiencing their cultures have made me appreciate life even more, and whetted my appetite for adventure.
This December, I’ve closed the chapter on my three-year stint at the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) as director representing the Meeting, Incentives Travel, Conventions, Exhibitions & Events Services & Facilities Sector. I’ve also graduated from being president to chairman of the Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (PACEOS), and continue to be chairman of Hopkins International Partners, and trustee and board secretary of the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF). I’m very proud of the organizations I am part of as I believe these have a positive impact in the industries they represent.
I’m also very happy with our yearend CSR project, My Dream in a Shoebox Year 7, where we encourage volunteers to donate a used shoebox covered in festive Christmas wrapper and filled with school supplies. Jointly organized by TeamAsia and the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the annual project has helped thousands of children continue with their education. From 200 boxes collected in the first year, we’ve breached 35,000 so far this year, and with the help of volunteers from various BPM companies and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, have organized several outreach activities, distributing the shoeboxes where they are most needed. I’ve also done storytelling about the beauty of love, friendship and giving to 300 children at the Payatas Orione Foundation, to 1,000 children at the San Pedro Calungsod Quasi Parish, to 60 children at SOS Village, and to 500 children at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish. And through all of these, I realize that we actually gain more than the children, as we leave with hearts full of joy that we have made them smile.
Challenging times have a knack of revealing who your real friends are, the ones who stay with you through thick and thin. I am happy and grateful to learn who they are. I’ve also made new friends, like my Gee Whiz Girls and my L2C group, and my Bible Study Fellowship group that has kept me grounded in the Lord. And wonder of wonders, I’ve met a farmer who has turned out to be a great friend, bringing light and laughter into my life again. It’s been a challenging year, but as it turns out 2015 has been good overall, and I look forward to an awesome 2016.
As we close the year and greet 2016, I wish you all a long, happy, healthy, prosperous and wonderfully meaningful life.
It all started July 30 when I received a call from Techu asking if I would be willing to invite the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) ladies to the Hamlin Retreat in Alfonso on August 16. I immediately agreed. We had just finished celebrating the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) month, and the thought of having a break from work to relax, catch up with each other, and chat the day away seemed too good to pass up.
It was the brainchild of my LCF mentor, the lovely Lydia Sarmiento Enrile, who wanted to gather the ladies for a leisurely day of bonding. Soon the emails were flying back and forth as plans hatched, the menu firmed up, transportation issues settled, and more friends confirmed. Maurice Ligot of Ang Hortaleza Foundation promised to bring along her therapists for some serious pampering with their signature foot massage. Raffle queen Elaine Mapa galvanized into action. Excitement was at an all-time high. The list of confirmed guests grew longer: Vicky Garchitorena, Irene Labitad, Techu Tumbali, Cecile Alcantara, Camile Buenaventura, Malu Erni, Esther Santos, Ching Jorge, Tess Villacorta, Neury Chan, My Almogino-Calara, Nicole Tirona, Rory Tolentino, Joyce Talag, Linda Atayde.
What I didn’t figure out was how busy my entire week leading up to the Saturday ladies date would be, with back-to-back meetings late into the night. When would I ever find the time to shop, cook, and make all the preparations I wondered as Friday afternoon deepened into the evening? It was a relief to finally arrive at Alfonso, and to feel its peace settle in my soul. Although we’ve had the farm for almost eight years, this was the first time I would ever sleep there alone. It was blissful, and I slept like a babe, secure that Mike was watching over me, keeping me safe.
Early the next morning, I walked around the farm. It still looked sad from being ravaged by the storm, but the birds were chirping, the cicadas were humming, and the sun was peeking out, though the sky still seemed downcast. Internet connection was spotty, and has been since Glenda unleashed her fury on Alfonso, so I went looking for signal and finally found a faint one near the gate. I was startled when loud band music began playing outside our gate. And that’s when I found out that it was the town’s fiesta. I asked Jeovanie to set up the tables out back, but he discouraged me saying it always rained on fiesta days. Better to be safe and have the tables in the veranda.
Without Internet, I couldn’t make Jango work. While searching for our music CDs, I came upon one that was still unopened, Pure Country. Mike must have bought it. Putting it on, I was soon dancing to country music.
And then the ladies started arriving. Unfortunately some couldn’t make it and we missed their company. Laughing like little girls, we hugged and hugged each other. With everyone speaking, the decimal level quickly shot up. Pretty soon, we were partaking of the sumptuous lunch and gabbing our hearts away, taking turns at foot massages at the gazebo.
The afternoon passed quickly, and the ladies said good-bye but not before taking souvenir photos at the farm. I could not let them go without having the diwata shot, and everyone gamely picked a tree and posed.
