My BIG Change
By jonathan tapocEnjoy Toastmasters but Becareful
By Violeta ImperialPosition Paper
Gentlemen:
I would like to bring to your attention the alarming state of affairs in one of the Toastmasters Club in District 75. I am referring to Alabang Community Toastmasters (ACT), the membership of which is being wracked by the unscrupulous acts by one of its senior officers no less.
I am Violeta Imperial and I joined ACT last July 2008. I even attended the Toastmasters Conference in Bacolod, and I have enjoyed every moment in our Toastmasters Club. I have paid my membership dues diligently and on time, as valued my membership.
Last June 2009, I was elected as Secretary of the Club, and attended the Officers’ Training in July. We were made aware of the Officer’s Turnover Ceremony to be held at Villamor Airbase, but PDHG a DTM, who is a past VP for Education of ACT and currently Sgt.-at-Arms, said that we were better off attending the Officers’ Training instead of the Turnover Ceremony.
I, thus, attended the Officers’ Training and received the Secretary’s Manual and the CD. I started reading it immediately to familiarize myself with my duties and responsibilities. Our Club VP for PR (who has since resigned) and I then requested from Ms. Lolet the official list of members and their email addresses so that we could perform our duties effectively. I then requested PDHG to mentor me in my function as a Secretary.
The copy of ACT Member Roster and Speech Progress Chart was emailed to me on July 25, 2009.
This is where the problem started.
When I was started to browse the website of Toastmasters International to check what our Club membership roster looked like, I discovered my name was not on the list of Club members. I was a NON-MEMBER.
I called up our PCP and asked him to check it out. He then emailed to me the roster of the member as of August 17, 2009, which still did not include my name. (Attachment B: Only 8 ACT members are officially in the roster of Toastmaster International)
I voiced my concerns to PDHG and she replied as follows:
Via email: “will update it in September”
Via Text: “Don’t worry, I already updated it last June, and your turn to update the roster is still on May 2010.”
Via Text: “Treasurer Isa is not yet trained; when the next officers’ training, she doesn’t know”
I sensed that there was an effort on her part to prevent me from performing my duties. She wanted to meet me personally to update me on the Club membership, and I agreed but told her that we should include all the officers as it is everybody’s concern. She agreed, but did not show up at the set meeting.
I informed IPCP about my concern that I was not an official member even if I had already paid my annual dues. He then decided to call an emergency Execom meeting.
First Execom Meeting
First Meeting: 25 August 2009, Tuesday, at Henlin. The issue of my (and apparently of other new TMs) non-member status was discussed. PDHG reasoned that she didn’t trust that the new members would renew, which could be bad for the club, thus she kept the money for the meantime (she did not mention how much).
She proposed that the club collect the annual dues of the members for October 2009 to March 2010, despite the amount that she already has with her, and apply the total amount for the March to September 2010 period. We said no and asked her to return the money ASAP. She promised to do so to PCP on August 29, Saturday, during the Officers’ Training at Villamor.
I asked for a copy of the By-laws and Constitution, but she refused and said that it was her personal copy that she paid for.
August 29 came, but no payment was made. And it was also first time I saw the Toastmasters’ Official Receipt because I was assigned to handle the registration and payment during the Officers’ Training. It became apparent to me that such ORs were never given to us when we paid our membership dues.
Then I surveyed the Club members to find out the following:
1. If they had a Membership Number as emailed by Toastmaster International;
2. If they received the monthly Toastmaster Magazine;
3. If their manuals arrived via Aboitiz or if these were handed out personally by PDHG (apparently, most of them received their manuals directly from PDHG, but she even asked new members to photocopy at their own expense);
4. How much they paid and when.
Based on the information the members gave me, I did some accounting (Attachment C as of September 2009) and I discovered that 16 members had trustingly paid their dues but were not reported to TI as members and their payments not remitted).
Second Execom Meeting: 7 September 2009, Monday, at Henlin. We again confronted PDHG on the status of the payments that she promised to refund. She reasoned that she used the money to buy medicine for her son. She even brought some medical documents (which she did not let us hold to see for ourselves if the dates reconciled).
IPAG and Acting Treasurer said something about the ACT’s status being a group concern. However, PDHG grew hysterical and exclaimed: “ACT is mine! I am one of the Charter members. ACT is mine, mine, mine! It’s my club!”
If she truly spend the money on her son, how come she was able to afford:
1. Trip to Bacolod Conference 2008
2. Trip to Davao Conference and able to pay for the airfare of one of the contestant.
3. Join the USANA multilevel Marketing of IPAG worth estimated P 11,000
4. Booked her whole family to the Midyear conference on Oct 2009.
12 September, Saturday. IPAG called me up and asked: What would I do if they didn’t reinstate me? I replied that I would use my blog to expose publicly what was happening. I asked him if there was any action plan by the past area governor and the past president, and he said that they have plan.
13 September, Sunday. IPAG suggested that I resign as Club Secretary. His reason was that he wanted peace in the Club and that PDGH had voluntarily resigned as she was apparently so hurt by my discoveries.
If I remember what I read in the Toastmasters Bylaws and Constitution, nobody can ask a member to resign. It must be done voluntarily.
16 September, Wednesday
I decided to seek PDG wisdom. She advise me to stay with the Club and give this report to her and with the evidence.
