Manila style! - MADS

situations vacant
Della Yilmaz
MadS PrESIdENt 2009-2010
■ It has been a very fulfilling year for me
as the President of mADS. I agreed to
take up this position last year because
I wanted to give back to mADS. mADS
has played a big role in helping us to
settle here in manila and we have made
so many good friends along the way.
I have decided to step down because
of personal commitments and also to let someone else experience this
opportunity.
the main role of the President is, of course, to make sure that
everything in this organization runs smoothly and to ensure that our
members are happy. this involves: checking and responding e-mails
daily, hosting a quarterly committee meeting to discuss any issues and to
ensure that everyone’s doing their job, planning and organizing events
for our members and liaising with sponsors and potential sponsors and
advertisers.
the President’s role requires no more than a couple of hours a week,
unless there’s an event to organize. Ideally, the President should be an
active member so they are well informed and aware of what’s going on in
the different playgroups.
my job this year has been made so much easier with the help of
such a wonderful group of people in the committee and I’d like to
thank those people.
please feel free to e-mail me at fredella77@hotmail.com if you
are interested on taking up this role and would like to ask further
questions or if you would like to nominate someone that you think
would be suitable for this position.
Teresa Lee
MadS VICE PrESIdENt 2009-2010
■ I was lucky to find mADS through AWcP
when I first moved to manila nearly 3 years
ago. At the time caitlin, my eldest, was 3
months. through mADS, I’ve met so many
lovely people who helped me settle in, as
well as answer countless silly and not so silly
child rearing questions.
In February, when our dear friend battee mathis left, Della
approached me to see if I would be happy to fill in as vice President.
I’ve never been vP of anything but really want to do my small part for
mADS and give back to this fabulous community and so, I agreed.
the vP role has been really easy so far. All that’s required is to
assist our fantastic president, Della. Since she’s so good at her
job, it’s made my job really easy! the main task is to answer email
questions, mostly from members-to-be. mADS being as diverse as
it is, we are so fortunate to have such talented, professional and
dedicated women, and men, handling everything from magazines,
websites, parties, playgroups, and everything else in between! It
almost have a pulse of it’s own! As vP, all that’s required is to check
in with the various committees every once in a while and offer
assistance when needed.
It has really been a privilege to serve as vP. I have met and
befriended such interesting women as my daughters have with their
darlings. So please think about volunteering. It’s really easy and you
will get back way more than you would ever give! I promise!
if you would like more detailed information on role of Vice
president please email leeteres@gmail.com
Beverley Gilbert
MadS MEMBErShIP
oFFICEr – MaKatI
2009-2010
■ At the last mADS AGm I took
over the membership role. At
the time we had only been in
manila for about 4 months and I
thought it would be a great way
to not only fill in a bit of time but to also meet new people.
the role has been great fun, I have met a lot of lovely mums and bubs
and even a few Dads and bubs, and to be honest, Jackie, my predecessor,
was 100% right. the membership officer needs to be organized; it doesn’t
take much for the database to get away on you. the candidate will need
to be friendly, remembering that the people on the other end of the email
are usually new to the country, potentially a wee bit frazzled and just dying
to get themselves into playgroups where the kids can mingle while the
other mummies reassure her that she will survive manila. And a lot patient
– there are some mummies that are a lot frazzled rather than a little…
the commitment is approx 2 – 3 hours per week with key times like
June July and December January being busier than others. because you
will be receiving membership forms and fees at your house or apartment
it is recommended that the membership officer live centrally in makati.
It is a role that makes you smile, especially when you think back
to when you were first new and how great it was that someone had
volunteered to hook you up to a playgroup and get you out of that
serviced apartment, even just a couple of hours…
if you would like more detailed information on role of membership
officer please email membership@madsmanila.com. remember you
don’t have to wait until the agm to volunteer – the lines are open now!!!
maDS coffee morning with anton Diaz
toP 10 awesome
Experiences
1. Sinulog Cebu- the biggest fiesta in
The Philippines
2. The Corregidor Island
3. Boracay
4. Club Paradise Beach, Coron, Palawan
5. Swimming in Kayangan, Coron- the
cleanest lake in The Philippines
6. Caramoan, Camarines Sur- best
emerging beach destination
7. Entalula Island, El Nido, Palawan
8. Isla Naburot, Guimaras, Visayas
9. Claude Tayag’s 5-way Lechon,
Pampanga
10. Benji Reyes Tahanan’s home,
Antipolo- best modern Filipino Home
In September mADS hosted another
successful coffee morning, this time with guest
speaker Anton Diaz, full time blogger of the
leading food and travel blog of the Philippines,
our Awesome Planet (www.ourawesomeplanet.
ph)- a blog dedicated to ‘ promoting the beauty
of the Philippines’. there was a huge turnout of
mADS mums and dads at Ayala museum's m
cafe, all eager to learn more about Anton's tips
for exploring the Philippines.
Anton Diaz is a father of three boys, aged 5, 2
and 6 months and who travels extensively around
the Philippines with his family and without a nanny!
His experiences are then blogged about on oAP
with some beautiful pictures, tips and destination
details. He has dined at most restaurants and local
culinary joints in the Philippines and reviews the
best of the lot on his blog.
He started blogging in 2005 soon after the birth
of this first son and by 2008, he quit his comfy It
job at Procter and Gamble and became a full time
blogger and write about his travels and culinary
experiences. Five years since, the blog is amongst
the top 10 Google hits for the Philippines travel
destinations or restaurant search and has articles
reviewing pretty much every destination in the
Philippines you’ve been thinking of visiting.
While we sipped our twining teas and coffees,
Anton announced he was going to reveal his
top 30 awesome experiences in Philippines. out
came the pens and papers, the smart phones
and the touch pad ready to jot down the expert’s
recommendations.
to our surprise, boracay is not Philippines top
tourist destination. nine million tourists flock to
Philippines each year, of which only 2.5 million are
international tourists. of these, the top tourism
destination is cebu, followed by camarines Sur
and then, manila. boracay, the land of powdery
white sand ranks number six in the official tourism
figures with baguio and Davao ranking 4 and 5
respectively.
His list of top 30 Awesome Destinations that
followed was an exhaustive list. He covered
destinations, restaurants, travel experiences,
World Heritage Sites and the nominees for the
7 natural Wonders of the world- Puerto Princesa
Subterranean river national Park. the floor was
then opened to Q and A and many questions
poured in. our members quizzed Anton on best
restaurants in manila which included Antonio’s
in tagatay, Lolo’s Dad in malate, Aubergine and
bistro Filipino to name a few. We tried to pry the
secrets of private dining and slightly reluctantly
(it’s a secret, right!). Anton shared a few names-
chef bruce’s kitchen table and minnie Puno’s
private dining in Alabang. You will find a more
comprehensive list on his blog.
As noted on his website, he created the blog
in the philippines, nothing
manmade is awesome. it’s
the natural beauty of the
7107 islands that is truly
‘awesome’.
as a dedication to his sons so he could record
their family travels. He also adds: “I felt that the
Lonely Planet Guide was not representing the
Philippines very well. I wanted to share food and
travel discoveries in the Philippines that were
never published before. Usually these are secrets
of different places that are only shared through
word-of-mouth. Also, I felt "Lonely" was a little
negative so I branded the blog with a more
positive twist.”
the morning ended with pancakes and maple
syrup, and the room buzzing with conversations
about the next travel plan. ❚
NIMMI MAlhoTrA
6 MADS magazine October/november 2010 7
maDS event