(Source: Business Mirror | November 22, 2017)
More than 200 professional executives from local and global associations on Tuesday gathered at the Associations Summit 5 (AS5) co-presented by the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) and the Tourism Promotions Board.
The two-day conference, which runs until November 23 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), featured 15 plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and learning tracks, and had 30 speakers who shared best practices and insights in association governance, leadership, and management, among others. This year’s theme, “Stronger Together,” tackled the increasing role that associations play in society.
International speakers included: Jeffers Miruka of the African Society of Association Executives (Building the Management Association Profession); Datuk John Lau Pang Heng, chairman of Acme Integrated Services Sdn Bhd. Malaysia and past international president of Toastmasters International (Strengthening Executive Leadership); Kathy NguyenManager, Client Services, Associations Forum Pty Ltd. Australia (Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Members); Alicia Yao Hong, director of China Social Organization (Building the Association Community: The China Experience); Chris Dingcong, founder and creative director of Springtime Design (The Role of Brand for Associations); and Eric L. Schmidt, Co-Founder and CEO of EventBank (Building Association Communities Through Events & High-Touch Engagement). John H. Graham IV, president and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), also joined via live video.
Aside from the various educational tracks during the event, the Association Summit 5 also shone the spotlight on outstanding associations and association board members and professionals through the “Ang SUSI Awards.”
The awards recognized associations for their outstanding achievements in six categories: helping the environment, empowering people, serving communities, enhancing trade and industry, developing technology solutions, and for being agents of change. In addition, there were two individual awards: the “Association Board Member of the Year” and the “Association Executive of the Year.”
This year’s ANG SUSI awardees were:
Association Executives of the Year
Ernesto M. Ordonez, president, Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (CeMAP)
Arnold P. Salvador, executive director of the Management Association of the Philippines
Board Member of the Year
Lorenzo C. Formoso, Philippine Retailers Association (PRA)
People Empowerment Award
Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) for its Certified Franchise Executive Program
Community Service Award
Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) for its “Agriculture Value Chain for Onion Farmers in San Jose City: Onion and Vegetables Producers Cooperative” and “Sari-Sari Store Training to Access and Resources (STAR) Program”
Merit Awards
Manila Sanitarium Foundation, Inc. for its Medical Outreach Programs
Philippine Nurses Association, Inc. for its “Salamat Doc” project
Psychological Association of the Philippines for its “Taskforce on Drug Recovery Support, Katatagan Kontra Droga sa Kumunidad,” a community-based drug recovery initiative
Industry Development Award
Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) for Franchise Asia Philippines
Technology Innovation Award
Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) for its NRCE Chatbot
Change Catalyst Award
Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) for its “Building Beyond Business Development Program and Practices”
PCAAE, dubbed as the “association of associations” in the country, was established in November 2013 to cater to the needs of association board members and professional association managers.
“Through the Association Summit, we hope to help associations think strategically about their future, particularly in light of global and local challenges that affect their sources of revenue, profile, and missions. We also invite associations to seize the social and professional development opportunities available from networking in an intimate setting with fellow members of the association community,” said PCAAE president and CEO, Octavio ‘Bobby’ Peralta.
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