Brother Epimaco
Cabanlit, members of the Steering Committee, Brothers
and sisters, good Morning.
I am genuinely delighted to
see all of you today and profoundly honored to be given the chance to formally
open this well anticipated 2nd Roman Sigma National Convention.My
long journey all the way here to General Santos City is vindicated by this
large turnout of members from all over the country and abroad.
It has now been more than 2
years since I have seen a similarly large gathering of Roman Sigma.
It’s also been about two
years since we’ve started mobilizing members of the Host Team of General Santos
City conglomeration of Chapters to organize this biennial gathering. I am
deeply indebted to this hardworking team for their actions on behalf of the
Steering Committee. I must take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation
to Sister Gina Perez-Johnston for leading her team in making this important
event happen. May I ask everyone to please give them a big round of applause.
Sis Gina was also
instrumental to why Sis Amie Zonio is here with us. If she had not strongly bid
for hosting this event in General Santos City, she would have not decided to
come home to her beloved Gensan, all the way from Virginia, USA. Please give another
big round of applause to these two fine sisters.
Iwill say that organizing
this event has not been an easy task.A few months after the 1st
National Convention, the conveners were practically groping in the dark, not
knowing where to begin. Sister Gina, Sister ElgienVerano, (whom I regret that
she is not here with us today due to a schedule conflict), and I incessantly
exchanged views over the internet about which strategy to use. The other
members of the conveners, Brod Leyto Labata and Brod Nestor Longakit, were so
busy at that time that we barely saw them come, online. Nevertheless, their
insights and encouragements gave us strength to keep the ball rolling.
Finally, we decided to
build an Interim Steering Committee, in which, I became the Chairperson, Sis
Elgien, the Chair for fund sourcing, and Sis Gina as Vice-Chair and also the
lead person of the Host Team. Sis Elgien’s contributions were incredibly
valuable up until the last hour, despite notifying us long before this
convention that she couldn’t attend. We kept her absence a secret to discourage
demoralization among members and the Host Team. Sis Elgien deserves a big round
of applause even in absentia.
The problems were never
totally solved after the organizing of the Interim Steering Committee. Five
people can’t do everything. This was aggravated by the fact that Sis Elgien and
I are living abroad. So we agreed to invite more members to join the Steering
Committee.
An addition of six members
was selected based on their contribution to the success of the 1st
National Convention and their potential contribution to the 2nd
National Convention. The response from our invitation was very encouraging.
Brod Dante Manlimos made the
coordination more effective by creating a Facebook page for the Steering
Committee. Brod Alexander Beley effectively coordinated with the Iligan
Chapters. Brod Ramil Sanchez provided us with effective online tools for
coordinating the registration as well as online streaming of our activity today
so that Romans who are not here can join us via the internet. Brod Elias Egam
is coordinating for the MSU –Marawi Chapter tagging along with our younger
brothers and sisters. Brod Raul Almeria coordinated with the Host Team to
create some of the materials for the program.
And last but not least, the
only rose among the thorns, Sis Amie Zonio, my Triangle batch mate, wrestled
with me and the rest of the Steering Committee in developingthe most
appropriate statement for our convention theme. Hence we have: Strengthen
the bond; let’s convene to shape the future. - A very fitting mantra for
this two-day celebration. Please give a big round of applause to the members of
the Steering Committee.
I am also impressed by these
people’s readiness and willingness to accept these responsibilities without
batting an eyelash, when I assigned these topics and tasks in the programme to
them. I salute you guys.
For more than four decades,
Roman Sigma had focused most of our energies on the usual activities campus
Fraternities and Sororities do; such as recruiting members, increasing our
numbers, socializing, etc. We did not anticipate the future. We never really
pondered on the fact that we would still be Romans beyond the university and
that there will be new generations of Romans born in various campuses around
the country. Thus, we never really thought about planning the next steps for upgrading
our organization to meet the challenges of a new era.
In the early 90’s, when
Sto. Nino Community Chapter was still very active, Brod Jerry Dela Cruz, one of
the prominent members and now a very successful businessman, asked me where we
are heading. He observed that while we met regularly, did some community
projects and ventured into small time enterprises (such as sponsoring benefit
dances in the town plaza during fiestas), most of the time our chapter’s money
was spent only on “tapok-tapok,” that
would always result in drinking sprees.
