Suppressing Fun in Manila: Big Juans meet the Little Juans 3/3

So here’s the reason why we came to Manila. But prior to this reason, there’s a greater one why I and the members decided to prepare to go to Manila.

Ateneo Marketing Club, of which I am the President, is an affiliate of the Philippine Junior Marketing Association – the National Organization for Marketing Clubs in the Philippines. It is actually the Youth Affiliate of the Philippine Marketing Association. Being an avid participant of PJMA’s MAD WORLD event wherein students over-all the Philippines gather together and listen to prestigious Marketing enthusiast as they share their expertise to us student-marketers.

Early on this school year, June 2012, the National Executive Board already published the dates of events for the whole school year. MAD WORLD’s gonna happen on 22nd of September. I updated the members regarding the PJMA’s activity and invited them to participate in such great opportunity to learn more from the experts. With excitement, I asked for advice from the MAD WORLD of when can we start to book our flights for the event. She said, July 9. With instruction form the organizers, I also updated my members. Students are already excited to this event.

After more than a month of preparation and anticipation, the Luzon area unfortunately experienced natural calamity that caused severe destruction to residents as well as establishments and institutions including the schools. In the middle August, I received a sad news about the cancellation of the event. Worst of this, 120 students from our club had already booked their flight.

So Ms. President? What are you going to do now?

After hearing the news, then this will be the most challenging thing I encountered being an officer in my lifetime. Facing members, their parents, national organization involvement, money, security, officers, trust, responsibility and accountability. What about now?

If I was to decide by my own and thought of my own pleasure without considering the club, members and others, I will not go to Manila. But I can’t think and decide that way of course.

I called a meeting among the officers and discuss with them. I told them of a proposal about giving the body the decision power if we will be going or not. Hence, in order to not being care-less and concern-less officers, we will instead conduct our own activity in replacement of the cancelled event. A company tour. But how? We only have less than a month to prepare for it.

The body decided to pursue going to Manila and the burden was on us officers. I contacted well-known companies, PnG, Nestle, Monde Nissin, Colgate-Palmolive, Abs-Cbn, and others. But unfortunately, our set date and their own available dates for tour didn’t match.

2 weeks prior to September 22. Mikaela Lacaba, MAD WORLD Chair and Transam Udarbe from New Era University, the CSR Head of the PJMA contacted me and informed me about their proposal of a tie-up activity with our club. We discussed the details of the event and considering the little probability for the tour, we agreed upon the tie-up.

2 days before the event, Transam called me to tell the bad news about the unavailability of our venue in Geronimo Elementary school. To tell you honestly, I am almost giving up on this thing. My heart is trembling because I can’t really understand why these things are happening to me. Yes, getting too much hysterical is all I can do for now because pressures are around me.

And here we are finally,