LATHE Convention 2011

Last year, I was given the privilege to organize the very first convention of the Lasallian Association of Tourism and Hospitality Education or LATHE.  Established in January 2011, LATHE is an association comprised of the eight Lasallian schools offering the Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management program.  These member-schools are:

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (Manila) 

De La Salle Araneta University (Malabon) 

La Salle College Antipolo 

University of St. La Salle (Bacolod) 

De La Salle University-Dasamarinas 

De La Salle John Bosco College (Bislig, Surigao) 

De La Salle Lipa, and 

La Salle University (Ozamiz)

The meaning of the LATHE logo: The Lasallian Star of Faith symbolizes the philosophy of Lasallian education as the guiding principles of LATHE; The Ribbons symbolize the eight original Lasallian schools that established LATHE and the upward orientation signify each school's commitment to uphold the philosophy of Lasallian education; The Open Circle symbolizes the unity of LATHE member-schools and the openness of the association to new ideas, innovations and even entities that may share the vision-mission of LATHE; The Four Shades of Green symbolize the diversity of individual uniqueness of Lasallian member-schools.

With the theme, "United at the Forefront of Delivering Quality Hospitality Education in the Philippines", the two-day affair was scheduled last May 27-28, 2011 at the CSB Hotel and was attended by more than a hundred faculty members.  The convention was set to achieve the following objectives: (1) to bring together the faculty of the eight Lasallian member-schools and further strengthen the relationships and networking possibilities amongst educators and industry practitioners; (2) to update the knowledge base of tourism/hospitality/culinary educators on current trends and issues both locally and globally and prepare them to fully understand and articulate the changes and challenges the industry will face in the 21st century; (3) to provide tourism/hospitality/culinary educators with a forum to discuss the special challenges and issues facing the delivery of tourism and hospitality education and training in the Philippines and recommend some concrete strategies for addressing these; and (4) to provide an opportunity for professional development among the faculty and to be "one" in elevating to world-class status the tourism and hospitality program offered by the eight Lasallian member-schools.

The convention theme for LATHE 2011: "United at the Forefront of Delivering Quality Hospitality Education in the Philippines"

The two-day convention was packed with seminars and activities facilitated by speakers from the industry and the academe.

Mr. Vic Alcuaz, Hospitality Head Hunter, Trainer & Consultant was the speaker for Plenary 1: "Tourism 2020: The Future of Hospitality and Tourism"

Plenary 2: "HR Leaders Panel" was composed of Ms. Espie Alvez (Director of Human Resources, Sofitel Philippine Plaza), Mr. Merril Yu (CEO, Y&S 1847 and Managing Director of GHM Hotels Philippines) and Ms. Ana Marissa Marquez-Villanueva (Manager, In-Flight Services Training Division of Philippine Airlines)

Plenary 3: "The Winning Image" speaker, Ms. Abbygale Arenas-De Leon (Managing Director of Personi-fi Images Studio Inc.) flanked by Event Manager, Marie Castro and Head of Ways and Means, Ms. Lhoree Valerio

First Breakout Session on "Current Trends in Event Management" by Ms. Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, President of Team Asia

Chef Pam Obieta of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde was the speaker on "Culinary Arts: Beyond Fundamentals"

One of the speakers for the third plenary "Pushing the Boundaries of Knowledge: A Guide to Becoming Better Tourism and Hospitality Educators" was Mr. Angelo Lacson, Program Chair of the International Hospitality Management Program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Together with Mr. Lacon on "Pushing the Boundaries of Knowledge: A Guide to Becoming Better Tourism and Hospitality Educators" was Ms. Lucy Bustamante, faculty of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Breakout Session 2 on "Service Culture in Hospitality" was conducted by Mr. Ed Valenciano, former hotel GM, Mabuhay Awardee, and Faculty of DLS-CSB

DLS-CSB Faculty, Mr. Jaime Flores, presented his winning entry at the 2011 Chefs on Parade during the breakout session on "F&B: Trends in Table Setting"

Breakout Session 3 on "Global Trends and Emerging Issues in Nutrition and Food Safety" was facilitated by DLS-CSB Assistant Professor, Mr. Glenn Ricaforte

Mr. Geronio Ulayao, Program Chair of Hospitality Management and Tourism Management of DLS-CSB, conducted the Breakout Session on "Pedagogy in Tourism Education: A Survey of Methods in Teaching Tourism Courses"

Last but not the least was the Plenary on "So You Think You Are Balanced? The Seven Way Test" conducted by the Founder and Owner of ABUNDANCE Corporate Training For All, Mr. Carlos "Pido" Aguilar

Other highlights of the convention were the formal oath-taking of the first batch of LATHE Officers, the ceremonial pinning of the new members of LATHE, the book signing of Mr. Pido Aguilar, the inspirational message of Br. Victor Franco FSC, and the awarding of certificates of the participants.

LATHE Participants getting their books signed by Mr. Pido Aguilar

Oath-Taking of the LATHE Officers

Inspirational message by Br. Victor Franco FSC, President and Chancellor of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Ceremonial pinning of the new members of LATHE

Games and energizers were also part of the program

The sumptuous food was prepared by DLS-CSB's CLU

F&B Service was provided by Solomon Guest House Batch 24 Practicum students

Special thanks to my Event Management students (IHM Batch 108) for the assistance and support during the convention

A rare "relaxed" moment during the Fellowship dinner at Vatel Restaurant...Yours truly with my CSB co-faculty, Mr. Ramon Siocon and Mr. Jaime Flores

 

So there you have it...the very first LATHE convention!  More power to LATHE! Animo La Salle!!!

 

Coming Soon: my blog on the 2012 LATHE Convention!  

Acknowledgement: Thank you to Mr. Teddy Manansala for the photos

The Pilot

I called this "The Pilot" since this is my VERY FIRST ATTEMPT at blogging.  < I want to get that clear at the very beginning so you, dear reader, won't judge me =) > For those who like watching TV series, you would know that the very first episode of a series is always called the "pilot episode."

 

The idea of setting up a blog came about while I was cleaning up my table at work.  I didn't know where to put a shelf-full of event files and documentation. Although I am more of a reader than a writer, I decided then that I would set up a blog so my students can read about the events organized by my former event management classes.

Organizing events is really my passion.  I remember listening to a speaker at a seminar, he mentioned something about going back to your childhood and recalling what you wanted to become as an adult.  I did go back...In our high school class reunion, the topic was our (underground) junior prom which (you guessed right) I organized.  Forward four or so years to my first job in the hotel industry...and again it was with banquets and events.  Many years later and a couple more hotels later, I see myself in front of a class teaching event management.  I never thought that I could still have the opportunity to do events while being in the academe.  Thanks to my Event Management classes, I still get to do what I love. Better yet, I get to mentor students who I believe will be the future movers and leaders of our industry.

In a speaking engagement on Basic Event Management at the Manila Foods and Beverages Exposition (World Trade Center, Manila)

Since my very first Convention Management class in 2008, I have led several school events from a charity dinner to a car show.  I hope you will look forward to reading about them as I am blogging about them.

Until my next blog...may all your days be special events! :)