Pioneer Hi-bred Job Opening

Pioneer Hi-bred (in Glamang, Polomolok) is looking for:

PRODUCT MANAGERS

Responsibilities:
The position is responsible for developing and implementing marketing strategies of specific products to ensure that business objectives are achieved.

Requirements:

Candidate must possess at least a Bachelor’s/College Degree in Agriculture, Business Studies/Administration/Management, Marketing or equivalent.
At least 3 year(s) of working experience in either Product Management, Brand Management, Marketing Communications in a supervisory capacity
Excellent communication skills
Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
Ability to work and deliver results in a fast-paced environment
Proficient in MS Office applications
Applicants must be willing to travel and be assigned anywhere in the Phils.
Must possess valid driver’s license

Interested candidates may send application letter and resume via e-mail to  Amy.Patron@pioneer.com by June 6, 2008.

10th Mindanao PMAP Summit

ATTN: PMAPers, HR Practitioners, People Managers, Admin.Managers, Officers and Staff

PMAP is inviting you to the 10th Mindanao PMAP Summit on June 26-27, 2008 at Phela Grande Convention Center.

The Summit is in line with the business week celebration of the 6th Yaman Gensan.

Please call 3040008 for inquiries.

Orange Bistro Promotions

Got these really nice pictures of Orange Bistro from Cathy Teng. Orange will still remain one of my favorite restaurants in Gensan. Why? It saved me from a little loneliness when I was new in Gensan. LOL. I missed cafes then. Until now, their menu is nothing like the restaurants. (though I feel the taste changed a bit when they moved to Lagao) My family had lunch there three weeks ago. We enjoyed the Halo-halo. It was a lot and the price was not expensive at all! Enjoy the pictures!

Manny Pacquiao Logo Making Contest

Sent by email from the office of Manny Pacquiao

___________________________________________________________________

Objective: To create a logo for the World Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao.

Mechanics:

1. The contest is open to ALL, ages 12 years old and above.

2. Each participant may SUBMIT ONLY ONE entry.

3. The design may be done by free-hand rendered in Markers, Ink, Pastel, Watercolor, Oil or Acrylic or by computer or both free-hand and computer on a 10” x 15” illustration board (1/4 size) using the white background in the vertical format. There are no restrictions in the number of colors used.

4. A rationale explaining the logo must be written legibly in a short size bond paper in not less than 50 words. This rationale must be pasted at the back of the artwork.

5. The design of the logo must be certified original and/or officially submitted by the participant. Any complaints that may arise due to similarities, likeness or comparison of the design, the participant will be responsible to prove its authenticity. MP, in no circumstances, shall be held liable.

6. Participant must fill out an application form and shall submit one (1) recent 2” x 2” colored photo.

7. All entries must be placed in individual brown envelopes and accompanied with the accomplished application form.

Submission is from May 24 to July 8, 2008 at the MP’s Office, NLSA Road, Lagao, General Santos City.

8. The logo competition shall be judged on the following criteria: Originality 30%, Creativity 30% Relevance 30% and Overall Impact 10%. Decision of the judges is final.

9. Judging and awarding shall take place on July 19, 2008, 5:00 PM at KCC Mall Atrium, General Santos City.

10. MP has the right to use any or all of the design in exhibits/displays and for the publication of any of its information materials such as brochures, leaflets, posters, etc. The name of the participant shall be duly acknowledged.

11. The prizes are as follows:

1^st Prize – P50,000.00

2^nd Prize – P30,000.00

3^rd Prize – P 20,000.00

12. All designs submitted as entry for the contest shall be considered as property of MP.

For further inquiries, you may call at (083)553-3344 or e-mail at mpoffice_gs@yahoo.com.

Do you like to travel?

Do I like to travel? Absolutely! When I was still single and based in Manila, I was blessed to work with a company where traveling was part of my job. Aside from that, I had friends with whom I share the goal of going somewhere I have never been to every year. You will be surprised that a lot of people are actually foreigners even in their own cities. Like if you are based here in Gensan, have you been to Gumasa or even to nearby Polomolok? I have met people who haven’t even seen NDDU museum.

Locally, I loved my travels to Ilocos Norte and Palawan. My dream is to visit Batanes and Basilan.

One of the places I have been to is Thailand. I never stay in high-end hotels in Bangkok because there are just a lot of good but cheap Bangkok hotels.

In Asia, I honestly want to see Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Hanoi in Vietnam. Now I wonder if there are also cheap hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi. There just might be especially since I have found this travel website which gives you advantage when you have make last-minute bookings. I supposed rates are cheaper because hotels would rather give them away at a good rate than not have anything at all..

If you travel, good for you! If you don’t, why wouldn’t you? Traveling is a lot cheaper now than before and really, traveling does not even mean going abroad. Start in your own city or town.

Comparing KCC and Gaisano

I heard recently that Robinsons Mall is going to have its groundbreaking supposedly May 12 and that SM malls is “inquiring” about something in the city already.

Does anyone know anything about it?

If there is any truth to two malls coming up, maybe it’s time KCC and Gaisano start straightening up. I like KCC for its convenience but Gaisano needs to check out a lot of flaws.

I specially have this problem with Gaisano. The CRs are dirty and incoveniently located. It was a good thing that Spazio Cafe and Port Cafe have ok-ok toilets. The sales staff, I think, are just there to guard their items but try asking them anything out of the obvious about their products, they don’t have an idea. I guess because they dont’ get to stay in their work long enough or weren’t trained enough. Some staff are just plain rude, “dedma” or clueless about their work.

