American Chamber of Commerce "Honor Your Secretary Day"

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc.

AmCham Philippines is the oldest American Chamber abroad –and the first in Asia. It has been a premier business organization for over 100 years; initiated in 1902 and incorporated in 1920 under the then American regime in the Philippines. It is committed to the promotion of US-RP relations at all levels and boasts 23 standing committees and two Foundations that cover all aspects of business and industry in the country.

" The Chamber exists to serve the interests of U.S. businesses through the participation of members in promoting their long-term objectives, while contributing to the civic and economic development of the Philippines."

The Invitation to the American of Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines "Honor Your Secretary Day"

Last February 18, 2011, we attended the 28th Amcham "Honor Your Secretary Day" held at the Mandarin Hotel, Makati City. The Amcham "Honor Your Secretary Day" is an annual event honoring all administrative professionals. My boss, Greg Reichow was not able to attend the event since he was occupied with the visit of our COO from our U.S. headquarter.  Only the Cell Fab 1 Site Director went with us to this event.

The Guest Speaker, JESSICA SOJO

Jessica Soho is a Filipino reporter, documentarian, host, producer and currently the acting news director of GMA Network. She joined the GMA team in the mid-80s, fresh from college, barely finished with her undergraduate thesis.

Soho's first voice-over report was a feature story on the inauguration of the Light Rail Transit from Baclaran to Monumento. Later she was assigned to the defense and military beat. Eventually, Soho's reputation and responsibility have increased dramatically since then.

She is the first Filipino to win in the New York Film Festival for Coverage of a Breaking Story for her account of a hostage crisis in Cagayan Valley. She also received the Ka Doroy Valencia Award given by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. In 1994, she received the Grand Prize from the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union for her riveting coverage of a breaking news story. Soho is included in the list of 100 Filipino Women of Distinction.

She helped conceptualize the one-hour documentary television program I-Witness, which ran for over 10 years becoming the longest running late-night program on the air as of 2009.Her documentaries on the Kidneys for Sale business and Kamao death sport made her the first Filipino reporter, with GMA Network as the first Filipino network, to win the George Foster Peabody Award on 1999.

With my other colleagues at Sunpower, Evangeline Malabuyoc and Kathleen Tenedero

The Sunpower Administrative personnel with Cell Fab 1 Site Director, Rey Mella

An Entertainment from a band

With Jessica Soho,  Broadcast Journalist and New Director of GMA Network

Attendees to this event were given a rose at the registration area

With my colleague at the Mandarin Hotel lobby

Mushroom Soup

The yummy food

Pretty Gems and Charms by PINK BOX !

The PINK BOX STORE

Pinkbox, a retail company established in 2002 that has since grown into one of the major players in the country’s fashion accessories industry today.

Pinkbox is the result of one woman’s vision to give the discriminating Filipino consumer a line of trendy, unique, well-made, and affordable fashion and costume accessories that were comparable to international brands. The company set out to offer a wide range of products – from hair accessories to personalized fashion accents, ready made charms, stationery collections and novelty items – at price points that are within everybody’s budget.

The colorful atmospherics and collaterals of Pinkbox, its innovative, fashion-forward and fun merchandise, and the excellent and personalized service of its staff captured the hearts and purses of the market.

I gave this to my friend, Maria Queri "MT" through a colleague who is going back to the U.S.

My gifts for my friends last Valentines Day

For you and me

Charms that rocks !

I gave you my heart ! Take care of it !

Cute little shoes and slippers !

Letter Key Chains

Our Share and Learn @ Lunch Program

Share and Learn @ Lunch Program

Last October, 2010, I initiated the "Share & Learn @ Lunch Program" at our Cell Fab 2 Site in Batangas City.  The attendees were mostly from the Administration side and I invited some other employees from support group since Administrative staff are only a few.  The launching was successful and everyone had a great time during the session. 

Faith Lago-Ramirez presenting her topic

WHAT IS SHARE and LEARN @ LUNCH PROGRAM ?  It is a sharing, learning and training event scheduled during the lunch hour. It is a way to get training done by making the lunch hour multi-tasking.  I actually formed this for the administrative personnel which includes me to boost our morale and motivation since I felt that we are left out and not given much attention in the organization.  Most of the programs concentrate on the manufacturing operations people.

Presentation Material of Faith Lago-Ramirez

Fe Imperial discussing her material which is entitled "Growing in SunPower"

We are happy that one of the management staff, our Security Director, Henry Castaneda is supporting us and attending our Program to give some comments and advice.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SHARE and LEARN PROGRAM :

To give the employee the opportunity to SPEAK, SPEAK, and SPEAK and improve his/her communication skills

To boost one’s speaking confidence

To learn from other employees






To foster camaraderie among employees

Eva Dela Cruz' topic entitled "Workplace Relationships"

Last February 14, 2011, Valentine's Day was our second assembly. I scheduled it on this day to share the love and celebrate Valentine's Day with my office colleagues.

Typical  Topics for Share and Learn @ Lunch Program

1.  Skills Training – anything that will enhance your ability, talent and competence (e.g. communication, leadership, sports, etc)

2.  Professional Development – Give people the opportunity to learn what other departments do

3.  Personal Development – offers an occasional session on any talent any of the employees is willing to teach (e.g. painting, drawing, etc.)

4.  Product Training – learn about the company’s product and services

5.  Life Skills – Anything that helps employees learn (e.g. household budgeting, child care and parenting, first aid, fire safety, etc)

Eva dela Cruz from our in-house travel agency, Northstar Travel was scheduled to present that day

Here we are : From left, Grace Cus, Me ~ Elvie Mesiona, Mary Ahnne Razon, Jaycelyn Chavez and Eva dela Cruz

With the attendees from Administration, Finance, EHS, Back-end Operation and Security Dept.

From left : Grace Cus, Fe Imperial and myself enjoying our lunch

Jaycelyn Chavez' topic "Basics of Time and Stress Management

Jaycee discussing her materials with our participation

From left : Desiree Alpajora, Andrea Bunquin and Eva dela Cruz

Our delicious lunch !

My Cute Figurines

They look like "Precious Moments"...so adorable !!!

I love collecting figurines and I am featuring some of them here.  I bought these in various stores in the Philippines.

A cute girl with a dog

A boy and a girl...so sweet !  This is actually a lamp

I'm going to the beach

Ballerina figurines

My Cute little fairies

Cute candy jars

Sweet lady !

Sultan Abdul Samad Building (Kuala Lumpur)

Sultan Abdul Samad Building,Kuala Lumpur

During my tour of Kuala Lumpur in December, 2010, I noticed a beautiful and majestic structure along the way. My driver told me that the building is known as "Sultan Abdul Samad Building". It is located in front of the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and the Royal Selangor Club, by Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The structure takes its name from Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when construction began.

The structure has a shiny copper dome and a 40m high clock tower, it is a major landmark in the city. It serves as the backdrop for important events such as the National Day Parade on August 31 and the ushering in of the New Year. This heritage building used to be occupied by the then Apex Court of Malaysia, the Supreme Court which was subsequently renamed the Federal Court. The Court of Appeal was also housed in this historic building. The Federal Court and the Court of Appeals have since moved to the Palace of Justice located in Putrajaya, the new Federal administrative capital.

It was designed by A.C. Norman and built in 1894-1897 to house several important government departments during the British administration.  A.C. Norman spent time in Africa and saw Muslim mosques in India which led him to use Moorish architecture in the building's design.