cross post from my blog
Who was I kidding?
Vegas was cold and it was a good thing that I checked the weather before we left so I was able to make sure that I brought enough warm clothes. The drive to Vegas was surprisingly smooth. No traffic at all which allowed us to get there in 4 hours which is ideally what the whole drive is supposed to be. But since we left at 8PM, it was midnight when we got there and left with no choice but to sleep. We had an early start the next day.
My trip to Vegas this time was so much different from my previous ones. While my previous trips were more for relaxation and sans agenda, this time around its the opposite. We had a full day schedule to follow from 9AM to until we finish which was around 6PM with breaks only for lunch.
I learned a lot from the strategic planning. It is quite unique for an association of this kind to have such an activity. It makes it so professional that the officers and members are pretty much expected to be the same. I think its a good exercise so that all the officers are moving in one direction and goals are uniform. Though we didn't have a quorum since other officers had prior commitments I think we accomplished a lot as far as our plans for this year is concerned.
Part of the day's activities was a sharing of our personal motivations and organizational expectations. Even if its been a year since I was elected I still had apprehensions and anxieties whether I can do this. Don't get me wrong, I like being part of this association and I feel and believe that I have something to contribute. However, being a newbie and the youngest, I am not sure if I have a big enough voice to be heard. I expressed this during that time and I got assurance that it wont be the case. Our parliamentarian, Mano Karlo summed it well when he said that I shouldn't worry because isn't it a fact that when the "baby" cries it gets everyone's attention. That got me thinking and was a big relief to me. Oh they laughed at the fact that my emails to them have "mano" and "mana" before their names. Its a term of respect in our dialect and though it may seem like we are all equals here, my parents taught me better not to disrespect those older than I am. Its a habit that is hard to break nor do I have plans of breaking.
As secretary, I am in charge of membership and our goal now is to make use of technology to be able to reach out to more people, especially the younger ones. We have seen a surge of visits to the website and we want to use that to its full potential. In time a downloadable membership form will be available through the website.
I don't know if I am good enough representative for the younger ones but I think I was able to express our hesitations as far as having an active part in the association is concerned. I just am glad that the An Taclobanon does not only welcome this but is also appreciative of this. In fact they have been hoping for a long time now that the younger ones would take part. You seldom see this in associations that have been existing for as long as the An Taclobanon has which has been for 21 years now. There have been and still is skeptics out there. There are still negative responses and reactions out there. There are different factions out there who want to break the association apart. There have been problems here and there. It is expected especially if not everyone share the same vision and mission regardless if you come from the same place and some are only there for their self interests. It cannot be helped but the important thing is not allowing these things to break us nor succumbing to them.
At the end of the day much like me worrying over the declining temperature, my apprehensions were eased by the meeting and getting to know my fellow officers. Yes, it was cold but I came prepared so it didn't bother me.
Who was I kidding?
Vegas was cold and it was a good thing that I checked the weather before we left so I was able to make sure that I brought enough warm clothes. The drive to Vegas was surprisingly smooth. No traffic at all which allowed us to get there in 4 hours which is ideally what the whole drive is supposed to be. But since we left at 8PM, it was midnight when we got there and left with no choice but to sleep. We had an early start the next day.
My trip to Vegas this time was so much different from my previous ones. While my previous trips were more for relaxation and sans agenda, this time around its the opposite. We had a full day schedule to follow from 9AM to until we finish which was around 6PM with breaks only for lunch.
I learned a lot from the strategic planning. It is quite unique for an association of this kind to have such an activity. It makes it so professional that the officers and members are pretty much expected to be the same. I think its a good exercise so that all the officers are moving in one direction and goals are uniform. Though we didn't have a quorum since other officers had prior commitments I think we accomplished a lot as far as our plans for this year is concerned.
Part of the day's activities was a sharing of our personal motivations and organizational expectations. Even if its been a year since I was elected I still had apprehensions and anxieties whether I can do this. Don't get me wrong, I like being part of this association and I feel and believe that I have something to contribute. However, being a newbie and the youngest, I am not sure if I have a big enough voice to be heard. I expressed this during that time and I got assurance that it wont be the case. Our parliamentarian, Mano Karlo summed it well when he said that I shouldn't worry because isn't it a fact that when the "baby" cries it gets everyone's attention. That got me thinking and was a big relief to me. Oh they laughed at the fact that my emails to them have "mano" and "mana" before their names. Its a term of respect in our dialect and though it may seem like we are all equals here, my parents taught me better not to disrespect those older than I am. Its a habit that is hard to break nor do I have plans of breaking.
As secretary, I am in charge of membership and our goal now is to make use of technology to be able to reach out to more people, especially the younger ones. We have seen a surge of visits to the website and we want to use that to its full potential. In time a downloadable membership form will be available through the website.
I don't know if I am good enough representative for the younger ones but I think I was able to express our hesitations as far as having an active part in the association is concerned. I just am glad that the An Taclobanon does not only welcome this but is also appreciative of this. In fact they have been hoping for a long time now that the younger ones would take part. You seldom see this in associations that have been existing for as long as the An Taclobanon has which has been for 21 years now. There have been and still is skeptics out there. There are still negative responses and reactions out there. There are different factions out there who want to break the association apart. There have been problems here and there. It is expected especially if not everyone share the same vision and mission regardless if you come from the same place and some are only there for their self interests. It cannot be helped but the important thing is not allowing these things to break us nor succumbing to them.
At the end of the day much like me worrying over the declining temperature, my apprehensions were eased by the meeting and getting to know my fellow officers. Yes, it was cold but I came prepared so it didn't bother me.