But if you compare the variety of products, Gaisano actually has better and more choices. I know because I frequent the toys’ area and home section. Gaisano will win those categories by a mile. Maybe KCC’s buyers need to flex more muscles.

Grocery? Much as Gaisano has some items KCC does not have, I will still go to KCC because of the good grocery carts and well-organized lanes. I don’t like squeaky carts with misaligned wheels.

Restaurants? Hmmm… I like both their outlets so that will be a draw for me.

Variety of stores? That will go to KCC as well.

Let me clear out though that this is not a paid advertisement of KCC. Just my humble opinion.

Gensan’s Street Magician

I got an email last week from someone who I thought all along was an old man, foreigner and who happens to be a magician. Simply put, the email was to introduce himself as a street magician and mentalist since I am already officially into events management. It was Six’ Blings’ anniversary party in the coming weekend so we (the managers and I) decided to check him out before the party first.

We truly liked his David Blaine street magician tricks. Oh did I say he’s very young, very Filipino and does not look like a magician at all? You wouldn’t guess he is a magician. But once you see his card tricks and those mind-reading stunts, you will be impressed. Unfortunately, he was not able to perform onsstage during the party.

Sorry he might not be interested in children’s parties (he’s a street magician and mentalist you see). But if you have any event that needs extraordinary entertainment, you can check out Nate Marx, Gensan’s first street magician and mentalist

Decent eating places

I had a hard time putting a title for this post and still having a hard time putting the post together. Why?Because I don’t want to sound sosyal.

Unlike most ladies, I don’t shop a lot. I don’t buy bags and clothes or shoes just because I want them. I buy only when my things need replacement.

My one vice though is eating. I spend a lot on eating out in restaurants and coffee places than in buying clothes or shoes. So one of my kaartehan in the world is that I don’t eat in eateries (turo-turo or carinderia) or food courts. Call me, maarte, konyo, sosyal.

Therefore, when I happen to be not at home for lunch, I have to eat in places I like. I have a couple of places in certain areas of the downtown area that are not pricey but are decent enough for me. Those restaurants where you can have a good meal (for me) for less than 100 pesos.

When I am in Gaisano, I eat in Spazio or Port Cafe. My favorite dish in Spazio is the Hungarian Sausage meal, at Port Cafe, breaded porkchop.

In KCC, I like I love Sushi and KFC. If I happen to be in Pioneer ave or Pendatun, I eat in Kring Macion’s Marasa Grill or any Jollibee store in the area. (Though I can only eat in Jollibee only once a week tops.)

You should also check out Sunset cafe in the EARH arcade. But they are open at 5pm so no lunch service available. I used to eat in Yolly’s when they were still located on Magsaysay Ave. Their location now is just out of the way for me.

Is there any place you know which will fit my requirements?

Talking about School Supplies Stores…

It’s already the time when parents start buying their kids’ school things. Some of you might have bought them already to avoid the pre-opening rush (like I did!). Most probably will be going to the stores this month or even just before school opens.

My question is: Which store do you like going to? I have top three favorites.

Last month, I bought all my kid’s things in KCC. They pretty much have it all except for the kind of art paper the school requests (glossy) and a type of paint brush. It’s also in KCC, in a mall. So if you have other things to buy aside from the school supplies, it is better to buy here. Expressions is a little bit more expensive for the same item. I do buy magazines and stationery items though.

I have also come to like Starbright because the store is clean, supplies are quite complete and the choices are great (not buki). There are even items there that you cannot find in other stores like nice specialty papers and boards, good variety of photo and sticker papers, envelopes, kids’ educational materials, nice notebooks and Pilot pen refill before the other stores followed. (I remember a few years back when I still buy my pens and post-its in Davao. LOL)

Next would be Crown on Roxas East. I like this store better than their Pioneer branch because there are items here that I find in Crown only. Recently, I bought a lot of aluminum screw binders and clear books which I found in their store only. They also have a photocopy center with the A3/colored capability. Now, I like this store than their Pioneer branch because it is more organized. The stocks are both dusty but I feel claustrophobic in their Pioneer store with the low ceiling and dark corners.

Gaisano’s and Fitmart’s school supplies stores just have lousy service staff aside from lousy items. Although, honestly, I buy things from Gaisano when I happen to be there or try it out when I am hunting for an item.

So moms, go to the stores now before the payday! And please don’t bring your kids if you can.

A Visit to NCCC

Have you been to the new NCCC Wholesale Supermarket?

Well, my husband and I dropped by on our way home last Friday. The place was just about to close so there were just a few customers.

The place is not a lot. From what I saw, it seems to be a temporary location. Very not alike NCCC in Davao or other wholesale supermarkets I have been to. The place looks like a warehouse with tall storage/display shelves and with cashier counters. The building’s frontage would have been ideally open but the concrete walls were not removed to give more exposure to the place. Had it not been for the sign they have. You wouldn’t know there is actually a supermarket there! Of course, the location is definitely not ideal too.

Anyway, since it’s a wholesale supermarket, you cannot go grocery shopping piece-by-piece style. It’s great for retail store owners or mini-marts. The prices are a tad cheaper than if you buy from KCC or Gaisano. The choices are not a lot either and they don’t have a frozen produce area.

Again, if you have a sari-sari store, go check it out. As for me-mommy-grocery-shopper-me, I will not be a client yet.