Passing on, letting go and moving on to the next journey

Our CFC community in the UAE will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this November. We are under the supervision of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia which is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering UAE, Oman and Yemen. In the UAE, we are present in all nine parishes across five emirates. Only Ajman and Umm Al Quwain do not have a parish and they are near Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, respectively.

Five years ago I was the overall special events coordinator of the 25^th anniversary celebration held at the IPIC Arena in Abu Dhabi on December 1, 2017. Now, I am just receiving email messages and FB and WhatsApp updates on the pre-anniversary activities and the main celebration.

In mid-2008, I was chairman of the Philippine Independence Day (PID) organizing committee of Dubai and Northern Emirates and my major responsibility was to oversee and coordinate all the various preparations and seamless execution of the PID program, side activities and bazaar held at Al Nasr Leisureland on June 11 of that year. After which, I served as one of the advisers of the 2009 PID chairman Engr. Orandantes ‘Dante’ Delizo. In the subsequent years I just attended the annual celebration as a ‘private citizen’.

From July 2018 to February 2020, as a former PID head I had to come out of ‘passivity’ and assisted in the establishment and launching of the Filipino Social Club or FilSoc which is accredited by Dubai’s Community Development Authority (CDA). Today, I just receive emails and WhatsApp updates and invites from the FilSoc president, Ericson Reyes.

We all have to ‘pass on, let go and move on’.  I consider myself now as an ‘elder’, a ‘veteran’, a ‘key opinion leader’ as well as an ‘adviser’ and ‘consultant’, but not yet ‘retired’. I still have some great years ahead for my next life journey or even journeys.

I tried the entrepreneurial journey 12 years ago when I was having a very comfortable life and a very good job as head of the PR department of an independent full-fledged communications agency operating in Dubai Media City. I took a risk to be an entrepreneurial PR consultant.

I got good clients and good projects. However, the number of clients and projects were not enough to sustain my monthly living expenses and pay for my bank obligations. At that time companies were still in a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude on the continuing effects of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

There’s always a risk being an entrepreneur but don’t let failure stop you from pursuing your dreams. I really admire people who are entrepreneurs. They are very brave. Maybe someday again.

Last September 13, I saw Tricia Cusi-Jimenea in a corporate event. She is in her early 30s, a mother to a two-year old boy, and has launched COMCO Middle East and Africa in mid-2021 as Managing Director, Partner and Co-Founder. She took post graduate studies in Public Relations and Image Management in Australia and has a degree in Speech Communication and Rhetoric, graduating magna cum laude from UP Diliman.

COMCO Middle East and Africa positions itself as the expansion team of COMCO Southeast Asia which is ‘an award-winning communications agency that has led the marketing innovation of premier brands and the growth of emerging businesses through a strategy based, content driven, and channel agnostic way of doing PR; and a holistic, authentic and integrated approach in Social Media, Digital, Branding and Content Creation’.

I told Tricia that I will write a column about passing on to the next generation. Here you go Tricia: be always proud and responsible in raising the Philippine flag and fly high as the next Global Filipino PR (Wo)Man in the UAE.

Before I end this column, I was once the president of the Tristar Toastmasters Club from July 2014 to June 2015. Every year, as in all Toastmasters clubs around the world, there is a new president since there is no re-election in the club level. Well, technically you can run again for president after a few years like my colleague Prasad KM who is the current president. He held the position from July 2015 to June 2016.

Our club celebrated its 10^th year this year. It was founded in the first quarter of 2012. I became a member in the second quarter of 2012 when I joined Tristar Group. I am still an active member and I have been consistently attending all meetings which are just twice a month and conducted at our head office.

My final message dear readers is a verse from the Bible (Joshua 1:9): “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Note: Art ‘Popoy’ Los Banos is a 21-year Dubai resident with his wife, broadcast journalist Rachel Salinel. He is in charge of Corporate Communications of the fully integrated energy logistics service provider Tristar Group, where he is the only Filipino in the senior management team. He was the former 2008 Philippine Independence Day (PID) organizing committee chairman in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. Art ‘Popoy’ and Rachel were named as one of the Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf for four years by Illustrado Magazine. In December 2019, he received the Philippine Pride Awards in Public Relations from the Philippine Business Council-Abu Dhabi chapter for his ‘exemplary leadership and tireless efforts to continuously support, boost and campaign for excellence to uplift the Filipino image.’ Recently in June this year, Art ‘Popoy’ was named as one of the Philippines’ Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn.