Editor's Note

TOWER AWARDS. This week’s meeting is another red-letter day for the Rotary Club of Manila, as the First Club in Asia is set to give out this year’s TOWER Awards. An annual and institutional Club project, the search for and granting of awards to well-deserving and unsung heroes is RCM’s way of espousing a culture of recognition.

In a world dominated by social media where every other person posts self-promoting videos and write-ups, it is surely a breath of fresh air to highlight and recognize truly meaningful, patriotic and heroic contributions of real, everyday people. This is the essence of the TOWER Awards – putting center stage and setting the spotlight on humble and unassuming members of an organization’s workforce, not because they crave or need it, but because they deserve it.

We already know that the worldwide pandemic has brought the worst and best in people. On the one hand, some people scurrilously, malevolently and unduly took advantage of the chaotic health crisis, and converted it as an opportunity for corruption and self-aggrandizement. Some saw it as an opportunity to promote their self-interest, regardless whether it brought more hardship to more people, and despite their actions clashing with public interest. On the other hand, during the same chaotic milieu, the world also saw the heroism and humanness of millions of nameless and faceless individuals, foremost among them the front liners and silent workers in the health and medical industry.

These everyday heroes are what the TOWER Awards is all about. People who are otherwise introvert but who, with integrity and quiet dedication, assiduously toiled day-in and day-out, to meet the sublime objectives of their organization. The recognition and prestige given to a deserving everyday worker through the TOWER Awards definitely helps them see that society values their industry and dedication, as well as their role and contribution to the success of a mission or undertaking. It helps these deserving workers build a sense of security in their value not only to the company they work for, but to society. It will motivate them to continue great work.

Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the TOWER Awards, and kudos to the organizing committee, as well as RCM’s partner in this worthy project, the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines.