MANILA FAMILY VALUES AWARD

(l-r) E/S Goss, Deo Divinagracia,E/S Bird,

E/S Bird with Catholic Archbishop and Bayani and Jo Imbong, Sister Bird at Shangri-La Staircase, Area Presidency and Wives

E/S Bird, Sister Bird and Sister Goss w/FVA Helpers, FVA recipients, Marides Fernando and Jo Imbong

The Manila Family Values Awards Dinner and Reception was held on November 29, 2011, at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong. The Area Public Affairs Office is completely responsible for this event....and it is a lot of work....and a very fun event.

The Family Values Awards are presented annually to community leaders in Asia, Europe and the United States. Notable recipients include Australian Prime Minister John Howard MP, anti-abortion and anti-euthanasia policy maker Jack Snelling MP, and Fr. Thomas Rosica, the National Director/CEO of World Youth Day (Canada). Okay, so it is a pretty big deal!

Atty. Jo Imbong, and Mr. and Mrs. Bayani Fernando were the recipients this year. Besides being the lawyer for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Atty. Imbong is an author, educator and a family activist. She is married to Manuel B. Imbong, also a lawyer. They have eight children and three grandchildren.....all were present for the award presentation. She was so proud of each one as she introduced them to the audience....I could truly identify with her.....the heart of a mother! In her acceptance remarks, our hearts were touched as she quoted from The Proclamation on the Family.....and considers it a most amazing document. She also said that being mother to her 8 children is, without a doubt, her greatest accomplishment! The Fernando's are both former city mayors responsible for the establishment of a yearly festival which honors

the family.

We met a number of other important leaders in this country, including the Archbishop of San Fernando, the head of the Catholic Bishops Council, Senators, the former presidential candidate that ran against President Aquino (he invited us to his home for dinner....hmm....still waiting for him to call..., and professors from the University of the Philippines. Also present were many leaders from our church. It was a grand event and I must say, we were quite happy when it was successfully over!!!