17 September, Thursday
IPAG emailed me that I should drop the investigation because I look so burdened. I said, no, I am not burdened. He reiterated that I should resign as Secretary because I needed to be “disciplined” because I had hurt PDHG.
During our Club’s business meeting, IPAG distributed the P9,000 refund to the members, but then encourage them to pay again to legalized their membership. He added that Alabang Community Toastmaster need to report at least six paid members to Toastmasters International so that the club could remain in good standing. However, there was no assurance made that the rest of the money the members had paid earlier would be returned by PDHG. Nevertheless, I and some of the members decided to take the risk because we valued our membership and the great time we had during the TM meetings. I thus, paid my reinstatement fee of P1,350 to be applied for October 2009 to March 2010.
After the Club meeting, IPAG personally told me that there would be a reelection of officers on September 24, and since I was not technically a member, I had no reason to stay as Secretary. But at the same time, he offered me the Treasurer position.
I sense that IPAG wants to save PDHG neck from the mess that she made, and he even campaigned that she continue to stay and mentor the club because she is the most experienced and senior member, being the only DTM in the club.
18 September, Friday
IPAG called me up for me to sign my reinstatement form, although he was still pushing hard for me to resign. (He been harassing me about this since September 13 Sunday).
September 23 Wednesday
PCP called me up to help her with the Toastmaster meeting for Thursday and requested me to resign as Secretary that I am not legally a member when I was elected Secretary, because my annual fee was embezzled. As this date, my reinstatement payment is already with IPAG.
September 24 Thursday
After one week of reinstatement payment, I followed up IPAG to discover, he did not fax my application form to U.S. Feeling that there is a great effort to get rid of me to become a member because I was the one who discovered the one year non remittance of 16 people paid membership fee and annual dues, I asked for my money back.
ACT Toastmaster Meeting
DHG is present with PAG and PG at the meeting. PDHG made a passionate defensive speech about her sick son.
No reelection was made because most of the nonmembers did not came, and might not renew because the full payment of the money was returned yet. Neil returned my money back.
Later that evening, I learned from PCP that PDHG want to be appointed a VP for Education, after all the offenses she made.
October 18 Sunday, one month had pass, and no Toastmaster Manual arrived to those who paid last September 17.
That is a chronology of the events that have transpired in ACT. In this light, I would like to seek the guidance and action of the esteemed leaders of District 75.
I am a victim, 16 people in Alabang Community Toastmaster are victimized. Have a friend who got victimized 10 years ago, she is with the 16 pax victimized. A present Div. Gov was also a victim. And a clubs in Visayas and more. Most victims never had justice. The offending party are let go to save the name of the Organization or Club. The Offeding party are chosen to stay because they are competition material. Other Toastmaster Officers know that she is already doing it.
I implore the District Leaders:
- To make actions on how to prevent more victims in the future.
- To provide a new mentor/s to Alabang Community Toastmasters, particularly one with imbued with integrity, honesty, and dignity, one who is God-fearing. We need someone to guide us and our Club in rebuilding ourselves, and not to manipulate us or exploit our trust. Somebody who is whole and not broken and bitter.
- To ban PDHG from staying as a member or holding any official position or business (whether in the Club, Area, Division or District level) in Toastmasters Philippines because she has the talent and skill to organize another club and most likely repeat her manipulative cycle of embezzlement.
To offend and take advantage of someone one time is bad already. But to do so to 15 people (or more) who trusted the PDHG for one whole year in collecting their hard-earned money that was intended for their TM membership and annual dues, but then spend it personally, is totally outrageous! I truly hope that District 75 leaders will not tolerate this kind of behavior as it reflects badly not just on the affected club or division, but on the entire District.
For your kind consideration and immediate action, please.
Violeta C. Imperial
Quasi Secretary ACT 2009 – 2010
Competent Communicator
Ex Member, Alabang Community Toastmaster
Area 73, Division H, District 75
My First Poem Entitled "I Hate Myself"
By Herbert Balares Jr.Why must where ever i go
I cause pain
I cause depression
I am a plague
I am a plague on the living and a inconvenice to the gods
Strike me down
or let me bleed a thousand times forever
Forever bleeding i do
Forever bleeding because of you
Why do i Keep waking in cold sweat
I cry a thousand times
Waiting for someone to come find me
in the pit of darkness
I walk throught the streets
looking for you
looking for somone to help me through the bad times
some one to give me the good times
Someone i will never find
A Life to persue i have none
I slit my throat
waiting for deaths cold embrace
But it never comes
I sit on the end of my bed
Waiting
..Just waiting
Your not wrong...I was mistaken i sat thier thinking the lies everyone
told me thinking of what i should of done
I engrave your name into my back
a bloody reminder
of what we once were
And we are no more
Together we were....now not any more
Do you like my poem?
its not your fault its no ones Fault
its was only mine
and will forever be a Knife in my heart
Are you sure...this is what you want?
and will forever be a Knife in my heart
Are you sure...this is what you want?
Im sorry
I gave into
Everyone
I should of listened to my heart
instead i listened to my mind
I should of thought of you
instead i thought of me
It was
I left you
I should of stayed
helped you through the bad times
been your light
in this dark