Lydia captured how we all felt in her email last night, “How wonderful it was to discover that we have not changed all these years… that we are still the same LCF ladies “na mababa ang kaligayahan… that we still shriek at winning the raffle whether it is a bag of potato chips or a P500 gift certificate from SM care of Linda Atayde who had to fly to Cebu, or a heavy bag of condiments from Splash care of Maurice. Our afternoon was truly a fun-filled day thanks to all your contributions of food and sinful desserts. But most precious was sitting together, sharing stories once more, remembering friends in prayer and recounting past LCF fun days. Elaine Mapa continues to be our raffle queen. Most of all thank you, Monette for sharing your restful home with us, preparing the laing, fish and grilled vegetables, Malu for the adobo, Neury for the chicken a la king, lastly for the Cecille who saved the day for us by driving all the way to Alfonso. I am sure I missed someone or something, I only know that we are all hopeless romantics listening and vicariously sharing Vicky’s love story. Irene Labitad cannot show up next time without a new found love in her life. Thank you all ladies for making time to renew friendships, laugh at our silly jokes and continue to be women who serve but also know how to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. It is more fun with LCF friends. See you all in December!”
Truly, it was a day of fun and laughter well spent in the company of friends. I can’t wait till the next reunion!
August 1, 2014. Every last Wednesday of the month, TeamAsia stops work for an hour to celebrate staff birthdays and company achievements, break bread (well, mostly pizza and cupcakes), welcome new staff (who gamely butt spell their names), bid adieu to those who move on, play games, sing and dance sometimes, and generally have loads of fun together. Called Pop Up Wednesdays, this tradition was started by Bea a year ago when she came back from her studies in Boston to a company grieving the loss of its founder, her dad. Bea’s arrival was a breath of fresh air, full of sunshine and sparkles, and she quickly formed a team from different departments tasked to be as creative as they can be to come up with a fresh theme each month.
Themes vary depending on the times. We’ve had Zen (loved the shoulder and foot massages), Frozen (icy games), Glaze (hot choco and donuts), Blockbusters (challenging games), Soirees (getting to know you better), Filipiniana (tested our native tongue), TAkot 2013 (Halloween spooktivities that had the entire office transformed into the stuff of nightmares), Chinese New Year, and more. Pop Up Wednesdays was a date each month where we tucked away the stress of everyday work life and client deadlines to just talk to each other and reconnect as family. For a sneak peak into our Pop Up Wednesdays, check out this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBM2H0C4aE.
Today’s Pop Up was different. July is Corporate Social Responsibility Month, and we wanted to give back to our local community. Because of the busy week, we moved Pop Up to a Friday afternoon, and went offsite to Haven for Children along Zapote Road. Haven for Children is a center for male street children aged 7-13 years who are recovering from substance abuse like rugby and marijuana. Some are addicted to alcohol and smoking. We were warned not to take frontal photos as some of them have taken refuge there to escape from fraternities and gangs, and to watch out for our things.
My heart sank as I learned from some of the boys that they had been abandoned by their parents, beaten black and blue by barangay tanods who caught them stealing or sniffing, survived on the streets foraging leftovers from garbage disposals or begging for food. By a twist of fate, this could have been me or my children, I thought.
The initial aloofness was soon dispelled when we began playing our games. Grouped into six teams with ate and kuya TeamAsians as game masters, the boys enacted values like pagiging matulungin (helpfulness), pag-aalaga ng kalikasan (concern for the environment), pagpapakita ng respeto sa kapwa (showing respecting for others), and pagiging madasalin (being prayerful). Each tableau was unique and I was struck that the boys were more inclusive than most adults, showing prayer in different religions: Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and in different situations: at home, at church, during calamities and celebrations. It was difficult to judge the groups; I wanted to hug each and every child and congratulate them.
The hare, wall and archer game (big brother version of paper, scissors and stone) had everyone whooping, cheering, and jumping as they competed with each other. The hula hoop relay challenged the children’s physical agility, and boy, were they fast! Tired and spent after the games, TeamAsians and their young wards happily munched on the burgers, fries and soda we brought. The children then wanted to dance and sing for us, impromptu, to show their appreciation. They wanted to go on and on, but it was getting late, and sadly we had to leave. As we walked back to the cars, the kids made “mano,” hugged, and high-fived us. “Balik kayo, ha? Promise?,” a little child asked. I nodded, my heart in my throat. One of the boys ran after our senior graphic designer and handed her a rosary as a gift.
One of the “nanays” (social workers) observed that the children have never been as noisy and happy as this afternoon’s outreach, although there have been several groups that have visited. “Iba kayo,” she said, “talagang masaya.” Truth to tell, Pop Up Wednesdays have always been noisy and happy, but today was so much more. It was fulfilling. We thought we were giving back, but instead, we were the ones who gained, hearts bursting with happiness, in full measure.
The words of Luke 6:38 ring true: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.”
We definitely will be returning.
TeamAsia founder and president, trainer, event organizer, food and art lover. President, Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Supplier Philippines · teamasia.com
Today’s Pop Up was different. July is Corporate Social Responsibility Month, and we wanted to give back to our local community. Because of the busy week, we moved Pop Up to a Friday afternoon, and went offsite to Haven for Children along Zapote Road. Haven for Children is a center for male street children aged 7-13 years who are recovering from substance abuse like rugby and marijuana. Some are addicted to alcohol and smoking. We were warned not to take frontal photos as some of them have taken refuge there to escape from fraternities and gangs, and to watch out for our things.