by Susan Palmes-Dennis
The election issue may not have been fully resolved yet but the board of directors of the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) for this year 2016 took their oaths of office two days after receiving a mandate from those who attended the Special Meeting and Referendum last February 6.
The board of directors consisted of Robert Escobal, Jessica Esguerra, Aurea Barbee, Liezel Bell, Maria Luz Blackwell, Ram Cabanero, Cecilia Perry and Tonette Asay.
The majority of the Board of Directors were officers last year and were later asked to stay on as interim officers. They were given a fresh mandate by 38 members who voted last Saturday.
The two new members of the 2016 BOD are Luz Blackwell and Tonette Asay.
The FACC meeting held at the Asian Library at downtown Charlotte, North Carolina was called by Escobal in order to address the election issues facing the group.
It involved the use of the so-called “jack n' poy” (the Filipino equivalent of rock, papers, scissors game of the Americans) method in choosing the next batch of leaders. This method didn't sit well with members and non-members and eventually open others issues.
The meeting took more than three hours as FACC waited on members to show up until the last call at 6 pm. Members were given three options to vote on in order to decide on the leadership issue.
The first option was to validate support for the interim board of directors to serve until December 2016 while the second called for another election in accordance with the FACC's by-laws.
Option three would allow the FACC advisory council to become the caretaker of the group until the next regular election. Of the 48 votes cast, 38 voted for option 1 while eight voted for option 2 and two voted for option 3.
The meeting also allowed members to pay the annual fees in order to vote for the referendum on the three options. A member was asked what she voted for and she answered option 1.
“It is easier and we don’t have to go back here and vote again.” Another member who voted for option 1 said it's time that the FACC is united in supporting their leadership.
Past President Lynn Lorenzo-Polk was vocal on her choice though she was unable to vote since she was attending an important State Democratic Executive meeting in Raleigh last Feb. 6 due to her membership in the State executive Committee.
“True, members voted for option 1 because that, to them, is the easiest option. There is a problem when people are too complacent to what's going on. We have to change,” she said. Polk said she would have voted for option 2.
Under the present by-laws only 10 percent of the registered voting members are required to constitute a quorum which in the case of the special meeting last Saturday would be 10 registered members.
While waiting for the results of the 6 pm meeting, FACC members like Dr. Tony Amor, Marcelo Bueno, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Amigo, Melo Acton and Luz Taboada started discussing pressing issues of the community.
Paul Amigo, a past FACC president, said the FACC leaders should be servant leaders willing to uphold the interest of the members.
He referenced a recent blog written by this author which mentioned that some FACC leaders were described as being elitist and pathetic.He said he is a servant leader and not "pathetic".However Amigo said he agrees that there should be accountability, transparency and participation of the general membership in FACC activities like the elections.
Contrary to tradition, Amigo even broke the sanctity of his vote by revealing to those present that he voted for Option Number 2 because he wants changes in the by-laws.
Amigo's disclosure encouraged others to level up, so to speak and discuss the pros and cons of each option. It eventually led them hypothetically discuss why vote for Option 2.
“I think we are all in agreement to get these things moving and vote for Option 2. If I voted for option 1 without doing anything else we are on the same hole as before,” Bueno said.
Bueno, a World Bank consultant,said voting on Option 2 admittedly will delay some annual events of the FACC. “But that is fine we may extend the term of the new board to cover more action. But at least let's do it right,” he said.
Amigo said Bueno's sentiments were similar to what he emailed to Tony Amor and Ram Cabanero, the FACC's press relations officer, in which he reiterated greater accountability, transparency and participation of everyone in the FACC.
Amigo also said he places his name on his vote because he respected the sanctity of the ballot. But Bueno said the member's right to confidentiality on who he or she voted for should also be respected as it is inherent in preserving the sanctity of the ballot.
The group called on Ram Cabanero who explained about the pilferage of votes in some elections that's why the voting paper was with names of the voters.The explanation met a lukewarm reception from the group.
When Tony Amor asked Cabanero what the interim board would do if the members voted for Option 1, he said they would work to reform the by-laws. When called on by the group, Escobal said the same thing explaining that they should change the by-laws to meet standards set by other established groups.
Escobal disclosed he already assigned Steve Mirman to head the committee on reforms of the by–laws. “If you want to volunteer since the process is simple, volunteer yourself,” he told the group.
An argument ensued between Bueno and Escobal but cooler heads prevailed before it escalated. Polk said there's a need to change the mindset of the FACC group whose members she thinks had become complacent on what's going on within the ranks.
“We have to change our way of running the FACC with open meetings, revising our bylaws, making people interested and more active in our organization. Our leaders have to be diplomatic and be willing to discuss problems when these are presented to them. We should change our ways,” she said.
Neglecting to do this may result in the FACC's demise in the near future, Polk said.
(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines and is now employed as a teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)
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