The next morning’s conference was superhero themed with all the business owners in the region. Hunter wanted to be Clark Kent but wasn’t able to find a shirt in time, so someone helped us buy this. I was WonderWoman. Duh! J/k. Meet James and Cynthia Fantone. These two are a powerful couple! They are the head of operations in the Philippines, and man did they ever deliver! The whole program was very impressive! Hunter said that all the Academy events have a certain level of professionalism. So true! Cynthia was amazing and MCd the whole event, and James is a legit motivational speaker. He was outstanding! Like a Steve Jobs-ish guy, but way cooler.
We heard some very impressive speakers. I loved Andy Barfus’ speech. The take-away I got from his was that we haven’t been blessed with prosperity so we can be comfortable; we’ve been blessed with prosperity so we can serve.
Then probably one of the most meaningful parts of this whole trip--this one lady named Jennifer spoke. Jennifer used to be an OFW. She left her baby when he was 6 months old and moved to Hong Kong to be a domestic helper. For EIGHT YEARS she provided for her family and only got to see her family twice in that time. She met Cynthia and James once when the two were visiting the area presidency trying to see if the Academy could be established in Hong Kong. They were rejected, but met Jennifer and encouraged her to take the leap and learn from the Academy and start her own business. She did. She went home, started a business which is now five years old. She said that in one year, she was making as much money as when she was in Hong Kong, and in four years, she was making double! She was emotional as she thanked Steve and Bette for enabling her to be with her family again and not have to experience hardship anymore. She brought her son up to the stage, now 14 years old and much taller than her (he reminded me of Paulo), and her grateful husband. Hearing her story, I just lost it. Because I was able to see all those OFWs in Hong Kong, and then see the Philippines side and how the Academy has helped gave me the complete picture. I believed from what Hunter told me he was involved in with the Academy that it was good, but over the last couple days I witnessed with my own eyes just how big it is. It is literally changing lives! Many many lives. How many non-profits actually do that and having a lasting impact?! And the program is just as strong in Mexico, which Hunter was able to see earlier in the year when he went there. It really is incredible.
Well, after such a packed morning, Hunter and I weren’t off the hook yet. We were responsible for teaching two 50-minute breakout sessions about Managing Business Stress. We both felt deeply unqualified to teach this class, but Hunter prepared some good thoughts and had a lot of audience participation activities built in to it. It turned out great!
That evening was the Academy Awards Dinner. It was very fancy, and Hunter and I got to present the awards “academy awards”-style. We had scripted lines we were supposed to say and even little envelopes that we were supposed to open with the winners’ names inside. The winners had photos taken with large prize money checks and all. It was very well planned and so rewarding for the ones who worked so hard to apply and present.
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