feet on the ground

Its 4AM and 4 hours to go before the SMEMCO anniversary celebration. Feeling a little rested and little better after last night's bout with stomach pains, I woke up with so much optimism and excitement in my heart. I still don't have the welcome remarks prepared for the program later so here I am in front of my brother's laptop thinking of how to start my speech.

well I better begin in 5...4...3...2...1



I love Sundays. Sundays are always special. Today February 5, 2012 is an extra special Sunday because we are celebrating our SMEMCO's 14th anniversary. It is a little extra special because today is also ate Bing Sagaray's birthday.

My regular Sunday would never be complete without this habit which I recently started after I heard it from Mr. Bayogos. Every Sunday morning, I would always make sure that I won't miss the talk of Bo Sanchez on TV. I missed today's episode since I am here celebrating this special Sunday with you and because of that I might as well share with you a message from Bo a few episodes ago.

It says : THE GREATER YOU BECOME, THE MORE HUMBLE YOU SHOULD BE. TO BE HUMBLE, YOU SHOULD THINK OF OTHER PEOPLE AS GREATER THAN YOU ARE.

I would like to share this beautiful message with you because this is the greatest lesson SMEMCO has taught me over the years. To be humble means to be always be of service to others even if sometimes it is an additional load of work on your part. To be humble is to keep your feet on the ground and not let your position intimidate other people. To be humble is to smile and be accommodating despite difficult situations and in front of difficult people. To be humble is to be patient and understanding of other people's problems which are oftentimes financial. To be humble is not uttering hurting words to others and to make things a little less complicated for them. Humility is not owning and doing everything on your own but to delegate tasks because others can do things better and never fail to acknowledge their efforts and be generous with appreciation. Humility is listening to others and learning from their wisdom. SMEMCO has truly shaped and helped me become a better person. It has taught me things I would never ever learn from books, seminars or masteral studies. It has taught me valuable lessons in life that is why my heart is always for SMEMCO.

SMEMCO started from humble beginnings initiated by the people who saw its potential and now 14 years later, our cooperative has grown bigger, has faced a lot of changes and challenges, and has evolved into 8.3M net worth cooperative from 100 thousand starting capital. As we grow bigger and greater, SMEMCO will always remain humble and will never stop learning from other people and from institutions. It will continue to seek guidance, be open to present realities in life and will never close its doors to opportunities. It will stay strong for more years because of its greatest foundation--- you, your passion and love for this cooperative.

My welcome remarks is getting longer so I would like to end this by thanking all of you for being there during my journey as a Chairperson of SMEMCO. Thank you to the BOD- Ate Dors, Sir Luis, Ate Sonia, Ate Anabel, Ate Narlina and Oliver. To the officers –ate celia, syensi inday and Suzanne. And to our staff Jeff and Elvie. It was a little less difficult ride for me because you were there to guide and support me. And to all of you, mga igsoon sa kooperatiba, daghang salamat. Please do not give up on SMEMCO.

Welcome to this celebration and enjoy this beautiful Sunday!