Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 22 | Page 12

BUSINESS NEWS
12
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30, 2018
ONE FILIPINO CO-OPERATIVE AND ONE HOUSING
SOCIETY ATTEND 2018 BC HOUSING CONFERENCE
“Today, treat the people you
meet with kindness. You do not know
what or how hard the battle (s)he is
fighting.” This is a post written in front
of a church as a reminder to build good
interpersonal relationships among
the church members and people in
general. Often, we forget others have
their own struggles or their dealings
get obscured when we are too focused
on our own battle, especially when we
do not have the full understanding of
their situations. In short, individuals,
as well as groups, need to observe
and practice fellowship to get to know
how others are faring in life.
In the spirit of the call above, on
November 18, 2018, four delegates --
the Board Secretary, two Coordinators
and Adviser -- of One Filipino Co-
operative of BC (FilCoopBC) and One
Housing Society joined attendees to
the National Housing Conference and
36th Annual General Meeting of the
Cooperative Housing Federation of
BC with gladness and enthusiasm
knowing we have the same battle –
making homes affordable for middle
class British Columbians. More than
1,400 stakeholders in the province’s
as well as Canada’s housing industry
met at the Vancouver Sheraton Wall
Centre to learn, share stories and
successes, build friendships and forge
partnerships.
After a welcome message
from Musqueam elder Shaine Pointe,
the plenary conference heard the
speech of Premier John Horgan
outlining the provincial government’s
affordable housing strategy. Minister
Selina Robinson of Municipal Affairs
and Housing, on the other hand, laid
down concrete and specific initiatives
that have been taken to show how
the provincial housing strategy is
beginning to impact the lives of its
intended beneficiaries.
After the plenary session,
FilCoopBC has been a CHFBC
member for two years now.
The afternoon session’s
Pic 1: FILCO-OP AND ONE HOUSING SOCIETY delegates to the National Housing
Conference and CHFBC’s 36th AGM from left Rona Bunda, Rommel Manikan, Eddie
Sabile, Clarise Sabile, Criselda Tejada and Tony Tejada last November 18, 2018 held at
vancouver sheraton Wall Center
FilCoopBC and OHS’s delegates
then spread out to attend the learning
sessions the conference organizers
have laid out for the participants. They
joined the sessions on “Investment
Fundamentals for Housing Providers”
and “Building Better Business Cases
using Financial Information” which
they deemed as critical to gaining a
deeper understanding of the tasks
involved in pursuing One Housing
Society’s affordable housing initiative
for its members.
In the afternoon, FilCoopBC’s
delegation joined the CHFBC in
their 36thAnnual General Meeting
to hear updates on BC’s Land Trust
Program, CHFBC’s Audited Financial
Statements and the Co-operative
Housing
Federation
Canada.
highlight was the election of some
members of the CHFBC’s board of
directors. FilCoopBC’s delegates
heard from 14 candidates their
platforms towards fulfilling the
cooperative housing sector’s agenda
in the next 2 years. And to know the
candidates even better, CHFBC’s
staff introduced a “speed networking
session” where all candidates hopped
from one delegation table to another
to answer, in just one minute each
candidate, more specific questions on
how they will play their role as board
members. It turned out to be a fun
activity, too.
While not all the questions
asked represented most attendees’
concerns, nor all the questions
answered were to most everyone’s
satisfaction, the “speed table-
talk” provided a glimpse of each
candidate’s mindset as they await
CHFBC members’ votes on whether
they were persuasive enough or
not. This short process of hearing
candidates’ platforms influenced
FilCoopBC’s initial “voting list” when
the delegation finally cast its “final-
list vote”. The winners’ tally almost
matched FilCoopBC’s choice of
new CHFBC leaders. Our voice was
heard.
On FilCoopBC’s part, the
delegation asked questions not meant
to be answered there and then, but
for the candidates to take away, reflect
upon and bring to the CHFBC Board
table when they convene to tackle
the coop housing business. One was
heard to say “I will remember you
FilCoopBC.” This remark must have
been triggered by how FilCoopBC
delegates
explored
networking
opportunities, speaking about what it is
all about and the progress it has made
and the spirit and enthusiasm that
were displayed during the conference.
Another new contact was so generous
in inviting FilCoopBC to get in touch
so we could be connected to the right
person or group that can support our
goal of affordable housing for our
members through the newly-formed
Filco-operative One Housing Society.
In retrospect, the day affirmed
our commitment to make homes
affordable for all Filipino-Canadians
in BC and confirmed our thrust to
strengthen our governance in making
FilCoop-operative One Housing
Society a major and dynamic partner-
provider of affordable housing for its
members.
***********
FilCoopBC and One Housing Society to Celebrate
Anniversaries Jointly in December
2018 turned out to be one
of the busiest years for FilCoopBC
and One Housing Society. It has been
so busy that the anniversary dates of
the two organizations came and went
almost unnoticed, but not ignored,
recently.
FilCoopBC’s
anniversary
was on October 30 while that of One
Housing Society was on November
2. Many of the officers and members
did not fail to quietly remember the
day when each organization officially
came into being in BC. Knowing fully
well it was next to impossible to put a
stop to a myriad of activities or pause
even for a simple celebration, the
two groups decided to celebrate their
anniversaries jointly in December.
So, on December 16, 2018,
from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m., there will be a
“Three-in-One” celebration to be held
in the community room of Killarney
Gardens Cooperative Housing at
2998 E 54th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5S
1Y5.
The day will feature the
2nd Annual General Meeting of One
Housing Society, the 9th Anniversary
of One Filipino Co-operative of BC and
finally the celebration of Christmas.
The One Housing Society
AGM will be devoted to the Board of
Directors, through their President,
rendering a report on the state of the
society, followed by more detailed
information about its financial
transactions as well as the activities
which were planned and undertaken
in the last year. The outgoing board
will also share its plans and proposed
programs for next year. Capping
the AGM is the election of the nine-
member board of directors as well
as the board’s executive officers
(President, Vice-President, Secretary
and Treasurer).
The
9th
anniversary
celebration of FilCoopBC will feature
a simple presentation of the highlights
in the life of the credit cooperative
which has been growing membership-
wise, service program-wise and asset-
wise. The event will also serve as the
platform to rally FilCoopBC members
to prepare for its 10th anniversary
next year including visioning and
crafting its next five-year development
program for 2019-2024.
Capping the day’s events will
be a fun-filled programme with games
and prizes, testimonials, singing and
merrymaking all to mark the festive
season and express gratitude for
another year that is about to come to
an end.
Central to this celebration
is the coordination of the “Three-in-
One” celebration by FilCoopBC’s
social development committee which
designed and planned the activities
and the accompanying resources
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
needed for the celebration. The
committee has tapped FilCoopBC’s
area coordination teams (ACT) in the
various cities of Metro Vancouver where
members live and work to contribute
both food and performances.
The ACT’s have been
playing a critical role in facilitating
communication between the Board of
Directors and the members, organizing
pre-membership education seminars,
following up members’ concerns and
participating in social development
activities such as the annual summer
camp, bingo in the park and out-of-
town trip.
For those interested to be part
of this joint anniversary celebration
and to be a member of the Society,
please call/text the Coordinators Rona
Bunda 513-8817 or Cris Tejada 778-
319-8901 or contact FilCo-op at 604-
780-2061.