Corkboard 'n Pushpins: Pretty People, Courtesy, Meal Stubs and the New Order (Part 1)

“I’ve met the people of past Ad Congresses and I must say that you’re the greatest. Oftentimes I had to tell you to keep quiet and I wanted to seal the mouths of some of you with a masking tape. You are mischievous but you listen. You are mischievous but you obey. You are proud but you have the rights to be. Others found it hard to learn in a week but you learned in four days. You are the best windows of what Subic has to offer.” – Ms. Linda Gamboa, Chairperson, Protocol Subcommittee, 20^th Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC)

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General Assembly

November 17, 2007 – All volunteers who qualified through the screenings gathered together for the first time at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center – venue of this year’s 4-day Congress held biennially. We were grouped to our respective committees and were briefed on things which admittedly, are 2% relevant and 1% interesting at least for us in the Protocol Committee. Perhaps the only interesting things that afternoon were the tour in the building (the 5,000 and 7,000 seating capacities of the main plenary and dining halls alone overwhelmed us at first and we thought we’ll be needing for ourselves ushers to show us around during the congress; there could have been “ushers for the ushers” in that case), seeing for the first time our spacious office/dressing room, having refreshments in the mess hall, and that comic briefing by the chair of Venue Committee.

Breaking the Ice

As instructed the previous night, the protocol volunteers assembled in another location which is about 5-minute ride away from the Convention Center. Most of us chatted cheerfully yet the “mine-theirs” social partitions were still apparent especially that we come from four major colleges in the city hence the usual academic rivalry seem to wrap us then. Representatives of the Advertising Board who were among our supervisors since the screenings facilitated group dynamics by assigning us to 5 groups where for a length of time, we had to learn something about our mates and then move into another group. Most started rather reserved with the name-nickname-course-school format of introduction but all it took were some follow-up inquiries by the more congenial members and everyone’s at ease with each other and laughing heartily in no time.

Learning Protocol

“Do not place your hands in your pockets.” “When you do this, be sure that…”

Still, there were long idle times for us although more thorough trainings commenced. We were given handouts of etiquette for handshakes, grooming, and formal dining among others. Mr. Albert, a flight attendant working for the national carrier, discussed these and demonstrated proper stance while citing gestures to avoid. The ladies had more rigid trainings on stride and sitting.

Everyone was excited when our uniforms arrived that afternoon. Why not? These are our manifested identification from other volunteers – truly exclusive for protocol. It is amazing how Mr. Willie, our couturier, later transformed the girls' basic corset-skirt ensemble into no less than 6 different looks throughout the days.

A day before the Congress, the venue is still buzzing with activities. Venue supervised workers as they erected more outdoor booths, installed and checked lights and sounds, and painted what needed painting. Security volunteers helped sort out standard giveaway bags for the delegates. Mr. Willie inspected the shoes which the ladies plan to wear; must be either silver or white only. For the gents, he was particular with the length and material of the pants.