He opined that we can do
better than just socializing and recruiting and investing on petty projects. He
envisioned a “big” Roman Sigma, an organization that can be compared to
prominent civic organizations with a clear vision, mission and goals. I said
yes, it’s possible? The first concept for the Roman Sigma Foundation actually
originated from that conversation. Although that plan was not yet realized, it
was never forgotten. I said to myself, someday, the right opportunity will
present itself again. And it has, indeed, today! I believe we should consider
it all over again. And this time around, we’ll make it truly happen.
I believe things larger than
us do not happen like magic. It takes time, effort and a lot of patience for
something great to be born. Planning is its mother and the right time is its
birthday. The biennial national convention will provide us with that
opportunity. It is the only time that we members of the Roman Sigma family can
discuss these dreams. We will start here.
But first of all, we need
to delve further into ourselves: Know who we are, what we are, what we stand
for, and most importantly what our goals for existence are. We need to know all
of these things before we can determine what we really want and what we can do.
The foundations of our existence should first be strengthened. Only then can we
move on to the next phase.
Brothers and Sisters, the
national convention means an opportunity for us. To plan, discuss, exchange
ideas, and act on whatever is workable one at a time. We never need to rush
because this process is tedious. What is important is that we have started the
process. We should not cower despite how big these goals seem to be. We should
not be afraid to dream big, for only in dreaming and working hard for it can
our aspirations become a reality.
Heavy?
Looks challenging?
So it
seems, but I believe we can do it.
For two whole days and two
nights, the Steering Committee carefully selected activities that will guide us
towards achieving these goals. As you can see in the Programme, the activities
are loaded with lots of listening, participating and doing. No fun games!
This is because we are
still in the organizational strengthening phase, which is the first stage of
our process. When this is over, our next conventions will be a bit more active
and physical. There will be lots of leisure activities like beach volleyball
and fancy shows because we have done our homework already.
For that time, the next
Steering Committee may decide to extend the convention for 3 days. Why not? I
am confident that with our combined hard work and the expected excellent output
of this event, contributions will be pouring from members in support of the
next convention. Imagine, if only all members will contribute - say an average
of 1,000.00 pesos each - we will have more funds to spend for a three-day
convention.
Please look at the statistics;
In my crude estimate (Don’t
ask where I got the data. It’s just an educated guess.), our population is now more
or less numbering 2,000 members worldwide. But let’s get real. Let’s look at
tangible figures. In one of our Facebook
accounts (the one created by BrodRamil), there are 651 members and counting.
Of
this 651,
481-
I am certain to be full-pledged Romans
347 –are
employed
Of this 347
91- works or lives abroad
45-are in government service
197- are in private sector
14 – are engaged in business
117- are students
and
19- uncertain status
Therefore, if these 347
members would only send at least P1000 each, we will have a convention fund of
347,000.00 pesos. I’m sure there will be savings left that we can use to fund
beneficial projects.
Sounds exciting, right? So
maybe we should all spread the good news. What do we do now?Today and forward,
we will keep on connecting to all members worldwide. We will tell them what we
have been doing here so they will not hesitate to send their support for
upcoming conventions. We can do it over and over again!
*************************************************************************
Ok, I know you are keen to
get started. Me too! But let me make this quick announcement I’ve been asked to
deliver; ___________
******************************************************************************
I would like to leave you
with a quote from Thomas Moore. He said:”We need people in our lives with whom
we can be as open as possible. To have real conversation with people/ may seem
like such a simple, obvious suggestion, /but it involves a lot of courage”
I wish you all a very
interesting convention and a lot of real conversations.
Brothers and sisters, ladies
and gentlemen, it gives me great honor and pleasure to declare this 2nd
Roman Sigma National Convention open!
We may now partake from the
most delicious lunch Gensan has to offer. Indulge yourselves.
Thank you.
BrodJuanlorenzo
J. Castillon Jr., Chairperson-Steering Committee
Delivered
during the Opening, 2nd Roman Sigma National Convention held on October 27-29
at Water Gran Beach and Resorts, General Santos City
